How to write report in word

Microsoft Word is one of the most popular word processing tools for creating reports and other documents. Whether you are a student, professional or anyone who does documentation works, proficiency in Microsoft Word is a skill that is necessary for today’s digital age. Microsoft Word software comes with a vast number of features to improve the productivity of your works and to produce accurate outputs. In this post, I will show you how to use some of these features to create professional reports with Microsoft Word.

When you write a Thesis, Dissertation, Project Report, and Technical Report, etc… Microsoft Word helps you to keep your content more organized, clear and structured. Microsoft Word comes with inbuilt options such as Source Manager for managing your citations, Track Changes, Document Outlines, etc… to make it easier to handle your documents and related resources.

If you closely observed any professional report created with Microsoft Word, you can identify there are several common features in every document. Those common features include Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, different levels of Heading Styles, Sections, Image and Table Captions, Index, Headers & Footers, Page Numbering, etc… Microsoft Word has specific ways of creating and generating those features. If you follow those methods correctly, you can create your report more easily and correctly.

In this series of tutorials, I will show you how to create Microsoft Word reports and make use of the inbuilt features correctly to make your report looks professional.

For better understanding, I have created a separate post for each key options that you will need to create reports and documents with Microsoft Word. I have listed out all the posts below, and it is not necessary to follow the same order. How ever, to use some options there are some prerequisites. I have added links to those prerequisites within the post itself.

First of all, let’s identify the main sections of a report.

Identify the main sections of a report

In a professional report, the appearance or look of the report as well as it’s flow is significant. So, you should first identify the main sections of the report. The sections given below are the most common in a professional report. (in this post I assume that you know the meaning of bellow terms)

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Abstract
• Acknowledgement
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Acronyms
• Main Content/ Chapters
• References
• Appendixes
• Index

Creating these sections manually is not an easy task. However, if you practice the following Microsoft Word features, you can easily create the above sections.

The list of must-know features in Microsoft Word to create Professional Reports

Each feature below described in separate pages. You may click the post image or “read more” link to access these pages.

Insert Section Breaks

Create Numbered Multilevel Heading Styles

Add Captions

Add Citations and Bibliography

Add Headers and Footers

Add Page Numbers

Create a Table of Contents

Create List of Tables and Figures

Create an Index

Wrapping Up

The listed above are the essential features required to create professional reports with Microsoft Word. Here I have explained the basics of those features only. Once you get used to them, you can find more design and customization options inside those features. These features not only adding rich & professional looks to your documents, but they also help you to create and manage your report more easily and productively.

Общая структура доклада

Доклад состоит из трёх частей: вступление, основная часть и заключение. Основная часть делится, в свою очередь, еще на несколько частей (как правило, 2–3). При этом и сам доклад, и все его части должны иметь заголовки. Также можно включить дату, расположив её под заголовком доклада. Например:

Примечания: вместо слова ‘purpose’ можно писать ‘introduction’. Вместо слова ‘conclusion’ можно писать ‘recommendation’, если вы пишете доклад-рекомендацию. На олимпиадах писать дату обычно не требуется. Можно переходить ко вступлению сразу после строки, на которой написана тема. Также не обязательно писать в теме слово Subject. Можно просто написать саму тему.

Вступление

Основная часть

Заключение

Стиль

Пример работы в формате report

Напишем ответ на такое задание:

The linguistic analysis of the dialogues from 12 Disney movies appearing over the period 1937–2013 has revealed certain alterations in the nature of the compliments paid to female characters. This report aims at outlining the discovered changes and explaining the reasons behind them.

Теперь напишем об изменениях. Для этого будем действовать по схеме обобщения и детализации. Как написано у нас в плане, в классических мультфильмах большинство комплиментов относится ко внешности. Примером служит Sleeping Beauty. Так и пишем:

In classic Disney animated films female characters receive several times the amount of praise for their appearance as for their skills and abilities. For instance, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty have respectively 83% and 58% compliments related to the way they look.

Проделываем аналогичную операцию со следующим периодом. Сначала обобщенно говорим о тенденции, потом даём пример:

The same trend generally remains during the renaissance Disney period, although it must be noted that it is then that a character appears (namely Pocahontas, 1995), who is given credit for her skills rather than attractiveness.

С последним периодом поступаем точно так же.

In most recent films the role of beauty-related compliments is noticeably lower — 20% on average, while showing respect for competence has risen in frequency, making up almost half of the total compliments in every film since 2009.

Differing compliment patterns might have been caused by the changing perception of women’s role in society. When a woman was primarily regarded as wife and mother, her value was mostly based on appearance. A shift towards engagement in activities other than household and motherhood was, in its turn, naturally followed by the increase in ability-related compliments.

To conclude, the quality of the compliments given to female characters in Disney movies has significantly altered, reflecting the ways the societal values have transformed over the past 76 years.

Наш report готов. Не забываем писать заголовки к каждому абзацу, а также к самому докладу.

Subject: Changing Compliments Patterns in Disney Movies

Purpose

The linguistic analysis of the dialogues from 12 Disney movies appearing over the period 1937–2013 has revealed certain alterations in the nature of the compliments paid to female characters. This report aims at outlining the discovered changes and explaining the reasons behind them.

Changes

In classic Disney animated films female characters receive several times the amount of praise for their appearance as for their skills and abilities. For instance, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty have respectively 83% and 58% compliments related to the way they look. The same trend generally remains during the renaissance Disney period, although it must be noted that it is then that a character appears (namely Pocahontas, 1995), who is given credit for her skills rather than attractiveness. In most recent films the role of beauty-related compliments is noticeably lower — 20% on average, while showing respect for competence has risen in frequency, making up almost half of the total compliments in every film since 2009.

Reasons

Differing compliment patterns might have been caused by the changing perception of women’s role in society. When a woman was primarily regarded as wife and mother, her value was mostly based on appearance. A shift towards engagement in activities other than household and motherhood was, in its turn, naturally followed by the increase in ability-related compliments.

Conclusion

To conclude, the quality of the compliments given to female characters in Disney movies has significantly altered, reflecting the ways the societal values have transformed over the past 76 years.

Подводные камни

Очень распространённая ошибка при написании доклада — несоответствие стиля. Использование личных местоимений (I think, I consider), сокращений (it’s, hasn’t), слишком простых предложений и разговорной лексики пагубно отражается на качестве доклада и на количестве получаемых за него баллов.

A good template has an attractive annual report format already set. This makes your task of annual report creation easy.

Let’s look at how to make annual report designs quickly using a report design template Word doc. We’ll also take a look at some tips on how to make a good annual report design. So, let’s dig in and start designing.

How to Make Annual Report Designs

So, how do you make an annual report design? Well, you’ll need to decide which software you’d prefer to use. You’ll need to decide things like the best annual report format for your project too. Microsoft Word is one of many tools you can try. And there are plenty of annual report templates for Word.

New to Microsoft Word? Check out this free tutorial: Learn How to Use Microsoft Word (Beginner Tutorial Guide). It’s a great place to start!

Templates are a great solution because they give you a head start. You don’t have to begin with a blank canvas. An annual report template already has the basics established for you. Customize and edit it as much or as little as you want.

If you prefer to just insert your content in the annual report template, that’s fine. It’s a quick way to get your report done in a flash. Or, if you really want to change it up, use the template to jumpstart your design process. Turn it into something entirely new! The choice is yours.

Find the Perfect Annual Report Template Word Document

So, where do you find templates, especially if you want your annual report format in Word? Well, there’s a great collection of templates on Envato Elements. In fact, one low price gets you access to all of them, with unlimited downloads. That’s a great deal.

This means you can download as many annual report template Word documents as you like. Try out a few of them! They’re all included.

You also get a library of fonts, stock photos, illustrations, and more. Envato Elements comes with access to thousands of professional assets, all licensed for commercial use. It’s an awesome resource for creative professionals.

If you don’t necessarily need access to a library of files, consider GraphicRiver. Here, you can download only what you need. One download, one fee. It’s a great option for keeping things simple, but you still get the same level of professionalism.

How to Quickly Make Annual Reports in Microsoft Word Format With Templates

Now, let’s walk through how easy it to quickly create and customize an annual report in Microsoft Word using an annual report template. We’ll use this premium professional annual report template from Envato Elements:

You can download this tutorial and follow along if you like. Otherwise, these concepts are transferrable to any annual report template of your choice. We’ll hit the basic essentials to get you customizing your work right now.

Let’s begin!

1. Get Started With Your Document

You’ll need to navigate to your download. Your template may be compressed in a ZIP document. Uncompress this document and extract the files you need to your computer.

Depending on your template, you’ll be given a variety of different files.

You may also have a variety of different file types. In our case we want to use the Word template. So, check out the template file in the DOCX format.

2. How to Navigate Through the Document

To open your document, go to File > Open. Navigate to the document on your computer and select it. 

Navigating your document in Word is a simple process. Just scroll through the pages to see all the content within your document. The document we’re using has 20 pages worth of content with a large variety of different designs.

3. How to Duplicate and Manage Pages

To duplicate a page, you’ll need to create a new page. Make sure your cursor is placed at the top or bottom of a chosen page where you want to insert your new page. Then go to Insert > Blank Page.

Then copy the contents of another page and paste that into your new page to act as a template.

To delete an unwanted page, highlight the content of a page and click on the Delete button. Be careful with deleting page breaks.

4. How to Customize the Text

Customizing the text is also user friendly. As this is a Word document, in most cases, you can select the text with your cursor. Then edit as you would in most word processing software.

For our document you can change both the titles and paragraph text. Highlight the placeholder text and start typing your custom text. Your text will follow all the same formatting as the original text, including color font and size. 

If your document includes a header, double click to access this content.

Our document even contains a page number that updates automatically. When you’re happy with your header, double click any area outside of your header to stop editing this part of your document.

You may come across some text that is inaccessible because it’s part of an image. Don’t worry. We’ll go over how to edit that too.

5. How to Change Colors

Changing colors of text is also a straight forward process. Highlight the text you want to change, then go to Home > Font Color. This is indicated by the icon with an A and a colored line under it. Once you click on the icon you get a palette of colors you can choose from.

You can also add your own colors to the palette by selecting More Colors.

6. How to Add Images

You may have noticed that there are some elements that you can’t easily edit. This may occur some templates. It’s usually because they’re images that have been imported. You can import your own images to replace them.

To remove an image, click to highlight and then press Delete.

To add an image, go to Insert > Picture. Then you can select Picture From File to select an image from your computer.

Once your image is inserted into the Word document you can place it anywhere you see fit. Remember to open up the Layout tab to control how your image appears. You can choose how text behaves and wraps around the image and even the order of how the images are layered.

7. How to Save Your Work

Once you’re happy with your report (or you’ve made some progress) you’ll likely want to save your work. You can do this by going to File > Save or File > Save As.

From here, you can give your document a name. Place it in a folder where you can retrieve it later.

8. How to Change Background Color

If you don’t like the background color of your annual report, you can easily change it.

Begin by clicking on the Design tab above the toolbar. Next, click on the Page Color button in the toolbar. When you click on this button, a color menu drops down.

9. How to Delete an Object

Sometimes you don’t like an object that is part of the design or in the way. To get rid of an object on your annual report template, select the object that you want to get rid of. Then, press Delete on your keyboard.

10. How to Change Object Color

If you want a new color scheme on your annual report Word template, change the color of the objects in your annual report Word template to match the color scheme.

Begin by selecting the object that you want to change the color of. When the object is selected, a Shape Format tab appears. Click on that tab.

Next, click on the Format Pane button in the toolbar. Clicking on this button opens a side panel in your window. Click on the Fill & Line tab on the Format Shape side panel.

In the Fill section of the panel, click on the Solid Fill option. When you click on this option, a Color field appears. Click on the button in that field. A color menu drops down. Choose the colors you want from the menu.

11. How to Add a New Text Box

To add more text to your annual report template you need to add a new text box. Click on the Insert tab. Next, click on the Text Box button in the toolbar. When you click on this button, a menu drops down.

Choose the right option for you from the drop-down menu. Next, click where you want the new text box to be and draw a diagonal line. Click inside the box and start typing your new text.

12. How to Save a File as a PDF

To email your annual report template, you’ll need to save it as a PDF file.

To save your annual report file as a PDF file, click File at the top of your screen. When you do, a menu drops down. Choose the Save As option. A window opens in the File Format field. Click on the PDF option to save your annual report as a PDF file.

Five Best Envato Elements Annual Report Design Template Word Documents

Take a look at some of the annual reports you can download right now on Envato Elements. Remember, they’re all included for one price, and you can customize them in Microsoft Word:

1. MS Word Report and Proposal (Annual Report Format in Word)

This stylish, multipage design has plenty of potential. Just open it up on Microsoft Word and add your content. Or customize the design to best suit your business needs.

2. Annual Report Template Word Design Document 

If you’re looking for even more options, try out this design. It comes in two different sizes with plenty of different layouts to customize. Add your content to this template today.

3. Annual Report Design Template Word

Here’s another elegant design you could download today. It’s got 28 pages to choose from and includes a variety of file formats for your convenience. 

4. Annual Report Word Design

Isn’t this design stylish? Download it today and easily edit the pages in Microsoft Word. This is just a sample of the 24 included pages. Change up the designs, color, and more.

5. Annual Corporate Report Template

Here’s another template with a lot of options. Customize the included 12 pages, duplicate them, and add your content. Includes a variety of file formats for your convenience and uses free fonts.

5 Quick Tips How to Make a Good Annual Report

We’ve just explored some ways how to make annual report designs quickly and easily with templates. But you might still wonder about how to make a good annual report work for you. What should it have? What do you need?

Check out these quick tips to help you create the perfect annual report:

1. Don’t Overwhelm the Reader

It can be tempting to put a lot of content on each page. But it’s wise to practice restraint. Too much content can be both overwhelming to read and overwhelming to look at. If you find yourself with a full page, consider breaking it up. 

Empty space is just as important as your content. Think of it like breathing room for the eyes. This extra space can also help push the aesthetic of your design. Well balanced content that has both occupied and empty spaces can help make your work look more professional. 

2. Make Sure All Text Is Clear and Legible

It’s essential that your text content is easy to read. For example, avoid the following pitfalls in your annual report format in Word:

• Don’t make your text too small. Even if it looks good, if it doesn’t read easily you’ve missed the point.
• Be careful about contrast. The text shouldn’t blend into the background. For example, light gray text on a white background is harder to read, especially at small sizes.
• Choose simple, clean fonts for paragraphs and body copy. You don’t want a busy, decorative fonts for long text. It can be very difficult to read.

If you aren’t sure, ask a friend or colleague to give your text a test read. Also remember, some may have more difficulty reading smaller sizes than others. Font legibility will also greatly vary depending on the font. 

3. Keep Your Design Consistent

Your annual report format should exhibit consistency from page to page. Think about it: this is one, continuous presentation. It should look that way as you browse through it. If the design is jarringly different from page to page, it’ll feel really disjointed. 

You can establish consistency in many different ways. For example, you could have a repeating header. You could have key colors that you keep consistent throughout.

The example below is a collection of some annual report format pages in Word. Notice how, while they vary, they share key elements in common.

4. But Don’t Let Things Get Boring Either

The same page layout, over and over again, would be visually boring. In fact, it might even be easier to get lost in the presentation. So, while consistency is good, it’s just like variety: you need to find a balance. 

Above is an example annual report format in Word. Again, note how each page has some common elements:

• They use the same fonts.
• They share the same color scheme.
• But the layouts themselves mix things up.

You can also use different images. These pages basically have a theme, but they aren’t clones of each other. This keeps them looking related without being repetitive.

5. Consider Your File Formats

So, what annual report format is right for your project? Sharing your work as a Word document might not be the most effective way to do so. This would mean the viewer would have to have Microsoft Word installed. Also, you might put yourself in a position where your work is easily editable. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it might not be what you want.

Here are some questions to think about:

• Will you print your annual report?
• Will you offer it online?

Microsoft Word exports as PDF, so this can be a great option to explore.

Learn More About How to Make Annual Report Designs

There’s plenty more to learn about annual report design and Microsoft Word. Check out these free tutorials from Envato Tuts+. There are a great way to get start, keep learning, and do it all for free.

Check Out More Annual Report Templates

Looking for even more annual report design templates? Here are some inspiring collections to view today. There’s plenty of design inspiration and even more downloads you can check out.

Customize Your Annual Report Template in Word Today

Microsoft Word can be a great choice for your annual report format. Using a template can really help speed up the process too. There’s no better time to dig in and start designing, so why not begin your annual report design today?

Remember, if you’re looking for templates, you can find the perfect annual report format in Word over on Envato Elements. There’s so many files to choose from, and one fee gets you access to all of them. With unlimited downloads, you can grab as many as you’d like to try. 

Or, if you prefer single downloads, remember to check out the annual report templates on GraphicRiver. There’s plenty more design inspiration over there to see too.

Good luck with your annual report, and happy designing!

Update: This post has been updated with help for Sarah Joy.

The ability to produce a professional report design is not a dark art. By adopting some simple guidelines, you can create documents that your audience will be able to read and understand more easily.

The report designs we create for our clients are based on the science of how our brain and eyes work when they engage with information – these guidelines use that same science.

It’s all about
cognitive fluency; the ease with which we process information in the form of words
or graphics so that we understand their meaning. It’s our job to make that
process as short and simple as possible.

We’re sharing six
creative guidelines that we use to do this within our work, and that could help
give professional finesse to your own report design.

01. Add a page header

Including a page header in your report design is a simple but effective feature. Many reports are now viewed digitally, and navigation bars can help your readers to move around your content more easily. They also give structure to the page and the document as a whole, framing the content and providing a consistent reference point for readers. Use colour or a bold font to help readers see where they are in the report.

02. Use columns for body copy

The
column structure in which the words of the report are set is a key design
feature of any written document and the width of a column affects readability.

We
don’t read character by character or even word by word but instead we scan and
then pause to pick up groups of three or four words. As three or four pauses happen
before it gets tiring, we can work out that a column width should be between
9-12 words. That’s the principle.

Using
two or three columns for your text can completely reinvent the look of your
report. Try using one column for pull-out quotes, key points or imagery. It’s
worth noting that white space is not wasteful, but more of that later.

03. Experiment with fonts

Before you start, think about the style of font (or
typeface) you would like to use. Bear in mind that your choice will have an impact
on how your report is perceived by readers as well as the more pragmatic design
consideration of how easy it is for them to read it.

Try and break out of the default standard fonts, Times New
Roman and Arial for example. There are plenty of good, standard fonts to choose
from, whether you’re using Mac or Windows. Google fonts also has plenty of free
commercial typefaces to download and use.

Fonts that have a range of weights (light, regular, medium,
bold, italicised) are especially useful as you can add more sophistication to
your report design. Light weights are effective for body copy and medium and
bold for headings.

Add colour for important information such as headings
and call-outs. Try a dark grey for body copy — it’s less stark than black and can make a report feel
warmer and more appealing. Don’t go too far and too bright with the colours — readers will be put off as they reach for sunglasses and
headache tablets.

04. Reduce the font size

In general, 10pt or 11pt is the widely used default size
but in professional report design we most often use 9pt, sometimes dropping to 8pt.
Often, text in 8pt or 9pt with deeper line spacing (known as leading) can be
easier and faster to read because our eye can more easily see where the next
word or line starts.

Consider if it’s likely that the report you’re working on may be read by those, old or young, who are partially sighted. Guidance about point size can be found on the websites of the RNIB, the charity for blind and partially sighted people or the UK Association for Accessible Formats.

05. Use white space

White space does not have to be white — the term simply refers to the space around written
content, and it is certainly not wasted space.

Using white space enables you to draw your readers eye
to a particular point or paragraph that you want to highlight and then gives
your readers the room so that they can focus on the key section; understanding
rises accordingly.

White space also allows the eyes and brain to rest at
points, to stay interested as layouts differ from page to page, and prevents
the brain from tiring as quickly as it might when presented with a full page of
information to process.

06. Think
about alignment

Alignment
of words is simply the way in which you arrange the lines on the page. The most
common are justified and ranged left. The former is where the column of words
is aligned on both the right and left of a column; the latter is where the text
is aligned just on the left.

When text is justified,
each
line is the same length, so the spacing between words varies from line to line.
Justified text can look neater in smaller point sizes and wide columns, but is
harder to read as the start and of end each line is more difficult to find.

When text is ranged
left, the spacing between words is the same throughout the document,
and the staggered line lengths actually make it easier to read as our brains
more easily identify where a line starts and ends.  

Our advice is to
use left-ranged text with a two or three column layout.

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The way a report
is designed can say a huge amount about the value you place on your content.
Client and, more importantly, potential client perceptions will be informed by
the design of printed or online reports you produce as well as by the way they
read.

If you’d like to chat to us about how we could help you create a professional report design, call us on 01606 276176 or email us workwithus@nwc.design.