Report Template
There are some variations in the structure of reports, especially across different
subjects. Below you will find two templates. The first covers the most common
structures in Science, Engineering and Technology subjects and the second is popular
in Business and Social Sciences. However, always check in your module guide on
Canvas or ask your tutor to make sure this is the structure you need. We have
included some short examples of academic writing for reports. For more detailed
examples, click here and select the relevant subject.
Similarities between all reports
All reports need references within your text and a full reference list at the end and
most will include tables, figures or images. One of the things that makes a report
different to an essay is that your information is divided up into sections and sub-
sections using titles and numbers.
Most reports need a contents page which shows the organisation of the report. This
should list all sections and subsections and use numbering for the sections and the
pages. It should also list the figures, tables and images you have included. Have a
look at this one from an Events student who was asked to write a report on the
differences between types of local events across the North West of England. Also
check in your module guide for specific guidance:
Contents
1. Introduction 4
1.1 Structure of the report 4
2. Background 5
2.1 Definition of local versus national events 5
2.2 Key Characteristics of a local events in the North West 7
2.3 Comparison between events in Liverpool and Manchester 9
3. Findings 11
3.1 Findings from focus groups 11
3.2 Findings from interviews 12
4.Discussion 14
5.Conclusion 15
5.1Recommendations 15
6.Reference List 16
7.Appendices 17
7.1 Table 1: Industry Sectors
7.2 Table 2: Event comparison
Science, Engineering and Technology
Section
What to include
Example extract of writing for
the section
Abstract
Give a short summary: what did you
do? Why did you do it? How did you do
it? What did you find out?
Write this last even though it come first
in the report.
Here are some sample abstracts.
Introduction or
Background
What do you aim to find out?
Define key terms or theories.
Summarise relevant background
reading (literature).
This experiment aimed to investigate
two factors affecting the heating
efficiency of solar water heaters: mass
flow rate and collector design.
Methods
Not all of these
features are relevant
for all subjects so
think about which
you used.
Step by step description of how you did
the research.
What apparatus did you use? How did
you collect the data? Which databases
did you use for resources?
Six petri dishes were prepared with
agar and inoculated with the bacteria.
The plates were then incubated for
four hours and checked every thirty
minutes.
Results or Findings
What did you find out?
Include figures, graphs or tables, or key
information from your reading.
On observation of each strain of E.
Coli, it was apparent that all
treatments used a deterring effect on
the growth of E. Coli colonies but
some treatments were more effective
on particular strains than others (see
Figure 1.).
Discussion
What do you think your findings mean?
Compare your findings with what your
readings says.
Think about what may have influenced
your findings.
The two zones show no significant
difference in leaf breakdown.
However, the two zones of leaf
decomposition were too close, which
may have affected the accuracy of the
results by reducing the differences in
habitat, as seen in other experiments
(Musa et al. 2017).
Conclusion
You may not always
need to make
recommendations,
so check your
assignment brief.
Repeat your aims.
Sum up your findings and discussion.
You may need to make
recommendations for future studies.
Powder X-ray diffraction with a
Debye-Scherrer camera was carried
out on an unknown material in order
to identify it. The six most intense
diffraction rings in order of decreasing
intensity allowed an unequivocal
determination that the material was
NaCl. All d-spacings determined from
these rings were in agreement with
the literature values for NaCl [3], to
within the level of uncertainty of the
experiment.
Business and Social Sciences
Use the question to help develop your structure. What are you being asked to research and
write about? Think about the best way to lead the reader through the information. What do
they need to know first, second etc? Write a list of all the areas you need to cover and group
them together logically into main sections and subsections. Look back at the contents list
above to see how that student did it.
Section
What to include
Title
If you are not given one,
use the content to write the
title. Write this at the end.
Don’t spend hours thinking
of an overall title. It must
tell the reader what the
report is about. Do not use
a question as a title as this
sounds as if you are still not
sure of the outcomes after
writing the report.
Abstract/Executive
summary
These are similar but
executive summaries are
more common in business
subjects, abstracts in social
sciences.
This should be the last thing
you write. It is a brief
overview of everything in
the report.
Introduction or background
What do you aim to find
out?
Define key terms or
theories. Summarise
relevant background
reading (literature).
Give an outline of the
report structure.
Main Body
This is divided into main
sections based on the
themes and topics. Each
section needs a clear title
and needs to be numbered
using the decimal
numbering system. Refer to
contents list above for
organisation.
Sub sections
Within each section you
may have subsections.
These need clear titles and
need to be numbered.
Conclusion
All reports need a clear
conclusion, where you
summarise the principal
areas written about and
restate you overall
argument or idea.
Recommendations (check
you need these)
What do you suggest is
done based on the research
in the main body and your
conclusion?