Reflective Writting
Report Writing Guide
HRM 1004
Remember! A report is not an essay and each section can be underlined and findings may be listed or bullet-pointed where appropriate. However, sections such as the abstract, the conclusion and your recommendations must appear in complete sentences and be paragraphed accordingly.
Please Note that this is a general guide to report structure, not a definitive guide. Depending on the nature of the report, headings many vary.
Title page: Exactly what it says!!
i) Assignment Number and Report Title ii) Student Name iii) Marking Tutor
Extract or Summary Page: A paragraph in which you write a précis (very short summary) of the information contained within the report. Obviously you will not be able to write this until you have finished the report. NO Section or Page numbering.
Acknowledgements: Anyone you’d like to thank. (Optional, often used for dissertations)
Contents Page: Just that – section numbers (on left), headings and their page numbers (on Right), eg:
Page
1.0 Introduction 1
2.0 and so on
Write the contents list last or you’ll get confused! Roman numbering i, ii etc is normally used for Acknowledgements & Contents. Then start main Page numbering for Introduction. It is easy to do this using the page number menu in Word.
1.0 Introduction
Here you explain what your report seeks to make clear. You might include a summary of your initial view of the topic.
You should then indicate, briefly, the path the report follows and explain your purpose in conducting this survey. Add what you consider to be the rationale or context behind this exercise.
2.0 Method or Methodology
Here you outline the methods used in order to collect information for your report, if relevant. Be careful here! Here you are simply asked to describe the processes & strategies of the methods and theories behind them rather than what you found out, eg explain any primary
HRM 1004
Remember! A report is not an essay and each section can be underlined and findings may be listed or bullet-pointed where appropriate. However, sections such as the abstract, the conclusion and your recommendations must appear in complete sentences and be paragraphed accordingly.
Please Note that this is a general guide to report structure, not a definitive guide. Depending on the nature of the report, headings many vary.
Title page: Exactly what it says!!
i) Assignment Number and Report Title ii) Student Name iii) Marking Tutor
Extract or Summary Page: A paragraph in which you write a précis (very short summary) of the information contained within the report. Obviously you will not be able to write this until you have finished the report. NO Section or Page numbering.
Acknowledgements: Anyone you’d like to thank. (Optional, often used for dissertations)
Contents Page: Just that – section numbers (on left), headings and their page numbers (on Right), eg:
Page
1.0 Introduction 1
2.0 and so on
Write the contents list last or you’ll get confused! Roman numbering i, ii etc is normally used for Acknowledgements & Contents. Then start main Page numbering for Introduction. It is easy to do this using the page number menu in Word.
1.0 Introduction
Here you explain what your report seeks to make clear. You might include a summary of your initial view of the topic.
You should then indicate, briefly, the path the report follows and explain your purpose in conducting this survey. Add what you consider to be the rationale or context behind this exercise.
2.0 Method or Methodology
Here you outline the methods used in order to collect information for your report, if relevant. Be careful here! Here you are simply asked to describe the processes & strategies of the methods and theories behind them rather than what you found out, eg explain any primary
References: Anything you have referred to in the text, Harvard referenced. See guides to referencing on NILE. Remember (Author, date) in text, full reference at end. 9.0 Bibliography Cite your sources, under the Harvard system. This is anything you have read, but not actually referred to in the text. 10.0 Appendices Put any information to which you may have referred here, labelled Appendix A, B etc. It is not good practice to have bulky Appendices, just use anything really relevant which is not appropriate to put in the main body of the text. DO NOT put anything in Appendices which you have NOT referred to in the text, otherwise it is pointless putting it there. Using file dividers to label Appendices is extremely helpful for anyone reading your report to find the Appendices easily.