Report Writing

Structures and content

Cover sheet

Your report will need a cover sheet. Check your assessment criteria to check if a specific cover is provided and what information is required. You may have scope to have a creative design or border.

Title

The title should capture the reader's interest and the verbs should convey the report’s purpose. Try not to be too vague or general. Compare the following two example headings:

Headings

In a report, it is helpful to create headings and sections to clearly lead your reader through your evidence and advice. See the Design and Formatting section for practical help with formatting headings consistently.

Introduction

Explain your report title and use verbs that convey the purpose of your report, for example: ‘analyse’, ‘explore’, ‘investigate’, or ‘examine’. (See Understanding essay questions for more verb examples.) Provide a brief overview of the report's structure and mention the potential outcomes of the report. You could also include how your topic was investigated, and the theoretical approach which was used - perhaps referring to key theories or frameworks which are relevant.

Explore the following example of an introduction to see what it covers:

Main sections

You are in charge of deciding how the report is to be structured. Think of the reader and the sequence of ideas presented: what would best help their understanding? It’s worth noting that the report sections you identify will be linked to your wide reading and research and evidence found. Your sections should flow and be coherent and be strongly aligned to your report’s purpose. In the main section the headings will link to the themes you identify in answer to the question or title.

Reports usually involve an element of applied thinking, so ensure you address key issues where possible in your conclusions. Can you offer solutions, highlight considerations which need further research, or suggest possible actions that could contribute to solving problems? Even when considering considerable problems such as climate change, it is possible to suggest some actions or recommendations. Consider the different levels in a ‘system’ from local players to governments.

If we consider our report title above (‘An investigation into the fast fashion economy – ethical and climate change considerations’) we could identify the type of headings that might sit under the topics ‘ethical and climate change considerations’.

The report above would also contain a section on climate change. Possible headings for sub-sections could be:

Notice how in this example the numbering is different to the above example. Whichever numbering system you use, do keep it consistent throughout the whole report.

So, create sections structured by theme, and ensure that there’s a logical flow towards your conclusions, presenting all the evidence needed before drawing your argument to a close.

Conclusion

The conclusion should summarise for the reader the take home messages your report has produced, and explain the implications or recommendations. What are the key findings? You might address a particular audience such as government, policy makers, business leaders, or perhaps mention themes which might be addressed by different stakeholders; some problems are so complex it would take a concerted effort from a number of bodies to bring about improvements. If you have mentioned multiple recommendations earlier, you can emphasise urgent priorities in the conclusion.

Optional items

Table of Contents

A table of contents is optional, is especially useful in a long report and enables the reader to find subjects of interest. Check out our Design and Formatting section for advice on how Microsoft Word can assist in quickly generating a table of contents through the application of styles.

Appendices

Appendices are additional sections are added after the end of the report to provide additional information. For example, you could include statistics, raw data, interview scripts, product information, or part of a competitor’s annual report. Appendices are useful where the information would interrupt the flow if added to the main report; the reader can make sense of the report without the appendices, but the additional information enriches understanding.

The singular term for one additional section is: ‘Appendix’; for more than one: ‘Appendices’.

Number them sequentially: Appendix 1, Appendix 2, and so on. You can include as many as are needed. In your report refer to each Appendix as follows:

Please see Appendix 1 for further information on WHO’s climate change statement.

This text above might be in brackets within a paragraph where you mention the relevant topic, or you can simply add a brief citation such as (Appendix 1) within your text.

References

As in all academic writing, include references in the text of your report, and produce your reference list at the end. For help, see the Library's Referencing Guide