Writing Reports

Writing

Reports

OBJECTIVES

CONTENTS

By the end of this section you should be able to :

• Understand the purposes of a report

• Plan a report

• Understand the structure of a report

• Collect information for your report

• Organise your information

• Use an appropriate style of writing

• Present data effectively

• Understand how to lay out your

information in an appropriate way

• Writing reports

• Different types of reports

• Stages in report writing

• Terms of reference

• Planning your report

• Collecting information

• Organising information

• Structuring your report

• Style of writing

• Layout

• Presentation

• Redrafting and checking

• Checklist

 2riting reports

A report is a statement of the results of an investigation or

of any matter on which definite information is required.

 

Reports are a highly structured form of writing often

following conventions that have been laid down to

produce a common format. Structure and convention

in written reports stress the process by which the

information was gathered as much as the information

itself.

During your time at university you may be asked to

write different types of reports, depending upon the

subject area which you have chosen. These could

include laboratory reports, technical reports, reports

of a work placement or industrial visit, reports of a

field trip or field work.

Reports vary in their purpose, but all of them will

require a formal structure and careful planning,

presenting the material in a logical manner using

clear and concise language.

The following section explores each stage in the

development of your report, making recommendations

for structure and technique.

The following stages are involved in writing a report:

• clarifying your terms of reference

• planning your work

• collecting your information

• organising and structuring your

information

• writing the first draft

• checking and re-drafting.

Different ty

Writing Reports 3

The terms of reference of a report are a guiding statement

used to define the scope of your investigation.

You must be clear from the start what you are being

asked to do. You will probably have been given an

assignment from your tutor but you may need to

discuss this further to find out the precise subject and

purpose of the report. Why have you been asked to

write it ?

Knowing your purpose will help you to communicate

your information more clearly and will help you

to be more selective when collecting your information.

Careful planning will help you to write a clear,

concise and effective report, giving adequate time to

each of the developmental stages prior to submission.

• Consider the report as a whole

• Break down the task of writing the report

into various parts.

• How much time do you have to write the

report?

• How can this be divided up into the

various planning stages?

• Set yourself deadlines for the various

stages.

Draw up an outline structure for your report and

set the work within a sensible time scale for completion

by the given deadline.

Some of the most time-consuming parts of the

process are collecting and selecting your information,

and checking and revising your report.

Terms of

Writing Reports 4

There are a number of questions you need to ask

yourself at this stage :-

• What is the information you need ?

• Where do you find it ?

• How much do you need ?

• How shall you collect it ?

• In what order will you arrange it ?

You may have much of the information you need

already such as results from a laboratory experiment

or descriptions of your methods of data collection.

However, there may be other material which is

needed such as background information on other

research studies, or literature surveys. You may need

to carry out some interviews or make a visit to the

university library to collect all the information you

need.

• Make a list of what information you need.

• Make an action plan stating how you are

going to gather this.

The Information Technology Skills Guide contains

much useful advice on the use of electronic information

sources. This guide is available from the University's

Flexible Learning Initiative.

One helpful way of organising your information into

topics is to brainstorm your ideas into a ‘spider

diagram.’

• Write the main theme in the centre of a

piece of paper.

• Write down all the ideas and keywords

related to your topic starting from the

centre and branching out along lines of

connecting ideas.

rts 5

• Each idea can be circled or linked by lines

as appropriate.

• When you have finished, highlight any

related ideas and then sort topics.

• Some ideas will form main headings, and

others will be sub-sections under these

headings.

• You should then be able to see a pattern

emerging and be able to arrange your

main headings in a logical order (see

diagram below).

Further advice concerning the organising of material

can be found in another section of this Study Guide,

Taking notes.

We discussed earlier that there are different types of

report such as laboratory reports or reports on an

industrial placement. Always check with the person

commissioning the report (your tutor, your placement

supervisor) to find out precisely what your

report should include and how it should be presented.

The following common elements can be

found in many different reports:

Strucreport

REPORT WRITING

Writing Reports 6

• Title page

• Acknowledgements

• Contents

• Abstract or summary

• Introduction

• Methodology

• Results or findings

• Discussion

• Conclusion and recommendations

• References

• Appendices

We shall now look at each of these in turn.

Title page

This should include the title of the report (which

should give a precise indication of the subject matter),

the author’s name, module, course and the date.

Acknowledgements

You should acknowledge any help you have received

in collecting the information for the report. This may

be from librarians, technicians or computer centre

staff, for example.

Contents

You should list all the main sections of the report in

sequence with the page numbers they begin on. If

there are charts, diagrams or tables included in your

report, these should be listed separately under a title

such as ‘List of Illustrations’ together with the page

numbers on which they appear.

Abstract or summary

This should be a short paragraph summarising the

main contents of the report. It should include a short

statement of the main task, the methods used, conclusions

reached and any recommendations to be

made. The abstract or summary should be concise,

informative and independent of the report.

Write this section after you have written the report.

Writing Reports 7

Introduction

This should give the context and scope of the report

and should include your terms of reference. State

your objectives clearly, define the limits of the report,

outline the method of enquiry, give a brief general

background to the subject of the report and indicate

the proposed development.

Methodology

In this section you should state how you carried out

your enquiry. What form did your enquiry take ? Did

you carry out interviews or questionnaires, how did

you collect your data ? What measurements did you

make ? How did you choose the subjects for your

interviews ? Present this information logically and

concisely.

Results or findings

Present your findings in as simple a way as possible.

The more complicated the information looks, the

more difficult it will be to interpret. There are a

number of ways in which results can be presented.

Here are a few :

• Tables

• Graphs

• Pie charts

• Bar charts

• Diagrams

Illustration checklist

• Are all your diagrams / illustrations

clearly labelled?

• Do they all have titles?

• Is the link between the text and the

diagram clear?

• Are the headings precise?

• Are the axes of graphs clearly labelled?

• Can tables be easily interpreted?

• Have you abided by any copyright laws

when including illustrations/tables from

published documents?

Writing Reports 8

Discussion

This is the section where you can analyse and interpret

your results drawing from the information

which you have collected, explaining its significance.

Identify important issues and suggest explanations

for your findings. Outline any problems encountered

and try and present a balanced view.

Conclusions and recommendations

This is the section of the report which draws together

the main issues. It should be expressed clearly and

should not present any new information. You may

wish to list your recommendations in separate

section or include them with the conclusions.

References

It is important that you give precise details of all the

work by other authors which has been referred to

within the report. Details should include :

• author’s name and initials

• date of publication

• title of the book, paper or journal

• publisher

• place of publication

• page numbers

• details of the journal volume in which the

article has appeared.

References should be listed in alphabetical order of

the authors' names.

Make sure that your references are accurate and

comprehensive.

Appendices

An appendix contains additional information related

to the report but which is not essential to the main

findings. This can be consulted if the reader wishes

but the report should not depend on this. You could

include details of interview questions, statistical

data, a glossary of terms, or other information which

may be useful for the reader.

Writing Reports 9

Style of writing

There are several points that you will need to consider

when you are writing your report:

Active or passive?

Your tutor will be able to advise whether the report

should be written in the ‘active’ or ‘passive’ voice.

The active voice reads as follows:

‘I recommend ...’

The passive voice reads:

‘It is recommended that ...’

The active voice allows you to write short, punchy

sentences.

The passive appears more formal and considered.

Be aware of these differences and avoid mixing the

two voices.

Simplicity

Most written reports should avoid using overly

complicated language. If a report is to persuade, brief

or justify, it's message must be clear. Furthermore,

the factual presentation of data should not be

swamped with sophisticated, lengthy sentences.

Avoid using unnecessary jargon. This confuses even

the most informed reader.

Ensure that your abbreviations are standardised. All

too often authors invent their own jargon to ease the

pressure on writing things in full. Be cautious of

confusing your reader.

Use of language

Most reports should avoid the use of subjective

language. For example, to report on a change in

colouration from a "stunning green to a beautiful

blue" is to project your own values onto a measurable

outcome. What does the term "beautiful" mean

to you? What will it mean to your reader? Such

subjective, or personal language commonly has no

place in the more objective field of report writing.

Writing Reports 10

Layout

Most reports have a progressive numbering system.

The most common system is the decimal notation

system.

The main sections are given single arabic numbers -

1, 2, 3 and so on.

Sub-sections are given a decimal number - 1.1, 1.2,

1.3 and so on.

Sub-sections can be further divided into - 1.11, 1.12,

1.13 and so on.

An example structure would look as follows;

1. Introduction

1.1 ———————-

1.11 ———————-

1.2 ———————-

1.21 ———————-

2. Methodology

2.1 ———————-

2.11 ———————-

2.12 ———————-

The following suggestions will help you to produce

an easily read report:

• Leave wide margins for binding and

feedback comments from your tutor.

• Paragraphs should be short and concise.

• Headings should be clear - highlighted in

bold or underlined.

• All diagrams and illustrations should be

labelled and numbered.

• All standard units, measurements and

technical terminology should be listed in

a glossary of terms at the back of your

report.

Presentation

Writing Reports 11

Once you have written the first draft of your report

you will need to check it through. It is probably

sensible to leave it on your desk for a day or so if you

have the time. This will make a clear break from the

intensive writing period, allowing you to view your

work more objectively.

Assess your work in the following areas:

• Structure

• Content

• Style

Look at the clarity and precision of your work.

Use the report writing checklist at the end of this

section to check your report.

You may like to carry out a more formal evaluation.

Use the section Assessing yourself to help you draft

assessment criteria and evaluate your work.

The skills involved in writing a report will help you

to condense and focus information, drawing objective

findings from detailed data.

The ability to express yourself clearly and succinctly

is an important skill and is one that can be greatly

enhanced by approaching each report in a planned

and focused way.

RedWriting Reports 12

• Title page

Does this include the :

Title?

Author’s name?

Module/course details?

• Acknowledgements

Have you acknowledged all sources of help?

• Contents

Have you listed all the main sections in

sequence?

Have you included a list of illustrations?

• Abstract or summary

Does this state:

The main task?

The methods used?

The conclusions reached?

The recommendations made?

• Introduction

Does this include:

Your terms of reference?

The limits of the report?

An outline of the method?

A brief background to the subject matter?

• Methodology

Does this include:

The form your enquiry took?

The way you collected your data?

• Reports and findings

Are your diagrams clear and simple?

Are they clearly labelled?

Do they relate closely to the text?

• Discussion

Have you identified key issues?

Have you suggested explanations for your

findings?

Have you outlined any problems encountered?

Have you presented a balanced view?

Checklist

Writing Reports 13

• Conclusions and recommendations

Have you drawn together all of your main

ideas?

Have you avoided any new information?

Are any recommendations clear and concise?

• References

Have you listed all references alphabetically?

Have you included all the necessary

information?

Are your references accurate?

• Appendices

Have you only included supporting

information?

Does the reader need to read these sections?

• Writing style

Have you used clear and concise language?

Are your sentences short and jargon free/

Are your paragraphs tightly focused?

Have you used the active or the passive voice?

• Layout

Have you clearly labelled each section?

Is your labelling consistent throughout the

report?

• Presentation

Have you left sufficient margin space for

binding/feedback?

Are your headings clear?

Have you checked your spelling?

Overall:

• What are the main points for consideration?

• What have you done well?

• What needs fine tuning?

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