What is a report?

A report is a very formal document that is written for a variety of purposes in the sciences, social sciences, engineering and business disciplines. Generally, findings pertaining to a given or specific task are written up into a report. It should be noted that reports are considered to be legal documents in the workplace and, thus, they need to be precise, accurate and difficult to misinterpret.

How many different types of reports are there?

laboratory reports	health and safety reports
research reports	case study reports
field study reports	cost-benefit analysis reports
proposals	comparative advantage reports
progress reports	feasibility studies
technical reports	instruction manuals
financial reports	And on it goes …

When would I be asked to write a report?

Engineering	Reports can outline a proposal for a project; report on progress of a project; present research and findings from a project; detail the technical aspects of innovations; present results from a feasibility or cost-benefit analytical study.
Education and Health Science	Practicum reports are based on experiences at prac. school or hospital. Ongoing journal entries are written up into a report at the end of term. There are field and research reports.
Science and some Social Sciences	Laboratory reports outline, analyse and evaluate results from experiments. Research or field reports are findings from the field and make recommendations based on this. Feasibility studies report investigations into the feasibility of something and make recommendations accordingly. Case study reports are found especially in the areas of social welfare, social work, and psychology.
Business	Report writing is frequently used in business subjects. Reports can range from short memos to lengthy reports such as cost-benefit analysis reports; research and field reports; financial reports; proposals; progress reports; health and safety reports; quality reports; case study reports.

How does the structure of a report differ from the structure of an essay?

Reports are organised into separate sections according to the specific requirements of the given task. While it is important that paragraphs are structured and there is unity, coherence and logical development to the report, it is not a continuous piece of writing like an essay. Each type of report serves a very specific purpose and is aimed at a very particular audience.

Report writing may seem repetitive to us, but this is because reports are not usually read from cover-to-cover by one person. For example, a manager may read only the synopsis or abstract and act on the advice it contains while a technical officer may read only the section that explains how things work. On the other hand, a personnel officer may look at only the conclusions and recommendations that directly affect his or her working area.

What should I include in a report?

Because there is such a wide range of reports that serve different purposes, your faculty will generally have guidelines that they want you to follow. As a general rule, however, the following should give you some indication of what to include in a formal report.

A letter of transmittal

This is a covering letter which is sent with the report to the person or organisation that requested the report. (Your assignment may not require you to provide this with your report.)

Sample letter of transmittal

Kalkadoo Council
PO Box 102
Kalkadoo Qld 4830
10 December 2001
The Planning Committee
Kalkadoo Shire Council
PO Box 102
Kalkadoo Qld 4830

Dear Councillors,

Please find enclosed the Feasibility Study into the damming of the Blue River as requested. The report discusses in detail the findings of the study for your perusal. It is our belief that discussions about the proposed dam should be given a high priority at the next planning meeting scheduled for 12 January 2002.

Jane Brown John Black

Jane Brown and John Black
Environmental Engineers

A title page

This outlines the name of the report; who prepared the report; for whom the report was prepared; the nature of the report; the date the report was prepared.

Sample title page

An abstract or synopsis

An abstract or synopsis outlines, very briefly, the entire report. It contains: the aim or purpose, the procedures followed, the main findings and conclusions and recommendations that are outlined in the report. The abstract or synopsis is like an introduction of an essay.

Sample abstract

A contents page

This includes the page numbers of each section within the report and any appendices that are attached to the report. It does not include the title page or abstract. These are attached to the report before the contents page.

The report itself

The report is broken into sections and each section and subsection has a heading. Often, a numbering system is used to indicate each section or subsection. Becoming more popular, however, is changing the font size of headings to indicate the importance of each heading. Only numbering style is indicated below.

Sample numbering system used in report writing

Parts of the report

Introduction

Aim

In this section you indicate the purpose of the report.

Scope

This shows what the report includes and excludes. For example:

This feasibility study indicates the environmental feasibility of the proposed damming of the Blue River between Johnson's Creek and Blackstump Creek. It does not include building specifications of the dam itself. A further proposal would be offered if council decides to proceed with the recommendations of this study.

Background to study

This section contains any relevant details regarding the background information that may be needed to make sense of the information in the report. It may outline the history of a project, or major players in the project. For example:

In January 1999, Kalkadoo township experienced severe water shortages as a result of prolonged drought periods during 1997 and 1998. The Kalkadoo Shire Council has made it a priority for this situation to be remedied so that this situation does not occur in the future. The Shire Council had conducted investigations into providing a dam for the region in the mid-1980s but plans were halted due to public dissatisfaction with the outcome of those investigations. Further environmental studies needed to be conducted over a longer period to determine the impact of the dam on neighbouring farms and Crown land reserves. This series of investigations was completed in December 2000. The outcome suggested no significant negative environmental or economic impacts would be felt. In June 2001, the Shire Council proposed that the final stages of the feasibility study should be conducted, and conclusions and recommendations from the entire study should be tabled at Council's Planning Committee meeting scheduled for 12 January 2002. This feasibility study report should thus enable Council to make a final decision regarding improving water supplies to the Shire. This is one of its three priority areas for the period 2001-2002.

Procedures

Data collection methods

In this section, you would briefly outline how you collected the data that will provide the basis for analysis that will produce conclusions and recommendations. Even though it may be called something different, all reports use specific data and ways of collecting it that would be included in this section.

• In research reports, you would probably use a different heading because your data would come mainly from texts and journal articles. This is the section where you would discuss the main issues arising from your research.
  
• In reports that are based on data you have collected yourself, like the report used in the example so far, this section would detail the methods you used to collect that data and why those methods were chosen. You would also outline the steps taken during the process of collecting data and carrying out research. An example is set out below:

  During this six-month feasibility study, data was collected and analysed according to the criteria outlined for environmental impact studies as set out in the Queensland Department of Primary Industry's Environmental Studies Handbook (2001). Water flow rates were measured according to rate of flow 100ml per hour. These rates were recorded three times per week during the study. Sediment and salinity levels were measured according to the percentage of suspended siltation carried in the fastest flowing section of the river channel. These measurements were also taken three times per week, and more often during the change of tides. Fish stock numbers were recorded once per month where tagged fish were counted and measured. Specific areas within the study region were targeted and fish stock numbers randomly checked using sonar equipment. Weed infiltration rates were recorded, both in the river itself, and in the land regions that would be directly affected by flooding. Weekly recordings were made of the types of species already present in the areas of study, and identification of new varieties was monitored.
  

Analysis of data

This section is perhaps the longest section in most reports and it is where, using visual displays, you outline the data you have collected.

• Graphs, charts, tables, maps, graphic displays should always be used to summarise the findings you have made from the data you have collected.
• Each set of data may be displayed in more than one way and each diagram or visual should have a title, figure or table number, and should be thoroughly labelled.
• Each set of data is systematically displayed and analysed in a paragraph under the appropriate diagram. For example:
  

Water flow rates

Table 1: Water flow rates—Blue River, 1 June 2001-7 December 2001

The table indicates that periods of peak flow occurred between July and September 2001. The rates of flow are 50% higher than those rates recommended to be viable for substantial damming of an area. The lowest flow recorded occurred during November but is still significantly higher than the recommended flow rate for viable damming. There is no evidence to suggest that these levels are unusual for this region. Table 2 compares water flow rates for the same periods from studies conducted over the period 1985-1999 (See Table 2, page 12). This indicates that the water flow rates are stable and there is very little variation from year to year or month to month.

Conclusions

The conclusions are dot pointed and are drawn directly from the analysis section of the report. Dot points are used when the sequential order is not important. For each section under the main heading 'Analysis', there should be at least one corresponding conclusion. For example:

• The Blue River flow rate is significantly higher than was expected. Damming the Blue River between Johnson's Creek and Blackstump Creek would not affect average water (flow rates upstream or downstream from this area).
• Sediment levels remained between 0.02% and 0.05% during the dry months. Sediment levels of 1.2% are considered to be acceptable. Damming the river will not significantly increase sedimentation downstream. Upstream, sediment levels will increase between 0.5% and 1.0%. This increase is still within the acceptable range according to guidelines (given by the Department of Primary Industries).

Recommendations

These are your suggestions for further action based on your conclusions. Not all reports will ask for recommendations. Some will have a section where both conclusions and recommendations are given. Recommendations are numbered as they normally follow sequentially. For example:

1. The damming of the Blue River between Johnson's Creek and Blackstump Creek should proceed.
   
2. Damming of this area could lead to significant economic advantages.

References

A reference list with publication details of sources used should be included after the conclusions/recommendations section. Any appendices follow the reference list.

Additional sections that may be required

Appendices

Appendices include things like raw data sheets, extra or supplementary information or diagrams, maps of regions etc. You draw your reader's attention to the appropriate appendix by indicating this briefly at the appropriate place in the report. For example:

Water flow rates indicate that there is no significant change between 1998 and 2001. Comprehensive flow rate charts for the period 1998-2000 are included as Appendix 1.

Here are some examples of appendices:

National Science Foundation Home page
http://www.nsf.gov

Go to Program Areas—Social, Behavioural, Economic Science

Go to Science Resources Statistics, then Featured Publications and look at Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities

Look at the appendices: Technical Notes and Statistical Tables

Note how tables are shown in Appendix 2: Statistical Tables

Glossary

Sometimes, when there is a lot of 'jargon' contained in a report (as in Science or Engineering), a glossary of terms should also be included. This ensures that those reading the report understand the way you have used the terms or jargon in your report. Sometimes words can have different meanings in different disciplines. If you need to include a glossary, it would generally be placed just after the contents page.

Language style

The style of language used in reports is concrete, active and formal as a rule. The rules of plain English definitely apply most of the time.

There is no room for bias or 'fudging' results especially when they are considered to be legal documents. This is particularly the case in engineering, business, the sciences and some social sciences.

Layout

The use of white space is very important in report writing. Spacing between headings, subheadings, paragraphs, ends of sections, diagrams etc. need to be uniform. As a guide - one space between heading and subheading, one space between paragraphs, and two spaces between the end of a section and the next heading. Whatever you choose, make sure you aim for consistency.