How to Write a Report

Report writing can play a crucial part in many professions. There are many
different types of report, ranging from the highly technical to the descriptive.
However, they all share certain characteristics: Reports are usually written in a
concise style, giving precise detail, and presented under clear headings (and sub-
headings), so that readers can find information easily and quickly. All reports
require an investigation of some sort.

BEFORE deciding what features you should put into a report, ask yourself:

What type of report is it? Scientific, experimental, technical, research,

survey, theory, student project.

What is it intended for? Student project, thesis, part of coursework,

dissertation, publication, internet, company.

Who will be reading it? Supervisor, experts in the field, non-experts,

technical people, fellow students, general readers.

These questions will help you determine the report’s style, purpose and level.
The answers will indicate the structure, sections, chapter headings and amount of
technical language expected in your report. If there is any doubt in your mind ask
your supervisor, or the person who has asked you for the report.

What do I need to think about when I begin writing?

The use of headings: Each section should be given a heading that indicates the
nature of its content. You may wish to use sub-headings within each section dealing
with different types of related subject matter.

The data to be included: This should be as clear and accurate as possible. You may
wish to use graphs, tables or charts. These may be included in the main body of your
report but are more often found as appendices.

The style of writing: A report is usually written in a focused way. Any description of
your research methods should be written in a way that is precise enough to allow
someone else to duplicate your research exactly. You should not include any
unnecessary detail or description.

© 2020 Student Development and Study Skills

Mae’r ddogfen hon ar gael yn Gymraeg. This document is available in Welsh.
The order of material: Don’t be too concerned about the order of the material at
first. Begin writing with whatever section you feel most comfortable with. You can
rearrange your sections to suit the overall structure your report requires once the
whole investigation/project is finished.
Structuring your Report
You should always check with your course tutor/supervisor regarding any specific
requirements. The typical features of any investigative report are listed below. The
features in capitals and underlined are normally considered essential and should
form the minimum list of contents.

TITLE PAGE
Give your report a precise and concise title – which should encapsulate the essential
purpose of the report. Also give the author(s)’ names(s) and (usually) the date. Give
the name of the institution or company the report has been written for.

SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
The summary or abstract is a brief account (one or two paragraphs) of what the
report is about and its main conclusions: the “bare bones” of the report as a guide to
potential readers. A reader should be able to get the gist of what is in the report
from the summary and decide whether it is worth reading further.

The summary of a report for a company or client is usually a little longer: up to one
page of A4. It is called an ‘Executive Summary’, and lists all the main points of the
report as dot points.

Acknowledgements
Particularly relevant if you have a supervisor, or the work has been sponsored, or if
someone has been of particular help to you.

Table of contents
The main chapter headings and page numbers. Chapters can have sub-headings, and
sub-sub-headings, but be aware that too many levels of sub-headings can be
confusing to the reader. Chapter headings may be numbered: 1, 2, 3 etc. with sub
sections numbered: 1.1, 1.2 etc. (Note that some recommended report styles do not
use chapter numbers).

List of Tables and Figures

These are particularly useful if there are a large number of tables or figures, or if the
reader may want to locate one quickly, perhaps due to importance.
INTRODUCTION
What is the problem and why is it important? This section sets the scene for the
reader and will contain some of the following:
• Background: Enough general background for the reader to follow the rest of the
report.
• Outline: Explain the general topic you are looking at and then narrow it down to
provide a brief outline of what you have done.
• Review of literature: What has been done before that is relevant to this work –
other people’s work, maybe even your own previous work. Literature reviews
are usually essential in major reports.
• Aims, purpose of study: What does this work aim to do? This can be expressed
in the form of statements or questions, each one being picked up in later
discussion and conclusions, after the work has been described.

Method
Usually found in scientific reports, to explain what you did (methods) and why you
chose the methods (methodology). You many need to describe how you carried out
your experiment/investigation and what materials you used (provide enough detail
so that anyone wanting to repeat what you did has the necessary information). You
may need to explain what statistical techniques you used.

FINDINGS / RESULTS
What did you find out? – explain your actual findings or results. State and
summarise relevant results, but at this stage do not give away any subsequent
analysis or deductions. Divide your results into logical units (it can be useful to use
your report aims to do this).

DISCUSSION
Discuss the importance of your findings in relation to your initial aims and objectives.
Discuss how the results relate to the topic studied, new things discovered, why
things did not work – acknowledge any shortcomings in your research and
recommend future improvements.

CONCLUSION
Restate the main report aims and objectives, and summarise your findings and
conclusions. Be brief and accurate.

REFERENCES
This is a list of the works cited in your report. There are standard ways of listing and
citing references. Check with your lecturers the correct system for your field.
Bibliography
Sometimes you may need to list other works relevant to the subject which have not
been cited, but which you have used for background reading for your work.

Glossary
Rather like a dictionary of unfamiliar terms, technical words, symbols or notation. It
can be placed here, or after the table of contents, or in an appendix.

Appendices
Material that is too detailed for the main report (e.g., questionnaires used, large
tables, raw data, supplementary diagrams and computer program listings) should be
placed at the very end of the report in appendices (plural of ‘appendix’). Label your
appendices Appendix 1, 2, 3, or Appendix A, B, C, etc, and make sure you refer to
each appendix at least once in your main text. Note however that it should be
possible to read the report without having to constantly refer to the appendices in
detail.

Some General Points of Report Writing

• Before undertaking a report, make sure you know what length is expected.
This may be expressed as a word limit or pages. If it is pages you will need to
know the font size and line spacing required because these generally affect
how much can fit in a page. Seek advice from the person who has asked for
the report.
• Always plan out your overall structure before you start writing. Do not start
writing and work out how to split it up later.
• A report is different from an essay. The main difference in its purpose is that
a report is the outcome of an experiment, activity, or practical investigation
you have carried out. A report’s appearance is different from an essay’s too,
since in a report you use headings to separate the main sections.
Nevertheless, as in an essay, you must write in good English, indicate at the
end of each paragraph what is coming next and reference properly.
• Once you have your report’s overall structure, usually expressed as chapter
headings, you do not have to write it in order. Many people write the
summary/abstract, sometimes even the introduction, last.
• Some of the features, such as title, introduction, conclusion, and
references/bibliography are essential. All reports must also have a main body
(methodology, results, analysis), whatever it is called. Other features may be
essential in particular types of report.
 • The bulk of your report will be contained in the main body. The introduction
should not be too long. The conclusion should be short. The summary must
be very short. Bear in mind, when given a word limit, most of the words will
be in the main body.
• It is normal practice for headings and main text to be in different font styles.
Some word processors, such as Microsoft Word, have standard report style
sheets. If you learn how to use these you may well find it easier to keep a
uniform style throughout your report.
• Use italics or indent quotes of more than two sentences of the exact words
from another person’s work. Always acknowledge the source and reference
properly. You may need the author’s permission if it is an extended piece.

References and further reading:

Cottrell, S. (2003). The study skills handbook, 2nd edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillian.

Payne, E. and Whittaker, L. (2000). Developing essential study skills. London: Prentice Hall.