- What a report is — and how it differs from an essay
- The report sections at a glance
- The copy-ready report template
- Title page
- Executive summary
- Introduction
- Methodology
- Findings and results
- Discussion
- Conclusion and recommendations
- References and appendices
- Worked example
- Report vs lab report
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Related guides
- Frequently asked questions
What a report is — and how it differs from an essay
A report is a structured document that investigates a question, presents evidence and offers conclusions or recommendations a reader can act on. Unlike an essay, which flows as continuous argument, a report is broken into clearly labelled sections with headings, numbering and often tables or figures. Readers should be able to jump straight to the part they need — a manager might read only the executive summary and recommendations, while a marker reads the methodology in detail.
This structure is used across disciplines and sectors: business and management reports, technical reports, research reports, consultancy briefs and project evaluations all share the same backbone. If you are writing an analytical piece instead, our essay plan template is a better starting point, because essays do not use the segmented layout below.
The template that follows works for the majority of academic and professional reports. Always check your brief or module handbook first: some courses require additional sections (such as terms of reference) or a specific numbering style. Where your institution gives a house style, that overrides any generic template.
“A report is not written to be read front to back — it is written so a busy reader can find the part they need in seconds.”
The report sections at a glance
Every section has a single job. Before you write, decide what each one must deliver and roughly how much space it deserves. The table below summarises the standard order and the purpose of each part.
| Section | Purpose | Typical length |
|---|---|---|
| Title page | Identifies the report, author, module and date | 1 page |
| Executive summary | Condenses purpose, findings and recommendations | 5–10% of report |
| Table of contents | Maps sections and page numbers | 1 page |
| Introduction | Sets background, aim, scope and structure | 10% |
| Methodology | Explains how data was gathered and analysed | 10–15% |
| Findings | Presents results, neutrally, with tables/figures | 25–30% |
| Discussion | Interprets findings against the aim and literature | 20–25% |
| Conclusion | Answers the question; no new evidence | 5–10% |
| Recommendations | Actionable, prioritised next steps | 5% |
| References & appendices | Sources and supporting material | As needed |
The copy-ready report template
Paste the structure below into a blank document, keep the headings, and replace the bracketed prompts with your own content. Use the numbering style your institution prefers (decimal numbering such as 1, 1.1, 1.2 is common in business and technical reports).
[Clear, specific title — what the report investigates]
Title page: Title · your name/ID · module & code · submission date · word count
Executive summary
[3–5 short paragraphs: purpose, what you did, key findings, main recommendations. Written last, read first.]
Table of contents
[Auto-generated list of numbered headings with page numbers]
1. Introduction
1.1 Background and context
1.2 Aim and objectives
1.3 Scope and limitations
1.4 Report structure
2. Methodology
2.1 Approach (qualitative/quantitative/mixed)
2.2 Data collection methods
2.3 Analysis methods
2.4 Ethical considerations
3. Findings
3.1 [Theme or result one — with table/figure]
3.2 [Theme or result two]
3.3 [Theme or result three]
4. Discussion
4.1 Interpretation against the aim
4.2 Comparison with existing literature
4.3 Implications
5. Conclusion
[Direct answer to the aim — no new data]
6. Recommendations
[Prioritised, actionable, linked to findings]
References
[Full list in required style: Harvard, APA, etc.]
Appendices
[Raw data, questionnaires, transcripts — labelled Appendix A, B, C]
For a polished cover sheet, the layout principles in our dissertation title page template transfer directly to reports, and the table of contents format guide shows how to build a numbered contents list that updates automatically.
Title page
The title page carries no analysis — it simply identifies the document. Include the full report title, your name or student ID, the module name and code, your tutor or recipient, the submission date and the word count if required. Keep it clean: one centred block, no decorative borders. A vague title wastes the first thing the reader sees, so make it descriptive of the question you investigated.
Executive summary
The executive summary is a self-contained miniature of the whole report. A reader who sees only this section should still understand the purpose, what you did, what you found and what you recommend. Write it last, once the report is complete, and keep it to roughly 5–10% of the total length. Avoid citations, do not introduce material that is not in the body, and write in the past tense for completed work. In academic reports this is sometimes called an abstract — the principles in our dissertation abstract examples apply equally here.
Introduction
The introduction orients the reader. State the background that makes the topic worth investigating, then give a precise aim and a short list of objectives. Define the scope — what the report covers and, just as importantly, what it deliberately leaves out. Close with a sentence mapping the structure. Keep the introduction focused; the detailed argument belongs in the body, not here.
Methodology
The methodology explains how you produced your findings so that another person could, in principle, repeat the work. State whether your approach was qualitative, quantitative or mixed, describe how you collected data (survey, interviews, secondary sources, case analysis) and how you analysed it. Justify your choices rather than just listing them. For a deeper treatment, our methodology template and the longer methodology chapter guide walk through each decision in turn.
“Keep findings and discussion apart: report what you found in one section, explain what it means in the next. Mixing them is the single most common report error.”
Findings and results
The findings section presents your results neutrally and without interpretation. Lead with the data and let tables, charts and figures do the heavy lifting; refer to each one in the text and number them consistently. Organise findings by theme or by objective rather than by the order you happened to collect them. Resist the urge to explain why a result occurred here — that belongs in the discussion. If you are working with a business scenario, structured tools like a SWOT analysis or a PESTLE analysis can present findings in a recognised, marker-friendly format.
Discussion
This is where you interpret. Explain what the findings mean in relation to your aim, compare them with existing literature or industry benchmarks, and acknowledge anything that complicates a clean conclusion. Strong discussions answer “so what?” — they connect each result to a consequence. If your report draws on academic sources, the screening logic in our systematic literature review guide helps you weigh evidence fairly rather than cherry-picking studies that agree with you.
Conclusion and recommendations
The conclusion answers the question posed in the introduction and pulls the threads together; it introduces no new data or citations. Recommendations then translate the conclusion into action. Make each recommendation specific, prioritised and clearly traceable to a finding — a reader should be able to see exactly which result justifies it. In business reports, recommendations are often the section the audience reads first, so write them as decisions, not vague suggestions.
Formatting recommendations
Number recommendations or present them as a short list. Where useful, indicate who should act, by when and at what priority. Avoid recommending anything your findings do not support, even if it feels intuitively sensible.
References and appendices
List every source you cited, formatted in the required referencing style (Harvard, APA, Vancouver, IEEE). Be consistent — mixed styles cost marks. Appendices hold supporting material that would interrupt the flow if placed in the body: questionnaires, full data sets, interview transcripts, large tables. Label each one (Appendix A, B, C) and refer to it from the main text, otherwise the reader has no reason to look.
Worked example
Here is the template applied to a short business report so you can see how the sections connect in practice.
Executive summary: This report examines why monthly churn rose over the last two quarters and recommends three retention measures. Analysis of support tickets and exit surveys identified onboarding friction as the leading driver. The report recommends a guided onboarding flow, a proactive 30-day check-in, and clearer in-app help.
1. Introduction: Aim — to identify the main causes of rising churn and propose practical fixes. Scope — existing customers only; pricing strategy is out of scope.
2. Methodology: Mixed methods — quantitative analysis of churn data plus thematic coding of exit-survey responses.
3. Findings: 3.1 Churn concentrated in the first weeks after sign-up. 3.2 Survey responses cited “hard to get started” most often. 3.3 Long-tenure customers churned at a far lower rate.
4. Discussion: Early churn points to an onboarding problem rather than product fit, consistent with retention literature on time-to-value.
5. Conclusion: Onboarding friction, not price, is the primary churn driver.
6. Recommendations: (1) Build a guided onboarding flow. (2) Add a 30-day human check-in. (3) Improve in-app help content.
This is the same model used in formal case work — if your brief is case-based rather than data-based, see our walkthroughs on how to write a case study assignment and a fuller business case study analysis example.
Report vs lab report
A general report and a lab report look similar but serve different ends. A lab report documents a single experiment and follows a tighter, science-specific order — Aim, Hypothesis, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion — with results usually expressed as measured data and statistical analysis. A general report is broader: it can investigate a business problem, evaluate a project or synthesise research, and it carries sections a lab report does not, such as an executive summary and recommendations.
| Feature | General report | Lab report |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Investigate a question, recommend action | Record and interpret an experiment |
| Executive summary | Yes | Rarely (abstract instead) |
| Hypothesis | No | Yes |
| Recommendations | Yes | Usually not |
| Typical field | Business, social science, management | Natural sciences, engineering |
If you are specifically writing up an experiment, use our dedicated lab report template instead of the general structure above — the section order and conventions differ enough to matter.
Common mistakes to avoid
The errors that lose the most marks are structural rather than linguistic. The most frequent is collapsing findings and discussion into one section, which leaves the reader unsure what was observed versus what you concluded. Others include an executive summary that reads like an introduction, recommendations that float free of the evidence, and appendices full of material that is never referenced from the body.
Proofing and consistency
Check that your numbering is sequential, that headings in the contents match the body exactly, and that one referencing style runs throughout. Reading the report aloud, or against the checklist above, catches most issues. If you tend to run long, the planning approach in our common dissertation mistakes guide applies to reports too.
Related guides
- Lab report template
- Methodology template
- Literature review template
- Research proposal template
- Dissertation table of contents format
- Business case study analysis example
- Essay plan template
