State conclusions and recommendations in the introduction
State the conclusions of your report in the introduction.
A report must be organized so that readers can follow it easily. The most common organizational pattern is the deductive pattern. It states the conclusions or results in the introduction and then explains or supports them in the body of the report.
When readers receive a report, especially a long one, they normally want to know the conclusions right away. Once they know the conclusions, they can take the time to read the report carefully and understand the process that led to them.
State the conclusions after the context, history, and purpose.
Present the conclusions in a list.
A good way to make the conclusions stand out clearly is to present them in a list. Below is a paragraph with the conclusions embedded:
Our study of the literature has determined that health effects our hospital needs to be concerned about include premature death and increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits (primarily among the elderly and those individuals having cardiopulmonary disease); increased respiratory symptoms and disease (children and individuals with cardiopulmonary diseases such as asthma); decreased lung function (especially in children and individuals having asthma); and alterations in lung tissue and structure and in respiratory tract defense mechanisms (see EPA;s Revised Particulate Matter Standards, Fact Sheet, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Air quality Planning and Standards, July 17, 1997).
Now look at the same information broken out in a list:
Our study of the literature has determined that health effects our hospital needs to be concerned about are the following:
premature death and increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits (primarily among the elderly and those individuals having cardiopulmonary disease),
increased respiratory symptoms and disease (children and individuals with cardiopulmonary diseases such as asthma),
decreased lung function (especially in children and individuals having asthma), and
alterations in lung tissue and structure and in respiratory tract defense mechanisms (see EPA's Revised Particulate Matter Standards, Fact Sheet, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Air quality Planning and Standards, July 17 1997).
The conclusions are much easier to read.
State recommendations if your report contains them.
Similarly, if your report contains recommendations or suggestions, prefer to state them briefly in the introduction. Then explain them in greater detail in the report.Example:
Based on our comparison of the software programs available, we recommend that the department purchase the following two programs: [continues with names of software programs].
The rest of the report would explain why the writer made this recommendation.
In a longer report, you may present the list of recommendations or suggestions in a more formal, detailed list. Examples:
This is the evaluation of a proposal to the board of directors of a company recommending that the company not replace equipment immediately. It recommends instead that the company use the old equipment until repair and maintenance costs don't justify it. The evaluators have three recommendations for the proposal before it can be considered.
The examples below are in two formats. The first is a statement of the recommendations in brief form. The rest of the report will present detail about each recommendation.
The second format presents the recommendations in an executive summary at the beginning with a brief summary of the rationales for each recommendation. The body of the report will then explain the rationales in greater detail.
Example 1: A brief list of the recommendations
Our evaluation of your report that will go to the board of directors has resulted in three recommendations:
We recommend that you clarify the current and future use of the older equipment in your plant (page 2-23 of your analysis document).
We recommend that you explain whether the company's financial position will be the same, worse, or better when the equipment likely will have to be replaced.
We recommend that you provide a detailed accounting statement explaining the costs of maintenance and repair over the period of time the old equipment will continue to be used and compare that with the costs of replacing the equipment.
This report explains these recommendations in detail.
Recommendation 1: Clarify the following three questions in the report about the current and future use of the older equipment in your plant (page 2-23 of your design document).
[Report continues here.]
Example 2: An executive summary of the recommendations
Our evaluation of your report that will go to the board of directors has resulted in three recommendations:
We recommend that you clarify the following three questions in the cost analysis report about the current and future use of the older equipment in the plant (page 2-23 of your analysis document).
What is the projected time period that the equipment will remain usable?
When do you anticipate replacing the equipment?
What costs will be involved as the equipment requires repair as it ages?
We recommend that you explain whether the company's financial position will be the same, worse, or better when the equipment likely will have to be replaced.
Your suggestion that the equipment be replaced later requires that the finances be available at that later time to do the replacement. Since the equipment will be worn and not usable by that time, if the company does not have the money to replace it, the company may be under a strain.
We recommend that you explain the company's finances now and the anticipated condition at about the time the equipment will have to be replaced, considering current growth patterns for the company. Is the financing for the new equipment available now? Will it be available in the future?
We recommend that you provide a detailed accounting statement explaining the costs of maintenance and repair over the period of time the old equipment will continue to be used and compare that with the costs of replacing the equipment and maintenance and repair for the new equipment.
Management's decision about whether to replace the equipment now or keep using it until it is unusable will depend upon the costs involved in the alternatives. Your report doesn't include a detailed breakdown. We recommend that you include
the anticipated costs of maintenance and repair as the equipment ages, presented by year
the costs of replacing the equipment in today's dollars
anticipated increases in costs between now and the time the equipment would be replaced if we delay the replacement until the old equipment is unusable
the costs of maintenance and repair for the new equipment, also presented by year
This report explains these recommendations in detail.
Recommendation 1: Clarify the following three questions in the report about the current and future use of the older equipment in your plant (page 2-23 of your design document).
[Report continues here.]
Introduce and format lists to increase understanding.
Introduce the lists of conclusions or recommendations with a sentence or phrase that identifies the contents of the list. Format the lists so they are easy to read. Use the following techniques to introduce and format the lists of conclusions or recommendations clearly:
State or define the information that will follow. "In this report, we explain five recommendations."
Use exact numbers to identify the number of conclusions or recommendations.
List the points in the conclusions or recommendations you are writing in an executive summary.
Use the key words describing the key concepts consistently.
Use a word to identify what each item is, such as "conclusions," "suggestions," or "recommendations." "We reached four conclusions" or "We recommend the following steps to resolve the problem."
Use numbers or bullets to make the list stand out.
Bold the first words or stem if that will help identify the items, especially when they are separated over pages.
Skip a blank line after each item.
Indent lists.
Begin each item with the same type of word or number. If the first item begins with a verb, begin all items with a verb.
Example
To see an example of a report that does not have the conclusions and recommendations stated at the beginning and a revision that improves it, click on the "Example" button below. The information will appear in a new window. Close the new window when you're finished looking at the examples.