Formal Report Organization
Engl 3365
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Organization
some things to CONSIDER including
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Letter of transmittal
Title page
Abstract or Executive Summary
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations / Abbreviations
Forward / Preface / Introduction
Methods
Results
Analysis
Conclusion or Recommendation
Qualifications or Experience
Glossary
References / Bibliography / Works Cited
Appendix
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Examples & Explanation
Chapter 11 is a GREAT resource
Explains “front matter, body, back matter”
Gives detailed info for:
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deciding if specific sections would be useful
deciding what to include in specific sections
deciding how to format specific sections
Provides an example with lots of explanation
Remember that there is NO SINGLE “CORRECT” report
template for format, content, etc, but looking at even a
generic example with explanation can be helpful!
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Organization & Format
you will need TO THINK
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Your group’s report WILL NOT EXACTLY
follow the example in Ch11 (formal reports) or
Ch13 (proposals)
The specific organization strategy you use will
match the SPECIFIC AUDIENCE AND GOAL
of your unique project
The specific sections you decide to include
(and what you call each section) WILL VARY
based on audience & goal
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Letter of Transmittal
Fancy name for a cover letter
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Gives quick context for this thing that just fell out of an
envelope onto someone’s desk
Reminds the audience who you are, what this is, and why
they should read it
Think of it as a “polite formal handshake intro” for the report
Appeal to the audience
Answer their questions
(who you are, what this is, what it can do for them)
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Title Page
Use a format that makes sense FOR THE AUDIENCE
Answer basic questions like:
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Who are you (don’t just list names – describe WHAT you are)
What is the report about (use a descriptive title)
When was it written
Who is it written for
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Abstract / Executive Summary
A short or very short (100-500 word) summary of the
entire report
Don’t try to cram in everything
Just use a few sentences to describe:
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The problem or issue the report is about
The recommendation that the report gives
What the rest of the report can do for the audience
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Table of Contents, Illustrations, etc
DO NOT make typos in these sections
DO use these sections to show the document
organization
Think about:
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Subsection levels (complicated or simple?)
Descriptive headings (what makes sense for audience?)
Clear and attractive fonts and layouts
Is a TOC really necessary for a ~15pg report, especially
if each major section starts on a new page?
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Introduction
This MIGHT include lots of different things:
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Background on the problem or issue
Summary of your research or recommendations
Description of what the report contains
Explanation for how the report is organized
Maybe ALL or JUST SOME of the above
Maybe one short or long section, or maybe lots of subsections
The bottom line? Provide only the information that your
audience wants or needs, and give them this
information in a format they can understand and use.
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Methods
Sometimes it’s useful to describe how your group did
things like:
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Research
Investigation
Thinking and Planning
Organizing and Writing
Sometimes it’s useful to describe how your group or
THE AUDIENCE could do things like:
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Research or Investigate a solution or course of action
Plan or Organize a solution or course of action
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Results and Analysis
These sections are useful for a
chronologically-organized report
 What
you did
 How you did it
 What you found (RESULTS)
 What this means (ANALYSIS)
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Conclusion or Recommendation
What should the audience DO?
Often the MOST IMPORTANT section of a proposal
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People are most likely to act on CLEAR, SPECIFIC, and
REALISTIC things
Whether a recommendation is REALISTIC depends on how you
define it
Even wild ideas might be “realistic” if your clear and specific
recommendation is “you should THINK ABOUT this option”
Successful reports emphasize BENEFITS
FOR THE AUDIENCE !
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Qualifications or Experience
Remember that a recommendation, proposal, or
feasibility report is a sales job -- need to convince the
audience that your ideas are valuable and that they
should take you seriously
If you don’t have formal credentials that lend weight to
your ideas, think about describing the amount of work
you put into researching the report, etc
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Glossary
A section like this can be very useful if your
report contains a lot of specialized terminology
that isn’t familiar to your audience
Think of this as a mini-dictionary for your report
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
References
If you use “in-text” citations, then this is a necessary
section (contains complete reference information)
If you use “citation-sequence” citations (numbered
footnotes or endnotes), then this is an optional section
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Your audience might appreciate one page that summarizes
all the sources you used, but this isn’t necessary if your
footnotes are complete citations
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
Appendix
This section can contain anything “extra”
This might include:
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Information that is useful for the audience, but would
interrupt the flow of the report
Information that helps to establish your credibility (like
show how much work you did)
Examples or other things for the audience to use
Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke
other possible report elements
Schedules
Procedures
Budgets
Graphics, Tables, or other Visuals