Report Writing & its Format

-Dr G Christopher
 What is Report Writing?

 A report is a written presentation of factual

information that one has observed, heard, done,
or investigated.
 It is a systematic and well-organized presentation
of facts and findings of an event that has already
taken place somewhere.
 Sections of a Report
• Title Page
• Contents Page
• Acknowledgments
• Summary / Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Analysis and Interpretation
• Findings
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Bibliography/References
   
Section Purpose

   
  Gives the title of the report, the student name/number, the name
Title Page
of the person the report is being submitted to, and the completion
(Not part of the word count)
date.

   
Table of Contents Shows the sections of the report. Gives the headings,
(Not part of the word count)
subheadings and page numbers.

   
  Gives a summary of the whole report. Outlines the report’s
 
  purpose, methodology, findings, main conclusions and
Abstract or Executive Summary recommendations.
Mainly written in past tense, and prepared last.
 Literature review
In this section you describe previous and current thinking and research
on the topic. In other words, you report by summarizing what others have
written about the topic. In many reports the literature review is
incorporated into the introduction and may have a simpler title, such as
‘Background’.

 Introduction  Outlines the context, background and purpose of the report.

(May be used instead Defines terms and sets limits of the investigation.
of the Terms of The reader/audience can easily identify what the report is about,
Reference and how information was gathered, and why the report is needed.
Procedure) Mainly uses past tense and can be written last – but is presented first.

 
Outlines the methods used to collect information e. g. Interviews,
Procedure /
Questionnaires, Observations and/or Research.
Methodology
It sets out what you did in sequence explains how you did it
indicates what materials, techniques or equipment you used.
The method adopted to collect data.
It provides sufficient information from the collected data
   
 
 
  Findings: What was found during the research or investigation.
 Findings and/or Discussion For Give the facts only – no interpretation by the writer of the report.
this section, avoid using the Tables, graphs or diagrams can be used.
headings “Findings” or Must be relevant to the issues and problems identified.
“Discussion”. Instead, create Arranged in a logical order with headings and sub-headings.
headings and sub-headings that
identify the main issues or Discussion: You may also be required to analyse, interpret and evaluate
problems. the findings. The discussion draws together different parts of the
findings and may refer to findings of other studies and/or theories.
   
 
Brief statements of the key findings of the report (full explanation is given
 
  in the Findings and/or Discussion).
 
Should relate directly to the objectives set out in the Introduction.
Conclusions
Follow logically from the facts in the Findings and/or Discussion.
Must be complete enough for recommendations to be made from them.

   
 Recommendations
The opinions of the writer of the report about possible changes, or
(note: not all reports
give recommendations) solutions to the problems, including who should take action, what should
be done, when and how it should be done.
   
References
A list of the sources that are used in and referred to in the report.
(Not part of the
word count) Use MLA/APA referencing style.

   
 Appendices Additional relevant information. May include interview questions, surveys,
(Not always glossary etc. (Appendices are not included in the word count).
required)

In Short: The major part of the report will consist of the Introduction, Discussion, Conclusions, and
Recommendations.
 Title Page
The Title;
e.g. 'A Report on ....'
'An Investigation into...'
'An Analysis of ...'
'A Comparison of ... and ...‘
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the
............................course.

Submitted by
Your Name
Your Registration Number.

Institution Logo
Month & Year.
 Acknowledgments
"I would like to thank my supervisor, Mr. , for the valuable
advice and support he has given me in the writing of this report.
I would also like to thank my teachers, Mrs. and Mr. for their
encouragement and guidance.
Thanks also to my typist, Ms. , for her immaculate job and her
suggestions.
My deepest thanks go to my wife/husband, for her/his love,
understanding and support."
 Table of Contents
Section Page Number
1. Introduction..................................................................................1-3
2. Literature Review ...(If Required).............................................. 4-5
3. Methodology................................................................................. 6-8
4. Data Analysis and Interpretation………………………………... 9-12
5. Findings ...................................................................................... 13-14
6.Recommendations......................................................................... 15-16
7. Conclusions................................................................................... 17-18
8. Bibliography/References............................................................ 19-20
9.Appendices..................................................................................... 21
 Summary / Abstract

This study was to

It was requested by
It was requested on (date).
The investigation was done by
The main findings were that _
It was concluded that
The recommend
 1. Introduction

• Background
This report has been written because ....
It was requested by ...
It was requested on (date).
• Objectives
The objectives of this report are to ....
• Scope
This report examines .... . It does not examine
..... because ...... .
 2. Literature Review

The area of investigation has been commented on by Channel

(1994),
Hoey (1993), Halliday (1993) and Lesser (1979), are in agreement
that...
However, they have different opinions on ....
Due to the differences highlighted above, it was decided to
investigate ....
 3. Methodology/ Method/ Procedure
respondents, chosen by the method of were surveyed
from (start date) to (end-date). Of these ___________
were invited for

•interview on (date).
•The statistics were analysed using a test because .........
•The significance of the results was
 4.
Findings
In general, the findings indicated that.

The major finding of the investigation was that...

In addition, ....

Surprisingly, ........ , which was an unexpected

consequence of .....
 5. Recommendations

• In light of these conclusions,I recommend that

should be

• In addition, a could
 6.
Conclusions

• The main conclusion that can be drawn is therefore that...

• In the light of this, it is recommended that... (+ a general
recommendation; e.g. that something needs to be changed.
• The detailed recommendations should go in the
Recommendations section below.
 Bibliography
• Channel, J. (1994). Vague language. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
• Halliday, M.A.K. (1993). Quantitative studies and probabilities
in grammar. In Hoey, M. (Ed.) Data, description, discourse.
London: HarperCollins, 1‐ 25.
• Hoey, M. (1993). Data, description, discourse.
London: HarperCollins, 1‐25.
• Lesser, R. (1979). Linguistic investigations of aphasia.
Studies in language disability and remediation 5.
London: Edward Arnold.
 Appendices
• Appendix 1: Sample Survey Form

https://www.bangor.ac.uk/studyskills/study-guides/writing-reports.php.en
 Before Writing-FOLLOW
• Avoid use of superfluous/unnecessary pictures - include only those figures necessary to presenting results
in all sections of your paper.
• Use normal prose including articles ("a", "the," etc.)
• Stay focused on the research topic of the paper.
• Use paragraphs to separate each important point (except for the abstract)
• Indent the first line of each paragraph
• Present your points in logical order
• Use present tense to report well accepted facts - for example, 'the grass is green'
• Use past tense to describe specific results - for example, 'When weed killer was applied, the grass was
brown'
• Avoid informal wording, don't address the reader directly, and don't use jargon, slang terms, or
superlatives
• Limit the use of abbreviations in academic writing. Explain the abbreviations you are using.
• Avoid contractions such as 'doesn't', 'haven't'. Always write full forms. 
 Before Printing - FOLLOW
Print or type using a 12 point standard font, Times New Roman.

Text should be double spaced or 1.5 on A4 size paper with 1 inch margins,
single sided

Number pages consecutively

Start each new section on a new page

Adhere to recommended page limits

Tense of verbs
Verb tense changes according to the section in the report, the purpose of the section or sentence and
the type of information included. The following suggestions are a general guide only:
• use present tense to explain or discuss
– continuing objectives e.g. The aim of this report is to…
– general principles or laws e.g. Ohm’s law states…
– data or results e.g. These results show…
– procedures or instructions e.g. Identify each item by code…

• use past tense (or the past perfect) to state or describe

– what the objectives were e.g. The main purpose was…
– what equipment was used e.g. The cylinders were reused…
– what procedure was followed e.g. After careful cleaning, the test tubes were…
– what happened e.g. The damage to the component had been…

The review of literature including other research may be written in either the present,
past or the present perfect tense. Using the present tense is often less complicated.
e.g. The research by Elberg (1993) shows… (present tense)
e.g. The research by Elberg (1993) showed… (past tense)
e.g. The research by Elberg (1993) has shown… (present perfect tense)
Active and passive voice
The passive voice is usually used in engineering reports where the writing is intended to be impersonal and
objective. A passive sentence uses a form of the verb ‘to be’ (e.g. ‘is’, ‘was’, ‘has been’, ‘will be’), plus the past
participle of the verb often made by adding ‘ed’ to the verb (e.g. ‘tested’, ‘identified’, ‘monitored’). The passive
voice is preferred when the human subject or agent is less relevant than the activity.
In a passive sentence, the human subject is placed last or can be removed from the
sentence.
e.g. The situation has been monitored by a researcher. (passive)
(human subject at end)
The situation has been monitored. (passive)
(no human subject)
The active voice emphasises the human subject or agent by placing it first in the sentence. If no human is directly
involved in the action of the sentence (e.g. the subject is a piece of equipment), then it is appropriate to use the active
voice.
e.g. A researcher has monitored the situation. (active)
(human subject emphasised)
e.g. Temperature gauges monitored the air inside the cylinder. (active)
(non-human subject emphasised)
The important issue in the choice between active and passive sentences is placing the key aspect — whether the
activity (passive) or the agent (active) — at the beginning of the sentence.
Thank You
What is Report Writing?

• Report writing is a formal style of writing elaborately on a topic. The tone of a report is always formal. 

• Report Writing – A report is a written account of something that one has observed, heard,
done, or investigated. It is a systematic and well-organized presentation of facts and findings of
an event that has already taken place somewhere.

• Reports are used as a form of written assessment to find out what you have learned from your
reading, research, or experience and to give you the experience of an important skill that is
widely used in the workplace.

• A report is a formal document that elaborates on a topic using facts, charts, and graphs to support its
arguments and findings.
Traits
• A well-written report must possess the following traits:

1. adherence to the specifications of report brief;

2. analysis of relevant information;

3. structuring material in a logical and coherent order;

4. presentation in a consistent manner according to the instructions of the report brief;

5. making appropriate conclusions that are supported by the evidence and analysis of the
report;