Main Elements of the Completion Report

Also see samples and outlines in the course pamphlet.

Items marked with an asterisk (*) are required.

Front Matter:

* Letter of Transmittal: This sends the entire, finished report to the recipient. It is, therefore, not part of the report and should be attached to the outside of the report. Follow standard business letter conventions and form. State why you are sending the report in the introductory paragraph, explain the highlights of the report in the body paragraphs, and close with a call to action (if you make recommendations) or by offering assistance in interpreting your report or in performing other work. Sample

*Title Page: Provide the title, the name and address of the recipient, the author’s name and address, and the date. Be sure to give your report a clear, specific title. (No page number)

*Abstract: Concisely summarize your report in 100 words or less. State the problem your report deals with and briefly explain the important points or findings in the report. Include the report’s main conclusions and recommendations, if you make any. You should write this on a fairly high level of technicality for other researchers. Give the report’s title, author, date, and place. Write this after you have written the whole report since it is a summary of the report. (Single space. Page number: i [lower case Roman numeral].) Sample

*Table of Contents: Show the contents and arrangement of your report. Emphasize the structure of the report and include all heading and subheadings, a list of appendices, and other parts of the report. Also provide a list of figures and a list of tables. (Single space. Page number: ii)

*Executive summary: Summarize the background of the report, explain the problem or purpose, explain your major findings and what they mean, and emphasize your conclusions and recommendations. This should be three or four paragraphs but no more than one page (one paragraph for each major section). Write this at a fairly low level of technicality for managers. (Double-space. Begin normal pagination: 1) Sample

Body of report:

*Introduction: Explain the background information, the problem that led to writing the report, the purpose of the report, and its scope. The introduction should enable readers to read the discussion intelligently. Use information from your proposal here. You might provide a review of literature here. State what criteria you use to develop analysis and arrive at your conclusions. (Call this section “Introduction.”)

*Discussion/ Collected Data: There are many ways to organize this information. In this section, report on the findings of your study. Show what you did, your methods. Emphasize your results and explain what they mean. Organize this information my using major headings and subheadings. Present tables and figures and interpret them. Show what your data and results mean through analysis. Focus on results rather than methods.

*Conclusion: State your conclusions and emphasize main points by drawing together the analyses stated in the body of the report. Comprehensively interpret your report. Add no new data here. Make sure your conclusions are valid and that you support them logically. Sample

Recommendations: If the discussion and conclusions suggest that specific action needs to be taken, you should state your recommendations here. Make your recommendations specific; state exactly what should be done. Use a proper tone. Sample

*References: List all works cited in-text. Use correct bibliographic form.

End Matter:

Glossary/ List of Symbols

Appendices: Provide charts, tables, text results, and other supporting data. If you use more than one appendix, letter each A, B, C. . . . Number the pages A1, A2 . . . .

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