Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

For writing and styling business reports

Gunning, Y. et al
Amsterdam, June 2016

Table of contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2
1
Compulsory elements of a report ................................................................................. 3
1.1
Front cover................................................................................................................. 3
1.2
Title page ................................................................................................................... 4
1.3
Preface ....................................................................................................................... 4
1.4
Executive summary .................................................................................................... 4
1.5
Table of contents ....................................................................................................... 5
1.6
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 5
1.7
The key chapters........................................................................................................ 6
1.8
Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 6
1.9
Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 6
1.10
Notes.......................................................................................................................... 6
1.11
Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 7
1.12
Appendices ................................................................................................................ 8
2
The lay-out of the report .............................................................................................. 9
2.1
Source references ...................................................................................................... 9
2.2
Tables and figures .................................................................................................... 10
2.3
Headings .................................................................................................................. 10
2.4
Paragraphs ............................................................................................................... 10
2.5
Lists .......................................................................................................................... 10
2.6
Examples and quotes ............................................................................................... 10
2.7
Numbering ............................................................................................................... 11
2.8
Font and line spacing ............................................................................................... 11
2.9
Margins .................................................................................................................... 11
2.10
Page numbering ....................................................................................................... 11
2.11
Underlining/italicising.............................................................................................. 11
2.12
Spaces ...................................................................................................................... 11
2.13
Chapters and sections.............................................................................................. 12
3
General stylistic points ................................................................................................ 13
3.1
Impersonal style ...................................................................................................... 13
3.2
Numbers .................................................................................................................. 13
3.3
General points ......................................................................................................... 14
Recommended literature ......................................................................................................... 15
Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 16

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

Introduction

AMSIB students have to write a considerable number of reports. Lecturers and coaches have to assess
and mark these reports. Clear guidelines for both writing and styling reports help both students and
lecturers to do the job.
Often deadlines have to be met. Writing requires time, planning, focus and meticulousness. It is
useless and disrespectful to hand in any text that is not written with the utmost care. This means you
need to ensure that you have enough time to rewrite your draft until it is up to standard. This guide
helps you do that.
AMSIB Reporting Guidelines for writing and styling business reports consists of three chapters. Chapter
1 discusses all compulsory elements a business report contains. In chapter 2 guidelines for the lay-out
and bibliography are given. Chapter 3 provides general stylistic advice about the use of numbers in
texts.
Words highlighted in blue can be clicked and refer to the Appendix, where you will find links explaining
how to use specific features of Word.

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

Compulsory elements of a report

Each report contains a number of standard elements that are used in a certain order. These elements
are:

Front cover
Title page
(Preface)
Executive summary
Table of contents
Introduction (chapter 1)
The main body of work: numbered chapters

Conclusions (numbered chapter)

(Recommendations (numbered chapter))

(Notes)
Bibliography
(Index of terminology)
(Appendix/appendices)

The elements in brackets may be included in the text, but they might not be compulsory.

1.1

Front cover

The information on the cover must be clearly ordered. The most important information is the title and
any subtitles. This information assumes the most space on the cover and should be displayed in the
upper centre of the page. Be clear; the title Research Study, is completely uninformative, while the
title Investigation into purchasing behaviour of secondary school children in the Netherlands tells
you all you need to know at this juncture. All other information on the front cover is placed in the
bottom-left hand corner. The cover should contain the following elements:
Title
(Subtitle)
Name(s) of author(s)
Group and student number(s)
Month and year of writing/study year
Name(s) of the lecturer(s)

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

1.2

Title page

On the title page, the information on the front cover is displayed again, but in more detail. The title
page must not contain any quotes, words of thanks or illustrations. It should contain the following
elements:
Title(s)
Name(s) of the author(s) (surname and initial[s])

Class and student number(s)

Place and date of writing

Name of the educational institution
Name of the department/course

Lecturer(s)

(Company and company supervisor)

1.3

Preface

The preface is a brief guide to the creation of a report. It is not compulsory. It does not require a
chapter number as it is no part of the actual report. If you wish to include a preface, keep it short and
restrict it to the following elements:
Information regarding aspects such as the background of the study/thesis, the assignment itself,
the target groups, its usability;
Information about the author(s);
(If there are two authors) information about who is responsible for what (chapters, aspects);
Any words of thanks.

1.4

Executive summary

In the executive summary, the most important elements of the introduction and the final conclusions
are briefly described. The most important results of the investigation must also be included. The
summary must be kept short. Furthermore, it must be written informatively and not indicatively, i.e.
disadvantages of X are a, b, c, and not In this report I will be particularly focusing on the
disadvantages of X.
The executive summary should contain the following elements:
Information about the subject;
Description/analysis of the problem;
The main question;
Research methodology;
A brief summary of the most important results;
The conclusions;
Advice/recommendations and the expected effects of these.
Although the lecturer will, of course, read the entirety of the report when grading it, in the real world
most people will only read the summary. People usually read the summary and then skip to particular
pages, i.e. the financial section of the report.

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

Therefore, somebody who only reads the summary must gain roughly the same information as
somebody who reads the entire report. This in turns means that the summary must be independently
readable and must contain no references to other sections of the report. Do not use subheadings or
separate sections in the summary. The summary is not numbered as a chapter.

1.5

Table of contents

A table of contents reflects the framework of the text. From the contents, the reader can see the
structure of the text. He/she should also be able to see where exactly in the text particular topics can
be found. When writing the thesis, the contents page can also be used as a tool for structuring the
report in a logical order. It is effectively a blueprint that describes the content and the structure of the
text. A table of contents consists of:
Reference to the executive summary;
Sections and subsections denoted using decimal numbers (do not use Roman numerals);
Full titles of all chapters and sections;
References to the (notes), bibliography, (appendix/appendices);
Page numbering.
The table of contents should be automatically generated in Word by using headings. This function is
found on the References tab. By indenting sections and subsections, you give a clearer display of
the structure of the text. The page numbers are written on the right-hand side of the page. Only
sections that are part of the actual report get chapter numbers. Please check the list of compulsory
elements of a report on page 3.
Example:

Table of contents
1 Introduction .....................................................................................................6
2 The Netherlands and the third world ..............................................................7
2.1 Trading relations between the Netherlands and the third world..7
2.2 ...

1.6

Introduction

The following elements must be included in the introduction:

Reason for the report a short description of the problem.
The main question of the report (can be split into sub-issues)
The manner in which you will address this main issue (and sub-issues).
Relevance of the report to the person who set the assignment ( = practical goal of the report).

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

Preconditions (demands are often placed upon the solution to a particular problem, creating
preconditions that you must keep in mind at all times, e.g. the solution must not involve any extra
costs).
A chapter-by-chapter preview of the content and structure of the report.

Also make sure that your introduction is written in such a way as to encourage the reader to read the
report, without exaggerating or over-selling the report.

1.7

The key chapters

As you know, it is important for the readability of your report that the chapters are introduced and
concluded with structured information. You explain in a couple of sentences what was discussed in
the previous chapter and what you are now going to discuss or analyse, why you are going to do this
and in what order you are going to do it. Looking both back and forwards during the text gives your
readers a chance to keep track of the piece, but use this technique sparingly. As with everything, the
key is to find the right balance.
Always write an introductory sentence or paragraph between a main chapter and the next subchapter.
Never start a chapter or subchapter with a graph, diagram or illustration.

1.8

Conclusions

In the final chapter, you give the answer to your main question. Your conclusion is of course based on
your final analysis of the problem. You do not give extensive explanations of your conclusions here, as
this will have already been done in the key chapters.

1.9

Recommendations

Recommendations stem from your conclusions, but should be displayed in a separate section. Two
types of recommendation are useful. Firstly, you clarify what the organisation must do in order to
implement your recommended solution. Secondly, you give an indication of which other studies are
necessary/advisable in order to prevent problems occurring in the near future.
If you structure your recommendations in a plan or strategy, then you must explain as concretely as
possible what the business must do, and how, when and by whom the action must be taken.
Additionally, you must give an indication of the expected results, preferably expressed quantitatively,
and which organisational changes your recommendations would entail. In advisory reports, you must
provide a firm financial basis for your solutions.

1.10

Notes

Use notes either sparingly or (preferably) not at all! Notes are only necessary to provide important
extra information that would otherwise interrupt the main line of argument or make the text less
clear. If you use footnotes, only add explanation or comments regarding the content of the text. The
text in the notes must be able to be read independently. Number your notes in chronological order of

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

their appearance in the report. Insert the number of the note as a superscript following the sentence
with which the note belongs, as shown here.1 Write the content of the note at the bottom of the page.

1.11

Bibliography

Two points must be made prior to this section. Firstly, in a practical investigation, you will make use
of written sources, e.g. annual reports, brochures, letters etc. Secondly, sources that cannot be traced,
i.e. conversations, should be cited with a name and description of source, place, date (i.e. personal
conversation).
For making references to sources in the text itself (see further in the text), you refer to publications
and conversations that you have noted in your bibliography. Be warned - a bibliography without
references in the text is of no value. Arrange the publications in the bibliography in alphabetical order
of author name(s). Write titles of books and periodicals in italics. Use (single) quotation marks for
names of periodicals. Below are several examples of various literature references. Adhere strictly to
the format displayed below in the examples:
Sources must be listed according to the APA guidelines. Examples of the most common sources are
listed below:
One author:
De Roode, H.A. (2010). Public relations: Internal and external communication for companies.
Deventer: Kluwer.
Two authors:
De Roode, H.A., & Breder, K. (2010).
Three authors:
De Roode, H.A., Breder, K. & Gerdig, J. (2010).
Book by editor(s) rather than author(s):
De Roode, H.A., & Breder, J. (Eds.). (2010).
Article in/contribution to a collaborative work:
De Roode, H.A. (2009). Internal and external communication. In V.J.K. Hendriks (Ed.), Policy and
Politics (pp. 93-105). Zutphen: Malmberg publishing.
Article in print:
Smith, A. (2010). The pros and pitfalls of Internet Marketing. New Marketing 38(2), 4-23.
Online article with DOI (Digital Object Identifier a link to an article on the internet)
Smith, A. (2010). The pros and pitfalls of Internet Marketing. New Marketing 38(2), 4-23.
doi: 10/291/newmark.2010.38.4

This is an example of a footnote

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

 Online article without DOI

Smith, A. (2010). The pros and pitfalls of Internet Marketing. New Marketing 38(2), 4-23.
Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/fdo
Newspaper article with author
Smith, A. (2010, July 9). Designing governmental policy. The Financial Times, p. 3.
Newspaper article without author
Designing governmental policy. (2010, July 9). The Financial Times, p. 3.
Online newspaper article
Smith, A. (2010, July 9). Designing governmental policy. The Financial Times.
Retrieved from http://www.financialtimes.com

Web page
Dutch Language Union Language Advisory Board. (2011, April 2). Retrieved from
http://www.taalunieversum.org.

1.12

Appendices

Appendices offer supplementary information to the readers that desire more detailed information
than is given in the report. The supplementary information must, of course, be relevant to the main
issue of the report. Try to include as few appendices as possible.
Examples of appendices:
The research plan,
Balance sheets
Tables, other calculations,
Copies of questionnaires, forms, letters,
Drawings.
Number the appendices and give them all a clear and concise title. A list containing all of the
numbered appendices precedes the first. As appendices are not counted as part of the actual text,
the page numbering should not continue from the main text. The appendices should either have a
separate numbering system or none at all.

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

The lay-out of the report

Good presentation entails that your report should be attractive to the eye of the reader. An accessible
presentation invites the reader to read the text and opens his/her mind to the content. Furthermore,
the presentation must be functional, i.e. conveniently arranged, typographically easy to read, and
display the structure of the report. Always avoid titles or the first line of a new paragraph standing
alone at the bottom of the page.

2.1

Source references

The authenticity of a report without references to all sources used cannot be checked and such a
report is therefore insufficient. Furthermore, not acknowledging your sources is plagiarism, and the
sanctions for plagiarism range from the report being declared invalid to the student being expelled.
For these reasons, do not forget to mention all sources (written, oral or visual) when new information
is first given, and refer to the sources in the bibliography. Give the name of the person that is
responsible for the source, and if applicable, the nature of the source (if not simply a book, periodical,
etc.) In the main text, you refer to the source by mentioning the following:
Name(s) of author(s);
Year of publication;
(Page number[s], if you are referring to a particular passage).
The year of publication should always be in parentheses, and if they are not part of the sentence, the
authors name should also be in parentheses. For example:

Smith and Jones (2011, pp. 447-454) assume that

If we assume (Smith and Jones, 2011, pp. 447-454) that

(Direct quote from a book) But the real reason for the economic downturn is an American
economic policy that gives absolutely no consideration with the national debtand is too firmly
focused on the short term (Smith and Jones, 2011, p. 44). For quotes in languages other than the
language that the report is written in, write the quote in the original language in italics, followed
by the translation (if necessary).

If you refer to websites and you do not know the author, use the first few words of the page title:
(Designing governmental policy, 2010)

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

2.2

2.3

Tables and figures

Only use tables and figures that give added value to the text.
Place the tables and figures as close to the relevant text as possible.
Refer to the tables and figures in the text.
Interpret the tables and figures in the text.
Do not present information twice. Introduce it either in the table or figure or in the text.
Number each table and figure with the chapter number and then in ascending chronological order.
So table 4.1 is the first table in chapter 4; table 4.2 is the second, and so on.
Tables have their own sequence, and figures have their own sequence. This means that there can
be a table 4.1 and a figure 4.1.
Give each table and figure a brief, independently understandable title.
Under each table and figure you must have a source listed (e.g. source: WorldBank, 2014).
Include the tables and figures in the appendices if they are particularly numerous/detailed or if
they are not of importance to all of the readers.

Headings

Start section titles and subtitles with a capital letter, but do not capitalise each word. Do not underline
titles and subtitles, and never place a colon at the end. Ensure that the heading is spaced closer to the
text below it than the text above (in this text, the distance is 18 from the heading to the text above,
and 6 to the text below).

2.4

Paragraphs

You start a new paragraph by leaving a line blank between this new paragraph and the previous
paragraph.

2.5

Lists

Denote list elements using dashes, bullet points etc. Use the same symbol to denote the elements of
every list in your report. If you refer to an element of a list, it is best to use numbers or letters. Place
a full stop after the number/letter. Leave a space after the number/letter (and the accompanying full
stop) or the dash/bullet point, whichever is used. If a list element takes up more than one line, then
the first letter of the second line is written directly below the first letter of the line above.

2.6

Examples and quotes

Reproduce quotes word-for-word. Short quotes can be written with quotation marks in the main text.
Longer quotes or examples should be written with an indent of roughly ten spaces and be preceded
by a blank line. In such cases, quotation marks are therefore no longer necessary. Furthermore, for
long quotes and examples, you may wish to use a smaller line interval and a smaller font. Example:
The need for quotation marks is therefore no longer necessary. Furthermore, you may wish to use a
smaller line interval and a smaller font.

AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

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The brackets [] indicate that you have omitted part of the source. Any comments that you wish to
add should be written in square brackets, and must include your initials.

2.7

Numbering

Use decimal numbering (1, 2, 2.1 etc.). Place a full stop between each figure, and restrict the number
of figures to three (2.1.2). The number is placed before the heading, and is separated from the heading
by a space.

2.8

Font and line spacing

Use a neutral and business-like font. Use the right font size (e.g. Calibri 11). Use line spacing 1.15.

2.9

Margins

Minimum widths of margins (best use Word Page Layout Margins Normal)
Left-hand margin:
Right-hand margin:
Upper margin:
Lower margin:

2.10

3 centimetres
2 centimetres
3 centimetres
2 centimetres

Page numbering

Do not place the page numbers between dashes, and do not place a full stop after them. Leave two
blank lines between the page number and the text. The cover and title page should not be numbered.
Begin numbering the pages after the title page.

2.11

Underlining/italicising

Any underlining must be uninterrupted. i.e. any spaces in the text should also be underlined. Italicising
is preferable to underlining. Italicise the following:
Headings;
Titles of books and names of periodicals;
Words you wish to emphasise (keep to a minimum);
Words in a quote that are italicised in the source;
Odd words;
Words that are being discussed autonomously.

2.12

Spaces

The general rule is: leave a space after a punctuation mark but not before one.
Exceptions:
No space after a full stop within an abbreviation (e.g. e.g.);
No space after a full stop between initials (e.g. A.B. Smith);
No space after an apostrophe, except when placed on the end of a word (e.g. one cars engine,
two cars engines);
AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

11

No space after an initial quotation mark (Dont do that, he said);

No space after a hyphen (e.g. up-to-date);
However, a space must be left before and after a dash (e.g. a final clause is a brief phrase that is
placed yes, you guessed right - at the beginning of a sentence.)

2.13

Chapters and sections

Begin all chapters on a new page. Sections and subsections can start on the same page. Make sure to
never have a chapter of section number at the bottom of your page.
Sections and subsections should not be too short. If starting a new section or subsection seems
inappropriate (i.e. not really contributing to a clear structure) you can just use a bold heading without
a number. Remember that all numbered subsections need to be included in the table of contents
which could then be too long. For example: in the description of the company the parts mission and
vision are often too short to justify a whole new subsection.

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General stylistic points

Use an English book on writing to deal with stylistic issues that will increase the effectiveness and
readability of your text. See the recommended literature for titles. A few issues are discussed below.

3.1

Impersonal style

Reports should be written in formal business English. This means that you should pay special attention
to the following aspects.
Vocabulary
Some words commonly used in speech are not used in formal writing, e.g. really, nice, etc.
Impersonal language
Formal writing is impersonal. Avoid personal pronouns like I, you, we, etc. Do not write 'I think it is
important that action is taken immediately', but 'It is essential that action is taken immediately'. The
problem with you is that it is often not clear who or what it refers to, for example in a sentence like
'You should not blame society for this'. In this case, use a passive form instead: 'Society should not be
blamed for this.' The same goes for they: therefore, in a sentence like 'They should pay higher wages'
you should make clear WHO should do this ('The company / The government should pay higher
wages') or, if you do not know, use the passive: 'Higher wages should be paid'.
Passives
As you will have seen above, passives are often used when the writer wants to use an impersonal
style. You should not be afraid to use the passive to use the passive to keep the style of your report
impersonal: write 'This will be discussed in chapter 6' rather than 'I will discuss this in chapter 6'. On
the other hand, try to avoid over-use of the passive, to maintain a concrete style. Use active sentences
and make the performer of the action the subject of the sentence. For example, 'The government
raised taxes' rather than 'Taxes were raised (by the government)'.

3.2

Numbers

The following whole numbers should be written using letters:

Numbers below twenty, e.g. seventeen;
Round numbers from twenty onwards, e.g. five hundred, eighty.
Exceptions:
All numbers used for measurements and percentages, e.g. 10 kg, 2%.
Use figures in passages which contain lots of numbers;
Numbers denoting chapter numbers, denoting dates and amounts of money, e.g. 5 May 2015,
50.
Use currency signs for widely used currencies like the euro (), the US dollar ($) and the British pound
(). Do not use a space between the currency sign and the amount, to avoid the currency sign being
the last item on one line and the amount the first item on the line below that. Make sure that you use
AMSIB Reporting Guidelines 2016-2017

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commas and decimal points correctly: commas to separate thousands and a decimal point before
decimals: 510,763.45.

3.3

General points
Avoid long sentences to maintain the clarity of your text.
Connect sentences that refer to each other using conjunctive adverbs to increase fluency.
Vary the wording of your sentences.
Use the spelling and grammar check to check your writing before you hand it in!

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Recommended literature
American Psychology Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington DC: Author.
ISBN 978 1 4338 0561 5
Hannay, M., & Lachlan Mackenzie, J. (2002). Effective writing in English: A source book.
Bussum: Uitgeverij Coutinho.
ISBN 978 90 6283 326 9
Hogeweg, R., & Philips, K. (2010). A Good Report. Baarn: Thieme Meulenhoff.
ISBN 978 90 06 95150 9
Laaken, M. van der, Lankamp, R.E., & Sharwood Smith, M. (2007). Writing Better
English: A Multi-purpose Model for Advanced Speakers (3rd ed.). Bussum: Uitgeverij
Coutinho.
ISBN 978 90 6283 276 7

Stuij, C. (2011). Reports (2nd ed.). Gronongen/Houten: Noordhoff Uitgevers.

ISBN 978 90 01 79494 1
Bove, C.L., & Thill, J.V. (2008). Excellence in Business Communication (8th ed.). London: Pearson.
ISBN 978 0 13 714383 2

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Appendix
How to use Word 2013: Microsoft Tutorials and the Ontuitive LearningGuide provided by
AUAS
The main text of this document has clickable references to this list of topics.
Each topic has been provided with a clickable link to a Microsoft tutorial. The second column gives a
search term in the Ontuitive LearningGuide, provided by the AUAS IT work environment. This
environment is also accessible on a private computer. The internet address is https://apps2.hva.nl.
Use a current web browser or install the current Citrix Receiver app on your phone or tablet.
An overview of available Microsoft training videos and tutorials can be found at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/word-help/training-courses-for-word-2013-HA104030981.aspx
List of Word topics
Topic with link to Microsoft tutorial

Search term for the LearningGuide (for Word)

Center text (format text)

Align text

Create table of contents (TOC)

Generate Table of Contents

Footnotes

Create footnote

Bibliography (APA style referencing)

Cross-referencing

Create cross-reference

Insert a table

Insert a table

Heading

Add text or heading

Bulleted list

Apply bullets or numbering

Page numbers

Apply page numbering

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