Recommendation Report Format / Template / Outline
FRONT MATTER
Letter of Transmittal
- Explain the purpose and content of the report
- Precedes the title page
- Acknowledge those who helped with the report
- Highlights parts of the report that may be of interest
- Talk about any problems
- Make observations
Cover
- Purpose is to protect the report
- Contains the title, writer’s name(s), date of creation, company name and/or logo
Title Page
- Contains the document title
- Author(s)
- Intended readers/recipients
- Date of documentation creation
- The title should describe the contents of the document very clearly and therefore, it should be as informative as possible.
Abstract
- Condensed version of the writing that highlights the major points covered
- Concisely describes the content and scope of the writing
- Reviews the contents in an abbreviated form
- Abstracts can be descriptive or informative
- Descriptive Abstract: Provides purpose, methods, and scope. Does not provide results,
conclusions, recommendations. Introduces the subject to the readers. This
section should be very brief – usually less than 100 words - Informative Abstract: Communicate specific information from the report including the
purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendations. This
section lets a reader decide if they want to read more of the report and
is usually under 250 words.
Executive Summary
- The section is similar to an abstract. It reviews the essential elements of
the report including the subject, purpose, scope, methods, conclusion, and
recommendations. - Gives a decision maker enough information to make a choice.
- An executive summary is usually about 10% of the total length of the report.
Table of Contents
- This section lists the headings and the page numbers of the sections that
correspond to those sections. - The reader uses this section to find part of the report that are of interest
to them.
List of Illustrations
- This section lists the documents illustrations along with the page numbers on
which they can be found. - There are usually two categories, figures and tables.
BODY
Introduction
- The introduction talks about the subject, purpose, organization and scope.
- Discuss why the report was written and what benefit it will provide the
organization. - Show the major sections of the report and present the order in which they will
be discussed. - Define the scope and limitations of the document.
Methods Section
- Discuss what methods were used to obtain the information for the report and the
parameters in which it was obtained.
Results Section
- Note the key data that was obtained and give a detailed analysis of the data.
- Should be clearly organized and objective.
Conclusion
- Provide an interpretation of the data presented in the body of the report.
- All conclusions should be built upon data that was presented in the body of
the report. New information should not be introduced.
Recommendations
- This section should contain a recommendation based upon the information
presented in the conclusion of the report.
BACK MATTER
Glossary
- List the key terms used in the document.
List of Symbols
- Symbols and abbreviation
Appendices
- Could be a variety of material that helps the reader understand the report
better.
Reference List
- List of sources.
Index
- Similar to the table of contents but with more detail.
- Usually for long reports.
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