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How to write a good report�

Noor Awad, André Biedenkapp, Frank Hutter

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Machine Learning Lab

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Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

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Importance of good writing skills

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You’ll write a lot of �reports/papers in your life �

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These reports can decide whether

you have good writing skills

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Source: EngFluent

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Getting your points across

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A report presents and/or summarizes the facts about a particular paper

    • Reports make it easy to catch someone up to speed on a subject
    • Reports make it easy to catch someone up to speed on a subject

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The idea is that people who are unfamiliar with the subject

can find everything they need to know from a good report

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Structure of a report

  1. Summary
  2. Introduction
  3. Body
  4. Conclusion

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Structure of a report

Summary: summarizes the findings in your report so readers know what to expect

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Structure of a report

Introduction: explains the overall topic that you’re about to discuss, with your thesis statement and any need-to-know background information before you get into your own findings

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Structure of a report

Body: explains all the major discoveries, broken up into headings and subheadings

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Structure of a report

Conclusion: brings together all the information in your report and come to a definitive interpretation or judgment. The authors inputs their own personal opinions or inferences

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Simple rules for a good report

  1. Choose a topic/paper
  2. Study the paper
  3. Write a report statement
  4. Prepare an outline
  5. Write a rough draft
  6. Use your own words
  7. Revise and edit your report
  8. Proofread and check your mistakes

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Rule #1: Choose a topic/paper

Pick the paper (the topic of your report)

  • There’s adequate information
  • It’s something you’re interested in

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Rule #2: Study the paper

Read the paper thoroughly

  • conduct a research
  • understand the findings

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Rule #3: Write a report statement

Write a statement that

  • help you conceptualize the main theme of your report
  • summarizes the main point of your writing
  • include it in the summary and introduction of your report

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Rule #4: Prepare an outline

Write the report outline

  • headings and subheadings
  • a solid outline makes sure you stay on track while writing without missing anything

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Rule #5: Write a rough draft

Write the first rough draft that

  • take all the information from your study and put it into words
  • follow your outline step by step to make sure you don’t accidentally leave out anything
  • write in a natural and relaxed way, and worry about the specific details like word choice and correcting mistakes later.

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Rule #6: Revise and edit your report

After writing the first rough draft

  • sleep on it to start editing fresh, to unwind from writing the rough draft
  • rereading your report for any major issues
  • start fixing the mistakes you ignored the first time around
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Rule #7: Proofread and check for mistakes

Proofread your report so that

  • go over your report one final time
  • optimize your wording and check for grammatical or spelling mistakes

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