Designing the Long Report

Writing & Formatting the Long Report

During your career in the professional workplace you will be asked to write different types of long reports: financial plans, case studies, proposals, SWOT analyses (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), inspection reports, compliance reports, accounting reports, engineering reports and so on. The ubiquity of the long, formal report is one reason they are often the final or capstone project in many university courses.

Because it has many parts, writing a successful long report requires a different approach than the typical school paper. The long report requires more planning and time, a commitment to writing carefully one section at a time. Without a methodical approach, the writer will have difficulty with the amount and complexity of information in a long report.

Role of Design & Formatting
Another key to a successful long report is its design. As part of the planning process, the writer must also make conscious decisions about how the elements of design and formatting will signal the different parts of the report and how those parts are related to each other.

These decisions are usually written down as a set of document specifications. These "specs" insure that design elements such as titles and subtitles, headings and subheadings, font style, type size and type color, line spacing, paragraph style, table design, color palette and so on are consistent and effective throughout the report.

Review of a Model Long Report
The video below reviews a model financial plan, a common type of long report produced by financial advisers. However, finance is not the issue. The design and formatting principles discussed are relevant to any type of long report. Before viewing the video, here are some overall tips to keep in mind when designing the pages of your long report:

+2 Rule. A title must be at least two point sizes larger than a subtitle. A subtitle must be at least two point sizes larger than a sub-subtitle. And so on.

Page Insert Rule. When you have finished with one section of your long report, do not go to a new page of a new section by using the Enter key. Disaster will ensue. Instead, when you have finished a section, even if it is only one page long, use "insert New Page," "Page Break," or whatever the function is called in your word processor's or page design software's tool.

TOC Comes Last. When designing your document, create a page for the table of contents, but do not fill it in until you have completed the entire project. If your word processing program offers a TOC creation wizard, use it.

KISS Rule. When it comes to design in a business document, "Keep It Simple, Silly." In most situations, be conservative when it comes to your choice of colors, fonts and sizes. Value clarity over cleverness. A clean and simple design will present the information and the writer--you--in the best light.

To download a copy of the financial plan reviewed in the video, click here.

Helpful Links
Formal Reports & Proposals (Pearson Education)
Report Writing: Formal (University of New England)
Writing Formal Reports (University of Puerto Rico)
Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students (Penn State University)