PARTS OF A

REPORT
PREFATORY ELEMENTS

• Are report sections found before the actual

report, such as the:
• - Title page
• - Abstract or Executive Summary
REPORT PROPER

• Is the actual report, which usually has the following elements:

• Introduction
• Procedures
• Results and Discussion
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• References
THE REPORT
PROPER
INTRODUCTION

• The purpose of the introduction in general is to present the objectives

of the report. Depending on whether the report is a school or
professional assignment, the readers and what they need to see in the
introduction varies.
• In school, we usually find in the introductions of academic reports are
• 1. a brief discussion of relevant theories and;
• 2. the purpose of the study.
PROCEDURES

• The procedures section details the action done, and as applicable, the materials used or the
participants involved in order to fulfill the purpose of the report.
• In academic reports, the procedures section servers as an important means of evaluating the
validity of the study. Thus, writers should include enough details for readers to determine the
validity of results and conclusions, and for other scientists to be able to repeat the procedures
(Kallet, 2004).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

• The results and discussion section (or sections, as they

may sometimes be separate units) presents the findings
resulting that resulted from the procedures performed.
• The results are usually organized based on the
objectives found in the introduction.
CONCLUSION

• The conclusion may contain:

• 1. a recap of key findings in the body.
• 2. a final answer to the main question
raised in the introduction.
PREFATORY
ELEMENTS
TITLE PAGE

• Formal reports usually require a title page as some sort of cover to “dress up”
the report to give it a nice finished and professional look. But although it may
appear as the first section of your lab report, the title page is prepared last,
along with the other prefatory elements.
• Usually, the title page contains the following elements:
• The report title – a phrase that captures the essence of the report
• - a very easy way to come up with the title is to get keywords from the
report’s main purpose of objective statement.
TITLE PAGE

• The names of the persons who conducted the

experiment – “A laboratory report submitted
by:”
• Name of the persons to whom report is
submitted – “Submitted to”
ABSTRACT

• Like the title page, the abstract is found in the beginning but is written
last. This section summarizes your report by reducing it to the most
essential ideas, namely:
• 1. the purpose/objective of the report – present tense
• The procedures done – past tense
• The results – present tense
• The conclusion – present tense
ABSTRACT

• The abstract condenses all of the above, so that a busy

person can easily understand the most important
aspects of the report without reading the entire text.
While lengths may vary, a maximum of 250 words
(Including articles) will be a good length for the
abstract.
RUN-THROUGH

• Reports are OBJECTIVE and orderly written documents

that present the details of a research investigation or an
assigned activity. They are important both in the
academic and professional worlds.
• A report is written in a concise, clear and objective
language.
 FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverbs 18:20 says, “From the fruit of
his mouth a man’s stomach is filled; with
the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.”
This tells us that choosing the right words
is important – both in life and in report
writing.