Just the Facts

• Before writing a report, keep in mind that the overall tone of your report should be factual, concise and to the point. Writing a report is a way to present well-researched facts. Reports normally take on a formal structure. The use of items such as section headings and bullet points are traditional methods of creating a report. Including graphs and charts are often helpful, particularly if the subject matter is about financial loss or gain.
  
  

Introduction

• Introduce the reader to the purpose of the report in the introduction. This feature of your report helps to identify the structure and flow of your report. Give the reader a brief idea of the type of research you conducted and some of the information that is revealed to them by reading the report.
  
  

Main Discussion

• The main discussion is the meat of your report. Use this section to flesh out all the detailed information that you want to get across to your reader. When writing this feature, keep your audience in mind. Allow your information to flow in short, precise sentences. At some point in the main discussion, address the purpose of your research, any questions you had prior to researching and the answers you received from your research. Go into depth and illustrate how the research you conducted gave you a better understanding of the topic.
  
  

Recommendations

• This is the one section of the report where you can add a measure of your own opinions. After presenting the facts, the reader may be interested in your recommendations. If there is a problem or an issue to be solved, the reader may look to the writer's expertise on the subject to make a more informed decision. Adding your recommendation can mean the difference between a dull fact-finding document and an interesting, well-researched analysis.
  
  

Conclusion

• Write the conclusion of your report as a summary of all of the information you already mentioned. Oftentimes, readers just skim through a report, not reading every detail. The conclusion is a critical part of a report because it summarizes all of the information in an accurate, comprehensive manner.
  
  

Methods

• If your report is scientific in nature, you may want to include the methods by which you conducted your experiment. Any raw data should be added as a supplement. Any additional information about the methods used for your experiment and the data retrieved go into the methods section.