Report writing is a skill required in many disciplines, such as Life Sciences, Engineering, Business, and some Medical disciplines. It is different from essay writing in a number of key respects but follows many of the conventions of academic writing.
We normally write reports in response to a problem: something has gone wrong and we require a solution. This is particularly true in industry and business where processes can break down and solutions need to be found and evaluated. Reports are very rarely written when everything is working perfectly!
Most reports that students write will be relatively short and normally be part of a response to a particular experiment or situation you have been presented with.
Watch our Lightning Session to learn more about report writing, then scroll down for our top three tips!
Tip 1: Know the Purpose
What is the purpose of your report? Before you start writing, it’s important to know what your report is for, and who will be reading it.
Here are a few reasons why we write reports:
- To describe something
- To specify (technical)
- To evaluate options and make recommendations
- To enable discussion
It is worth considering who your audience is for your report, and to be aware of their needs in terms of how technical (or otherwise) your report ought to be.
Tip 2: Know the Format
The format of a report varies depending on what’s known as the “House Style” of your discipline. I’ll outline a generic report writing format below, but I always advise students to become familiar with the requirements of their discipline: this will often be outlined on your Module Handbook or in the VLE Module for that subject.
In very broad-brush terms, here is a standard format for a report:
- Abstract
- Introduction/background/aims & objectives
- Methods & Materials
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Recommendations for future action
- Bibliography
- Appendices
Tip 3: Know the Style
The style of writing adopted in a report can be more factual than you might use in an essay, and be more to-the-point, i.e., less discursive. However, particularly in the discussion and conclusion sections you will still be expected to discuss and analysis the results of the work you have presented, so there will still be elements of essay writing style in your report.
Reports rarely use the 1st person, and lists, tables and bullet points are perfectly acceptable as part of your writing. Headings are also encouraged in report writing whereas they are discouraged in essays. Appendices may be used as a way to include more detailed information that is useful for your reader, but not required for the main part of your report, i.e., the questions for a survey or data tables, for example.
There are examples of reports in all walks of life, but the best way to improve your report writing is to read academic reports in your own discipline. Reading published reports in your discipline will give you a better idea of the expectations your tutors will have of your work.
This blog post was written by Michael Allardice (Academic Skills Centre).