There are some general features of a report that are to be followed in order to make a well structured and meaningful report.
Title Page
It should be a brief page and should explicitly describe the purpose of the report. Other important details that should form a part of this page are the name, date and for whom the report has been created. The terms of reference should also be explained so as to give clarity on the department, degree and audience of the report. It could be in two lines or more depending upon the specific guidelines of the university or department.
Abstract
It has to briefly describe the content of the report. The abstract should clearly throw light on the aim of the report in not more than half a page. It should be remembered that the summary/Abstract is the first thing that is read and hence it is imperative that it should give a clear, helpful overview of the report content so that further reading interest is maintained and nurtured as well.
Index/Table of Contents
It should list the different chapters and include the subheadings along with the page numbers. The structure of this page should be such that the reader is able to quickly scan the heading lists and locate any detail with page specifications easily. In addition to giving page references, one could also provide chapter headings and sub headings. Make sure that there is consistency and clarity throughout.
Introduction
This chapter sets the foundation for the main content of the report hence the target of this chapter should be to explain the aims and objectives of the report in detail here. The problems and limitations of the report should be explained with also a brief inclusion of the description of the research methods, parameters and also the background history.
Methods
The methods adopted for the research are crucial and they should give details of the equipment that has been used, procedures, and sources of information, references of sources and statistical tools and techniques adopted. The right explanation of this part in the report justifies the authenticity of the report.
Results
The results chapter can be created as a very aesthetically appealing chapter as it offers scope for incorporating diagrams, graphs, tables and other applicable pictorial representations to explain the outcome of the results.
The last few chapters like the discussion, conclusion and references are an extension of the previous chapters and it should take forward the flow of the report and maintain continuity.
I have seen guidelines from my University and I am trying to prepare the report as per the guidelines, but I am not good at structural presentation. I am worried if the way i will be presenting the work it will be accepted or not. Can you help?