Writing a Report — Structure and Language
On this page 7 headings
Start here Your CEO opens your 40-page report. She reads only the first 4 lines before her next meeting. Will she know what you found? On this page, you learn to put the most important thing first.
Overall structure of a formal document
Every formal document has a beginning, a middle and an ending.
Beginning
| Part | What to write |
|---|---|
| Title | Says what the document is about. Example: “Weather prediction using a smaller set of variables”. |
| Summary | A short summary at the top, with your key results. Don’t hide anything. Busy managers may read only this, so make it complete but short. This is where you show your efficiency. |
| Introduction | Just 2–3 lines on why this work was done. Someone may read your report years later, after you have left. Without this, your work looks random. |
The higher a person is in the company, the less time they have. If your top part is good, they will be truly delighted.
Middle — details and strategy
Here you give your full work with all details. Don’t waste words, but don’t cut detail.
Lecture example — car parts The same car is sold in 10 countries. Its steering column comes from 3 sources, tyres from 5, seats from 7, headlights from 2. Roads differ everywhere. Finding why some cars fail is a complex analysis — and the middle of the report holds all those details.
Choose a strategy to present the details:
| Strategy | How it works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Chronological | In time order: first this, then this | How schools changed over the years |
| Spatial | By position: from outside to inside, top to bottom | A product described from its outer parts to its core |
| Flow of a variable | Follow one quantity as it changes | Following air pressure across places in a weather study |
Most people only use chronological. You have a choice.
Even if few people read the middle, make it solid. When someone checks, they should see that the work was done properly.
Ending — summary and future perspective
- Summary of the major conclusions.
- Future perspective: what you recommend the company or your group should do next.
In one line: Beginning (title, summary, introduction) → middle (details with a strategy) → ending (summary and future perspective). Exam words: beginning, middle, ending, title, summary, introduction, chronological, spatial, flow of variable, future perspective.
Language
Language is your main tool. Six rules:
1. Use the correct word. Speed and velocity are different technical terms. Cricket commentators say “bowled at 130 kilometres” — but kilometres is distance. Speed is kilometres per hour. In reports, no such shortcuts.
2. Be clear — avoid complexity.
| ✗ Complex | ✓ Simple |
|---|---|
| functionability | function |
| hitherto | until now |
| discretized | discrete |
3. Be clear — avoid ambiguity. Ambiguity means a sentence can have more than one meaning.
“The patient has an irregular heartbeat and a weak pulse. This is a symptom of low blood pressure.” What does “this” mean — the heartbeat, the pulse, or both? The writer knows, but the reader does not.
You write with your knowledge, so you don’t notice the gap. Practise catching words like “this” and “it” that could point to many things.
4. Be concise — read with the sole intent to cut words. After writing, read the document once more, only to remove extra words.
| ✗ Wordy | ✓ Short |
|---|---|
| At this point in time | now |
| At that point in time | then |
| In light of the fact | because |
5. Avoid arrogant phrases. “It is obvious” is arrogant. If it is obvious, why say it? If it is not obvious to the reader, you are rubbing it in: “It is obvious to me, but not to you.”
6. Be familiar — define unusual terms. Every company has its own terms. The first time you use one, add its meaning in brackets. Don’t turn every few words into an abbreviation — the professor once saw a government document with pages of abbreviations.
In one line: Use the correct, simple, clear, short words — and never sound arrogant. Exam words: correct word, speed vs velocity, avoid complexity, ambiguity, concise, arrogant phrases, define unusual terms, abbreviations.
Summary of the lecture
- Writing skills are important. They show what you did, help the company decide, and record important work — for years.
- Formal writing can be challenging (background, expectations, “poor” examples).
- Recognise the purpose of a formal document: inform, persuade, efficiently.
- Understand the structure: beginning, middle, ending. You can adjust it to the situation.
- Use appropriate language.
It feels painful at first. But after 2–3 documents, it becomes natural — and your seniors will truly appreciate you.
Everyday example Your project report on “College canteen waste”: Summary: “We cut food waste by 30% by changing plate sizes.” Introduction: “The canteen wastes about 40 kg of food daily.” Middle: what you measured, day by day. Ending: “Recommend smaller plates in all three canteens.” A reader gets the main result in the first line.