Getting Started With Your Report

Understanding the Sections of Your Report

Title page

Abstract

Table of contents

Introduction

Body

Recommendations

References

Appendices

General Technical Writing Guidelines

Works Cited

Title page

The title page of the research report normally contains four main pieces of information: the report title; the name of the person, company, or organization for whom the report has been prepared; the name of the author and the company or university which originated the report; and the date the report was completed. You might also include other information on the title page such as contract number, a security classification such as CONFIDENTIAL, or a copy number depending on the nature of the report you are writing.

How do I come up with a title?

It is important to take your audience into account when developing a title for your research report.  It is a good idea to develop a "working title" for your project as you draft your report initially, but be open to changing your title after you are finished writing to accurately reflect your project.  Be sure that your title is accurate; it needs to reflect the major emphasis of your paper and prepare readers for the information you present.  Also, develop a title that will be interesting to readers and that will make them want to read the rest of your report.  Try to imagine what you would want to see in the title if you were searching for your paper by keyword; include keywords in the title when possible and when they are relevant. 

There are four common approaches that writers often take to writing their titles. Notice how these approaches help to convey the nature of the research and introduce the topic.

1. Include the name of the problem, hypothesis, or theory that was tested or is discussed.
   Example: Connectionism and Determinism in a Syntactic Parser
   
2. Include the name of the phenomenon or subject investigated.
   Example: The Human Brain: Conservation of the Subcortical Auditory System
   
3. Name the method used to investigate a phenomenon or method developed for application.
   Example: A Practical EMG-Based Human-Computer Interface for Users with Motor Disabilities
   
4. Provide a brief description of the results obtained.
   Example: The Drimolen Skull: The Most Complete Australopithecine Cranium and Mandible to Date

Omit obvious words and phrases such as “A study on . . .” and “An investigation of . . .” whenever you can as well. These make your title unnecessarily wordy.

Here is a sample title page. Note that this format may not be acceptable for your context; always consult your supervisor, instructor, or a style manual for your discipline to see how title pages should be formatted.