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!