Writing reports

Main Elements of the Standard Report Writing Format

An organized report is essential in any given field — be it business or education. In order to create a report that is easy to understand, the document must be structured properly. Though a report writing format may differ depending on the purpose or the policy given by an entity, there are a few components of an average report format that you can follow.

1. Title Section

The format of the title section of your report would depend on the length of the said document. Short reports may include just the author, date prepared, and other information deemed necessary. Long reports, on the other hand, may require designated pages for its table of contents and definition of terms as well.

2. Summary

A summary is an essential part of any lengthy document. It should provide an overview of the report’s content for readers to refer to. Since some people choose to skim through the summary rather than read the whole report, this section must consist of the key points, conclusion, and recommendations. Relevant information must be presented accordingly for the audience to comprehend. It would be best to write this portion by the very end of the writing process to ensure that every major detail is included in the report.

3. Introduction

The introduction of your report should explain the problem at hand along with the purpose of preparing the report. You may also insert the definition of terms in this part if you have failed to include it in the title section. An explanation about how the details of the report are arranged must also be presented to provide a general overview for readers.

4. Body

The body of your report typically consists of the most number of pages. It may also be broken down into subparts with subtitles that support and expound the major points stated in the report. These subparts may vary depending on the type of report you are creating as well. Information is typically arranged according to its level of importance, with the most significant data coming first.

5. Conclusion

This part connects everything together. Similar to the summary, most people read this section to study the data and results gathered in the report. For this reason alone, crafting a conclusion that is free of jargon is important. Instead of repeating everything you have mentioned in your report, you must present your final thoughts or statement on the subject at hand.

6. Recommendations

Any suggestions or additional actions that need to be taken are discussed in this part of the report. Any limitations or concerns that you have failed to tackle in your report must be stated for future reference as well. In most cases, recommendations are presented in order of priority.

7. Appendices

Technical details of your report are usually found in this section. Experts in the given field usually consider this section critical for further studies. This may either be in a statistical, explanatory or bibliographical nature.

Share this