REPORT FORMAT 1

Report Format

This document explains the APA/business hybrid style that is required for the recommendation

report.

General Rules

Remember the following guidelines:

1. Use a one-inch margin.

2. Use a size-12 font in black ink.

3. Follow APA for citations, headings, and the references page.

4. Double space the entire document, except for the letter of transmittal and the citations

for visuals.

5. Indent all double-spaced paragraphs.

6. Create grammatically parallel lists and headings.

7. Use language that is appropriate for a general (but professional) audience.

Prefatory Elements

1. Title Page

A. Include a specific title, the audience, your names, and the date. See “Sample

Title Page” on the report website and p. 414 (minus the color) of the textbook.

B. Count it as page i, but don’t place the number on the page.

C. Don’t include a header.

D. NOTE: The audience is whoever could actually approve the recommendation.

2. Letter of Transmittal

A. Use the textbook to correctly format your letter. See “Transmittal Letters” on the

website and pp. 406 and 548-552.

B. In the introduction, create a context for the report; in the body, explain what

points would be of particular interest; in the close, make clear what you want the

audience to do and how you can be reached.

C. Be sure to sign all of your names after you print the letter.

D. Count it as page ii, but don’t place the number on the page.

E. Don’t include a header.

F. NOTE: The letter is the most informal element of the report. You can address the

audience (“you”) and use “we” (Don’t use “I”; the letter is from the entire group.).

REPORT FORMAT 2

3. Table of Contents

A. Type Contents on the first line in the Level 1 heading format (centered, bold). (Do

NOT italicize.)

B. Include only what comes on pages after the Table of Contents (ToC), and do not

list the ToC itself.

C. Include all report headings and Level 2 subheadings.

D. Consider using leaders (…..) to link the headings to the page numbers.

E. Number the page iii. The number goes in the center of the footer. See “How to

Create a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word” on the website and p. 416 of the

text.

F. Don’t include a header.

G. NOTE: Do NOT include illustrations.

4. List of Illustrations (only required if you include more than 5 visuals; otherwise,

optional)

A. Type List of Illustrations on the first line in the Level 1 heading format.

B. Use the same format as the ToC. If there is room on the page, the list can go

beneath the ToC.

C. Number the page iv. See p. 416 of the text.

D. Don’t include a header.

5. Executive Summary

A. Type Executive Summary on the first line in the Level 1 heading format.

B. Write no more than a page. This should function as a mini-report and follow the

same order as the full report. Be objective. See p. 417 of the text.

C. Number the page v (or iv, if the List of Illustrations fits on the same page as the

Table of Contents).

D. NOTE: Do not start the introduction on the same page.

Main Elements (Introduction, Body, and Close)

1. Page 1

Center the title in all caps and bold at the top. The introduction to the report

follows the title, but do not include a heading that says “Introduction.”

Place the page number in the center of the footer. Use Arabic numerals instead of

Roman. (You might want to start a new file, since switching number formats can

be difficult.) (This is a hybrid of APA and report format. See “APA Sample

Pages” and the sample report on pp. 418-427 in the text.)

Don’t include a header.

REPORT FORMAT 3

2. Page 2

Place the page number in the upper right corner of the header.

In the left corner of the header, place the title (or a shortened version—50

characters max) of the report in all caps. (See the header in this document.)

3. Headings

Break the report into sections. See “APA Headings” from the OWL.

Include white space between sections and subsections; use white space

consistently. Use more white space between sections than between subsections.

NOTE: Remember that headings do not replace transitions between sections.

NOTE: Include at least one heading per page.

4. Citations

Include a citation in APA every time you use a quotation, paraphrase, or summary

from another source. Unless the author is referred to in the text, the citation

includes the author’s name, the year, and the page number(s).

NOTE: Include at least one citation per page of the Discussion.

NOTE: Introduce, cite, and explain (ICE) all research.

5. Close (Summary and Conclusions, Recommendations) format

Remember that the Summary and Conclusions section and the Recommendations

section together should function like a mini-report, somewhat similarly to how the

Executive Summary works. The Summary and Conclusions section restate the

main points of the body and explains why they matter.

Write only short paragraphs for the Recommendations section. You might write a

bulleted list that is introduced with a sentence.

NOTE: Include no new information after the Discussion.

6. Visuals (Figures and Tables)

For each, number it, caption it, and state where you found it. Include labels on the

visuals when necessary. See “Citing Tables & Figures” and “Citing Images in

APA” (scroll down on the website.) This information goes beneath figures and

above and below tables and is single spaced.

NOTE: Refer to the visual in the text before the visual. The text and visuals

work together; they don’t replace each other.

NOTE: Tables have titles; figures do not.

Include enough white space around visuals and between sections.

REPORT FORMAT 4

Supplementary Elements

1. References page

A. Center References at the top of the page in the Level 1 heading format.

B. Alphabetize the sources according to the author’s last name (or title if there is no

author).

C. Use a hanging indent.

D. Double-space. Do not add an extra space between entries or number them.

E. Continue to use Arabic numerals.

2. Appendix

A. If there is only one, call it Appendix. Center the title at the top of the page in the

Level 1 heading format.

B. If there is more than one appendix, give each a letter for a title (Appendix A,

Appendix B, etc.).

Start each new appendix on a new page.

C. Make sure to refer to each appendix in the text. See the APA Style Essentials site

and scroll to the bottom.

D. For visuals in just one appendix, precede all visual numbers with an A. If there is

more than one appendix, precede the numbers with the letter of the appendix.

E. NOTE: An appendix is for any information that you think is useful but

secondary.

F. NOTE: If you conducted a survey, you must include a copy of the survey as an

appendix.