BU1007 Report Structure

The introduction has three parts:

· purpose of the report: tell the reader why the report is being produced

· limitations: any limitations encountered in the production of the report that may affect the results of the report

· the scope of the report: summarise what the report covers, how information will be presented in the report, where the information for the report comes from and how it will be gathered (e.g. questionnaires or other research).  Be careful here once again not to simply reproduce the table of contents; this should be an overview or summary of what will be done, not a bit-by-bit reproduction.  Focus on the important elements.

3.3   Body of report

The structure of the body of the report is directed by the assessment item. Consider the case questions and structure this section using headings and subheadings to convey the report content. In the table of contents above, an example structure is provided for another report topic.

3.5   Conclusions

This section should essentially summarise the main points or findings of the report.  It should be based on the information presented in the body.  It is essential that you do not introduce any new information or ideas at this stage and the use of direct quotations should be avoided.  The conclusion should answer the question: what do the findings mean?

It is important to ensure that your conclusions are consistent with the outline given in the introduction.  For this reason, it is generally recommended that the introduction be written after the main report.  The conclusion should answer the following questions.  Was the purpose of the report fulfilled?  Have the specified sources of information been used?  Have the areas stated been adequately tackled?