Effective Report Writing

The aim of this session is to help your study skills and understanding of writing a report. When
presented with the requirement to write a report, it is critical that you understand what to do
and how to structure the document. Some of you may already know this, but if you don’t, there
are several differences between a report and an essay. For your time with ICS (and more
importantly, beyond), it is therefore important for you to know when you read a question, to
interpret the type of format required, i.e. a report or essay. The chances are, it will not
specifically say, ‘Write a report answering the following’. It is your requirement as a student to
interpret the question correctly. It is therefore the aim to provide and equip you with the
necessary skills to make your report as effective and professional as possible.

By the end of this study programme

1. You will understand the fundamentals to report writing
2. Be able to identify the typical structure required when writing a report
3. Be able to identify the key words as to which format is needed
4. Understand the difference between a report and an essay
5. Have confidence to write a report – hints, tips and general guidance

1. The Fundamentals to report writing

Report writing is an art form! There are certain things that you should do and look out for that
can improve the quality of your report. Before you get started with writing a report, you must
understand the topic and what it is you are trying to convey to the reader. You should also
consider who the audience is as well and the style that you should adopt as a result. This can
typically be split into academic reports and professional/business reports, and you should be
aware that there can often be subtle differences between the two.

Our flow diagram can help in identifying the key stages that you should follow to in
order to write a good report. We have identified six steps that will assist you:

• Introduce

• Gather

• Structure & Layout

• Analyse

• Write Up

• Presentation
 The 6 Stage Approach
to Good Report Writing

Stage 1 • Ensure that you understand the topic and the task
Introduce • Take time to think about your audience

Stage 2 • Once you understand the task, begin to search for the relevant material
Gather • Refer to the brief, but ensure you gather relevant surveys, data and journals

Stage 3 • Once you have gathered the material, you should begin thinking about its order
Structure • In a report, it is normal to split this into chapters and sub-sections - 1.0, 2.0, etc
& Layout

Stage 4 • At this stage, the next thing that you need to consider is analysing the material
• What does the information tell you? What can you learn from it?
Analyse • You not only need to present the material, you need to critique it

Stage 5 • This isnow the write up stage - here you will begin to formulate your ideas and
Write Up write your report in the relevant structure
• Be direct when you write, in chapters, sections and sub-sections

• Once you have written your report, you need to consider teh way it looks and reads
Stage 6 • The last thing that you should do is write the Executive Summary/Abstract
Presentation • This sums up how you have completed rather than dictate it from the start
2. A Typical Report Structure
Once you have understood your task and you have gathered the relevant data, it is important
that you structure your report in the correct way. This is vital. For a report, there are several
additional things that are required that you would not include in an essay. Here is a typical guide;

Feature Description

Title Page Must be clear and have relevant information on it

Clear and concise with every subsection listed and clearly labelled page
Contents Page number. Always include an additional contents page for the diagrams that
you have used (figure 1, figure 2 etc).
An Executive Summary – the last and most pleasurable part of
Abstract writing a report – always leave to the last task to complete

Introduction Does not need to be lengthy, but direct and will likely contain aims and
objectives

Methodology This may apply if you are writing an academic piece and refers to the
methods used to collect the data that you will use to construct an analysis

Laying out your findings from your research/diagnosis of a business – not a

Results comments section, purely to display results

Discussion This is where you can discuss your findings and suggest your interpretation
of the results that you discover

Identifying all of the sources that you have used to construct the report –
References Harvard style and demonstrate wider reading

Appendices Any diagrams needed to be put at the back of the report

This should help you when considering how to structure the report. When it comes to
a professional report that is not for academic purposes, the methodology section may not
necessarily be relevant and the abstract tends to be called an Executive Summary. Senior
business leaders like good Executive Summaries as it allows them to understand the report in
one page. That is the beauty of the Executive Summary and why it should always be written last.
3. Identifying key words that hint a report is required

When you are faced with a business problem, case study, exam question or piece of course work,
there will always be words and phrases that suggest a report format is needed over an essay.
Once you learn to analyse terms effectively, it will become easy to quickly pick up on what is
needed. Commonly, these are terms used when it would be advisable to use a report format:

• Provide your assessment of...

• After reading the case of XXXXX, construct a diagnosis of...
• Using the material provided, analyse...
• We would welcome your recommendations on...

Whenever you see statements like this, the suggestion would be to follow a report like format.
If there is ever a need to adopt a diagnosis of a business, a great model to follow is that of
Cummings and Worley (2008). Using an open systems model format, they suggest that the key
components of a business must align with the overall grand strategy of a business to ensure
optimal effectiveness (the outputs). Using this model, a student can diagnose issues such as
leadership or ability to change by reviewing each of the components and commenting on how
effective the business is. The Cummings and Worley (2008) model can be seen below.

Generally, there is only a need to analyse using level A unless, there is a specific request to
review groups and individuals at levels B & C.
4. The differences between a report and an essay

One of the most famous questions that is continually asked when discussing reports is, What’s
the difference between a report and an essay? The aim of this section is to answer that very
question. Cottrell (2010) provides a succinct way in which to understand the fundamentals of
report writing but also the key differences. Below is a summary of said differences;

Report Description

Commonly used for both Academic and

work environments Associated more with academia

Provides an opportunity to diagnose, present Clear and concise with every subsection listed and clearly labelled
page number. Always include an additional content page for the
findings and provide recommendations diagrams that you have used (figure 1, figure 2 etc).

Split into sections, sub-sections and seperate No breaks and no chapters, flows in a different way
the content with chapters

You can add tables, diagrams and graphs into In an essay, you cannot add material such
a report as this

Reports often need a section about the way In an essay, you cannot add material such
in which data was collected. This is sometimes as this
called a ‘Methodology Chapter’.

One of the most important ‘rules’ to remember is the accepted format in which you write your
report. For reports, it is generally acceptable to write in the first person; i.e. I, we, us, my, but
it is always recommended that you check with your tutor in the first instance. However, in the
case of an essay, it is always unacceptable to use the 1st person, the accepted format is the 3rd
person.
5. Having the confidence to write a report – hints, tips and guidance
By now, we hope that you are feeling a little better about how to write a good report.
Let’s have a quick check:

• We have reviewed the fundamentals to report writing

• We have gone through the 6-stage approach

• Highlighted the typical structure found within one

• Explored some of the key words and phrases you should look out for

• Identified the key differences between a report and an essay

The aim of this section is to ensure that you feel comfortable in your ability to write a report.

Hints and tips for excellent reports:

• Think about the audience – are they experts? If ensure that you are technically correct and
ensure you have not made any errors.

• Length – It is always advisable to determine in advance what the requirements of the report
is as this will determine: the document lenght and what sections/sub-sections are needed.
Organise this first, writing a report is a lengthy process and you want to make the best use of
your available time.

In this sense, having an effective Executive summary is critical, as what is written in the report
should be condensed in a way that a busy executive can read and digest the report on one side
of paper.

• Are the audience new to the subject? If so, do not blind people with science – they will not
appreciate it – keep it simple.

• Staying on track - Always have a strong set of aims and objectives as this will ensure that you
stay on point throughout the report – it saves meandering and you will answer the questions
that you set yourself at the start.

• Always use credible sources – avoid internet sites such as Wikipedia and business balls.com.
If you are a CIPD member, use their library of journals and if you are struggling–just contact us
– we can help!

• Presentation is key - have your work spiral bound with a clear Perspex cover. This is inexpensive
and raises the quality of your submission. Never submit a report that is stapled or in a plastic
sleeve – avoid at all cost!

• Word count is a common area of enquiry - The short answer to the famous question, what
counts and what doesn’t is, the main body of the document only. The title page is not included
in the word count and you are free to use appendices.

If you follow these tips, you will write a high-quality report with confidence!

Stephen Littler CIPD Academic Tutor, ICS June 2018. Version 2.0

References
Cottrell, S. (2010). Skills for Success, Personal Skills and Employability. Palgrave Publications. London, UK. Cummings, T and
Worley, C. (2008). Organisational Development and Change. Cengage Learning Publication. US. CIPD Writing Persuasive Reports
Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/writing-persuasive-business-report.aspx [Accessed 08/12/2014]