Report Writing

What is a Report?

When asked to write a report, you are asked to identify and investigate a gap or an issue and then develop/offer solutions and make recommendations on how to apply them. Everything that you include in your report should support and lead to these solutions and their applications. Your overarching aim, when writing a report, is to inform and guide decision-making in a specific area or in relation to a specific problem.

Report Structure and Sections

When working on an assessment, it is important that you carefully read the Assessment Details and Marking Guide in the Learning & Assessment Guide.

The structure of your report might vary between subjects and assessments, especially for case study reports. Thus, by carefully reading the assessment brief, you can determine which sections you need to include in the report to address all the requirements. If in doubt, use the Subject Forum to check with your subject coordinator.

In this guide, we will discuss the structure of a report and the sections which are commonly required at NTI. Be aware that you might need to adjust and play with this structure to meet your subject coordinator’s expectations.

Most subjects at NTI which ask for a report, only require the following sections:

• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion and Recommendations
• Reference List (placed on a separate page)

Check with your subject coordinator, via the Subject Forum, as to whether the following sections are also required (all of which would be placed on separate pages):

• Title page
• Abstract
• Table of Contents
• Appendix or Appendices

Report Layout

The following are usually included in a report:

• Headings and subheadings
• Page numbers

and sometimes, used anywhere in the report and often in the Recommendations:

• Bullet points

and sometimes, in the body or in the Appendices:

• Tables
• Figures (Graphs and Diagrams)

However, check with your subject coordinator as to their expectations of using such aids.

Report Preparation

Planning and preparing for the report, before writing the first draft, usually leads to a better structured report, which in turn is easier to write. Preparatory tasks include:

• Choosing the topic
• Actively reading
• Determining the initial purpose (research statement) and scope
• Creating an outline with headings and subheadings
• Refining and reorganising the outline noting sources and optionally, any tables and/or figures (graphs or diagrams) to use
• Refining the purpose (research statement) and scope

Suggested Order of Writing the First Draft

It is your choice as to how you commence writing the first draft from a refined and detailed outline. The detailed outline should include a firm purpose (research statement) keeping in mind that the purpose can still be refined later. A suggestion for the order in which to write the first draft is as follows:

• Body
  • Methodology (not always required at NTI)
  • Literature Review
  • Results or Findings
  • Discussion
• Conclusion and Recommendations
• Introduction
  • Background
  • Purpose (Research Statement)
  • Scope
  • Road Map

The Body

Most of the report will be the body. The body may include a Methodology, Literature Review, and/or Results/Findings before the longest and most significant part, which is the Discussion (of the Results/Findings).

Methodology

A methodology section is often not required at NTI especially for a case study report. Always check the Learning & Assessment Guide and if still in doubt check with the subject coordinator on the Subject Forum.

If a methodology section is required, then it will outline the methods used in your research and will likely include:

• What you did
• How you did it
• Reasons for doing it this way
• Limitations of your method

Sometimes the methodology section is presented in a table. This is often the case if you are asked to indicate what form your searching for relevant sources took. Some MH subjects use a table to summarise the methodology. If you use a table, ensure that you number and caption the table and refer to it in the report.

Literature Review

The aim of a Literature Review is to provide an overview of the existing research. This means that you will:

• Summarise the previous research on the topic
• Identify common themes amongst the literature
• Note major research findings by citing

The Literature Review is sometimes part of the Findings. In this case, the Literature Review is the research which is then used to develop the Discussion and Recommendations sections. This is usually the situation when you are writing a case study report, which is required in some NTI subjects.

Results or Findings

In this section, summarise the results of your research (or experiment or sample) either in text, table or figure (graph) format. However, do not explain the results yet.

If you are using tables or figures (graphs) to summarise the results, the tables and figures must be:

• Numbered
• Captioned
• Referred to in the report

Determine whether you will call this section Results or Findings (not both). At NTI, it is likely that you will use Findings as the heading. The Results/Findings section is brief as most of the body will be the Discussion.

Discussion

The longest part of the body is the Discussion. In the Discussion, explain the significance of what you found and develop an argument which will lead to your Conclusion and your Recommendations. In this section, consider addressing the following:

• What do the results/findings mean?
• Do they support your research statement (purpose)?
• How do they connect with other research that is summarised in the Literature Review?
• Is the evidence valid and reliable, and sufficient?
• Have you considered counter-arguments?

and remember to:

• Use in-text citations (including page numbers if relevant)
• Write in paragraphs (which may include bullet points if approved by your subject coordinator)

Conclusion and Recommendations

Depending upon the nature of the report, you may wish to include the Conclusion and Recommendations in the following order:

• Conclusion followed by
• Recommendations

OR

• Recommendations followed by
• Conclusion

OR

• merge the Conclusion and Recommendations

However, check the Learning & Assessment Guide to determine if any order is specified and if you are still in doubt, check with the subject coordinator on the Subject Forum.

Conclusion

The Conclusion has no new information and therefore no citations. It sums up the report by:

• Restating the purpose (research statement) of the report
• Summarising the key points and findings in descending order of importance
• Noting to what extent the findings are useful or conclusive and/or provide a solution or answers

If the Recommendations follow the Conclusion, then end the Conclusion with a statement that leads into the Recommendations section.

Recommendations

If you are not merging the conclusion and recommendations, then make it very clear what is a recommendation by using separate headings for the Conclusion and the Recommendations. If appropriate, give reasons for the recommendations you make (that is, draw on the literature to integrate theory and practice).

In this section, suggest clear, easy-to-understand actions to take or further research to conduct. When there is more than one recommendation, they are often listed as bullet points. It is standard to:

• List the recommendations in descending order of importance
• Use concise sentences
• Use verbs to indicate what actions or further research should be implemented. For example, it is recommended that, based on the findings of this report, the following are implemented:
  1. Obtain…
  2. Review…
  3. Establish…

Introduction

The introduction contains some background and context: setting the scene and highlighting the importance of the research or study that you are performing. It also includes the purpose (research statement), the scope (including any limitations or assumptions) and a road map. The road map provides a brief overview of what the report will cover and in what order.

In other words, the introduction includes the following:

• Background and context
  • Sets the scene
  • Importance of the research/study
• Purpose (Research Statement)
  • What you hope to achieve
• Scope
  • Limitations and/or assumptions
• Road Map
  • Brief overview of what the report will cover

Report Writing

Read and reread the Assessment Details and the Marking Guide in the relevant Learning & Assessment Guide to ascertain which aspects of a report are to be included in your assessment. Be aware that it is likely you will need to adjust the structure and sections discussed here to  suit the assessment’s requirements. If still unsure, check with your subject coordinator via the Subject Forum.

When (preparing and) writing your report, keep in mind that you should:

• Write for your audience
• Take a stance (this is done through your purpose/research statement)
• Write to prove your point(s) by using a valid argument
• Use a critical, reasoned and objective writing style/voice
• Write concisely
• Write formally (no contractions, no slang/idiom)
• Use the present tense when citing if you are discussing research concepts and findings
• Use the past tense when citing if you are discussing experiments already conducted

Further Guidance

Should you require further guidance, Academic Support (academicsupport@nantien.edu.au) can help with academic skills or discuss outlines with you, but not drafts.