Structure/ Parts of a Business Report

Generally, Business Reports are divided into three main parts:

 FRONT MATTER
 MAIN BODY
 BACK MATTER

They are discussed in details here:

FRONT MATTER

1. Cover: A cover is usually made of soft neutral coloured card. It protects the
manuscript from damage and gives the report a clear appearance. The cover
normally includes:

 The title of the report

 Its number if any
 The date
 The classification (secret top secret etc. if any)

Page 1 of 5
2. Frontispiece: Frontispiece generally is a kind of window display that ignites the
curiosity of the reader. Frontispiece includes photographs, maps and artistic
drawings in the cover page.

3. Title Page: It is the first right hand page of the report. It includes:

 Subtitle
 Name of the author
 Name of the authority/Person for whom the report is submitted
 Contract, project number
 Approval
 Distribution list

4. Copyright Notice: In a published report Copyright Notice is given on the inside

of the title page. Example:

©BUTEX 2021

Or, 'All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced in any form or by
any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

5. Forwarding Letter: A forwarding letter is a short type of letter that is attached

with the report to explain the purpose or importance of it. Through this letter, the
receivers can understand what they received and why they received it.

Page 2 of 5
6. Preface: A preface introduces the report in writers own words. It contains almost
all introductory information such as why the writer has written this report, what is
the importance of the report, who are the target readers of this report etc.

7. Acknowledgements: Acknowledgements means giving credit to the person

and/or organisations that have helped you to produce the report. In this part, the
helpful person or organisation is thanked or received gratitude by the report writer.

8. Table of contents: If the report is long say, more than 10 pages, a Table of
Contents is attached to the report. Its function is to give the reader an overall view of
the report and help him to find out a particular topic which is placed clearly with
page number.

9. List of Illustrations: A separate list of illustrations is attached after the table of

contents containing tables, figures if the number is too many (a dozen or more).

10. Abstract and Summary: Most of the report contains is an abstract or a summary.

An abstract tells in concentrated form what the report is all about

A summary gives the substance of the report in fact, presents the report in a nutshell
without any illustrations and explanations. It may include the method of analysis,
significant findings, importance, conclusions and recommendations.

MAIN BODY:

11. Introduction: An introduction provides a better starting point to the reader. An

introduction may include the following:

 Historical and technical background

 Scope of study, its limitation and qualifications
 Methods of collecting data and their source
 Authorisation for the report and terms of reference
 Organisation of the materials
 Definition of special terms and symbols (if their number is small)

12. Discussion of Description: This section is the main business of the report where
main data is presented in an organised form, discussed their significance and
analysis with related table and figure.

Page 3 of 5
13. Conclusion: Conclusion is generally used to describe a remarks at the end of a
report. Its function is to bring the discussion or description to a close and signal the
reader gracefully that s/he has reached at the end of the Report.

14. Recommendations: Recommendations are related advice or suggestions drawn

or found from the discussion and conclusion part of the report. The focused
recommendations can be listed serially for better understanding of the reader.

BACK MATTER:

15. Appendix (Plural: Appendices) : Appendices contain material that is too detailed
to include in the main report, such as :
 long mathematical derivations or calculations
 detailed technical drawings
 Tables of raw data
 Questionnaire
 Sample Documents
 Specimen of a researchable product or something like that

16. List of Reference:

A reference list, generally, contains only sources (such as published or unpublished
works like Book. Research Article, Newspaper Report, Youtube, Video, Audio,
Website Link etc. ) you have used /cited in-text in your report

Example of List of Reference/ Bibloigrapy

Chowdhury, Serajul Islam. ‘The Blazing Comet’. Nazrul: An Evaluation. Ed. Mohammad
Nurul Huda. Dhaka: Nazrul Institute, 1997.121-141.Print.

Islam, Rafiqul. ‘Nazrul Islam’. Nazrul: An Evaluation. Ed. Mohammad Nurul Huda. Dhaka:
Nazrul Institute, 1997.109-120.Print.

Mcdaniel,June. ‘Kazi Nazrul Islam and Humanism’. Nazrul Institute Journal 15 (2007).
Volume 07. 12-20. Print.

Kabir, Ayesha. ‘Why Read Nazrul?’. Nazrul Institute Journal 80 (2014). Volume 09. 74-81.
Print.

Huda, Mohammad Nurul . Poetry of Kazi Nazrul Islam in English Translation. Dhaka:
Nazrul Institute, 2000. p. 609.

‘Index of Nazrul's Poetry/Lyrics translated into English’. Web. 10 May. 2015.

<http://www.nazrul.org/nazrul_works/poetry-index.htm >.

Page 4 of 5
17. Bibliography:

A bibliography, generally, is a list of all the sources such as published or unpublished

works like Book. Research Article, Newspaper Report, Youtube, Video and Audio, Website
Link etc. that you used to generate your ideas about the topic including those
cited/used in your assignment as well as those you did not cite/use.

18. Glossary

Glossary is a list of technical or difficult words and their meanings which might be
unfamiliar to a general reader. It is listed alphabetically at the back of a report.
Example:

19. Index: An index is essentially a roadmap to the report, listing names, places,
terms and things in alphabetical order and giving the page numbers associated with
each topic. Example:

Page 5 of 5