Report Writing: How to Format a Business Report

Introduction

Report writing is a time-consuming business, so it’s a great shame if, after you’ve spent all that time writing your report, the quality is such that hardly anyone bothers to read it. Frankly, most report readers don’t actually read the entire report; they are too short on time. It is better that you know and accept it, that is normal. They only read the parts that interest them. Often these are the summary, conclusions and recommendations.

Of course, some readers need all the details you so carefully included, they are specialists, but most are not. Most readers only need two things: the information they want is where they expect it to be so they can find it, and it’s clearly written so they can understand it.

It is similar to reading a newspaper. You expect the news headlines to be on the front page; sports coverage to be in the back; the TV listings on whatever page and the editorial comment in the middle. If what you want is not in its usual place, then you have to look for it and you may get irritated. So it is with a report.

There is a convention as to what goes where. Stick to convention and please your readers. Break convention and people may get a little irritated and throw your report away.

So what is that convention, the standard format?

standard sections

title section. In a short report, this may just be the cover. In a long one, it could also include terms of reference, table of contents, etc.

Summary. Give a clear and very concise explanation of the main points, main conclusions and main recommendations. Keep it very short, a small percentage of the total length. Some people, especially senior managers, may not read anything else, so write as if it were a stand-alone document. It isn’t, but for some people it might as well be. Keep it short and free of jargon so that anyone can understand it and understand the main points. Write it down at the end, but don’t copy and paste from the report itself; which rarely works well.

Introduction. This is the first part of the report itself. Use it to paint the background of the ‘issue’ and show the reader why the report is important to them. Provide your terms of reference (if not in the Title Section) and explain how the details that follow are organized. Write it in plain English.

hand bodysuit. This is the heart of his report, the facts. It will probably have several sections or subsections, each with its own subheading. It is unique to your report and will describe what you discovered about ‘the problem’.

These sections will most likely be read by experts, so you can use the appropriate jargon, but explain it as you introduce it. Organize information logically, usually by putting things in order of priority, most important first. In fact, follow that advice in every section of your report.

You may choose to include a Discussion explaining the importance of your findings.

recommendations. Present the logical conclusions of your investigation of the ‘problem’. Bring it all together and perhaps offer options for the way forward. Many people will read this section. Write it in plain English. If you have included a discussion, then this section can be quite brief.

recommendations. What do you suggest should be done? Do not be shy; You did the work, so please list your recommendations in order of priority and in plain language.

Appendices. Put the heavyweight detail here, the information only specialists will probably want to see. As a guide, if any detail is essential to your argument, include it in the main body, if it simply supports the argument, it could go in an appendix.

Conclusions and recommendations

In conclusion, remember that readers expect certain information to be in certain places. They don’t expect to hunt what they want, and the harder you make it for them, the more likely they are to put your report aside and ignore it. So what should I do?

1. Follow the generally accepted format for a report: Summary, Introduction, Main Body, Conclusions, Recommendations and Appendices.

2. Organize your information in each section logically with the reader in mind, generally putting things in order of priority, most important first.

Good luck writing your report!

Author: Tony Atherton

©Tony Atherton 2005)