‘What’s the right format for my report (or proposal)?’ is a question we get asked a lot. The short answer is that there isn’t one. At least, there isn’t a standard format that all reports should follow. But that fact can be both a help and a hindrance. On the one hand, there’s no need to be constrained by convention; on the other, it leaves you free to make a total hash of it.
It’s a fair question though. If you’re not used to professional document writing, the words ‘Write me a report on that’ can make your heart sink. Even old hands who write reports all the time can suffer nagging doubts that there might be a better way.
Fear not though. For while there may be more than one way to skin this particular cat, there are plenty of things you can do to structure and format your documents for maximum impact. I’ve listed ten of them below. And to help you put them into practice, we’ve incorporated them into this handy Perfect Report Format template. [Insert link]
1. Put your readers first
It’s all too easy to put your own needs ahead of your readers’, however unintentionally. That’s because your subconscious thinks the most pressing problem you need to solve is to write a report. And as you’re the one who needs to do that, you are automatically focused on your priority ahead of anyone else’s. To get around this, try writing down the questions your readers are likely to be asking, as well as the big reason why they should read your document. This questionnaire might help. [Insert link to reader-profile questionnaire.]
2. Build a logical structure
That may seem like obvious advice, but we’re talking here about logical to your reader, not logical to you. Planning a logical structure is a distinct step, which you need to separate from the act of writing itself. So before you fire up your word processor and type a single word, take time to assemble your research (or the expert knowledge you already have), and key areas and points to mention. Then plot a path through them. Drawing a mind map can be helpful here, as it can help you make connections that might not be obvious in a list. Use numbers to label the order in which you will cover them when you come to the writing itself.
3. Be bold: use an engaging title
Heading every monthly report with the title ‘Monthly report’ will do you few favours. It will just make every document look the same, giving your reader the feeling that they’ve read it all before. And it will do nothing to engage them and draw them in. Instead, use the title to give your reader a taste of what’s to come. Depending on the subject matter and how bold you’re feeling (and how much latitude you have), this could range from the anodyne (eg ‘A positive month’) to the downright exciting (‘Our best month yet’). You may need to preface the title with your organisation’s standard name for the document, but that needn’t preclude raising it above the bland (eg ‘April report: our best month yet’).
The title can have its own, dedicated title page or – for shorter documents – simply head up the first page of text.
4. Write a short executive summary
Any document longer than a couple of pages can usually benefit from an executive summary. There are two things to remember about executive summaries. First, they should tell the same story as the main document – including the conclusion. (Too many summaries simply describe the document, leaving out the key facts.) Second, they should be short: a 30-page introductory chapter is not an executive summary.
Executive summaries are there to give readers a quick overview of the main document. So even in the longest documents, they should still be no longer than five to ten pages. (For a ten-page report, the executive summary should be no longer than a page – if that.) Summaries are also a great opportunity to ‘sell’ the document to the reader. In our experience, the best time to persuade someone to read on is before they have slipped into unconsciousness.
Whether you write the executive summary now or once you’ve finished the rest of your document comes down to personal preference. Writing it first can help crystallise your thinking, but it can also make it difficult to expand your thoughts into a longer piece of writing. If you do write your executive summary first, make sure you come back to it at the end, to check it and revise it if necessary.
5. Draw readers in with an introduction
At this point, consider whether you need an introduction at all. Many document writers (especially those of white papers and other thought-leadership documents) prefer to jump straight in with bold conclusions (‘There’s never been a better time to be in retail’). They then go on to explain the statement, building the document with further attention-grabbing sentences that continually pique the reader’s interest. (This is the so-called ‘inductive’ method of writing.)
If you don’t want to do this, then you should still use your introduction to draw the reader in – for example, with a statement that will surprise the reader or a brief reference to the past. (You then immediately contrast the past with now – this is not a licence to download ten years’ worth of background). The introduction should end at the point where your report’s content is the most logical next step.
Note that the introduction not only needs to work hard but to stop the reader drifting off to do something else at the end of it. More readers are lost after the first few paragraphs than at any other point in a document.
6. Write the body text
This is the point at which all the above preparation pays off. Putting yourself in your reader’s shoes will have put you in the right frame of mind to write. Planning will have given you a ‘road map’ to follow. And your introduction will have set you off on the write path. Now all you need to do is keep going. Turn to each numbered item on your plan and write a sentence, a paragraph, a page or more on it. Be sure also to connect each of these to the next, and to the section that follows, to make your document flow and keep your reader reading.
Choose your words carefully though. Never write to pad out a lack of research, nor to impress your reader with your vocabulary (you won’t – you’ll just frustrate or irritate them instead).
7. Use subheadings to tell the story
Your subheadings are an excellent chance to draw in a reader who is merely flicking (or scrolling) through your document, so don’t waste it. They should be specific and explicit, making sense on their own. ‘Encouraging results’ is far better than ‘Part 1’. Read together, they should also tell the story, to support the executive summary.
8. Round off with a conclusion
The most important feature of a conclusion is that it should be present. Too many documents have no conclusion; they just fade out into nothing, as if the author simply ran out of things to write (which is probably exactly what happened). This again is a huge waste of an opportunity to make an impact. Humans tend to remember ‘firsts’ and ‘lasts’ more than they remember ‘in betweens’. So the introduction and ending are two of the most important parts of any document.
The conclusion doesn’t need to be a summary, or even labelled as a conclusion at all. It can simply be one or two paragraphs that round the whole thing off. Predicting the future is an excellent way to go out with a bang and keep your reader thinking about what you’ve written. For example, ‘If we continue on this path, the next quarter could be one of our best ever,’ or ‘This area of research looks set to become even more important over the next few years.’
9. Use graphics to captivate readers
Graphics are another good tool for drawing in ‘butterfly’ readers who are merely flitting from page to page. Photos, graphs or tables can all work well. You can enhance their effect significantly by adding a caption to each, summarising a key point (e.g. ‘Spending has increased three-fold since last year’). This will encourage the reader to look more closely at the graphic and then to read the rest of the document, in search of more details.
10. Include a table of contents, header and footer
These fall into the ‘boring but important’ category. A table of contents is a must for any document beyond a few pages. Not only will it help readers find their way around, but it’s another tool for drawing them in. (Are you spotting a theme here?) Word-processing programs normally have a function for creating them automatically. (Our downloadable template [insert link] has one built in.)
The header and footer remind readers of what they’re reading and of who wrote it. And with an infinite number of distractions in the professional world these days, that’s a very important function indeed.
So there you have it: ten essential features for any report. If you follow the above list, you shouldn’t go far wrong. Understand why you’re following and you’ll be well on your way to writing documents that make a real impact.
And don’t forget to download our Perfect Report Format template. [Insert link.]
Subscribe
Expert advice to your inbox
