How to write a report
Ihab shehad, MD
What is a report?
• A document containing information organized in a narrative, graphic,
or tabular form, prepared on a periodic, recurring, regular, or as
required basis.
• Reports may refer to specific periods, events, occurrences, or
subjects, and may be communicated or presented in oral or written
form.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/report.html
Types of a report
• Task report
• Research report
Who is (are) your audience?
• Your Supervisor/Director
• Your collaegues
• Others
Structure of a report?
• Heading
• Introduction
• Body of the report
• Conclusion and recommendation
• References
Heading
The Heading section includes:
• the date the report is written
• the recipient (s) of the report
• the subject of the report, including the topic and the focus of the
report
• The person/organization submitting the report
Abstract
• It may be needed if the report includes many topics and many
activities
• If the report includes few or one activity, no need for an abstract
• It is often put at start of the report
• The main audience: is the big boss who may not have the time ( take
care!!!!!)
• It is mainly one paragraph describing in brief the main items ( no
details)
Introduction
• It is often needed to start with.
• It describes the background for writing the report
• It may be scientific ( with references) Example: writing a report on a
scientific activity like hand washing day in a hospital
OR just write the circumstances behind writing the report. Example:
report on a field visit; you can just start by the arrangement of this visit
: e.g this visit was arranged as part of ….,,,
• Introduction should be concise and mainly explain why we need this
report
Body ( main part) of the report
• It describes all activities carried out in details
• It list activities chronologically
• If there are many activities and each one has further subtopics , it is
better to arrange it into sections and each section comprises the
details of each activity
Format of a report ( these are guidelines)
• Usually the font is Times new roman / Ariel size 12
• Headings are larger (16) and Bold
• Double spaced
• 1” margin around
Conclusion & recommendation
• This part of the report is the place to summarize what has been learned
from work or incident or to share any decisions that have been made.
• The recommendation allows you to share your opinion concerning any
future action regarding the issue.
Instructions for report writing (For students)
• Length of the report: No more than 2 pages (references are not included)
• Cover page: Write
• The Title of your topic
• Your full name and ID
• Name of your supervisor
• Headings under the topic should be font 14
• Main text: font 12
• Line Spacing: 1.5
• Reference: use at least 5 references or more (in separate page)
• NB: Don’t copy and paste try to write on your own style