School of Marketing & Management

Guide to report writing

Last update: January 2008

This guide will help you to maximise the marks you receive for report-based assessments.

1. What is the purpose of a report?

A report is a document written to communicate information, and sometimes also to
make recommendations. The information in a report is usually designed to be the
basis of some kind of decision making rather than simply an exploration of ideas.

2. Is a report like an essay?

A common problem in report-based assessments is that students transfer what they
have learned about essay writing directly to report writing. Both essays and reports
need: formal style; careful proof-reading; neat presentation; an introduction, body and
conclusion; and analytical thinking. However, there are some key differences between
the two. Some differences are summarised in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Reports and essays — what’s the difference?

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.

Links ideas into cohesive paragraphs, rather than

Uses short, concise paragraphs and dot-points where applicable
breaking them down into a list of dot-points

Uses graphics wherever possible (tables, graphs, illustrations) Rarely uses graphics

Will only need an abstract if it is very long, or if your

May need an abstract (sometimes called an executive summary)
lecturer asks for one specifically

May be followed by recommendations and/or appendices Seldom has recommendations or appendices

(Adapted from: University of Canberra, 2007)

2.1 Reports differ from essays in how they are organised

In an essay you are required to develop a logical argument in response to a particular

question. The reader is interested to see how well you can construct a convincing
argument based on sound reasoning and appropriate use of evidence. Usually there are
no sub-headings to indicate the structure of an essay. The connection between stages
of your argument must be marked very clearly by transition sentences that summarise
what came before in order to introduce the next stage of the argument. A reader

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cannot read some parts of your essay to learn what they want to know. A reader must
read your entire essay to understand how well you can argue.

In a report you can indicate the structure clearly by using sub-headings for each
section. Each section has a distinct purpose. Sometimes the reader may want to
read one section of your report only so each section must contain the type of
information the reader expects to find in that section.

2.2 Reports differ from essays in reader/writer relationship

When you are writing an essay, your reader is your Subject Coordinator or marker
and you want to display the extent to which you are learning to write about issues
in an academic way.

In contrast, often you are writing your report not only for your lecturer to read, but
also for an imagined client in the business world. You should use language that is
as clear and direct as possible as you need to imagine you are writing for very
busy people. Your language also needs to be on the one hand respectful, because
your reader is your 'client' or 'employer', but, on the other hand, it needs to be
authoritative, because you are the one with expert knowledge.

3. Is there a basic approach to the content of a report?

There are many conventions you should follow in regard to how your report
should look and what it needs to contain.

3.1 Structure of the report

Reports have a very clear structure that is signalled by headings and subheadings.
The purpose and appropriate contents for each section is shown in Table 2. Not all
the sections are required in every report you write (the notes in the table provide
guidance). Some assessments specifically require you to use a particular report
structure – use that structure even if it differs from the one given here.

Table 2: Structure of a report

Section Contents Notes

TITLE PAGE ƒ The title of the report A title page is almost always required but the
ƒ Student's name and ID details of what you write might vary.
ƒ Date
EXECUTIVE This is a short summary of the key points of the whole This may not be necessary with short reports.
SUMMARY report (for busy executives to read!). It summarises the Check the assignment requirements. This is
report's purpose, findings, conclusions and easier to write after your report is complete.
recommendations. For your assignments, the executive
summary should not be more than a page.
TABLE OF This lists the sections of the report with page numbers. Again, this may not be necessary with very
CONTENTS short reports. Most word processing software
has the ability to create tables of contents for
you.
INTRODUCTION The introduction usually includes: This provides an overview of the report and is
ƒ Brief background information important to set the scene for the reader. It is
not the same as the executive summary. It is
ƒ Purpose of the report very important to make the purpose of the
ƒ Scope of topic report very clear in the introduction.
ƒ Outline of what will be covered in the report

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BODY This is the main part of your report. The heading you This section is likely to be worth more marks
give it, and the sections within it will vary according to than the rest of the report. The assignment
the type of report. question will often indicate what headings to
use. Use a subheading and/or numbers for
each subsection.
CONCLUSION The conclusion provides a summary and evaluation of You will always need to write a conclusion. It
the report's findings with the key recommendations. It ties the report together, almost like the ‘flip-
may also identify the limitations of the report. side’ of the introduction.
RECOMMEND- The recommendations are a summary in point or You will not always be required to list
ATIONS numbered form of solutions or courses of action that recommendations in a separate section.
follow logically from your interpretation of your findings. Recommendations are usually 'should'
statements. They are specific, indicating who
should do what, where, when, how, and
(sometimes) at what cost.
REFERENCES A single list of all the books, articles, web sites, Some reports in the workplace do not have
interviews etc you have referred to in your report. this section, but most reports you write at
university will require you to refer to the
literature in your field.
APPENDIX This is where you put charts, tables and other If the tables and charts are very important you
information that is too detailed to put in the body of your may need to include them in the body of the
report. report.

3.2 Format for the report

Each section of your report should have a clear heading and each subsection a
clear subheading. This allows the reader to access quickly the information
important to him or her. Your headings and subheadings should make it clear to
the reader how each part of the report is related to other parts.
The "styles" tool on your word processor can help you choose the appropriate font
and size for each level of heading. It is confusing for readers if headings and
subheadings look the same.
It is also important to make good use of space. Leave enough space between each
section to indicate that one section is finished and another will begin – usually
each major section is started on a new page.

3.3 Headings and subheadings

The headings and subheadings you choose are very important. They will appear in
the Table of Contents as well as in the body of the report. They are the reader's
first impression of what you have written. The headings and subheadings should
be clear and consistent in style.
The topic and requirements of the assignment should suggest the main sections of your
report, but you may still have to decide on some of the headings. You are also likely
have many subsections for which you have to choose the wording yourself. The
following are some pointers for the wording of headings and subheadings.
• Use nouns or noun phrases for your headings, for examples: Managerial
styles; A model of problem solving; Teamwork.
• Make sure your subheadings are as parallel as possible, e.g. "Decrease in
costs" would be parallel with "Increase in employee output" but not with
"Increasing employee input".
• Do not use questions as headings. Questions are used for informal
documents in which the writer addresses the reader directly (like this
guide!). You are expected to be more formal in the reports you write for
your university course.

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3.4 'Academic English' in a report

Students are sometimes confused because in English for academic purposes

(EAP) courses they learn that the passive voice and abstract expressions are
frequently used in academic writing, but when they read advice in books on
professional writing they are told to try to avoid such language.

Reports written at university do require academic writing and what you have
learned about sentence construction in EAP courses is relevant for your writing of
reports in an academic context. Sometimes in the workplace it may be possible to
write reports using "we" and "I" and "you" because the person or people who will
read the report are well known to the writer. This is not the case with the reports
you write at university so you should maintain a less familiar tone. In order to do
this you will probably sometimes have to use the passive voice. This is fine. The
passive voice is used quite often in English because it makes it easy for us to put
the events, ideas and objects that interest us at the beginning of sentences rather
than the people who are responsible for these.

3.5 Reports for academic subjects vs professional work

Often the reports you are asked to write in your subjects are for an imagined client
and an imagined professional situation so in many respects the reports you write
are very similar to professional reports. However they are usually not just
professional reports pure and simple. You are writing these reports in an academic
context and so you must show evidence in your report that you have a very good
understanding of the relevant theory that relates to the issues presented in your
report. You need to show that you can apply the theory in your analysis and
discussion of the issues.

4. What makes a good report?

Some of the characteristics of a good report include:

• the executive summary summarises all sections of the report;

• the purpose of the report is very clear in the introduction;
• does not assume in the introduction a prior reading of the executive
summary,
• presents information clearly and concisely;
• offers a seemingly unbiased and professional appraisal of the topic;
• has headings and subheadings that are clear and parallel in format;
• uses a format that is appropriate to the report type;
• any recommended actions are justified in relation to the findings of the
report; and
• language is appropriate to the assumed relationship between the writer and the
reader.

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5. Where can I go for more information?

The following resources may be helpful in providing you with further guidelines
about writing reports.

Dwyer, J. (2000). The business communication handbook. (5th ed.) French's

Forest, NSW: Pearson.

Massey University OWLL. (2007, July 30). Business reports. Retrieved January
24, 2008, from: http://owll.massey.ac.nz/aw_business_reports_1.html

Nutting, J., Cielens, M. & Strachan, J. (1996) Business reports: The business of
communicating. (3rd ed.) Sydney, NSW: McGraw-Hill.

Roberts, A. (n.d.). Advice about writing a Report. Middlesex University.

Retrieved January 24, 2008, from:
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/reports.htm

Summers, J. & Smith B. (2004). Communication Skills Handbook. Milton, QLD:

John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd.

The Learning Centre, University of NSW, Sydney - Report writing FAQ.

Retrieved January 24, 2008, from:
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/report.html

The University of Surrey. (n.d.). Communications – Report Writing. Retrieved

January 24, 2008, from: http://www.surrey.ac.uk/Skills/pack/report.html

University of Canberra. (2007, December 3). Academic Skills Program: Report

Writing. Retrieved January 24, 2008, from:
http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/reports

Windschuttle, K. & Elliot, E. (1999). Writing, researching, communicating. (3rd

ed.) Sydney, NSW: McGraw-Hill.

Woodward-Kron, R. (1997). Writing in commerce. (rev. ed.) Newcastle, UK:

CALT, The University of Newcastle.