Writing a Report

Writing a report
Realised by:
Prof. ACHAHBAR ASMAE
S3
Definition
• A report is an account given of a particular matter, especially in the

form of an official document, after thorough investigation or
consideration by an appointed person or body.
Ex."the chairman's annual report"

Step 1: Decide on the 'Terms of reference’
• Step 2: Decide on the procedure
• Step 3: Find the information
• Step4: Decide on the structure
• Step 5: Draft the first part of your report
• Step 6: Analyse your findings and draw conclusions
• Step 7: Make recommendations
• Step 8: Draft the executive summary and table of
contents
• Step 9: Compile a reference list
• Step 10: Revise your draft report
Step 1: Decide on the 'Terms of reference'
q
What is it about?
q
What exactly is needed?
q
Why is it needed?
q
When do I need to do it?
q
Who is it for, or who is it aimed at?
This will help you draft your Terms of reference.
•
Step 2: Decide on the procedure
• This means planning your investigation or research, and how you'll write the report. Ask yourself:

What information do I need?

Do I need to do any background reading?

What articles or documents do I need?

Do I need to contact the library for assistance?

Do I need to interview or observe people?

Do I have to record data?

How will I go about this?
• Answering these questions will help you draft the procedure section of your report, which outlines
the steps you've taken to carry out the investigation.
Step 3: Find the information
• read written material, observe people or activities, and/or talk to

people.
• Check the assessment requirements and guidelines and the marking
schedule to make sure you're on the right track. If you're not sure
how the marks will be assigned contact your lecturer.
• What you find out will form the basis, or main body, of your report –
the findings.
•
Step 4: Decide on the structure
• some details may differ. How reports differ usually depends on:
q
The type of report – if it is a research report, laboratory report,
business report, investigative report, etc.
q
How formal the report has to be.
q
The length of the report.
Depending on the type of report, the structure can include:
q
A title page.
q
Executive summary.
q
Contents.
•
• An introduction.
• Terms of reference.
• Procedure.
• Findings.
• Conclusions.
• References/Bibliography.
• Appendices.
• The sections, of a report usually have headings and subheadings,
which are usually numbered
•
Step 5: Draft the first part of your report
• Once you have your structure, write down the headings

and start to fill these in with the information you have
gathered so far.
• By now you should be able to draft the terms of reference,

procedure and findings, and start to work out what will
go in the report’s appendix.
Findings
• The findings are the result of your reading, observations,

interviews and investigation. They form the basis of your
report. Depending on the type of report you are writing,
you may also wish to include photos, tables or graphs to
make your report more readable and/or easier to follow.
•
Appendices
• As you are writing your draft decide what information

will go in the appendix. These are used for information
that:

is too long to include in the body of the report, or

supplements or complements the information in the report.
For example, brochures, spreadsheets or large tables.
•
Step 6: Analyse your findings and draw conclusions
• The conclusion is where you analyse your findings and interpret what you
have found. To do this, read through your findings and ask yourself:

What have I found?

What's significant or important about my findings?

What do my findings suggest?
• For example, your conclusion may describe how the information you
collected explains why the situation occurred, what this means for the
organisation, and what will happen if the situation continues (or doesn't
continue).
• Don’t include any new information in the conclusion.
•
Step 7: Make recommendations
• Recommendations are what you think the solution to the problem is and/or what you think
should happen next. To help you decide what to recommend:

Reread your findings and conclusions.

Think about what you want the person who asked for the report should to do or not do;
what actions should they carry out?

Check that your recommendations are practical and are based logically on your
conclusions.

Ensure you include enough detail for the reader to know what needs to be done and who
should do it.
• Your recommendations should be written as a numbered list, and ordered from most to least
important.
•
Step 8: Draft the executive summary and table of contents
•
• Some reports require an executive summary and/or list of
contents. Even though these two sections come near the
beginning of the report you won't be able to do them until you
have finished it, and have your structure and recommendations
finalised.
• An executive summary is usually about 100 words long. It tells the
readers what the report is about, and summarise the
recommendations.
•
Step 9: Compile a reference list
• This is a list of all the sources you've referred to in the report and
uses APA referencing.
•
APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication,
for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well,
for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that
have no page numbers, use a paragraph number.
Step 10: Revise your draft report
Things you need to check include:


If you have done what you were asked to do. Check the assignment question, the
instructions/guidelines and the marking schedule to make sure:

That the required sections are included, and are in the correct order.

That your information is accurate, with no gaps.

If your argument is logical. Does the information you present support your conclusions and
recommendations?

That all terms, symbols and abbreviations used have been explained.

That any diagrams, tables, graphs and illustrations are numbered and labelled.

That the formatting is correct, including your numbering, headings, are consistent throughout
the report.

That the report reads well, and your writing is as clear and effective as possible.
• You might need to prepare several drafts before you are satisfied . If possible, get someone else to check
your report.

Writing a Report

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Writing a Report

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Writing a report

• A report is an account given of a particular matter, especially in the

Ex."the chairman's annual report"

• read written material, observe people or activities, and/or talk to

• Once you have your structure, write down the headings

• By now you should be able to draft the terms of reference,

• The findings are the result of your reading, observations,

• As you are writing your draft decide what information

Things you need to check include:

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