How to Format a Report
Reports of today do not have to look like the traditional reports of yesterday. They can look interesting and make people want to read them. Word processing and desktop publishing techniques can be used to create new, reader-friendly reports in exciting formats such as modern, ultra-modern and enhanced modern.
A traditional report is the kind produced on a typewriter. A modern report takes this format one stage further by adding lines and boxes, changing font sizes and using italics. An ultra-modern report has the additional feature of a two- or three-column format. People read faster and comprehend more information when reading short rather than long lines of text. In an enhanced modern report, images are added and manipulated. This is an excellent format for reports because people are used to reading newspapers, journals and magazines presented in this way. This diagram illustrates three designs which offer possible starting points for creating your own page layouts.
If you choose a traditional single-column layout, it is advisable to use 12- point type. A variation to this is to use just one column but to shorten the line length. This not only makes the material easier and faster to read, but also allows space for artwork, graphics, captions, headings and subheadings. The use of two- or even three-column for mats gives a report a very professional look and increases the readability of copy.
Page size and orientation
Writers tend to choose standard A4 paper as a matter of course.
However, at least consider other options. If you are using a photocopier or laser printer, make sure the paper you choose will go through your machine.
In addition to size of paper, you will need to think about its orientation
(Will the report be portrait (vertical/tall) or landscape (horizontal/wide)? Most reports are portrait. Consider whether a landscape orientation for your report might work even more effectively.
Margins and spacing
It is far easier for a reader to assimilate information presented in small sections than in huge, uninterrupted blocks of print. Pages with too much type and artwork give the appearance of being too heavy and hard to read. White space (or whatever colour background is used) is very important not only to help the reader, but also to give the report a professional look. It is important to allow:
- Adequate space between the lines of print (reports are often double-spaced with 1½-spacing for sub-paragraphs).
- An adequate and consistent margin on the left of the page for binding (the size of margin on the left will vary according to the type of binding selected).
- Clear and consistent gaps between sections and paragraphs.
- A margin of at least an inch at the top (the header zone) and bottom (the footer zone) of the page.
Using short bulleted lists of related items (such as the one above) is another good way of breaking up paragraphs of text to make it easier to read. The list may be introduced by a colon, a dash, or both (:-), and the size of any indentations must be consistent.
Headings and subheadings
Headings and subheadings help busy readers of today by identifying and labelling blocks of type. They are not standard. You must invent them. Make sure that they:
- are comparatively short
- are descriptive
- would be expected, or at least would be easily interpreted
- cover all the ground (collectively)
- do not overlap (although the same information may appear under more than one heading if it supports more than one argument)
- are never vague (for example, avoid headings such as ‘General’, ‘Miscellaneous’ and ‘Other’)
- are in an order which readers will find logical (perhaps in alphabetical order, in chronological order, or in order of importance)
- are identical to those listed in the table of contents (if used).
Once you have introduced a topic with a heading or subheading, you cannot leave that topic and move on to another one until you provide another heading or subheading. For this reason subheadings should not repeat information provided in headings. For example, if your heading is ‘ABC Limited’, your subheadings could be ‘Production Department’, ‘Accounts Department’ and ‘Personnel Department’. There is no need to write, ‘ABC Limited – Production Department’.
Remember that the title of the report should be more prominent than section headings; section headings more prominent than paragraph headings; paragraph headings more prominent than sub-paragraph headings, and so on. Similarly, headings of the same rank should represent topics of roughly equal importance. Paradoxically, though, the less prominent the heading, the more specific and precise must be the wording below it.
The principle applies equally to reports: the more prominent the heading, the less specific the text; the less prominent the heading, the more specific the text.
It is better to structure the report with several short sections, each containing a few subheadings, than to have just a few sections, each with several subheadings, sub-subheadings or even sub-sub-subheadings.
Report Format Checklist
- Keep paragraphs fairly short (generally five to eight lines) – particularly when using two- or three-column layouts.
- Break up text by using the technique of listing (enumerating) with bullet, checkmark, arrow, or some other interesting character.
- Make your page breaks so that you avoid widow or orphan lines – one line stranded from the rest of the paragraph.
- Avoid mixed or uneven columns, which result in a lack of visual continuity. Stick to one column grid for each page.
- Aim for a minimum of 30 per cent and an average 50 per cent white space on each page.
