IT: Report
What is an IT report?
The purpose of reports is to aid decision making and problem solving, and therefore they are usually more problem and action oriented than essays.
While reports vary in the type of information they present (for example, original research, the results of an investigative study, or the solution to a design problem), all share similar features and are based on a similar format and general structure. They are clearly signposted with headings and sub-headings, and designed in a way that reflects that the information may not be read in order from start to finish.
Report writing is a common requirement both in the faculty of Information Technology and in the workplace as an IT professional. Developing the skills to produce a clear, concise, and professionally presented report will assist you in succeeding both at university and in your future career.
Five things you should know about report writing in IT
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 | Provide a discussion Reports in IT provide a discussion of a project, an experiment or analysis, or technical features of a product, as opposed to essays, which present a position on a topic and defend that position with an argument. |
 | Structure into sections Reports are structured into sections, with each section having a particular purpose as outlined in headings and subheadings. |
 | Paragraphs may be short Paragraphs in IT reports may be shorter in length than in other academic writing genres, as the headings can remove the need for clarification of what the sections are about. |
 | Follow the instructions The structure of an IT report should be determined by the task instructions. Do not use the common section types like ‘Methodology’, ‘Discussion’, ‘Table of Contents’ or ‘Appendices’ if the task instructions or subject matter do not require them. |
 | Use a report format Academic journal articles in the field of IT are often written in report format. Use the Library Subject Guide for IT to search for examples of what these reports can look like. |
IT report structure
Most reports have a similar structure and include
- an introductory section to orient your reader to the aims and purpose of the report
- a body section where the issue is discussed and analysed, and
- a concluding section which sums of the meaning and implications of the body section.
These main sections are further divided into subsections. Click on the accordions below to explore each section in detail.
Title page
A title page is presented on a separate page and should include:
- subject name and code
- assignment number
- title of the report
- due date
- student’s name and ID#
- marker’s name
- course name
- department and university
- date of submission.
The title of the report should indicate exactly what the report is about. The reader should know not only the general topic, but also the aspects of the topic contained in the report. Therefore, a report title needs to be specific to the topic. For example, “Reasons for IT to lose its grip on large data” is a better report title than “Large data in IT”, if the report focuses on why managing big data can cause problems for IT teams.
Summary
Some key points about a Summary:
- A Summary, sometimes called an Executive Summary or an Abstract, is usually 100-200 words long for a short report or a page long for a longer report.
- It provides a brief overview of the report by stating the purpose, defining the topic, summarising the main sections of the report, and stating the conclusion or outcomes.
- Most people don’t write an Abstract until they finish writing the report.
- It is NOT an introduction to the topic.
- Remember that a Summary needs to be concise. A busy manager who might not have time to read the full report should be able to get the gist of the whole report by reading the Summary.
- To be included in a Summary:
- topic of the report
- outline of the approach to the task if applicable
- most important findings of research or key aspects of design
- main outcomes or conclusions.
- NOT to be included in a Summary:
- general background information
- in-text citations
- reference to later diagrams or references.
A sample of a report Summary and tutor’s video feedback is provided here. Note that this is NOT a perfect example. The sample Summary is from a report entitled "Privacy issues in IT".
Sample of a report Summary
This report is an overview of a peer reviewed journal "The effect of online privacy policy on consumer privacy concern and trust" by Kuang Wen Wu, Shaio Yan Huang, David C. Yen, and Irina Popova. The report summarises and analyses these resources.
View the video for feedback
Table of Contents
A Table of Contents lists the sections of the report, providing readers with an overview of how the report is organised. It is presented on a separate page and should include:
- section headings
- the number of the first page of each section.
A reader looking for specific information should be able to locate the appropriate section easily from the table of contents. It is worth noting that few reports are written to be read from start to finish. This is why clear structure, headings and subheadings are so important.
Example:
1.0 Title of first main section (usually introduction)
1.1 First subheading
1.2 Second subheading
2.0 Title of second main section
2.1 First subheading
2.1 Second subheading
2.2.1 First division of the second subheading
2.2.2 First division of the second subheading
3.0 Title of the third main section
Follow these conventions for section and page numbering:
- Number all the preliminary pages (i.e. any pages that come before the introduction, including the summary) in lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv ...).
- Number all the remaining pages of your report with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4 ...). Thus the report proper begins on page 1 with your Introduction, which is usually Section 1.
- Sections are numbered using the decimal point numbering system (e.g. Section 1, 1.1, 1.2, ….) Section and subsection numbering should not exceed two decimal points.
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From the two examples below, choose the better table of contents.
Table A | Table B |
| Table of contents Abstract Book Article Summary Reasoning for inclusion Complementation of other resources Strengths and weaknesses Relevance to the audience Peer-Reviewed Report Article Summary Reasoning for inclusion Complementation of other resources Strengths and weaknesses Relevance to the audience Reference List Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C |
This video will help you write a clear table of contents
Introduction
An Introduction section provides the background information needed for the rest of your report to be understood. It is usually around ten percent of the total report length. The Introduction includes:
- the background to the topic of your report to set your work in its broad context
- brief technical background necessary to understand the report; e.g. theory or assumptions
- a clear statement of the purpose of the report, usually to present the results of your research, investigation or design
- a clear statement of the aims of the project
- a brief outline of the structure of the report.
Look at the sample Introduction below. Note that this is not a perfect example. The sample Introduction is from a report entitled "Keeping employees' education level updated with the changing world”. Which aspects of an ideal Introduction do you find missing?
Sample introduction
The topic we chose for our project is ‘Keeping employees' education level updated with the changing world’. We chose this topic because as we know that the world is changing so fast, especially the world of information technology which is changing so rapidly that it is hard to focus on a single thing. From different gadgets to a small piece of software everything is changing in a small span of time. Things which are new now will become obsolete in two years. So it is very important for Information Technology professionals to keep themselves updated with the changing needs because they are the people who are making these changes possible. If they do not keep themselves up to date with the changing needs they will be easily replaced by other new professionals who know the current trends. The peer reviewed journal article that I choose to explore is ‘Keeping up-to-date with information technology: Testing a model of technological knowledge renewal effectiveness for IT professionals’ by Guang Rong and Varun Grover.
This video provides a step-by-step guide to writing an excellent report introduction
Body of the report
This is the main part of your report, where you present your work. It should consist of information which is supported by examples and evidence obtained from your research.
In principle, the body of the report:
- presents the information from your research, both real world and theoretical, or your design
- organises information logically under appropriate headings
- conveys information in the most effective way for communication:
- uses figures and tables
- can use bulleted or numbered lists, but the bulk should be paragraphs made up of full sentences
- can use formatting to break up large slabs of text.
You will need to choose concise but informative headings and subheadings so that the reader knows exactly what type of information to expect in each section. These headings need to be:
Informative
Section headings should tell the reader exactly what type of information is contained in the section. They should be specific and content-focused rather than just labels. Devising informative headings as opposed to label headings right from the planning stage will help you to clarify exactly what you want to achieve in each section and subsection.
In the example below for an article review report, there are comparisons between informative and uninformative headings.
Examples of informative and uninformative headings
Informative headings | Uninformative headings |
Reasons for inclusion | Reasoning |
Other complementary sources | Other sources |
Strengths and weaknesses of article | Article analysis |
Relevance to the audience | Audience |
Consistent and parallel in structure
This means that headings should follow a similar grammatical form. In the following example, each heading is structured differently. You should take one of these forms, in most cases the first (noun phrase), and use this form for each heading:
Examples of grammatically consistent headings
The company structure | [noun phrase] |
Do the communication channels work? | [question] |
Participating in groups | [gerund phrase] |
How to develop an effective management style | [instruction phrase] |
Incorporating figures, tables and equations
There are conventions for using figures and tables in a report. Usually only these two categories are used; anything other than tables (maps, charts, diagrams, drawings, graphs) is called a figure. Figures and tables should be placed as close as possible to the point where they are referred to in the text.
Give all figures and tables a number and title.
Example
Table 1. Internet subscribers by type of access connection, for ISPs with more than 1,000 subscribers
Example
The Internet subscribers by type of access connection, for ISPs with more than 1,000 subscribers are shown in Table 1.
The title of a table goes above the table, while the title of a figure goes below the figure.
Example
Table 1. Internet subscribers by type of access connection, for ISPs with more than 1,000 subscribers (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016)
Figures that are copied from someone else's work, published or unpublished, must be correctly referenced. Give the source of the diagram or the data if you have taken them from published sources. The citation should be placed in brackets after the figure or table title, and the source included in the Reference list.
Example
Figure 1 The DGI data governance framework (The Data Governance Institute, 2016)
Equations
You will often have to include equations in your reports. The conventional style for presenting equations is as follows:
Centre the equation on the page.
Place the equation number in round brackets at the right-hand margin.
In the text of your report, refer to the equations as either Eq. (1) or equation (1). Use whichever format you choose consistently throughout your report.
The relationship of the speed of propagation and the volumetric tissue fraction is given by:
| v = | 1 √ ((1 – h) Kf-1 + h Kt-1) ((1 – h) ρf+ h ρt) | (1) |
We can see from Eq. (1) that...
Conclusion
The Conclusion section provides an effective ending to your report; thus it needs to be written in a concise manner. The content should relate directly to the aims of the project as stated in the Introduction, and sum up the essential features of your work.
In brief, the Conclusion section needs to:
- summarise the main ideas that have been established in the body of the report
- recap key findings
- finish the narrative of the report
- state how the report’s aims have been achieved
- give a brief summary of the key findings or information in your report
- highlight the major outcomes of your investigation and their significance.
Therefore, the Conclusion section must not:
- include any new information or ideas
- simply indicate whether you have achieved your aims.
It is rare for a report’s conclusion to require in-text citations, as this is the section where your ‘voice’ is expected to be used to sum up and offer an authoritative final commentary about the report topic.
The following example is the Conclusion of an article review report.
"There has been rapid development and changes in information technology platform, so the IT professionals must keep themselves updated with the changes so that they can prosper in their career. Many other researches also shows that knowledge renewal has become critical issue for the professionals as well as the businesses. The resource chosen is not very current but they still do justice to the topic by providing important and relevant information about the issue, which is an important aspect for everybody who are related to this industry."
View video for feedback
Reference list
You need to reference all source materials referred to in the report using the APA 7th referencing style as required by the Faculty of IT. The two parts to referencing are:
- citations in the text of the report
- references in the reference list.
A citation shows that information comes from another source you found during the research process. The reference list, always on a separate page, gives the details of the sources you have found and used to support your response to the topic. You need to use in-text citations and provide full details in the references section when:
- you incorporate information from other sources, e.g.:
- factual material
- graphs and tables of data
- pictures and diagrams
- you paraphrase published ideas and information
- you quote word-for-word from another work (when you do this, the page or paragraph number must be given in the in-text citation).
Your reference list should only include items you have cited in the text of your report, and any item that is cited must appear in the reference list. You will be graded on the accuracy of your citing and referencing, so getting this right in your report is a simple way to increase the likelihood of a higher grade than you would attain if the referencing is careless or does not adhere to the required conventions.
Use the Library Subject Guide for citing and referencing APA 7th to ensure you are doing this accurately, and meet with a Librarian if you require further advice.
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Appendices
An appendix (plural form = appendices) consists of any supporting evidence which is not possible to include in the body of the report, for example raw data, detailed drawings, coding or calculations. An appendix, like a reference list, should always appear on a separate page, and each appendix should have its own separate page(s). The conventions for appendices are as follows:
- Each appendix must be given a number (or letter) and title.
- Each appendix must be referred to by number (or letter) at the relevant point in the text.
Example
In text:
The data obtained on perception of social media are summarised in the table below. The detailed data are provided in Appendix 1.
Title of the appendix on the actual appendix page:
Appendix 1. Detailed data obtained on perception of social media.
Diagram, table, data, etc.