WORK BASED PROJECT

SESSION 3
Report Writing Guide
This document was first produced as part of
the University of Salford Study Skills Pack


(September, 2006)


Examples of different reports could be
A report on research you have carried out
An appraisal report
A report on internal situations that could be
improve
A report to help make a decision e.g. comparing
two rival products

Terms of reference
These are specific instructions that
you may be given to carry out your
report. They may act as limits to your
work. E.g. timescale, audience, scope.
It is vital that you follow closely and
observe your set limits
Failure to do so can severely reduce
the effectiveness of the report


Who is the report for?
You must remember that the first duty of your
report is to the reader.

You must think about and answer in the writing
of the report
Who is the reader?
What do they want?
What do they already know?
What language will the reader understand?

Planning your report
The writing of your report is not just a simple process at the end of
your research. It is an essential part of the task and therefore needs
careful planning.
1.Plan the various stages of the whole task (see suggested stages
below)
2.Is the work you are producing relevant are you wasting time?
Are there elements in the report you have not had time to fully
complete? This is a sign of bad planning.


Make sure you are answering
the questions you are set; refer to
the terms of reference.
Check your findings as you go
along, looking for mistakes and
irrelevant data.
Have progress meetings with tutors
and colleagues if you are in a group.
This will help you stay on track.
Submit draft copies of the report to
test initial reactions (to tutors and
colleagues)

The Schedule (Suggested Stages)
Divide the report process into states and allot time
for those stages
Try to stick to the timetable you have set for
yourself. If you fall behind re-allocate your time.
Trying to make up time and producing a hurried
report is a recipe for disaster
Setting deadlines for yourself is a good way of
staying on track. Leave yourself enough time after
each deadline for contingencies and final revisions
or changes
By using a methodical approach it is possible to
avoid a rush job and therefore making mistake and
producing a poor piece of work

The Skeleton Report (Stage One)
One of the first things to do is to draw up your
chapter headings and the subjects to be covered
in the skeleton report
Check to see if your skeleton relates to your
terms of references and that you are not
including interesting but irrelevant material.
If you feel there is a problem with the terms of
reference see if they can be amended (ask your
tutor)

Assembling Raw Material
As you proceed with your plan be aware that you
will be constantly collating material for your
report and thus you need to work out how the
material can be incorporated into the skeleton
structure. Your notes will need to contain ideas
about this as you are collecting data.
All notes, calculations, graphs, interviews etc are
potentially material that can be included in your
report
Try to keep your notes neat, up-to-date and in
sections, It is hard to write a report with scruffy or
poorly organised notes.


Drafting
It is normal to write one or two drafts of a report
before the final version
If you are having problems try this two step
process
1.Write down all the essential material and leave
out all the useless information without worrying
about presentation
2.Rewrite the material paying attention to
structure, grammar, syntax, clarity and layout.

Timing
Leave enough time at the end of your plan
for ensuring for ensuring good
presentation
Remember to allow time for checking,
correcting layout problems and producing
complex information like charts and
diagrams
The Format
Reports are structured documents that contain discrete
sections and subheadings in each section the structure is
based on the following format.
A title page
The title of the report
Your name as the author
Who the report is for
The date


A contents page
Detail the different sections of the report
Detail the subsections of the report
Dont forget the page numbers
An executive summary
This should state the main points raised in the report
and the main findings and recommendations.
Some reports may have an ABSTRACT as an alternative
to an executive summary

An introduction containing (in brief)
Terms of reference
Aims and objectives of the report
Procedures adopted
How the information was obtained
Why the information was obtained
Topics covered in the report
This should be a BROAD overview

The main CONTENT of the report
1.Break this down into separate sections and subsections
2.Each section / subsection should have a title and be
numbered
3.The main content of the report needs to be written in an
objective manner and should analyse strengths and
weaknesses of a situation before arriving at a judgement.
4.The report will be much enhanced if visuals are included.
These can be pictures, photos, illustrations, charts, graphs,
maps etc. These should have a caption that shows which
figure they are. In reports this is abbreviated as fig.


Conclusion
This will indicate what the report has found
It should also show how the findings relate to
the original objectives

Recommendations
Not all reports contain this section.
All recommendations should be short, clear
and concise

Appendices
These include information that is too long to b in the main report
such as
A copy of questionnaires used
Transcripts of interviews
Each appendix should be numbered and referred to in the main
CONTENT of the report


Referencing
The source of all data included in the report
should be written after the data (that
includes material that you have collected)
The originator / author
Date of publication (or collection)
Title of publication (if relevant)
Page numbers (if relevant)

All written texts used or referred to in the writing of the
report MUST be referenced in the main report and in a
bibliography whether they are from
Online sources
Articles
Books
Newspapers
This must include
Author
Date of publication
Title of publication
Page number

Bibliography
This is an essential element and failure to include this in
the correct format will result in loss of marks. A missing
bibliography could lead to an investigation for academic
malpractice and lead to a mark of zero.

Organising your Material
Write down your purpose in one sentence to test your own
understanding of the task and material
Choose a title that makes your purpose clear (Unless already
given one)
Divide your main text, with its numbered headings, into
further subheadings, so that you can identify which material
belongs with which heading.
Write each subject heading onto a separate piece of paper
and list the selected items in brief note form under the
headings to check suitability.
Decide how best to order your subheadings in order to assist
the development of your main text


Arrange your headings and sub headings in an order that
readers will be able to follow easily and logically.
Note down under each of your headings and sub headings
which visuals will go in the section.

Place any large tables, calculations or other substantial
supporting material in the appendix and refer to them in the
main text if they will distract from the flow of the report.

Double check your conclusions and recommendations to
make sure they are logical in the light of the main body of
your report.

Six Rules of Report Writing
Put the objective in writing
Who wants the report?
Why so they want it?
What are they going to do with it?
What exactly will they want the report to cover?
What will the report not cover?
What should happen as a result of the report?
Organise your points into related groups
Where will you get your information form?
Gather all the raw materials (background information,
data, analysis, supporting information)
Work through all the material
Sort into the individual section headings
Discard material which repeats something already
included or that does not fit the brief.
Structure the argument
Outline the position
Describe the problem
Examine the possibilities
Put forward a proposal (s)
Use plain English
Use language the reader will understand
Do not use jargon
A glossary at the end of the report may be useful for non-
specialist readers
Use short sentences and paragraphs
Make it look readable
Double line spacing
Generous margins
Headings and sub headings
Indentations
Different fonts
Bold, italicised or underlinings