How to structure a report

You are likely to find that different university departments or organisations have their own preferred structure and format for reports. For example, in industry, companies often issue series of reports which all have a common format. It is vital that you check with your tutor to find out how your report should be structured and presented.

As general guidance, reports are usually arranged in sections, each with a clear heading. A simple report is likely to include at least the following:

Simple report sections

Introduction, including aims and objectives
Methodology
Findings/results
Discussion
Conclusions and recommendations
References

Each of these is covered in detail further down the page.

More complex reports (not covered in detail here) may have these sections:

Preliminaries

Title page
Terms of reference, including scope of report
Contents
List of tables and diagrams
Acknowledgements, i.e. thanks to those who helped with the report
Summary, i.e. key points of the report

Main part

Introduction
Methodology
Findings/results
Discussion
Conclusions and recommendations

Supplementaries

References/bibliography
Appendices
Glossary

Numbering sections

The main sections of a report can be numbered, and can have sub-sections with sub-headings, which are also numbered. These correspond roughly to paragraphs in an essay.

You will often see reports where the main sections are given single numbers – 1, 2, 3 and so on; and the sub-sections are given a decimal number – 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so on. Sub-sections can be further divided into – 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3 and so on. For example:

1. Introduction

1.1. Aims and objectives

1.2. Hypothesis

2. Methodology

2.1. The survey

2.1.1. The questionnaire

2.1.2. The sample

MS Word can help you with this – go to our Multi-level numbering page for help with setting this up so that you use the different styles in your document to help. This also means you can produce an automatic table of contents.

The sections of a simple report

Introduction

State what your research/project/enquiry is about. What are you writing about, why and for whom? What are your objectives? What are you trying to show or prove (your hypothesis)?

Methodology

State how you did your research/enquiry and the methods you used. How did you collect your data? For example, if you conducted a survey, say how many people were included and how you selected them. Say whether you used interviews or questionnaires and how you analysed the data.

Findings/results

Give the results of your research. Do not, at this stage, try to interpret the results – simply report them. This section may include graphs, charts, diagrams etc. (clearly labelled). Be very careful about copyright if you are using published charts, tables, illustrations etc.

Discussion

Interpret your findings. What do they show? Were they what you expected? Could your research have been done in a better way?

Conclusions and recommendations

These should follow on logically from the Findings and Discussion sections. Summarise the key points of your findings and show whether they prove or disprove your hypothesis. If you have been asked to, you can make recommendations arising from your research.

References

List all your sources in alphabetical order, using the appropriate University of Hull style. You might find our referencing pages useful.