Anatomy of a Professional Report
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Anatomy of a Professional Report

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Anatomy of a Professional Report

Report Structure

Professional reports follow a consistent structure that helps readers navigate and understand the content.

Front Matter

  • Title Page - Report title, author, date, organization
  • Table of Contents - Auto-generated from headings
  • Executive Summary - Brief overview of key points

    Body

  • Introduction - Context and purpose
  • Main Sections - Organized with H2 headings
  • Sub-sections - Details under H3 headings
  • Conclusions - Summary and recommendations

    Back Matter

  • Appendices - Supporting documents
  • References - Sources cited

    Page Layout Best Practices

    Margins

    • Normal (1 inch) - Standard for most documents
    • Narrow (0.5 inch) - When space is limited
    • Wide (2 inch sides) - For binding or notes

      Page Breaks

    Use page breaks to:
    • Start major sections on new pages
    • Keep related content together
    • Avoid orphaned headings

      Never use multiple Enter keys to push content to the next page!

      Headers and Footers

      Headers typically include:

    • Document title
    • Chapter/section name
    • Organization logo

      Footers typically include:

    • Page numbers
    • Document date/version
    • Confidentiality notices

      What You'll Learn

      In this module, you'll practice:

    • Inserting page breaks properly
    • Setting page margins
    • Adding headers and footers
    • Enabling page numbers

      Let's build a professional report!

    Key Takeaways

    Learn the structure and components of professional reports.

    Ready to practice? Click "Mark Complete" and move to the next lesson to apply what you've learned.

    Lesson 1 of 2 in Report Structure