How to write an assignment report

Undergraduate and postgraduate students are required to submit various works during their study, and sometimes it might seem like a great challenge, especially when you don’t know what to start with. In this article we would like to ease this struggle, thus we give you a general overview of how to write an assignment in a report format.

On one hand, the format may vary from an institution to an institution requesting a different font type and size, style, specific indents and intervals. On the other hand, just like any other type of a composition, a good assignment report consists of a few essential parts that one should follow in order to write an A+ paper.

Assignment Report Structure

The title page should be a laconic outline of the report. The information provided on a cover gives the first impression of any work, therefore, normally it includes only the most valuable points that inform a reader about a work’s leading subject, author, location (college, university etc.) where this work will be submitted, the date of its execution and, of course, a supervisor and advisers.

Notwithstanding, a title page doesn’t give a precise understanding of the matter, therefore, it is normally followed by a summary. The summary is an overview of a whole project, where the author is to shortly give a rundown of the information later closely described in the work. It usually consists of a brief elucidation of the importance of choosing a specific topic of a research, descriptions of the methods used during the assignment, outcomes and a conclusion. This part serves the purpose of informing a reader about the insights of a work, for that reason, no abbreviations, shortenings or narrowly specialized vocabulary, that is explained later in the work itself, are allowed in this part.

Then, the content should include all parts of the research as it serves as a guide throughout the whole work. Paragraphs are normally indicated with full numbers (1-10), whereas subparagraphs have decimals related to the main paragraph (1.1, 3.5). It is advised to use applications and Microsoft inbuilt programs, in order to generate a proper list of contents.

Most of the reports especially, if they are concerned with a technical subject, will likely have shortenings and symbols, thus a list of abbreviations is also required. It’s compiled alphabetically, starting with one of lowercase. Greek and Latin characters come after uppercase letters and should be arranged gradually.

It’s also important to make a transition from a full phrase to a shortening and not lose one or another. For instance, if a text includes an utterance ‘Biologically Produced Fuel’ and is abbreviated BPF, then the first time such an expression is used the abbreviation is written in brackets, and can be later on used without the phrase itself, e.g. ‘Biologically Produced Fuel (BPF)’.

The introduction states the matter and task of the work and should expose the relation with researches and other papers, which have been previously conducted or written. Here, the author is required to write a background, in short, underlining the idea behind a topic and its context.

Less than a page long, the introduction is the statement of a problem and probable solution, which a reader is to go through while reading the work. A few words about why this topic is important and unique for the overall matter should do the work as well.

The body is the most informative and dense part of any assignment. It reflects all the compiled material, theoretical background and practical implementation in the report solution finding. The author is expected to refer specifically to other works on the subject, but only if such references facilitate a more detailed research and comprise information needed for it. However, this part shouldn’t be too long either. Depending on the nature of a research or an assignment, the body can be of various sizes, from 2 to 50 pages long.

It’s recommended to focus on the innovation and usefulness of findings. Also, it’s helpful for a report to outline, if the theoretical base of a problem is different from the real implementation. If yes, then how do these two contrast? Have there been any unpredicted or additional issues, which are not described in sources? Etc.

Having written the body of a report, you are only a half way to accomplishing the task. Now, there should be conclusions. This part serves the purpose of summarization and reflection on the conducted report. From one to three pages long, conclusions have to provide a concrete solution or solutions to the problem indicated in the introduction, and analysis held in the body.

There shouldn’t be any new opinions or statements in this paragraph, but only final statements supporting the main idea.

After the main paragraphs are finished, it’s time to compile final the ‘chords’ of any paper. First of all, it’s references, which are any student’s proof of credibility. The requirements to concluding a list of sources may vary, however, normally it serves as a list of sources:

• books;
• articles;
• web pages;
• researches;
• theses;
• academic papers.

Quotes and citation are marked with numbers, written in brackets, referring to a specific work listed in the references.

Second of all, there may be tables, graphical or textual organizers, or any other extra material, which does not qualify as a reference. In this case, a paragraph of appendixes is added. This paragraph contains any additional information that the author would like to introduce to a reader, but which doesn’t include any specific input, unlike references.

All in all, the structure of any research is quite strict and requires precision. However, there are a few hints on how to do an assignment in a report format that can facilitate writing and make it even more efficient.

Tips about how to write an assignment in report format

1. Writing professionally and concisely determines the author’s preparation and understanding of a topic. Reports demand a restrained style and certain vocabulary, and do not favor ‘watering down’.
2. Though the author has to introduce the main problem in a report, it’s always good to create a statement that reflects the paper’s main idea. Making it bold and relatable can help emphasize the importance of the work, and can be later used in the conclusions to make the report more specific; giving the impression that the main idea has been followed throughout the research and has finally reached its summary.
3. Headings are the most visible parts of any text. They are a good way to catch one’s attention and prepare a reader for an upcoming paragraph. You should avoid any vagueness and keep them strictly informative since their purpose is to specify a topic. Furthermore, headings should present a paragraph from a clear aspect. E.g. instead of putting it simply as ‘History’ or ‘Reasons’, it’s better to make it more precise, like ‘Historical predispositions of the establishment of first colonies’ etc. This will help you understand how to write a good assignment report which will impress the reader at once.
4. Subtitles are as essential as titles (headings). They are a nice device to separate subparagraphs within one topic and concentrate on details, which can be easily unnoticeable in large abstracts.
5. The use of lists makes a report more structured tells a reader about the author’s ability to analyze and conclude clearly. It’s good to number statements when it comes to putting them into a chronological order or arranging a sequence of events. The bulleted list is useful, in order to show equal statements, qualities of a subject or solutions to a problem.
6. Editing and proofreading are best friends of any writer, as they provide the last chance to find mistakes and typos, assure that a text has the required structure and includes all necessary topics. Moreover, it’s always a good idea to ask someone else to reread it, as a fresh perspective can perform miracles. Now you can stop googling the request “how to make a report for assignment” because you already know everything.

Taking into consideration the tips stated above will surely improve your writing skills and make you forget the breathtaking question, ‘How to write an assignment report?’ for good.