Information Report Structure; How to write Report (Full Details) – Inforeportage

Information Report Structure; How to write Report (Full Details) – Inforeportage

What is a report?

A report is a concise piece of writing that uses facts and evidence to look at issues, situations, events or findings. Reports are informative texts that aim to analyse different topics with a specific purpose and audience in mind.

Reports are a form of non-fiction and aim to be as objective as possible, focusing on facts. This differentiates them from other forms of non-fiction, such as essays, that are heavily opinionated (though they may use statistics and factual information to persuade).

Information Report Structure

An information report structure will, of course, depend on the writer’s own distinct personal style. However, there are some general guidelines that you can follow to make sure that your information report includes everything that it needs to.

Reports are usually structured using subheadings, numbered sections and subsections. Key information can be listed using bullet points and it can include features such as statistics, graphs or quotes as evidence to support its analysis.

How To Write An Information Report?

Reports also tend to follow a structure that progresses through the following sections:

• Introduction. State what the report is investigating, as well as its aims and objectives. Also, identify what your hypothesis is (a theory that you’re trying to prove).

• Methodology. Write about how you approached the investigation, collected data and analysed it. For example, if you got your data through a survey you conducted, write about how many people you surveyed, where you found them, how they communicated with you and what you did with the information. You could have gone about this in more than one way, in which case you can use subtitles to break down the different methods you used.

• Results. What were your findings? This isn’t the part where you interpret or analyse what you found, you simply share the results of your investigation. Continuing with the above example, what did the survey participants say?

• Discussion. This is where you interpret the results. What insights do you have into the information you collected. Did it support your hypothesis that you wrote earlier?

• Summary. Without introducing any new information, summarise your findings and what you learned from the investigation. You can also include recommendations here that relate to your findings.

This is commonly referred to as the IMRAD report structure (Introduction, Methodology, Results and Discussion) and is the common way to approach report writing. However, if you’re unsure, check the required format with your teacher, professor, mentor, manager etc.

The main thing that an information report should achieve is to provide succinct knowledge about the topic it deals with. So, as long as your information report structure carries the reader through a helpful introduction, specific facts that back up your standpoint, and an insightful conclusion or summary, you’ll be good to go.

What language should you use when writing a report?

Clear, objective language. Report writing should not include emotive words and should focus primarily on being clear, accurate and concise. This is because the goal of a report is to communicate the facts, as opposed to convincing readers to think or feel a certain way. Aim to use Standard English and a straightforward vocabulary.