Digital marketing

A GUIDE TO CONSULTANT’S REPORT WRITING

Planning

Before you start, consider -

WHO is the report being written for? [the addressee] This will influence the language / vocabulary / style of the content. Be concise, business reports are read by busy people, get to the point in as few words as possible. Use plain language. Only use terms appropriate to the audience. Do not use emotive language or slang. Spelling and grammar are important to the context of the report. Make the content easy to read by being generous with space; use wide margins and have headings that stand out clearly.

WHAT is the purpose of the report? [what does the addressee want to know?] Be clear of the objectives of the report.

HOW are you going to present it? [the structure] This can only be determined after ‘who’ and ‘what’ have been established.

Use of theory

In a ‘real-life’ management report you would not make reference to theory. However, you will need to reference the source of any statistics you might use. In this case you must use the standard Harvard referencing system.

Structure / layout

A well-structured report will have a beginning, a middle and an end. Divide the report into a sequence of headings that will guide the reader through the logical flow of the content. Think of the headings as signposts for the reader. Use main headings, sub-headings and where suitable, paragraph headings. Each should be differentiated by type (e.g., upper, and lower case, bold, underlined). Though neither is essential, the decimal numbering system and bullet points are commonly used in reports.

The report should consist of:

Academic title page – the front cover - include module title, module code, my name, your name [as per the sample page on the assignment].

Turnitin submission page – the first page of the report which includes your name and similarity index with the first matches.

Report title page – as if in ‘real-life’ – addressees, report title

Contents page

Executive summary – though it comes at the beginning, this should be written last. It is a brief (250ish words max) statement of the subject matter of the main document.

Introduction – the purpose and reasoning for the report (as per the assignment case study, NOT the academic process).

The main body of the report – consider language / vocabulary / style & structure.

NB A business report would normally end with a ‘conclusion’ or possibly ‘recommendations.’ In this particular assignment, however, neither is required.

FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES, YOU MUST INCLUDE A

BIBLIOGRAPHY AT THE END OF YOUR REPORT.