Better Report Writing for University Students

Everyone knows that report writing is different to essay writing. You've probably discovered that what is needed for a report in one discipline is likely to be different from a report in another discipline. But you'll also find that expectations can be different from one report to the next, even within the same discipline.

The truth is that every report is different. Each one depends on what the purpose is, who you are writing for, and the kind of research that you are reporting. So if every report is different, how can you tell what makes a good report? The key is to understand the purpose of report writing, rather than just what goes in each section.

This website is designed to help you understand the purpose of report writing, so that whatever brief you are given and whichever discipline you are working in, you can work out what is expected of you and how to achieve it successfully. On this introductory page, you can find out more about:

Key features of report writing What makes a good / bad report? How reports are read

About this website 

Resources and advice on this website were produced following research among academics and students. We asked students to tell us what areas they wanted to develop their practices in, and academics what they were looking for when they marked student reports.

We hope it will continue to develop organically as we receive input from our readers, whether they are students, subject academics or learning development colleagues. Please This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you find a broken link, or would like to suggest a resource to share, or if there is something missing that you had hoped to find. 

Key features of report writing

A report is a piece of informative writing that describes a set of actions and analyses any results in response to a specific brief. A quick definition might be: “This is what I did and this is what it means.” You may also have assignments which are not called reports but which are still pieces of informative writing; for instance, some dissertations and project write-ups fall into this category.

A good way to understand the key features of reports is to see how they differ from essays as a type of academic writing. 

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What makes a good/bad report?

We interviewed academics who regularly set and mark reports and asked what they felt were the most common problems in poor reports. They said:

• Doesn’t answer the brief
• Badly structured
• Inappropriate writing style
• Poor grammar and punctuation
• Incorrect or inadequate referencing
• Too much/too little/irrelevant material
• Expression not clear
• Doesn’t relate results to purpose
• Unnecessary use of jargon

So how can you make sure your report does what it’s meant to do, and does it well? Below are some tips for writing better reports.

Read the brief 

The most important thing you can do is read the brief (or the title of your assignment, or your research question) carefully. Then read it again even more carefully! If you’re still not completely clear about what to do, don’t guess. Discuss it with your tutor or someone else who can help. A Study Adviser or postgraduate student in your department are probably better than a friend. 

Try this exercise - Identify the audience and purpose of reports by reading the brief >> 

Check which sections your report should have

Reports for different disciplines and briefs will require different sections: for instance, a business report may need a separate Recommendations section but no Methods section. Check your brief carefully to make sure you have the correct sections, and be clear about which piece of information goes in which section.

More advice on what goes in the different sections of a report and on structuring your report >>

Remember that reports are meant to be informative

Reports tell the reader what was done, what was discovered as a consequence and how this relates to the reasons the report was undertaken. Include only relevant material in your background and discussion.

Consider who you are writing for

A report is an act of communication between you and your reader. So pay special attention to who your projected reader is, and what they want from the report. Sometimes you will be asked to write for an imaginary reader (e.g. a business client). In this case it’s vital to think about why they want the report to be produced (e.g. to decide on the viability of a project) and to make sure you respond to that. If it’s your tutor, they will want to know that you can communicate the processes and results of your research clearly and accurately, and can discuss your findings in the context of the overall purpose. 

Write simply and appropriately

Keep your expression clear and simple. If the purpose of a report is to inform, it won't be achieving that purpose if the reader is confused by complicated phrases and jargon. Your method and findings, for instance, should be described accurately and in non-ambiguous terms so that it is possible for someone else to replicate your research process and achieve the same results.

More advice on writing academically >> 

Spend more time on your discussion section

This is the bit that pulls the whole piece together by showing how your findings relate to the purpose of the report, and to any previous research. So read your introduction and literature survey over again and make sure that all the issues raised there are referred to and linked up with your own research in your discussion. This is also a good place to reflect on the methods you chose to use - if something didn't go as planned, discuss why this happened, any changes you had to make, and what you might do differently another time.

Make sure your references are correct and complete 

Every idea, diagram and piece of information you use that comes from someone else’s work must be acknowledged with a reference. Check your brief, or department handbook for the form of referencing required (usually a short reference in the body of the text, and a full reference in the Reference List or Bibliography at the end).

More advice from LearnHigher on referencing >>

Make sure you know the scope

The word count and submission date will help you to work out the scope of the report. A 5000 word report will be expected to include a lot more background and discussion than a 1000 word report, which will be looking for more conciseness in the way you convey your information. Likewise, a piece of work completed over a term is expected to have more depth than one completed in two weeks. It won't help if you're trying to achieve more than is possible within the limits set.

Plan your time

Make sure you allow enough time to write up your work properly. If you find that your research is taking longer than you expected, remember that you can get a first draft of some of your sections (like the method) written up before you've finished your research - it's always quicker to amend than to write from scratch. It may help to set your own deadline earlier than the handing-in date.

More advice from LearnHigher on managing time for research projects >>

Proof read carefully

When it feels like you've been working on a project forever, it's tempting to hand it in the minute the last word is written. But it's easy to overlook small mistakes that could lose you marks. Try to finish writing a day before you need to hand it in, then leave it for a day before carefully proof reading.

More advice on effective proof reading >>

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How reports are read

Research on how managers read reports discovered that they were most likely to read in this order:  

This is not to suggest that you should spend less time on writing up your discussion or your findings. But it does show that the sections you may think of as less important (like the abstract or introduction) are actually often the places a reader gets their first impressions. So it’s worth getting them right.

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>>> Next: What goes in the different Sections of a Report