Writing a Report

Report writing is an essential skill for many jobs and educational courses. This page shows you correct report writing formats, and gives you tips to help you write a report.

Report Writing – An Introduction

You might have to write a report at university (an academic report) or as part of your job (a business or technical report).

There are also different reasons for report writing: to present information (such as a lab report or financial report); to present research findings; or to analyse a problem and then recommend a particular action or strategy.

A report can be long or short, formal or informal. The style and vocabulary choice will depend on who is going to read your report, and their level of understanding or expertise.

Reports should be clear and concise, with the information presented logically in sections, with headings and (if necessary) sub-headings.

Report Writing Formats

Reports don’t always follow the same formats or include all the possible, different sections. If you’re unsure about the correct report writing format to use, check with your tutor (at university) or find out the preferred layout that your company uses.

Report Writing Tips

These report writing tips will save you time and make sure that what you write is relevant. There are five writing tips followed by five language tips.

1. Write your executive summary and table of contents at the end

This means that the section headings and page numbers will be consistent. The executive summary is much easier to write if you have already written the rest.

2. Focus on the objective

Make sure you understand the purpose of your report and who you’re writing it for. If you’re writing a report as part of your university course, read the brief carefully and refer back to it so that everything you write and include is relevant.

If you’re writing a business report, write an objective statement first. This helps you decide what’s going to be relevant and important for the reader. You can use the objective as the title of the report, or put it in the introduction. For example:

To identify new market segments and analyse the competition

To evaluate current HR policies and present new recruitment methods

3. Plan before you start writing

Gather all your research and relevant information. You might need to interview people, do some background reading or carry out experiments.

Decide on a structure for your report. How are you going to organise the information you have into sections? How can you divide these sections into headings and sub-headings?

Plan your structure by writing all your points on a piece of paper, then grouping these ideas into sections and headings. Alternatively, try a “mind map”. Write a subject word in a box, and then write ideas around this subject word, drawing lines to connect them to the subject word. Doing this can help you see where information is related and where it can be grouped.

Make sure you keep a note of all your references so you can write the references section afterwards. As you plan out the structure of your report, think about how it’s linked to the objective of your report. What conclusions or recommendations can you make? Is there anything unusual that you might need to explain?

4. Use a clear layout

Make your report look more readable and inviting. Here are some ways to help you do this:

Use headings and sub-headings to break up the text. Remember to number these consistently. Here are two alternatives:

Section 1

Sub-section 1(a), 1(b)

Sub-sub-section 1 (a) (i), 1 (a) (ii); 1 (b) (i), 1 (b), (ii)

Or:

Section 1

Sub-section 1.1, 1.2

Sub-sub-section 1.1.1, 1.1.2; 1.2.1, 1.2.2