The Lighthouse

Business report structures can vary (so check your assignment instructions carefully). But a standard inductive business report usually has the following kind of structure:

Executive summary (this is only sometimes included)

1. Introduction

2. Discussion

2.1 Subsection of discussion

2.2 Subsection of discussion

2.3 Subsection of discussion

3. Conclusions

3.1 Conclusion 1 (one or two sentences)

3.2 Conclusion 2 (one or two sentences)

3.3 Conclusion 3 (one or two sentences)

4. Recommendations

4.1 Recommendation 1 (one or two sentences)

4.2 Recommendation 2 (one or two sentences)

4.3 Recommendation 3 (one or two sentences)

5. References

Note that the most important part of the report is the discussion (this contains the detail and so should usually have the bulk of the words and will attract the bulk of the marks). It is usually a good idea to try and ensure that there is a clear relationship between the discussion, conclusions and recommendations. The conclusions should sum up the main points of the discussion and it should be clear that the recommendations are a response to the points raised in the conclusion. So, where possible it is a good idea to have the same number of recommendations as conclusions.

For further help see:

• http://owll.massey.ac.nz/assignment-types/business-report-structure.php
• http://owll.massey.ac.nz/assignment-types/inductive-vs-deductive-reports.php