Elements of a Typical Report
Table 13.1 in Markel (on p. 320) outlines the different components of a report. Because Project 4 is a short report, you will not need all the components in your written report. At a minimum, however, your group's report should include the items in orange boldface.
Section of the report |
Purposes of the section |
Typical elements in the section |
Front matter |
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to orient the reader to the subject
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to provide summaries for technical and managerial readers
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to help readers navigate the report
-
to help readers decide whether to read the document
|
- letter of transmittal (p. 323)
-
cover (p. 323)
- title page (p. 323)
-
abstract (p. 323)
-
table of contents (p. 324)
-
list of illustrations (p. 325)
- executive summary (p. 326)
|
Body |
-
to provide the most comprehensive account of the project, from the problem or opportunity that motivated it, to the methods and the most important findings
|
- introduction (p. 320)
- methods (p. 321)
- results (p. 321)
- conclusions (p. 322)
- recommendations (p. 322)
|
Back matter |
-
to present supplementary information, such as more-detailed explanations than are provided in the body
-
to enable readers to consult the secondary sources the writers used
|
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glossary (p. 328)
-
list of symbols (p. 328)
- references (p. 330)
-
appendixes (p. 330)
|