How to Write an Academic Report

The slides will prepare you to write an academic report with a standard structure and get an overview of report types.

1. WRITING SCIENTIFIC AND
RESEARCH REPORTS
(ACADEMIC REPORT)
Nabeel Salih Ali
ITRDC, University of Kufa
MSc. Internetworking Technology
ORCID: 0000-0001-9988-5619
2
nd
October 2019

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
PresentationOverview
What is Report? Typical Report Structure
Why Write A Report? Report Presentation
Types of Reports Report Writing Style
What is Academic Report?
Stand out and Successful
Report Writing
How Preparingand Planning? High Scoring in Report Writing

3. WHAT IS A REPORT?
Essentially,areportisashort,sharp,concise
documentwhichiswrittenforaparticular
purposeandaudience.
Itgenerallysetsoutsandanalysesasituation
orproblem,oftenmakingrecommendationsfor
futureaction.Itisafactualpaper,andneedsto
beclearandwell-structured.
Reportwritingcomesindifferentshapesand
styles,dependingonyourtopicandyour
supervisor’srequirements.Somereports
containallofthecommonreportwriting
components,whileotherscontainonlyafew.

4. WHY WRITE A REPORT?
Areportprovidesclearlyorganizedinformation
and/ordataaboutasituationorproblemunder
investigation.
Theinformation/datamaycomefromyour
experience,yourreading,yourresearch,
experimentsormeasurementsconductedina
laboratoryoroutinthefield.
Knowingyouraudiencewilldeterminehowmuchinformationandhowmuchcontext
youneedtoprovide,andthechoiceoftechnicalandnon-technicallanguageinyour
writing.

5. WHY WRITE A REPORT?
Two of the reasonswhy reports are used as forms
of written assessment are:
•To find out whatyou have learnedfrom
yourreading, researchor experience;
•To give you experienceof an important
skill that is widely used in the workplace.

6. TYPES OF REPORTS?
Reportscanbeacademic,technical,orbusiness-
oriented,andfeaturerecommendationsforspecific
actions.
Academicreportsareusedtopresentand
discusstheresultsofanexperiment,survey,or
otherresearchmethod.
Thesereportsoftenrequireaspecificlayoutandtheinclusionofacertainsetof
sections.

7. What Is Academic Writing?
Academicwritingreferstoaparticular
styleofexpression.
Characteristicsofacademicwriting
include:
Aformaltone
Useofthethird-personratherthanfirst-
personperspective
Clearfocusontheissueortopicratherthantheauthor'sopinion
Precisewordchoice

8. How? (Preparation and Planning )
First,youshouldtakesometimetoprepareandplanforyourreport.Beforeyoustart
writing,identifytheaudience.Yourreportshouldbewrittenandtailoredtothereaders'
needsandexpectations.Whenplanning,askyourselfseveralquestionstobetter
understandthegoalofthereport.Somequestionstoconsiderinclude:
Whoarethereaders?
Whatisthepurposeofthereport?
Whyisthisreportneeded?
Whatinformationshouldbeincludedinthereport?

9. Report Structure (Formatting)

10. Typical Report Structure (Formatting)
TitleSection:
There are fourmain piecesof information that must
be present on the title page:
The report title
The nameof the person, company, or organization
for whom the report has been prepared
The name of the author and the company or
university that originated the report
Report completion date

11. •Summary (Abstract) or Executive Summary Section:
Thesummaryconsistsofthemajorpoints,conclusions,and
recommendations.
Itneedstobeshort,asitisageneraloverviewofthereport.
Somepeoplewillreadthesummaryandonlyskimthe
report,somakesureyouincludealloftherelevant
information.
Itwouldbebesttowritethiswhenthereportisfinishedsoyouwillinclude
everything,evenpointsthatmightbeaddedatthelastminute.

12. •Summary (Abstract) or Executive Summary Section:
Thispartofareportisusuallynomorethanonepageinlength,anditincludes:
Thepurposeofthereport
Thebackgroundofthereport
Sourcesofinformation
Mainfindings
Conclusionsandrecommendations

13. •Introduction Section:
Theintroductionshouldbeabriefbutthoroughdiscussionoftheproblem’scontext.
Atypicalintroductionisabout1½to2pageslong,anditincludes:
1.Thepurposeorobjectiveofthereport
2.Backgroundinformation(e.g.,abriefhistoryoftheorganization,contextofthetopic
ortheproblem)
3.Aliteraturereview(whatresearchhasalreadybeendoneinthisfield)
4.Thescopeofthestudy,whichmayincludethesizeorextentofstudy,amountof
datacollected,timeframes,thefocusofdatacollectionordiscussion(e.g.,asingle
departmentorawholeorganization).

14. •Introduction Section:
5.Methodology,includingthekindofdataused(e.g.,whowasinterviewed,whattypes
ofmaterialswerereferredto)
6.Assumptionsandlimitations
7.Aplanthatbrieflyoverviewstheargument,framework,orlogicalstructureofthe
report.
Use the present tense to outline the problemand your aims.
Use the past tense to describe eventsthat have occurred when giving background
information or context.

15. Introduction Samples

16. •Method Section:
Listtheproceduresandprocessesundertakeninyourinvestigationinclearorder.If
necessary,usesubheadingslikeSample,Instruments.
Foratechnicalreport,youmayneedtoincludedescriptionsofmaterials,equipment
andresources.
Usethepasttenseastheeventsoftheresearchareover.
Unlessyouaretoldspecificallytowriteinfirstperson,chooseimpersonalsentence
structuressuchaspassiveconstructions,e.g.“20studentswereselectedrandomlyto
formthesamplegroup”insteadof“Iselected20studentsrandomlytoformthesample
group”.

17. Method Samples

18. •Findings, Results and Data Section:
Presentyourinformationinaclearandlogicalsequence.
Youmaywanttousecharts,tables,graphsandpicturestodemonstrateyourresults.
Thesearecollectivelycalled‘figures’inareport.Makesurethateachoftheseis
labelledandnumberedconsecutively.
Ifyouhavealargeamountofempiricalresults,includetheminanappendix.
Usethepasttenseandpassiveconstructiontodescribewhatwasfound,inkeeping
withtheimpersonaltoneofthereport.

19. •Discussion and Analysis Section:
Thissectionexplainsandarguestheinterpretationoftheevidenceinthereport.
Usethepresenttensetodiscusstheongoingsituationasrevealedintheinvestigation.
Checkwithyourlecturerwhetheryoushouldadoptapersonalorimpersonaltonein
thediscussion.

20. •Conclusion Section:
Theconclusionisthelastpartofyourreportwriting.
Sumupthemainpointsandrefertoanyunderlyingtheme.
Ifanyquestionsorissuesremainunresolved,mentionthemintheconclusion.
Writeinabrief,concisemannerbecauseyourreadersarealreadyfamiliarwithyour
points

21. Findings, Results and DataSamples

22. •Recommendations and Implications Section:
Ifthenatureofthereporthasbeentoidentifyactionstobetakenasaresultofthe
findings,theyshouldbelistedheresequentially.
Usethepasttensetoreviewwhatthereportfound,andcommentinthepresenttense.

23. Recommendations and Implications Samples

24. •References Section:
Itdemonstratesthatyouareenlistingthesupportofsomeone’sresearchtosupport
yourownideasandfindings.
Itdemonstrateswhatideasorinformationyouhavereferredtofromsomeone’s
researchasdistinctfromyourown.
Itdemonstratesthatyouacknowledgeandgivecredittotheworkofsomeoneelse.
Makessurethatyouarefamiliarwiththereferencingstyleasprescribedbyyour
faculty.
Onlyincludesthosereferencesthatyouhaveusedinyourreport(i.e.thosethatyou
havecitedinthereport).

25. •Appendices Section:
Anappendixisanyextramaterialthatyouwishtoincludeattheendofyourreportfor
theaudiencetoconsider
Itmaybethatitisnotessentialinthebodyofthereportitself,oristoolengthyand
wouldinterrupttheflowofinformation
Insomecases,itmaybeevidentialmaterialonwhichyourfindingsarebased(e.g.
statisticalcalculationsordatafromanothersource)
Eachappendixshouldbetitledandnumbered(e.g.AppendixA,AppendixB),and
listedinthetableofcontents.

26. Recommendations and Implications Samples

27. •Report Presentation
presentyourreportinasimpleandconcisestylethatiseasytoreadandnavigate.
Readerswanttobeabletolookthroughareportandgettotheinformationtheyneed
asquicklyaspossible.Thatwaythereporthasagreaterimpactonthereader.
Therearesimpleformattingstylesthatcanbeusedthroughoutyourreportthatwill
makeiteasytoreadandlookorganizedandpresentable.Forexample:
1.Font:Usejustonefontinyourreport.Aneasy-to-readfontsuchasArialorTimes
NewRomanisbestforreports.Sectionheadingscanbeadifferentfontfromthe
maintextifyouprefer.

28. •Report Presentation
2.Lists:Uselistswheneverappropriatetobreakinformationintoeasy-to-understand
points.Listscaneitherbenumberedorbulleted.
3.HeadingsandSubheadings:Youcanuseheadingsandsubheadingsthroughout
yourreporttoidentifythevarioustopicsandbreakthetextintomanageablechunks.
Thesewillhelpkeepthereportorganizedandcanbelistedinthetableofcontents
sotheycanbefoundquickly.

29. Report Presentation Samples

30. •Report Writing Style
Therearealsosomewritingstylestoconsider:
KeepItSimple.Don'ttrytoimpress;rathertrytocommunicate.Keepsentencesshort
andtothepoint.Makesureeverywordneedstobethere,thatitcontributestothe
purposeofthereport.
UsetheActiveVoice.Activevoicemakesthewritingmovesmoothlyandeasily.Italso
usesfewerwordsthanthepassivevoiceandgivesimpacttothewritingbyemphasizing
thepersonorthingresponsibleforanaction.Forexample:"Badcustomerservice
decreasesrepeatbusiness"ismoreconciseanddirectthan"Repeatbusinessis
decreasedbybadcustomerservice."
MindYourGrammar.Readthereportaloudandhavesomeoneproofreaditforyou.
Rememberthatthecomputercannotcatchallthemistakes,especiallywithwordslike
"red/read"or"there/their."Youmayevenwanttowaitadayafteryouwriteittocome
backandlookatitwithfresheyes.

31. Recommendations and Implications Samples

32. 7 Tips To Make Your Report Stand Out
1–Determineitspurpose……Whatshoulditaccomplish?
2–Writetoyourreaders……..Whoisyouraudience?
3–ProceedinanorderlymanneResearch-Write-Summarize.
4–Lengthmatters……Coveryourtopic,thenquit.
5–Flowlogically…….Leadthereaderfromstarttofinish.
6–Appearancematters…….Makeitvisuallyappealing.
7–Reviewandrevise.

33. The Essential Stages of SuccessfulReport Writing
StageOne:Understandingthereportbrief
StageTwo:Gatheringandselectinginformation
StageThree:Organizingyourmaterial
StageFour:Analyzingyourmaterial
StageFive:Writingthereport
StageSix:Reviewingandredrafting
StageSeven:Presentation

34. Pointers to Score High in Report Writing
1.Usenamesandpronouns
2.Limityourselftooneideapersentence.
3.Beasclearandspecificaspossible.
4.Usesimplelanguage.
5.Sticktoobservablefacts.
6.Writeinparagraphs.
7.Useactivevoice.
8.Usebulletstyle.

35. REFERENCES
[1] https://www.careeranna.com/articles/report-writing-format-sample-report/
[2] https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources/reports
[3] https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/report-writing-format.html
[4] https://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Science-Report
[5] https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Report
[6] https://www.skillsyouneed.com/write/report-writing.html
[7] https://www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz/current-students/study-tips-and-techniques/assignments/how-to-write-a-report/
[8] https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/support/helps/self-help-resources/academic-writing/report-writing
[9] https://custom-writing.org/blog/report-writing-top-tips
[10] https://biggsuccess.com/bigg-articles/how-to-write-a-great-report/
[11] https://www.wordy.com/writers-workshop/writing-an-academic-report/

36. Nabeel Salih Ali
MSc. Computer Science (Internetworking Technology)
Lecturer at ECE, Faculty of Engineering &
Member at Information Technology Research and Development Centre,
University of Kufa, Kufa, P.O. Box (21), Najaf Governorate, Iraq