General Information:

Reports, like proposals, are a standard part of business writing and are situationally defined.  That is, what is included in a report, the type of report written, and the organization of a report are determined by the situation that gives rise to the report.   Despite their variety, however, all reports have one thing in common:  they are a description of a task, project, or research activity either at its completion or at some mid-point to recount and summarize your actions.

Good report writing includes the ability to plan the layout and organization of the report; you must decide what elements are useful in the report and how to include them so that they form an effective framework for the material and information you wish to relate to your reader. 

Short reports and those that are standardized don't require a great deal of special arrangement of the material.  However, longer reports or special reports must contain elements that require special attention.

In addition to the information or material you wish to communicate, these elements include cover letters or mems, letters of transmittal, title pages, tables of contents, headings, summaries, formal and standard introductions, conclusions, special instructions, glossaries, appendixes, recommendations--in addition to the body of the report.   Not all reports contain all of these elements.  You must decide which to include by the context and situation in which you are writing and by your reader's needs.

Reports often go hand-in-hand with proposals as they tell of the progress of the proposed project or describe the proposed project at its conclusion.  Reports also summarize the conclusion of a research or other type of project.  Finally, reports can be  short or long, formal or informal.

Quite often, reports have a transmittal memo or letter that identifies the report and explains the key points.  The memo or letter can also describe the situation that gave rise to the report.  Do not worry about the report and the transmittal letter/memo containing the same information--they will.  Reports and their transmittal documents are often separated as they travel from reader to reader, thus need to be redundant.  In addition, the different sections of a report must stand alone--even if this seems repetitive.  Some readers will only read one section of your report, so each section must be complete.

Formal reports usually contain the following elements:

• Letter of Transmittal
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary or Abstract
• Formal Introduction
• Section or Division Introductions
• Body: Methods, Facts, Discussion, Objectives, Results, Criteria, Alternatives, Evaluation (depending on the type of report you are writing--see below)
• Conclusion
• Recommendation
• Bibliography/References
• Appendixes

Elements Contained in the Body of a Report:

General Reports Usually Contain the Following Elements:

Introduction	Tells the reader what is to be gained from reading the report.
Methods	Explains how the reported upon material or information was gathered and allows the reader to determine if your facts are reliable
Facts	Contains the information or material that you have determined to be useful, necessary, or important to your reader.
Discussion	Explains how the facts are interpreted from your, or your organization's, point-of-view.
Conclusion	Tells how the facts are significant and what they mean.
Recommendation	Explains what the reader or the organization should do or think.

Progress Reports Usually Contain the Following Elements:

Introduction	Explains what this report covers and its purpose. May give some background information.
Facts and Discussion: Past Work   Future Work	Reports on how the work is progressing as planned. Tells of the results thus far.   Explains what needs to be done and what progress is to be expected.
Conclusions	Tells the reader what overall conclusions may be drawn about the work/project.
Recommendations	Tells the reader what he/she or the organization should do or think.

Feasibility Reports Usually Contain the Following Elements:

Introduction	Gives necessary background information. Tells why the reader or the organization should consider the reported upon alternatives.
Criteria	Explains the ways in which the decision-making criteria are reasonable and appropriate.
Methods	Explains the methods used to collect the information or material and allows the reader to determine that the facts are reliable.
Results	Tells what the research produced.
Alternatives	Explains the important features and drawbacks of the alternatives (overview).
Evaluation	Tells the reader how the alternatives compare to the criteria.
Conclusions	Explains the overall conclusions that may be drawn about the alternatives.
Recommendation	Tells what the reader or organization should do or think and explains which alternative is the best.

Empirical Research Reports Usually Contain the Following Elements:

Introduction	Explains why the research project is important.. Gives any necessary background information.
Objectives	Describes what you are trying to discover or find out.
Methods	Explains the research methods in detail. Allows the reader to determine if these methods are reliable and are able to contribute the necessary information..
Results	Tells the reader what the research produced.
Discussion	Discusses the results, how they are interpreted from the researcher's point-to-view, and how they are important to the company or business.
Conclusion	Tells how the results are significant and what they mean.
Recommendation	Discusses what the reader or company should do or think.

Headings:

Another feature typical of reports is the use of headings to separate the report's different elements.  Headings help the reader follow the organization of the report and understand the hierarchy of the report's information.   Following is a description and illustration of how headings are usually used.  Some organizations, however, use a different format.  If that is the case for you, follow the accepted use for your organization.

HEADINGS OF THE FIRST RANK Headings of the first rank show more space above than below them.  These headings are usually centered and each letter can be capitalized.  Headings of the first rank should be displayed in the largest type.  The typeface may be different from the type used for the text, but it should be compatible with the text's typeface.   Headings of the Second Rank A second-rank heading starts three or four lines below the previous section, flush with the left margin and on a line by itself.  Important words begin with a capital.  The size should be smaller than first-degree headings, but larger than the text type. Headings of the Third Rank A third-rank heading is usually indented on a line by itself and is a line below the preceding text.  It is capitalized in the same manner as a second-degree heading, but it is usually smaller than a second-degree heading.  Third-degree headings may be the same size as the text, but they are usually darker or of a different type face so that they cannot be easily confused with the text. Headings of the fourth rank usually form the first words of a paragraph.  If they refer to material covered in more than one paragraph, they may be set off from the text with a period.  If they refer only to one paragraph, they may form the beginning words of a sentence.  If they are the same size and style as the text type, they are set off from the text in some other way, such as by italics, boldface, or underlining.  From: Modern Technical Writing, 5th ed. by Theodore A. Sherman & Simon S. Johnson)

Reference List:

Often used interchangeably, the words bibliography and reference list refer to two different things.  A bibliography is a itemized list of all the materials available for a  topic.  A reference list details all the materials and information the author referred to in a report.  Normally, reports contain reference lists.

Your reference list is a catalogue of all the sources of information that you have used in your report.  Each time you use information from or directly quote another person or organization, you must attribute the information to its source with an in-text citation.  The in-text citation refers the reader to the reference list where details about the source of the information are listed.  In this way, your reader can trace the source of your information easily.  If you use the words or thoughts of another (either by quoting or paraphrasing) without attributing the information to its source, you are guilty committing plagairism

The format of a reference list and in-text citations depends on several things.   The most important determinant of the format or style of reference lists and in-text citations  is the identity of the person or organization for whom the report is being written.  If you are writing for publication, the publicizing organization dictates which style to use.  If you are writing for a company or other organization, use the style that is usual for that company.  When in doubt, ask.  If there is no usual style, default to APA or MLA style.   Make sure to follow the formatting style for both the reference list and the in-text citations carefully.  Whichever style you opt for, make sure that you use the same style for both the reference list and the in-text citations.

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