Reports

Essays and reports have very different structures. The text of an essay should flow and develop ideas logically, whereas reports are broken into separate sections. Reports use headings and numbers (decimal notation) to identify sections. Reports have a table of contents, present research and have recommendations for action.

The structure of a report

Reports can vary in structure so check with your lecturer exactly what is required of you. The following is a general list of report sections:

Title Page
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Main Body
Conclusion
Recommendations
Reference List
Appendices

Title Page

Includes the title of report, your name, place report is published, date and the name of organisation/course/unit the report is written for.

Indicates sections in report with page numbers.
List of main headings and subheadings using decimal notation.

Executive Summary

Provides an overview of the whole report.
For a fairly short report (about 3000-5000 words), the Executive Summary should be about 10% of the total word length. In longer reports, it could be several pages in length. This section is often the first/only part of the report that is read. It must be clear and concise, so the reader does not need to skim the whole report to see if it contains information of interest.
If you are asked to write an Executive Summary, you need to write a report with an Executive Summary section included.
An Executive Summary should outline the following:

objectives of the report
scope of the report (narrow down the topic)
information sources used (mention any limitations)
findings of the research
recommendations
conclusion.

Introduction

Some content will be similar to the Executive Summary:

introduces the reader to the subject matter.
provides purpose and objectives of the report.
states terms of reference (what the research set out to cover).
states information sources used (mention any limitations).
indicates general make-up of the report.
uses decimal notation starting at the Introduction, ie 1.0.

Main Body

Describes method/procedure
Presents findings/data in detail
Analyses, interprets, evaluates results

Conclusion

Conclusions are drawn from the evidence and discussion provided in the body of the report.

Recommendations

Detailed statement of actions recommended by the author to overcome problems mentioned in the body and highlighted in the conclusion.
Some larger reports make recommendations all the way through the report, rather than have a separate recommendations section.
Usually presented in dot point form. For example: It is recommended that:

A staff induction program be developed to familiarise all new staff with company policies and procedures.
A mentoring system be established……..

Reference List

Lists sources referred to in the text of the report.
Uses the referencing style required by your lecturer (see Referencing).

Appendices

Provides supporting data which is too bulky or complicated for the text (eg, statistics, maps, questionnaires etc).

How to approach writing a report

It is most logical to write up the body of the report first, then the conclusions, the recommendations (which are tied closely to the conclusions), then the Introduction and finally the Executive Summary, as an abbreviated version of the whole report.

Covering Letter

Reports are accompanied by a letter of transmittal when finally submitted, a sample of which is below.

Sample only

New Age Consultants
25 Hay St
Perth WA 6000

Mr N Jackson
The Management Company
44 St George's Terrace
Perth WA 6000

5 September 2007

Dear Mr Jackson

RE: MANAGEMENT STYLES IN SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISES

I am pleased to attach the report on the above project commissioned by your company. The results indicate some interesting trends and provide data which we are confident will be very useful to your company. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to discuss any aspect of the report. We are also available to present our findings to your staff, should you so desire.