Report Writing

What is Report Writing?

To inform about some thing

happening/happened
What do they consist of?
Facts
Arguments
Specific subject

Why reports?
allow information to be presented in an

ordered way

Report & Essay

A Report

An Essay

Presents information

Presents an argument

Is meant to be scanned quickly by the

reader

Is meant to be read carefully

Uses numbered headings and sub-headings Uses minimal sub-headings, if any.

May not need references and
bibliography/reference list

Always needs references and

bibliography/reference list

Uses short, concise paragraphs and dotpoints where applicable

Links ideas into cohesive paragraphs,

rather than breaking them down into a list
of dot-points

Uses graphics wherever possible (tables,

graphs, illustrations)

Rarely uses graphics

May need an abstract (sometimes called an Will only need an abstract if it is very long,
executive summary)
or if your lecturer asks for one specifically
May be followed by recommendations
and/or appendices

Seldom has recommendations or

appendices

Purposes of a
report
Project Report: To present a record of

accomplished work
Primary Research Report/ Laboratory Report: To
record an experiment
Product Report: To record research findings or
technical specs of a product
Long Term Plan Report: To document
schedules, time tables and mile stones
Annual Report
Recommendatory Report
Committee Report Etc..

Audience /
Recipients
Experts/ executives/ non-

specialists
While addressing non-specialists:
Add information readers need to be able to

understand your document.

Omit information your readers do not need.
Add examples to help readers understand.
Change the level of your examples
Use more or different graphics
Add cross references to important information

Report Structure
Letter of transmittal
Title page*
Table of contents
List of abbreviations and/or glossary
Executive summary/abstract*
Introduction*
Body/Analysis*
Evaluation
Conclusion*
Recommendations*
Bibliography
Appendices

Letter of transmittal
letter to the person who commissioned the
report
a salutation
the purpose of the letter
the main finding of the report
any important considerations
an acknowledgement of any significant
help
an expression of pleasure or gratitude

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

Title
This is how you attract attention to your

writing.
Title must convey the purpose of the
project
The title should reflect what you have done
and should bring out any eye-catching
factor of your work, for good impact.
In just few words (10 or less)
Not in a complete sentence

Table of Contents
Usually for reports longer than 10 pages:
list of
the headings
tables
appendices of the report

Acknowledgements
short paragraph
thanking any person or organisation which

gave you help

in collecting data or preparing the report.

Abstract(Summary or Executive Summary)

Must have:
Briefly state the problem
Summarise the important conclusions &

recommendations
May also include:
What brought about the project
Client
Assumptions & restrictions
Actions recommended

Introduction
This section should answer the following questions (not
necessarily in that order, but what is given below is a
logical order).
1. What is the setting of the problem?
This is, in other words, the background. In some
cases, this
may be implicit, and in some cases,
merged with the motivation below.
2. What exactly is the problem you are trying to solve?
This is the problem statement.
3. Why is the problem important to solve?
This is the motivation. In some cases, it may be
implicit in the background, or the problem
statement itself.
4. Is the problem still unsolved?
The constitutes the statement of past/related work
crisply.

Introduction
6. How have you solved the problem?

Here you state the essence of your approach. This is of course

expanded upon later, but it must be stated explicitly here.
7. What are the conditions under which your solution is applicable?
This is a statement of assumptions.
8. What are the main results?
You have to present the main summary of the results here.
9. What is the summary of your contributions?
This in some cases may be implicit in the rest of the
introduction. Sometimes it helps to state contributions explicitly.
10. How is the rest of the report organized?
Here you include a paragraph on the flow of ideas in the rest
of the report. For any report beyond 4-5 pages, this is a must.

Introduction
Give enough background information to provide a context for the

report.
This is like abstract but leaves off the results, method, discussion,

conclusion etc. It is the lead in to your report.

The way you structure your introduction can vary but here are some

ideas of questions you may wish to answer:

1. What is the project about?
2. What is the relevance of the project?
3. Purpose & scope
4. Objectives
5. What do you (and the reader) need to know in order to embark on

this report or understand its significance.

Body/Analysis
Literature review (what other people have written about this topic).
Description of technology used
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.

Details of assumptions and restrictions imposed on you
Discussion (discusses and explains your findings and relates them to

previous research). Use the present tense to make generalisations.

Evaluation
Absolute
Comparison with existing technologies
Quantitative & qualitative analysis

functionality, ease of use etc.

Strengths & weaknesses
How users benefits

Future work: This section in some cases is

combined along with the "conclusions"

section. Here you state aspects of the
problem you have not considered and
possibilities for further extensions.

Conclusion/Recommendations
Sum up the main points of the report.
Should clearly relate to the objectives of your

report.
list the things which have been learnt as a
result of the work
list ways in which the project can be taken
further
Recommendations for putting your
conclusions into practice
No surprises please! (that is, dont include
new information here.)

Recommendations
Suggestions for future action
Logically derived from the body of your

report

To make it more effective

Descriptive headings/sub headings
Structuring of paragraphs topic sentence
Figures, graphs, tables with caption &

description
At sentence level:
Avoid passive voice
Avoid dangling participles. Eg: Lying unconscious
on the street, an ambulance was rushed to the
scene.
Proof reading

Bibliography
Shows your hard work
References
Copy right issues

Appendices
contains material which is too detailed,
technical, or complex to include in the body
of the report:
Background material/data
Raw data
Derivations
Tedious calcuations
a questionnaire
a long complex table of figures

PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT

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 (a neat header and/or footer
makes your work look more professional)
use consistent and appropriate formatting

COMMON PROBLEMS
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.