Academic Report Writing Template

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On this page: Sections of a report with example text, links to related pages on report writing.

This is an example long report template for you to copy to your word processor or print out. Then you can fill in your own details.


Title Page

The Title; e.g. 'A Report on ....'
'An Investigation into...'
'An Analysis of ...'
'A Comparison of ... and ...'

Your Name

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the
............................course.

If you are a HKPU student, your student number.

The date.


Acknowledgments

"I would like to thank my supervisor, Mr. _______, for the valuable advice and support he has given me in the writing of this report. I would also like to thank my teachers, Mrs. _______ and Mr. _______ for their encouragement and guidance. Thanks also to my typist, Ms. _______, for her immaculate job and her suggestions. My deepest thanks go to my wife/husband, for her/his love, understanding and support."


Summary / Abstract

This study was to ______________________________

It was requested by ____________________________

It was requested on (date).

The investigation was done by ____________________

The main findings were that ______________________

It was concluded that __________________________

The recommendations are that _______should be ______


Contents Page

Section......................................................Page Number

  1. Introduction.............................................................................1
  2. Literature Review....................................................................3
  3. Methodology...........................................................................5
  4. Findings...................................................................................7
  5. Conclusions............................................................................14
  6. Recommendations...................................................................16
  7. Appendices............................................................................18
  8. Bibliography...........................................................................25

List of Figures

  1. Bar Chart of Answers to Question 1...................................8
  2. Pie Chart of Socio-economic Status of the Respondents.....9


List of Tables

  1. Survey Findings by Gender and Age Group........................10

1. Introduction

Background
This report has been written because ....

It was requested by ...

It was requested on (date).

Objectives
The objectives of this report are to ....

Scope
This report examines .... . It does not examine ..... because ...... .


2. Literature Review

The area of investigation has been commented on by Channel (1994), Hoey (1993), Halliday (1993) and Lesser (1979), who are in agreement that...

However, they have different opinions on ....

Due to the differences highlighted above, it was decided to investigate ....


3. Methodology (also called the 'Method' or 'Procedure')

___ respondents, chosen by the method of _____ were surveyed from (start date) to (end date). Of these, ______ were invited for interview on (date).

The statistics were analysed using a _______ test because .........

The significance of the results was __________


4. Findings

4.1. Introduction
In general, the findings indicated that...

The major finding of the investigation was that...

In addition, ....

Surprisingly, ........ , which was an unexpected consequence of .....

Related exercises:

  • Trends - this exercise introduces the vocabulary and grammar needed to describe trends. Includes an exercise.
  • Trends Headings - this exercise shows how to use headings when describing trends. Includes an exercise.
  • Describing Satisfaction  - choosing between 'satisfy', 'satisfied', 'satisfying' and 'satisfactory', etc.
  • Important or Importance? Explanation and exercise on which word to use.
  • 'Lack' or 'Lack of'? - an explanation and an exercise.

5. Conclusions

The main conclusion that can be drawn is therefore that...

In the light of this, it is recommended that... (+ a general recommendation; e.g. that something needs to be changed. The detailed recommendations should go in the Recommendations section below.)


6. Recommendations

In the light of these conclusions, I recommend that _____ should be ____

In addition, a _______ could ______

Grammar Note:
To make suggestions and recommendations you should use 'could + infinitive verb' (if you are less sure), or 'should + infinitive verb' (if you are more sure). You could also use 'suggest + _ing' or 'suggest that + a subject noun (e.g. 'we') + a verb (e.g. 'could' + infinitive verb). Do NOT use 'suggest to'.


Appendices

Appendix 1: Sample Survey Form


Appendix 2: Results of Statistical Analysis by ______


Bibliography

(Click here to find out more about references.)

Channel, J. (1994). Vague language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Halliday, M.A.K. (1993). Quantitative studies and probabilities in grammar. In Hoey, M. (Ed.) Data, description, discourse. London: HarperCollins, 1-25.

Hoey, M. (1993). Data, description, discourse. London: HarperCollins, 1-25.

Lesser, R. (1979). Linguistic investigations of aphasia. Studies in language disability and remediation 5. London: Edward Arnold.


Related pages:

Content and Organisation

Introductions

  • Report Writing: Introductions - a page to help you understand the content and grammar of report introductions. It contains explanations, an example and an exercise.
  • Report Introductions - a text-reconstruction exercise to help you remember the language of the introduction to a report.

Method / Methodology / Procedure

Findings and Discussion

Conclusion

Recommendations

Practice Materials

 

For a list of CILL Report Writing Materials, click here. | CILL writing page | CILL Report Writing Materials

For more details on referencing and bibliographies, click here.

 

Last updated on: Friday, August 19, 2016