Report Writing

 Summary of this page

 Introduction
 Difference between essays and reports
 Structure of a report
 Presentation of a report
 Common problems
 Links to other sites
Summary of this page
Report writing is an essential skill for professionals.
A report aims to inform, as clearly and succinctly as possible.
Below we give some general guidelines, but you should check with your lecturer for more
detail on what is expected.
A report is similar to an essay in that both need:
 formal style
 introduction, body and conclusion
 analytical thinking 
 careful proof-reading and neat presentation
A report differs from an essay in that a report:
 presents information, not an argument
 is meant to be scanned quickly by the reader
 uses numbered headings and sub-headings
 uses short, concise paragraphs and dot-points where applicable
 uses graphics wherever possible (tables, graphs, illustrations)
 may need an abstract (sometimes called an executive summary)
 does not always need references and bibliography
 is often followed by recommendations and/or appendices
A report should generally include the following sections.
(Sections marked with an asterisk (*) are essential: others are optional depending on the type,
length and purpose of the report.)
 Letter of transmittal
 Title page*
 Table of contents
 List of abbreviations and/or glossary
 Executive summary/abstract
 Introduction*
 Body*
 Conclusion*
 Recommendations
 Bibliography
 Appendices
Presentation and style are important. First impressions count, so consider these simple tips:
 use plenty of white space
 ensure the separate parts of your report stand out clearly
 use subheadings
 allow generous spacing between the elements of your report
 use dot points/ numbers/ letters to articulate these elements
 use tables and figures (graphs, illustrations, maps etc) for clarification.
 number each page
  use consistent and appropriate formatting
 use formal language
Avoid these:
 the inclusion of careless, inaccurate, or conflicting data
 the inclusion of outdated or irrelevant data
 facts and opinions that are not separated
 unsupported conclusions and recommendations
 careless presentation and proof-reading
 too much emphasis on appearance and not enough on content.
End of Summary
Introduction
Report writing is an essential skill for professionals in almost every field: accountants,
teachers, graphic designers, information scientists (the list goes on). That’s one of the reasons
why your lecturers will almost certainly require you to write reports during your period of
study at the University of Canberra.
A report aims to inform, as clearly and succinctly as possible. It should be easy to read, and
professional in its presentation.
Exactly what you include in your report and how you present it will vary according to your
discipline and the specific purpose of the report. Here we give some general guidelines, but
you should check with your lecturer for more detail on what is expected.
Reports and essays—what’s the difference?
A common problem is that students transfer what they have learned about essay writing to
report writing.
Both essays and reports need:
 formal style
 careful proof-reading and neat presentation
 introduction, body and conclusion
 analytical thinking
But there are some essential differences between the two.
A Report An Essay
Presents information Presents an argument
Is meant to be scanned quickly by the Is meant to be read carefully
reader
Uses numbered headings and sub- Uses minimal sub-headings, if any.
headings
May not need references and Always needs references and bibliography/reference
bibliography/reference list list
Uses short, concise paragraphs and dot- Links ideas into cohesive paragraphs, rather than
points where applicable breaking them down into a list of dot-points
Uses graphics wherever possible Rarely uses graphics
(tables, graphs, illustrations)
May need an abstract (sometimes called Will only need an abstract if it is very long, or if
an executive summary) your lecturer asks for one specifically
May be followed by recommendations Seldom has recommendations or appendices
and/or appendices

Report structure
What follows is a generic structure for reports. Using this structure will help to give your
report the correct level of formality; it will also help to ensure that you do not leave out
anything important. However, the actual structure required by your discipline may not be
exactly what is represented here - you should check with your lecturer.
A report should generally include the following sections.
(Sections marked with an asterisk (*) are essential: others are optional depending on the type,
length and purpose of the report.)
 Letter of transmittal
 Title page*
 Table of contents
 List of abbreviations and/or glossary
 Executive summary/abstract
 Introduction*
 Body*
 Conclusion*
 Recommendations
 Bibliography
 Appendices
Letter of transmittal
(only if specified by your lecturer)
This is a letter to the person who commissioned the report, in which you effectively hand over
your work to that person. Include:
 a salutation (eg. Dear Ms Podolinsky)
 the purpose of the letter (eg. Here is the final version of the report on ‘Underwater
Welding’ which was commissioned by your organisation.)
 the main finding of the report
 any important considerations
 an acknowledgement of any significant help
 an expression of pleasure or gratitude (eg. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to
work on this report.)
Title page
This must contain:
 the report title which clearly states the purpose of the report
 full details of the person(s) for whom the report was prepared
 full details of the person(s) who prepared the report
 the date of the presentation of the report
Table of Contents
(usually only if the report is longer than, say, ten pages)
This is a list of the headings and appendices of the report. Depending on the complexity and
length of the report, you could list tables, figures and appendices separately. Make sure the
correct page numbers are shown opposite the contents. Up-to-date word processing packages
can generate a table of contents for you.
Abbreviations and/or glossary
If necessary, you should provide an alphabetical list of the abbreviations you have used in the
report, especially if they may not be familiar to all readers of the report.
If you have used a lot of technical terms, you should also provide a glossary (an alphabetical
list of the terms, with brief explanations of their meanings).
Acknowledgements (if appropriate)
This is a short paragraph thanking any person or organisation which gave you help in
collecting data or preparing the report.
Abstract (Summary or Executive Summary)
An abstract is quite different from an introduction. It is a summary of the report, in which you
include one sentence (or so) for every main section of your report. For example, you can
include:
 the context of the research
 the purpose of the report
 the major findings (you may need several sentences here)
 the conclusions
 the main recommendations
Write the abstract after you have written the report.
Introduction
 Give enough background information to provide a context for the report.
 State the purpose of the report.
 Clarify key terms and indicate the scope of the report (ie what the report will cover).
Body
The content of the body depends on the purpose of the report, and whether it is a report of
primary or secondary research.
A report of primary research (based on your own observations and experiments) would
include:
 Literature review (what other people have written about this topic. See our webpage
for hints on writing a literature review). The literature review should lead towards
your research question.
 Method (summarises what you did and why). Use the past tense.
 Findings or results (describes what you discovered, observed, etc, in your observations
and experiements). Use the past tense.
 Discussion (discusses and explains your findings and relates them to previous
research). Use the present tense to make generalisations.
A report of secondary research (based on reading only) would include:
 Information organised under appropriate topics with sub-headings. It is unlikely that
your report will discuss each source separately. You need to synthesise material from
different sources under topic headings.
 Analysis/discussion of the sources you are reporting.
Conclusion
Sum up the main points of the report. The conclusion should clearly relate to the objectives of
your report. No surprises please! (that is, don’t include new information here.)
Recommendations (if appropriate)
These are suggestions for future action. They must be logically derived from the body of your
report.
Bibliography
(See our page on Using References for more information).
Appendices
An appendix contains material which is too detailed, technical, or complex to include in the
body of the report (for example, specifications, a questionnaire, or a long complex table of
figures), but which is referred to in the report. Appendices are put at the very end of the
report, after everything else. Each appendix should contain different material. Number each
appendix clearly.
Presentation of the report
The content and structure of your report is important; so is the presentation and style. First
impressions count, so consider these simple tips to ensure your report is reader-friendly:
 use plenty of white space
 ensure the separate parts of your report stand out clearly
 use subheadings
 allow generous spacing between the elements of your report
 use dot points/ numbers/ letters to articulate these elements
 use tables and figures (graphs, illustrations, maps etc) for clarification. Label them
clearly and cite the source. These graphics should relate to the text of your report; for
example, Figure 1 shows that the population of Bandung has increased dramatically
since 1890, or The population of Bandung has increased dramatically since 1890 (see
Figure 1).
 number each page (a neat header and/or footer makes your work look more
professional)
 use consistent and appropriate formatting (you may like to follow the report format
supplied with your word processing package)
 use formal language. It would be worth having a look at the language which is used in
other, similar reports to check out useful expressions and terms.
Common problems
Some common problems with research report writing that you should take care to avoid are:
 the inclusion of careless, inaccurate, or conflicting
 the inclusion of outdated or irrelevant data
 facts and opinions that are not separated
 unsupported conclusions and recommendations
 careless presentation and proof-reading
 too much emphasis on appearance and not enough attention to solid content.
Links to other sites
 Advice about writing a Report - Middlesex University
 Report Writing - Curtin University