How to Write a Report: A Guide
A report is a nonfiction account that presents and/or summarizes the facts about a particular event, topic, or issue. The idea is that people who are unfamiliar with the subject can find everything they need to know from a good report.
Reports make it easy to catch someone up to speed on a subject, but actually writing a report is anything but easy. So to help you understand what to do, below we present a little report of our own, all about report writing.
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What is a report?
In technical terms, the definition of a report is pretty vague: any account, spoken or written, of the matters concerning a particular topic. This could refer to anything from a courtroom testimony to a grade schooler’s book report.
Really, when people talk about “reports,” they’re usually referring to official documents outlining the facts of a topic, typically written by an expert on the subject or someone assigned to investigate it. There are different types of reports, explained in the next section, but they mostly fit this description.
What kind of information is shared in reports? Although all facts are welcome, reports, in particular, tend to feature these types of content:
- Details of an event or situation
- The consequences or ongoing effect of an event or situation
- Evaluation of statistical data or analytics
- Interpretations from the information in the report
- Predictions or recommendations based on the information in the report
- How the information relates to other events or reports
Reports are closely related to essay writing , although there are some clear distinctions. While both rely on facts, essays add the personal opinions and arguments of the authors. Reports typically stick only to the facts, although they may include some of the author’s interpretation of these facts, most likely in the conclusion.
Moreover, reports are heavily organized, commonly with tables of contents and copious headings and subheadings. This makes it easier for readers to scan reports for the information they’re looking for. Essays, on the other hand, are meant to be read start to finish, not browsed for specific insights.
Types of reports
There are a few different types of reports, depending on the purpose and to whom you present your report. Here’s a quick list of the common types of reports:
- Academic report: Tests a student’s comprehension of the subject matter, such as book reports, reports on historical events, and biographies
- Business reports: Identifies information useful in business strategy, such as marketing reports, internal memos, SWOT analysis, and feasibility reports
- Scientific reports: Shares research findings, such as research papers and case studies, typically in science journals
Reports can be further divided into categories based on how they are written. For example, a report could be formal or informal, short or long, and internal or external. In business, a vertical report shares information with people on different levels of the hierarchy (i.e., people who work above you and below you), while a lateral report is for people on the author’s same level, but in different departments.
There are as many types of reports as there are writing styles, but in this guide, we focus on academic reports, which tend to be formal and informational.
>>Read More: What Is Academic Writing?
What is the structure of a report?
The structure of a report depends on the type of report and the requirements of the assignment. While reports can use their own unique structure, most follow this basic template:
- Executive summary: Just like an abstract in an academic paper, an executive summary is a standalone section that summarizes the findings in your report so readers know what to expect. These are mostly for official reports and less so for school reports.
- Introduction: Setting up the body of the report, your introduction explains the overall topic that you’re about to discuss, with your thesis statement and any need-to-know background information before you get into your own findings.
- Body: The body of the report explains all your major discoveries, broken up into headings and subheadings. The body makes up the majority of the entire report; whereas the introduction and conclusion are just a few paragraphs each, the body can go on for pages.
- Conclusion: The conclusion is where you bring together all the information in your report and come to a definitive interpretation or judgment. This is usually where the author inputs their own personal opinions or inferences.
If you’re familiar with how to write a research paper , you’ll notice that report writing follows the same introduction-body-conclusion structure, sometimes adding an executive summary. Reports usually have their own additional requirements as well, such as title pages and tables of content, which we explain in the next section.
What should be included in a report?
There are no firm requirements for what’s included in a report. Every school, company, laboratory, task manager, and teacher can make their own format, depending on their unique needs. In general, though, be on the lookout for these particular requirements—they tend to crop up a lot:
- Title page: Official reports often use a title page to keep things organized; if a person has to read multiple reports, title pages make them easier to keep track of.
- Table of contents: Just like in books, the table of contents helps readers go directly to the section they’re interested in, allowing for faster browsing.
- Page numbering: A common courtesy if you’re writing a longer report, page numbering makes sure the pages are in order in the case of mix-ups or misprints.
- Headings and subheadings: Reports are typically broken up into sections, divided by headings and subheadings, to facilitate browsing and scanning.
- Citations: If you’re citing information from another source, the citations guidelines tell you the recommended format.
- Works cited page: A bibliography at the end of the report lists credits and the legal information for the other sources you got information from.
As always, refer to the assignment for the specific guidelines on each of these. The people who read the report should tell you which style guides or formatting they require.
How to write a report in 7 steps
Now let’s get into the specifics of how to write a report. Follow the seven steps on report writing below to take you from an idea to a completed paper.
1 Choose a topic based on the assignment
Before you start writing, you need to pick the topic of your report. Often, the topic is assigned for you, as with most business reports, or predetermined by the nature of your work, as with scientific reports. If that’s the case, you can ignore this step and move on.
If you’re in charge of choosing your own topic, as with a lot of academic reports, then this is one of the most important steps in the whole writing process. Try to pick a topic that fits these two criteria:
- There’s adequate information: Choose a topic that’s not too general but not too specific, with enough information to fill your report without padding, but not too much that you can’t cover everything.
- It’s something you’re interested in: Although this isn’t a strict requirement, it does help the quality of a report if you’re engaged by the subject matter.
Of course, don’t forget the instructions of the assignment, including length, so keep those in the back of your head when deciding.
2 Conduct research
With business and scientific reports, the research is usually your own or provided by the company—although there’s still plenty of digging for external sources in both.
For academic papers, you’re largely on your own for research, unless you’re required to use class materials. That’s one of the reasons why choosing the right topic is so crucial; you won’t go far if the topic you picked doesn’t have enough available research.
The key is to search only for reputable sources: official documents, other reports, research papers, case studies, books from respected authors, etc. Feel free to use research cited in other similar reports. You can often find a lot of information online through search engines, but a quick trip to the library can also help in a pinch.
3 Write a thesis statement
Before you go any further, write a thesis statement to help you conceptualize the main theme of your report. Just like the topic sentence of a paragraph, the thesis statement summarizes the main point of your writing, in this case, the report.
Once you’ve collected enough research, you should notice some trends and patterns in the information. If these patterns all infer or lead up to a bigger, overarching point, that’s your thesis statement.
For example, if you were writing a report on the wages of fast-food employees, your thesis might be something like, “Although wages used to be commensurate with living expenses, after years of stagnation they are no longer adequate.” From there, the rest of your report will elaborate on that thesis, with ample evidence and supporting arguments.
It’s good to include your thesis statement in both the executive summary and introduction of your report, but you still want to figure it out early so you know which direction to go when you work on your outline next.
4 Prepare an outline
Writing an outline is recommended for all kinds of writing, but it’s especially useful for reports given their emphasis on organization. Because reports are often separated by headings and subheadings, a solid outline makes sure you stay on track while writing without missing anything.
Really, you should start thinking about your outline during the research phase, when you start to notice patterns and trends. If you’re stuck, try making a list of all the key points, details, and evidence you want to mention. See if you can fit them into general and specific categories, which you can turn into headings and subheadings respectively.
5 Write a rough draft
Actually writing the rough draft , or first draft, is usually the most time-consuming step. Here’s where you take all the information from your research and put it into words. To avoid getting overwhelmed, simply follow your outline step by step to make sure you don’t accidentally leave out anything.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; that’s the number one rule for writing a rough draft. Expecting your first draft to be perfect adds a lot of pressure. Instead, write in a natural and relaxed way, and worry about the specific details like word choice and correcting mistakes later. That’s what the last two steps are for, anyway.
6 Revise and edit your report
Once your rough draft is finished, it’s time to go back and start fixing the mistakes you ignored the first time around. (Before you dive right back in, though, it helps to sleep on it to start editing fresh, or at least take a small break to unwind from writing the rough draft.)
We recommend first rereading your report for any major issues, such as cutting or moving around entire sentences and paragraphs. Sometimes you’ll find your data doesn’t line up, or that you misinterpreted a key piece of evidence. This is the right time to fix the “big picture” mistakes and rewrite any longer sections as needed.
If you’re unfamiliar with what to look for when editing, you can read our previous guide with some more advanced self-editing tips .
7 Proofread and check for mistakes
Last, it pays to go over your report one final time, just to optimize your wording and check for grammatical or spelling mistakes. In the previous step you checked for “big picture” mistakes, but here you’re looking for specific, even nitpicky problems.
A writing assistant like Grammarly flags those issues for you. Grammarly’s free version points out any spelling and grammatical mistakes while you write, with suggestions to improve your writing that you can apply with just one click. The Premium version offers even more advanced features, such as tone adjustments and word choice recommendations for taking your writing to the next level.
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Page Numbers
Numbering Requirements
Preliminary pages:
- The pages of your Abstract, Copyright, and Title Page should not be numbered. Since your Title Page is presumed to be the first page, but is not numbered, numbering should start with lowercase Roman numeral “ii” on the page that appears after your title page. This will be either your optional Dedication page or your required Biography page. These lowercase Roman numerals should continue, consecutively, for the remainder of your preliminary pages.
Main body pages:
- On the first page of Chapter 1 (or your main body text), numbering should start with the Arabic numeral “1” and continue, consecutively, for the remainder of your document.
If you aren’t using the template, it can be a bit tricky to set these page numbers up correctly. If you’re having trouble with it, this website is a useful guide.
All page numbers must be vertically centered within the top or bottom 1-inch margin ( outside of the document’s main body area).
When editing a header in Microsoft Word, the “Header from Top” or “Footer from Bottom” settings should be .5 inches to achieve this. There is an easy way to double-check this: if you select “Gridlines,” under the “View” tab, a grid will cover the entire main body area; the page number should be outside of this grid area. See this screenshot for a visual reference.
Pages may be numbered in one of the following locations:
- vertically centered in the top 1-inch margin and right-aligned.
- vertically centered in the bottom 1-inch margin and right-aligned.
- vertically centered int he bottom 1-inch margin and centered.
All page numbers should be the same font and size as your body text.
- Lower-case Roman numerals should be used for all preliminary pages, starting with “ii” on the page that appears after the title page. The title page is assumed to be the first page, but remains unnumbered.
- Arabic numerals should begin on the first page of the opening chapter, starting with “1”.
- Page numbers should appear within the 1-inch margins, in a location that is approximately the same as the page numbers on portrait-oriented pages.
[6.29] Numbering sections, pages, tables, and figures Numbering is a matter of corporate style and is usually determined by the template used. Follow these guidelines when designing your templates: 6.29 Numbered or unnumbered? In general, do not number sections in memoranda, letters and letter-style reports. If the structure of the report requires numbering (for cross-referencing or navigational purposes), then use a conventional report style with a cover page and table of contents. In conventional reports with a cover page (see Technical reports and papers ), all section headings in the front matter (table of contents, preface, executive summary, and such) are unnumbered. In general, limit the depth of headings in the executive summary to one or two levels. If sections in the executive summary need to be numbered, use 0.n.n. Match the numbering style of figures and tables in the executive summary to the headings ( Numbering tables and figures ). Use a numbered heading style for all sections in the body ( Numbering the body ) and appendices ( Numbering appendices ). The glossary of terms, references or bibliography, and index headings in the back matter are unnumbered. 6.30 Numbering the body Body headings are numbered in the form N.n.n.n....n, where N is the section or chapter number (1, 2.8, 12.3.6.2.5, and such). In general, numbered headings should be limited to four levels unless subheadings below this level need to be cross-referenced. Subheadings are otherwise in text, unnumbered, and do not appear in the TOC. 6.31 Numbering appendices Number appendices alphabetically (A to Z). If there are more than 26 appendices, continue in the style of spreadsheet column numbers: ...Y, Z, AA, AB,...AZ, BA, BB, BZ...etc. Appendix headings are numbered in the form A.n.n.n...n (Appendix B, Appendix D.3.12, etc.). 6.32 Numbering tables and figures The separator used in numbering tables and figures is a matter of corporate style. In the absence of an established style, the period (Table 3.2) is recommended and shown in the following examples. The en dash is also common (Table 3–2). Tables and figures in the body are numbered in the form N.n where N is the section number and increments from 1. The value of n restarts at 1 at the beginning of each section (Tables 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, etc.). Tables and figures have independent numbering—that is, Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1 might both appear in section 2. Tables and figures in appendices are numbered in the form A.n where A is the appendix number and n restarts with each appendix (Figures B.1, B.2, C.1, etc.). Tables and figures in the executive summary can be numbered in the form R (Table IV), a (Table d), ES.n (Table ES.3), or 0.n (Table 0.3), depending on your corporate style. In the absence of an established style, the Roman numeral format is recommended. Use the 0.n style if using the same numbering style for headings in the executive summary. 6.33 Page numbering Two page-numbering styles are commonly used: Book-style The cover page is unnumbered. Page numbering starts at the first page following the cover page or document control (usually the legal notice or TOC) in lower-case roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, ...). Page numbering restarts at the first page of the body in numerals (1, 2, 3, ...) and continues through the back matter to the end of the document. Pages in the appendices can, alternatively, take the form A.n, restarting with each appendix. The advantage of this style is that you can remove the document control pages from the published PDF without interfering with the numbering in the rest of the document. The page numbering in the printable version of this guide uses this style. Letter-style Page numbering starts at the first page in numerals (1, 2, 3, ...) and continues through to the end of the report. The page number is usually omitted from the first page of the letter (the second page is page 2). This simplified style is more usual with letter reports, which do not have a cover page, legal notices, or TOC. Page n of m Microsoft Word can’t handle page numbering of the form “page n of m” when the numbering is restarted at the body—it can be done with fields, but these are best avoided. If you must use this format, then use letter-style, where page 1 is the cover. Otherwise the last page in the document will appear something like “page 28 of 32” (because the page count includes the front matter). This is only an issue with Microsoft Word—if you are using FrameMaker, then book-style is preferred. 6.34 Always use auto-numbered headings and captions Always use auto-numbered headings and captions. Manual numbering quickly gets out of step, both in the heading or caption and the cross-references that they are referenced by.
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- Writing Tips
A Quick Guide to Page Numbers in Chicago Referencing
4-minute read
- 14th November 2020
Chicago referencing is widely used in academic writing . It has various rules for how and when to use page numbers. And it’s worth knowing these rules if you’re been asked to use Chicago style in your work. In this post, then, we’ll look at how to write page numbers in Chicago referencing.
Arabic vs. Roman Numerals
Generally, Chicago referencing requires you to use Arabic numerals (e.g., 1, 2, 3) instead of Roman numerals (e.g., i, ii, iii) for page numbers.
Roman numerals should only be used in Chicago referencing for the front matter of books, and only then if the source itself uses Roman numerals.
When to Use “P.” and “Pp.”
You should give page numbers in Chicago author–date and footnote references when you quote a print source directly. Page numbers are also required in a Chicago bibliography for a source within a container, such as a journal article or a chapter from an edited book.
In most cases, you can give page numbers by themselves. For instance:
1. W.B. Yeats , Collected Poems (New York: Scribner, 1996) , 123.
Here, we’re citing page 123 from a book. We know it is a page number because it comes at the end of a citation for a book and it is the only locator (i.e., something to pinpoint the part of the source cited) included.
However, the Chicago Manual of Style suggests using abbreviations for page (p.) and pages (pp.) when needed for clarity. Thus, if you give another number in a citation or footnote, such as a line number, you should add “p.” or “pp.” before the page number(s). For example:
2. W.B. Yeats , Collected Poems (New York: Scribner, 1996) , p. 123, lines 12–14.
Here, labelling the page number with “p.” and the line numbers with “lines” helps to prevent confusion. But you only need to use “p.” and “pp.” when giving page numbers alone could be ambiguous.
Page Ranges in Chicago Referencing
If you are referring to more than one page in a source, Chicago referencing has rules on how to present them. The rules for formatting an inclusive range of pages are outlined in the table below:
The exception to these rules is if you are using an inclusive range of Roman numerals, when you should always give them in full (e.g., “cxi–cxviii”).
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For non-consecutive pages, meanwhile, separate numbers with commas:
We see this in more than one poem (Yeats, 1996, 24, 27).
Here, we’re citing pages 24 and 27, but not the intervening ones.
Sources Without Page Numbers
Some electronic sources, such as websites, don’t have page numbers. And for others, such as ebooks, the page numbering may depend on the format. Consequently, Chicago referencing doesn’t necessarily require you to give a pinpoint citation for sources without page numbers.
However, for longer or more complex documents where it could be hard to find an exact quote without a pinpoint citation, it is worth using an alternative locator if you can, such as a paragraph or chapter number.
Here are examples of how this could look in footnote references:
3. “William Butler Yeats,” Poetry Foundation, para. 4, accessed October 13, 2020, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-butler-yeats. 4. W.B. Yeats, Fairy Tales of Ireland (New York: Harper Collins, 2019) , chap. 7, Kindle.
These locators will help readers to find the part of the source you’ve cited.
Expert Chicago Referencing Proofreading
Hopefully, this post has helped to explain some of the key aspects of using page numbers in Chicago referencing. But if you would like an expert to check the referencing in your document for errors, or any other aspect of your writing, you can try our proofreading service for free today!
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- Headings, body paragraphs and numbering
Drafting at a higher level
Numbering in clausebase, grammar for headings & bullet paragraphs, styling of body paragraphs, numbering followed by, borders & background, numbering scheme, stylings of bulleted paragraphs.
When creating contracts in Microsoft Word, you will be drafting very concrete clauses — in the sense that each clause that you are writing, will typically have a concrete number associated with it (e.g., “article 5.4” ), a certain styling (e.g., Arial 10 with 125% line spacing) and specific information (e.g., Mary Johnson , living in Rue Neuve 1 , 1000 Brussels ).
The advantage of such concreteness is, obviously, that it is quite easy to reason about. You immediately see what you want on the screen, and can manipulate it in a very concrete way. The downside of this concreteness lies in the practical obstacles to reuse the clause in other contracts, as you will have to:
- manually remove the facts that differ between clauses
- make sure that the styling corresponds to the styling of the target contract
- change any manual numbering that was used — and even with automatic numbering, you will probably have to manually change cross-references that are no longer valid
To foster reusability, clause drafting in ClauseBase is done at a higher level . This is somewhat similar to how drafting a document with general terms & conditions of sale would require you to write and reason at a more abstract level than the sales contract between Mr. X and Mrs. Y regarding a used car.
In practice, the higher level of clause writing will require you to take into account that your clause:
- may end up in many different locations of a contract — perhaps as article 5 in a first contract, but perhaps also as article 7.1.6 in a second contract
- should not contain any styling
- should generically refer to facts (pricing, amounts, options, contact details, etc.), instead of “hard-coding” such facts
With respect to numbering, ClauseBase exports results that are fully compatible with Microsoft Word. However, in ClauseBase, the approach to numbering is optimized for legal document drafting, and therefore differs significantly form Microsoft Word. This was a deliberate decision, not only because Microsoft Word has a much more generic audience (and can therefore not be optimized for legal documents), but also because Microsoft Word’s numbering system has become incomprehensibly complex over the years, due to Microsoft’s attempts to hide away complexity. While well-intended, those attempts have actually made matters worse over the years.
Anecdotally, it seems that even in a large law firm, there are typically just a few experts who have to solve all the firm’s numbering problems. Other law firms offer yet another layer of simplicity through additional toolbars… usually making matters even worse for any document that was not created from scratch by that law firm. If you don’t believe the complexity, then please visit the Microsoft Word expert users group , consisting of Word experts who are awarded by Microsoft as “Most Valuable Professionals”, i.e. helpful Word Gurus. In the introduction to their in-depth discussion about numbering , they warn that the numbering system “is a real brain-breaker” , and that the details on how the system really works is only “for the real masochists among us who just have to know how it works” .
To create a more comprehensible numbering system that is tailored to legal documents, ClauseBase differentiates between two types of paragraphs: headings and bullets paragraphs.
- Most paragraphs in a contract will be headings . Headings follow the main numbering of a document, which increases or expands with each new heading.
- Some paragraphs will be bulleted paragraphs instead. They can have either a “real” bullet that stays the same with each element (e.g., a filled circle or square), or can have increasing numbering. In the case of increasing numbering, ClauseBase will reset the number when a heading intervenes.
In the following screenshot of a non-disclosure agreement, articles 2., 2.1, 2.2, 3., 3.1 and 3.2 would all be headings in ClauseBase. Heading 3.1 has five body paragraphs, running from (a) to (e). Heading 3.2 has two body paragraphs associated with it, but note that the very first body paragraph has number (a) and not (f).
The numbering of headings can run any level deep and have almost any style — e.g., 1., 1.2.3.4, A.[iv] or II.B.(3).g). Conversely, body paragraphs can only have numbering one level deep, typically consisting of a single number (1.), letter (a.) or some kind of bullet (•).
Most importantly, the styling of the heading/body numbering is determined by the styling that was chosen by the user of the clause, and not by the clause itself. This allows clauses to be easily copied and pasted between documents, without you having to adapt any numbering at all. Similarly, it allows clauses to be placed at any location — whether at the main level or as a sub-clause of some other sub-clause — without having to meddle with numbering.
ClauseBase, however, expects you to be more explicit in how paragraphs relate to their sub-paragraphs.
- Headings should always start with a number — either a single number (1., 2., 3., etc.) or a set of numbers (1.1, 2.3.5.6, etc.). Gaps between the numbers (e.g., a sequence of three headings 1., 4., 99.) are fine.
- Bulleted paragraphs should start with an asterisk (*). If you want to create a sub-paragraph of a body paragraph, then you should use multiple asterisks (**, ***, etc.).
- Body paragraphs have no asterisk or number attached to them.
If you use bullets that have a sequential ordering (such as a – b – c , i – ii – iii or 1 – 2 – 3 ) then the numbering will be “reset” as soon as another heading is encountered, i.e. the numbering will start again at a , i or 1 . (This is obviously irrelevant if you use “real” bullets, such as a filled circle or square, because they always stay the same.)
You can use body paragraphs starting with an asterisk that are not below some heading. However, be aware, that the numbering of these asterisks will then never be reset, because no “ancestor” heading will ever be encountered that causes such reset. This is probably not the behaviour that you want. The lesson here is that you should almost always use paragraphs starting with an asterisk below some other heading .
Grammar for body paragraphs (i.e., with no number/bullet)
Paragraphs that do not start with an asterisk, will be treated as body paragraphs. They will be treated as sub-paragraphs of the closest preceding heading or numbered body paragraph.
In Microsoft Word, inserting such body-paragraphs-without-numbering in the middle of a list, often leads to unexpected results — e.g., because the numbering of the items below it then suddenly reset.
The following — contrived! — example shows how the use of numbers and asterisks…
… will actually result in something that looks quite different. Please take a moment to check out where the body paragraphs without numbers end up…
By choosing another styling in the document, the very same clause will look completely different. For example, the styling of the next example does not indent the left-margins.
The styling of a body paragraph will be determined by the applicable base styling , with the following exceptions:
- Any “ hang amount ” that would be defined in the base styling, will be completely ignored. (After all, a body paragraph does not have any number or bullet to “hang” text on.)
- The left indentation will be set to zero when a body paragraph is not located below some heading (but you probably want to avoid such situations — see the red warning box above).
- Conversely, if a body paragraph is located below some heading, then the total left indentation will be composed of the spacing left of the body styling, augmented by the spacing left of the heading it falls under. If you also happen to set the first line indent in the body styling, then that amount of space will be added as a third component.
Except for the left indentation, body paragraphs will always look the same, no matter the level of the heading or bulleted paragraph they fall under.
Styling of headings
The styling of headings will be a combination of the applicable base styling and the styling elements set for the level’s heading.
Like Microsoft Word, ClauseBase allows up to nine different heading levels , that can be individually configured.
Most of the settings that can be configured in this pane are identical to the settings for the base styling , with the following exceptions.
- A regular (non-title) heading will follow all the settings of the base style, except for the left indentation and hang amount. Also note that the font, background & borders settings that you specify in the stylings pane will be completely ignored for non-title headings. Those elements only apply to title headings.
- A title heading — i.e., content inserted into the “content title” box — will also start from the settings of the base style (with the exception of the left indentation, alignment and hang amount), but can override all the elements of the base style in this pane. Note that a title heading will not only ignore the left indentation and hang amount of the base style, but also the alignment of the base style. Conversely, a non-title heading will use the alignment of the base style.
The alignment of a paragraph — left, right, centered or justified — seems like a simple setting at first, but actually has some interesting twists, due to the options of “first-line indented” and “hanging”.
- Most contracts nowadays use “ hanging ” content, to ensure that the number/bullet is nicely separated from the actual content of a paragraph. In fact, paragraphs with bullets will almost always be “hanging”. Note that hanging paragraphs require you to additionally specify the amount of hanging.
- Regular (non-hanging) left alignment or justification is often used in contracts with long clauses, because it avoids the space wasting at the left side when the number of each clauses would be hanging to its left side.
- First-line indents seem somewhat out of fashion, but are sometimes used nevertheless. Their advantage is that they visually indicate that a new paragraph is starting. Similar to hanging paragraphs, you have to additionally specify the amount of the first-line indent.
Both the hang amount and the first-line indent amount are added to the left spacing amount.
When you select a hanging alignment (left or justified), you will not only have to specify the hang amount — i.e. the amount of space between the left side of the number and the left side of the body — but also the align body text & bullets setting:
The align body text & bullets setting defines how body text and bulleted paragraphs should align vis-à-vis the heading. ClauseBase allows you to specify three different options:
- exactly at : this option will set the left starting point of the body / bullet text below the heading at a specified amount (augmented by the left spacing amount, if any)
- with this heading’s number : this option will align the left starting point of the body / bullet text with the left side of the heading’s number:
- with this heading’s text : this option will align the left starting point of the body / bullet text with the left side of the heading’s text:
Whichever of the three settings you choose, note that the left spacing setting of the body paragraphs and bulleted paragraphs below the heading will be added to the left starting point. For example, if the heading defines that the starting point for the body paragraphs and bulleted paragraphs will align with the heading’s number (which for example happens to be at 7 mm), then any left spacing you define in the base/bullet styling, will be added to the starting point.
You can specify either a tab stop, a space or nothing as the character that needs to follow a heading’s numbering.
Note that a hanging indent alignment is only compatible with a tab stop.
You can specify the borders and background for any title headings.
As is the case with the font settings in the heading style pane, the borders & background will only apply to title headings. Any numbered paragraph that is not a title (i.e., whose contents is entered into the “content body” box, instead of the “content title” box), will have a plain background.
In the numbering scheme sub-pane, you can specify how the numbering should be printed for each of the nine levels of headings.
- The second column ( type ) allows you to specify the type of numbering — e.g. Roman numbering I / II / III or Arabic numbers such as 1 / 2 /3.
- In the third column ( configuration ), you can not only type in the numbers of each level that you want to see printed, but also any additional characters. It may feel odd, but the number you type in this box will ultimately get replaced the subsequent numbers at this level.
- In the last column ( reset at ) you can specify when the level’s number should be reset.
A few examples, starting from the following body text with three levels:
A typical legal numbering: arabic numbering for each level, followed by a dot.
It is not necessary to type in the previous levels’ numbers. For example, at level 3, we only specify level 3’s number.
(same as above, but with “reset at” set to “never” for level 2)
Notice how the “reset at” set to “never” impacts the second level’s number.
Please note that in a Binder the numbers will always reset with each subdocument. It is currently not possible to allow a heading level to continue its numbering across subdocuments.
- As for the bullet/number , once you know how to style the numbering of headings, styling the bullet-settings of paragraphs is actually very easy. The most significant difference is that the numbering scheme for bullets does not allow you to refer to the bullet of a previous level.
- The hang amount is taken from the styling settings of the bulleted paragraph’s level indent setting
- The left indentation of a bulleted paragraph will depend on the alignment settings of the headings it resides under, supplemented by the left bulleted paragraph’s level indent setting.
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eFiling and pagination: How to stay within the rules
- Richard Heinrich
- February 10, 2017
- California , Court news & updates , Technology
Habits of a lifetime are hard to break.
One such habit in the legal profession has been to paginate certain prefatory sections of court filings using Roman numerals. It’s what we’ve always done.
Well, as with so many other long-term law office habits, the introduction of electronic court filing means that this is a habit that you’re going to have to break.
The state courts (from Texas to Indiana, and — since 1 January 2017 — California, too) have now followed the federal courts in requiring consecutive pagination, in Arabic numerals, for the entire filing. This includes tables of contents and authorities that were previously in Roman numerals and exhibits that perhaps weren’t numbered at all.
The website of the U.S. Second Circuit neatly explains why pagination matters when eFiling :
“Any person viewing a PDF [filing] must be able to enter a page number in the page search field on the tool bar or ‘ Go To Page’ field under ‘View’ and have that number match the page number displayed in the filer’s PDF.”
Here’s an example from the Second Circuit of an incorrectly paginated filing:
eFiling pagination requirements in the state courts
Now that the state courts are beginning to require electronic filing they’re encountering the same problem that the federal courts have been dealing with for a long time. The result is that most state courts have introduced new rules relating to pagination.
Beginning January 1, 2017, California introduced a new state rule governing pagination of “papers,” motion documents, and motion memoranda — rules 2.109, 3.1110(c), and 3.1113(h). It provides that page numbering must begin with the first page and use only Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2, 3). Numbering must start with the first page and be consecutive throughout the entire document.
The Judicial Council noted, however, that numbering pages in this way does not effect the maximum allowable page counts. It noted in its committee report on the rule change that:
“ To ensure that the amendment to rule 3.1113(h) would not alter the number of pages allowed for memoranda, this proposal would also amend rule 3.1113(d) by providing that the caption page and the notice of motion and motion are not counted in determining whether a memorandum exceeds the page limit. Subdivision (d) already provides that exhibits, declarations, attachments, the table of contents, the table of authorities, and the proof of service are not counted. “
Since January, we have received several queries asking whether exhibits need to be consecutively numbered. To help get to the bottom of this, we reached out to Julie Goren, author of the book Litigation by the Numbers and a guru in all things court rule related.
She confirmed that, in her reading, the rule requires all pages of a filing — exhibits included — to be consecutively numbered. This, she says, is the logical conclusion given that the court’s objective is for the page number of the document to match the page number of the PDF.
The Texas courts have long taken the exact same approach to pagination. The state’s digital media standards are clear:
“ Documents must contain complete page numbering for the entire filing. When including one or more appendices to a filing, either 1) number appendices individually and then number the entire document as a whole, or 2) number the entire document as a whole including appendices.”
Indiana, too, has stipulated that the entire submission must be consecutively numbered in Arabic numerals. The state’s rules require that eFiled documents (motions, petitions, briefs, appendices, addenda, etc.) be numbered with page “1” being the first page, and all pages consecutively numbered after that.
Page numbering on exhibits
It’s best practice, therefore, to add a footer to all pages — exhibits, too — to display the page number. What if your exhibit already contains page numbers, for example, if as an original letter or document it was page numbered?
In these circumstances, retain the original page numbers and position the new footer such that the page numbers for the entire document are visible and not obscuring the originals.
There’s more advice on creating a court-friendly PDF in our free downloadable guide:
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Q. What are the APA Style rules regarding page numbers?
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Answered By: Jonathan Faerber (he/him/his) Last Updated: Nov 04, 2021 Views: 184876
APA Style (7th ed.)
Use Arabic numerals (e.g., 1, 2, 3) throughout the document, and continue the page numbers sequentially to the end of the report, including all appendices (APA, 2020, p. 30). Page numbers should be right-aligned in the header (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 44); see the page numbers in the Annotated Student Sample Paper for examples of this formatting. The APA Style manual asks that both journal article manuscripts and student papers display a page number on the title page, but students should follow the guidelines of their course instructor to determine the appropriate title page format. If you are uncertain whether to provide a page number on the title page of your work, please check with your instructor or advisor.
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
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Bluebook Legal Citation
- Intro signals: E.g., See, See also, Cf., etc.
- Order of authorities
- Pages, Paragraphs, and Pincites
Volumes, parts, supplements
Pages, footnotes, endnotes, and graphical materials, sections and paragraphs.
- Short form: Id., Infra, Supra, Hereinafter
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Bluebook Rule (21st): 3.1
Law Review Typeface: N/A
Numbered volumes are cited in Arabic numerals (1,2,3), not Roman numerals (I,II,III), even if that is how they appear in the original.
If the author being cited is the author of all volumes of a multi-volume work like a treatise, the volume number goes before the author's name:
1 Patry on Copyright § 1.18 (2012).
In all other cases, the volume number should proceed the name of the work:
Edward Lee, Copyright, Death, and Taxes, 47 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1 (2011).
If no volume is given but volumes are obviously arranged by year, use the year of publication as the volume number and omit the year from the parenthetical following the pincite, if any.
In other cases, it may be necessary to include volume information in square brackets to avoid confusion, such as when the original volume designation includes words.
Parts with unique pagination
If a work is subdivided into uniquely or separately paginated parts, include the relevant subdivision designations in the citation:
26 Cong. Rec. app. at 156 (1894) (statement of Rep. Hicks).
Supplements
When a work includes separately paginated supplement volumes, such as pocket parts, identify the supplement and date parenthetically:
42 U.S.C. § 1397 (1982 & Supp. 1983).
Bluebook Rule (21st): 3.2
Law Revie Typeface: N/A
Pages and pincites
Page numbers are typically cited following the name of a work and before a date parenthetical:
Julius G. Getman, Restoring the Power of Unions: It Takes a Movement 52 (2010).
For citations to an authority which is part of a larger, consecutively paginated source, such as case reporters or periodicals, include the page number on which the authority being cited begins:
Edgewater Foundation v. Thompson, 350 F.3d 694 (7th Cir. 2003) .
When citing to a specific page in a citation that includes a page number use a comma to separate the pincite from the first page of the authority:
Yuval Karniel & Stephen Bates, Copyright in Second Life , 20 Alb. J.L. Sci. & Tech. 433 , 442 (2010).
Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629, 632 (1950).
If necessary to avoid confusion, use "at" before the pincite:
H.R. Rep. No. 105-452, at 11 (1998).
A span of multiple pages may be cited by giving the inclusive page numbers separated by either an en dash (–) or a hyphen (-). The final two digits are always important, but repetitious digits may be dropped:
H.R. Rep. No. 105-452, at 8-10 (1998).
Yuval Karniel & Stephen Bates, Copyright in Second Life , 20 Alb. J.L. Sci. & Tech. 433 , 442-45 (2010).
"To" may be substituted for an en dash or hyphen to avoid confusion:
13-2.1 to 13-3
Citations to multiple, non-consecutive pages are separated by commas:
Edgewater Foundation v. Thompson, 350 F.3d 694, 695 , 697 (7th Cir. 2003) .
Stars in star pagination should be retained in all instances other than a consecutive page span:
United States v. Mazarella, 2010 WL 2947233, at *3 , *9-12 (3d Cir. July 29, 2010).
United States v. Mazarella, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 15655, at *24 , *25-26 (3d Cir. July 29, 2010).
Footnotes & Endnotes
For a citation directly to a footnote, give the page number on which the note begins, the abbreviation "n." and the footnote number.
Melissa L. Tatum, et al., Does Gender Influence Attitudes Toward Copyright in the Filk Community? , 18 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol'y & L. 219, 230 n .4 2 (2009).
A citation to multiple footnotes uses the abbreviation "nn." instead of "n.":
230 nn .42-44
Graphical Materials
When citing to things like tables, charts, or other graphical materials, you should give the page number on which the item appears and the designation that the source gives it (if any). There should not be a space between the abbreviation of the source type and the number.
If you cite multiple graphical materials on the same page, use commas and ampersands (&) to separate them.
Bluebook Rule (21st): 3.3
If an authority is organized by section (§), you should cite to the section:
17 U.S.C. § 411 (2006).
If an authority like a looseleaf is organized by paragraph (¶), you should cite to the relevant paragraph. If an authority is organized by paragraphs that are not introduced by the ¶ symbol, use the abbreviation "para." instead. However, do not cite by paragraph if the authority is ordinarily cited by page.
Do not use "at" before the § or ¶ symbols.
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How to Number the Pages of a Report in Word 2016
Office 2016 at work for dummies.
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Have you ever dropped a stack of papers that needed to stay in a certain order? If you had used Word 2016 to number them, putting them back together would be fairly simple. If not, what a frustrating, time-consuming task.
Fortunately, Word makes it very easy to number your document pages. And you can choose from a variety of numbering styles and formats. When you number pages in Word, you don’t have to manually type the numbers onto each page. Instead, you place a code in the document that numbers the pages automatically. Sweet!
When you use the Page Number feature in Word, it automatically inserts the proper code in either the header or the footer so that each page is numbered consecutively.
Page numbers are visible only in Print Layout view, Read Mode, Print Preview, and on the printouts themselves. You don’t see the page numbers if you’re working in Draft view or web Layout view, even though they’re there.
To number pages, follow these steps:
On the Insert tab, click Page Number. A menu appears.
Point to Top of Page or Bottom of Page, depending on where you want the page numbers. A submenu appears.
Click one of the presets. The document enters header/footer mode, and the new page number appears in either the header or footer.
The Plain Number 1, 2, and 3 presets are identical except for the placement of the page number, on the left, center, or right, respectively.
If you want to further edit the header or footer, do so. Otherwise, double-click in the main part of the document to exit from header/footer mode.
In step 4 you can also click Close Header and Footer on the Header & Footer Tools Design tab to return to normal editing.
Here are some additional things you can do with page numbers in Word from the Page Number button’s list:
Point to Page Margins for a selection of presets in which the page numbers appear in the right or left margin area.
Point to Current Position for a selection of presets that enable you to place the page number code in the body of the document rather than in the header or footer.
Click Format Page Numbers to open a dialog box in which you can select a page number format. Format in this context does not mean font, size or color; instead it means the numbering format, like Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) versus Roman numerals (I, II, III).
Click Remove Page Numbers to remove all page numbering codes.
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A blog from Legalwriting.net by Wayne Schiess
Headings, part 2: consistency, outlining, and numbering.
Nearly every legal document can benefit from clear, consistent headings. Here in part 2, I offer recommendations for making headings consistent, commend some traditional outlining rules, and suggest a simple numbering system. These guidelines should help you create readable, skim-able documents.
Consistency Your headings should form an outline, and in outlines, entries at the same level should be structured and formatted the same way. That may seem obvious, but not all legal writers do it, as I recently learnedwhen reading motions and briefs in preparation for a CLE seminar.
For example, suppose an Argument has the following heading outline:
In that outline, 1 and 2 are at the same level, so they should be structured and formatted the same way. Likewise, both a and b pairs are at the same level, so all four should be structured and formatted the same way.
Specifically, if 1 is a topic heading in boldface initial caps, then 2 should be a topic heading in boldface initial caps. If 1a and 1b are full-sentence, explanatory headings in italics, then 2a and 2b should also be full-sentence explanatory headings in italics. For example—
Poor 1. Trial Court Errors a. The trial court erroneously instructed that police officers may pretend to be electors. b. The trial court failed to have the court reporter record statements made on audio recordings.
2. Sufficiency of the Evidence a. Sufficiency of the evidence on attempted election bribery. b. Sufficiency of the evidence on conspiracy to commit election fraud.
The structure of 1a and 1b (full sentences) does not match the structure of 2a and 2b (phrases). We need to revise 2a and 2b into full-sentence, explanatory headings. The format, italics, should match, too.
Outlining In creating headings and sub-headings, follow two key outlining rules.
Rule 1: Keep main topics at the same level and keep sub-topics at the same, lower level. So don’t place main headings and sub-headings at a single outline level. For example—
Poor 1. Preliminary Statement 2. Argument 3. The Plaintiff Cannot Prove Consequential Damages. 4. The Plaintiff Cannot Prove Expectation Damages. 5. Conclusion
Better 1. Preliminary Statement 2. Argument a. The plaintiff cannot prove consequential damages. b. The plaintiff cannot prove expectation damages. 3. Conclusion
Rule 2: Don’t create a sub-heading unless you have two. If you have only one sub-heading, incorporate it into the main heading. But if your argument or discussion contains only one major issue, it’s okay to have a single major heading for that issue. For example—
Poor a. The suit is barred by laches. (1) The suit was brought twenty-five years after the original certificate was issued.
Better a. The suit is barred by laches because it was brought twenty-five years after the original certificate was issued.
Numbering The rules for traditional outlining call for outlines to begin with Roman numerals (I, II, III) and to proceed through letters (A, B, C, and a, b, c) and Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). If you supplement those levels with Romanettes (i, ii, iii), and parentheses ((a), (b), (c) and (1), (2), (3)), you can create an outline with 7 levels: I. A. 1. a. (1) (a) (i). Two suggestions
First, don’t write a document (motion, brief, or even a contract) that needs seven levels of headings. Find a way to condense and consolidate; strive to limit yourself to four or even three levels. You’ll be less likely to lose your reader—and yourself.
Second, if you know any level of your outline will go beyond six or seven items, consider using Arabic instead of Roman numerals or romanettes for that level. Roman numerals get harder to decipher the higher they go. I once read a lengthy contract divided into 60 major sections, each designated with a Roman numeral. It was difficult to refer to any particular article because it took too long (or became impossible) to figure out. What’s XLIV?
In my own outlines, I use Arabic numerals and the alphabet, and I still have four levels available: 1. A. (1) (a)
It’s 44 by the way.
To comment, email me.
Start page numbering later in your document
Remove the page number from the first page.
Go to Insert > Header or Footer > Edit Header or Edit Footer .
Select Different First Page .
Note: Different first page can be applied to the first page of any section in your document, not just the very first page.
In the header or footer area, you should see a label on the first page that says First Page Header . Select the page number and press Delete.
Select Close Header and Footer or press Esc to exit.
Tip: If you want your second page to start at 1 rather than 2, go to Insert > Page Number > Format Page Numbers , and set Start at under Page Numbering to 0, rather than 1.
Start page numbering on Page 3 - double-sided printing
If the first page of your document is a cover page, the second page is a table of contents, and you want the third page to show “Page 1”, see Start page numbering on Page 3 - double-sided printing .
Choose the scenario that most closely matches what you want to do:
You don't want a page number to appear on your title page, but you want the second page to show "Page 2."
In the header or footer area, you should see a label on the first page that says First Page Header . Select the page number to highlight it and press Delete.
Go to Insert > Header & Footer .
Select Options on the right side, and then select Different First Page .
Select Options again, and then select Remove Page Numbers .
To see your page numbers and confirm deletion of the number from the first page, go to View > Reading View .
If all page numbers are deleted, go to Insert > Header & Footer and select Other Pages on the left side,. Go to Insert > Page Number and choose a number placement.
For more info on page numbers, see Page numbering in Word .
Pre-numbered blank document templates with no page number on the first page:
Header page numbers
Designed for single-sided print or viewed online
Designed for double-sided print
Footer page numbers
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Writing Formal Reports
While you may write much shorter, more casual reports, it’s helpful to go into a bit of detail about formal reports. Formal reports are modular, which means that they have many pieces. Most audience members will not read every piece, so these pieces should stand on their own. That means that you will often repeat yourself. That’s okay. Your audience should be able to find exactly what they need in a particular section, even if that information has been repeated elsewhere.
While it’s fine to copy and paste between sections, you will likely need to edit your work to ensure that the tone, level of detail and organization meet the needs of that section. For example, the Executive Summary is aimed at managers. It’s a short, persuasive overview of everything in the report. The Introduction may contain very similar information, but it focuses on giving a short, technical overview of everything in the report. Its goal is to inform, not to persuade.
Let’s take a look at some of the parts of the report in greater detail.
The title page provides the audience with the:
- This should appear 2 inches from the top margin in uppercase letters.
- Type “Prepared for” on one line, followed by two separate lines that provide the receiving organization’s name and then the city and state. Some reports may include an additional line that presents the name of a specific person.
- Type “prepared by” on one line, followed by the name(s) of the author(s) and their organization, all on separate lines.
- This date may differ from the date the report was written. It should appear 2 inches above the bottom margin.
The items on the title page should be equally spaced apart from each other.
A note on page numbers:
The title page should not include a page number, but this page is counted as page “i.” Use software features to create two sections for your report. You can then utilize two different types of numbering schemes. When numbering the pages (i.e., i, ii, iii, etc.) for a formal report, use lowercase roman numerals for all front matter components. Utilize arabic numbers for the other pages that follow. Additionally, if you intend to bind the report on the left, move the left margin and center 0.25 inches to the right.
Letter of Transmittal
A letter of transmittal announces the report topic to the recipient(s).
If applicable, the first paragraph should identify who authorized the report and why the report is significant. Provide the purpose of the report in the first paragraph as well. The next paragraph should briefly identify, categorize, and describe the primary and secondary research of the report. Use the concluding paragraph to offer to discuss the report; it is also customary to conclude by thanking the reader for their time and consideration.
The letter of transmittal should be formatted as a business letter . Some report writers prefer to send a memo of transmittal instead.
When considering your audience for the letter or memo of transmittal, make sure that you use a level of formality appropriate for your relationship with the reader. While all letters should contain professional and respectful language, a letter to someone you do not know should pay closer attention to the formality of the word choice and tone.
Table of Contents
The table of contents page features the headings and secondary headings of the report and their page numbers, enabling audience members to quickly locate specific parts of the report. Leaders (i.e. spaced or unspaced dots) are used to guide the reader’s eye from the headings to their page numbers.
The words “TABLE OF CONTENTS” should appear at the top of the page in all uppercase and bolded letters. Type the titles of major report parts in all uppercase letters as well, double spacing between them. Secondary headings should be indented and single spaced, using a combination of upper- and lowercase letters.
Executive Summary
An executive summary presents an overview of the report that can be used as a time-saving device by recipients who do not have time to read the entire report.
The executive summary should include a:
- Summary of purpose
- Overview of key findings
- Identification of conclusions
- Overview of recommendations
To begin, type “EXECUTIVE SUMMARY” in all uppercase letters and centered. Follow this functional head with paragraphs that include the above information, but do not use first-level headings to separate each item. Each paragraph of information should be single-spaced with double spacing between paragraphs. Everything except for the title should be left-aligned.
An executive summary is usually ten percent of the length of the report. For example, a ten-page report should offer a one-page summary. A 100-page report should feature a summary that is approximately ten pages.
The executive summary is usually seen as the most important part of the report, and it should be written last. When you’re writing the executive summary, imagine that you’re sitting across from your most important audience member. If you only have a few minutes to talk to them, what do you want them to know? What would be most persuasive?
Introduction
The body of a formal report begins with an introduction. The introduction sets the stage for the report, clarifies what need(s) motivated it, and helps the reader understand what structure the report will follow.
Most report introductions address the following elements: background information, problem or purpose, significance, scope, methods, organization, and sources. As you may have noticed, some parts of a formal report fulfill similar purposes. Information from the letter of transmittal and the executive summary may be repeated in the introduction. Reword the information in order to avoid sounding repetitive.
To begin this section, type “BACKGROUND” or “INTRODUCTION” in all uppercase letters. This functional head should be followed by the information specified above (i.e., background information, problem or purpose, etc.). You do not need to utilize any first-level headings in this section.Because this section includes background information, it would be the appropriate place to address the needs of audiences that may need additional knowledge about the topic. Provide definitions of technical terms and instruction about the overall project if necessary. If you are uncertain if your audience needs a particular piece of information, go ahead and include it; it’s better to give your reader a little bit too much background than not enough.
Discussion of Findings
The Discussion of Findings section presents the evidence for your conclusions.
This key section should be carefully organized to enhance readability.
Useful organizational patterns for report findings include but are not limited to:
- Best Case/Worst Case
- Compare/Contrast
- Journalism Pattern
Use a Best Case/Worst Case organizational pattern when you think that the audience may lack interest in the topic. When examining a topic with clear alternatives to your proposed solution, consider using a Compare/Contrast pattern. Geographical patterns work effectively for topics that are discussed by location.
When describing the organization of the report in the first paragraph, broadly identify how the material in the report is organized rather than state that the report uses a specific pattern (e.g. Chronology, Geography). For example, write, “The research findings address curriculum trends in three provinces: (a) British Columbia, (b) Alberta, and (c) Ontario,” not, “This report uses a geographical organizational pattern.”
Follow the first paragraph with a first-level heading. Use first-level headings for all other major parts of this section. First-level headings should appear in bold, uppercase letters. Center first-level headings, but align any second-level headings with the left margin. Type any second-level headings in bold, upper- and lowercase letters.
As you present, interpret, and analyze evidence, consider using both text and graphics. Take into account what will be easiest for your audience to understand.
Include citations for all quoted or paraphrased material from sources as well; check with your organization as to whether they prefer parenthetical citations or footnotes.
Integrating Graphics
Formal report authors use graphics to present data in different forms. Paragraphs of text and complex or numerical data tend to bog readers down, making graphics a beneficial enhancement. Graphics also make data easier to understand, so they sometimes make a stronger impact on the audience.
Knowing when—and how—to effectively employ graphics is the key to successfully integrating them. Keeping the audience in mind is also critical. You will learn more about creating charts and graphs in the chapter on Visual Communication Strategies .
Conclusions and Recommendations
The conclusions and recommendations section conveys the key results from the analysis in the discussion of findings section. Up to this point, readers have carefully reviewed the data in the report; they are now logically prepared to read the report’s conclusions and recommendations.
Type “CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS” in all uppercase letters. Follow this functional head with the conclusions of the report. The conclusions should answer any research questions that were posed earlier in the report. Present the conclusions in an enumerated or bulleted list to enhance readability.
Recommendations offer a course of action, and they should answer any problem or research questions as well. Think back to the expectations of your audience. Have all of their requirements been addressed?
Works Cited
All formal reports should include a works cited page; his page documents the sources cited within the report. The recipient(s) of the report can also refer to this page to locate sources for further research.
It is acceptable to follow MLA (Modern Language Association), CMS (Chicago Manual of Style), or APA (American Psychological Association) documentation style for entries on this page. Arrange all sources alphabetically. Refer to the latest edition of the appropriate style handbook for more information about how to format entries for print and electronic sources on the Works Cited page
While some of the formatting rules may seem tedious at first, they are necessary in order for your audience to better understand the report. Using a regulated format allows for a more universal organization that everyone will understand. Being aware of your audience’s needs and expectations will allow for a strong report that will satisfy your employee and demonstrate your competence in your field.
Test Your Knowledge
Understanding the parts of the report can be challenging, so test your knowledge by dragging the part of the report to its definition.
Image Description
Figure 11.1 image description: This is a diagram of a report title page. Leave 2 inches between the top and the title of the report (which should be in uppercase letters), then write in the middle of the page who the report was prepared for. 3/4 of the way down the page, say who the report was prepared for. Then write the date submitted. [Return to Figure 11.1]
Figure 11.2 image description: A sample table of contents and List of Figures. Use uppercase letters for major parts and use leaders to guide the reader’s eye to the page numbers. The list of figures should be separate from the table of contents. [Return to Figure 11.2]
Figure 11.3 image description: A sample body page of an introduction. This one is separated into ‘PROBLEM’ (all in uppercase letters, bold, and in the center) and BACKGROUND. Each paragraph is single spaced with double spacing between paragraphs. [Return to Figure 11.3]
Business Writing For Everyone by Arley Cruthers is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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Learn / Forums / General InDesign Topics / Page numbering – Best practices?
Page numbering – Best practices?
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Not sure if this question was posed before but I'd like everyone's input. I know for the most part you can set up the page numbering for a catalog, book, etc., any wany way you'd like and ID allows for this flexibility, BUT is there a best practices as to when to actually start the numbering? Should “page 1” start on the first page of actual content within the publication or should “page 1” be the cover and continue from there, regardless if you see the number or not. Would like everyone's view on this topic. Thanks!
For books in English, the conventions are well established. You can find lots of detail (possibly more than you ever want to know) in The Chicago Manual of Style under the general heading of book sections, and if you're designing for print you should have a copy on your bookshelf for reference. As far as numbering is concerned, lowercase Roman numerals start at i on the half title page and continue through the whole of the front matter (copyright page, TOC, preface, introduction, etc.). Content numbering begins at 1 on the first page of chapter 1 or, where it applies, the section opener (“Part One: My Adventures in Siberia”) or second half title page.
Odd numbers are always right-hand (recto) pages, and chapters always start on a recto unless they are specified as a two page spread, in which case page 1 would be a second half title or a section opener on the recto before the first chapter.
For magazines, the first recto after the cover is usually page 1; newspapers, the front page is page 1; other publications, “it depends.” Academic publications and professional journals usually have very specific style guides that you would follow. For a catalog, you can pretty much roll your own page numbering, provided it's visible and makes sense to the reader.
That sounds like the convention for non-fiction. Fiction is different and not as cut and dry. Usually, the first page of chapter one is not 1 and is probably some number based on some or all the unnumbered front matter pages.
Interesting. I've not seen or designed a fiction work that doesn't follow Chicago. Other than the occasional publication that puts an introduction on page 1 (some anthologies of short stories do that), I don't recall a book that began content numbering in the front matter. Specific publishers may have a house style that requires that, of course, but you'd know that from their style guide before starting the project.
In 30 years of laying out publications, my experience with numbering conventions corresponds with what Alan describes. For catalogues and brochures, you may get a clue from the printing specs. For example, if the job is described as “28pp self-cover,” make page 1 the outside front cover. If it's “24pp plus cover,” start numbering on the first recto after the OFC.
I'm with Amy on this one. I've been publishing fiction for seven years now at two houses, and we do not number ANY of the pages before the first page Chapter 1. It doesn't matter if there's some sort of “title” page or “section” page (i.e. Part 1), Page 1 is always on the right hand side of the book, on the first page of Chapter 1.
All the “pre-chapter 1” pages (title page, copyright page, dedication, TOC, etc.) have no numbers whatsoever.
Again, I think it comes down to the Publisher style guides, as Alan pointed out.
Alan Gilbertson that is the most succinct and clear explanation I’ve read. Thank you. There is usually good reasons for following traditions. But must we follow tradition? To me roman numerals are confusing. And if you want to tell somone to read page xii that is meaningful as it might be something that the author did not write and did not expect you to start reading there. And I suppose most authors want you to skip the beginning or know you will anyway.
Shouldn’t page numbers start where you want the reader to start reading? Why follow a tradition that is confusing? Why not just start page numbers with the first creative page where you give a message to readers to involve them in the book? That’s where you would want them to start reading, to get in the mood to read the book, to start appreciating what you want them to remember.
It is not necessary that the roman numerals actually be shown on the pages to which they apply (ie., front matter). But, unless you assign *some sort* of page number to those introductory pages, InDesign will not play ball. When you wish to assign page numbering to those pages, InDesign offers you a choice of seven different formats (at least in CS6, which is what I am using.)
You need to specify those pages by number if you wish to print them. Giving them roman numerals (or one of the other five possibilities, assuming you have used 1…2…3 for the main pages) allows you to print, for example, the Table of Contents so that you can check it against the main pages.
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Instructions on formatting a document with page numbers, headers and footers and table of contents.
The cover page has no header or footer.
The table of contents page has the page number " i " and a header with the report title
The body of the report has page numbers starting at 1. It also has the title of the report in the heading and the filename and date in the footer. The table of contents is automatically created.
(You can click here for movies of these steps.)
1. First create your cover page and table of contents and write the body of your paper.
2. Then, view the document in normal layout. (View / Normal ).
3. Replace the first two page breaks with section page breaks.
· Remove the page break between the cover page and table of contents. Do this by positioning your cursor after the page break and then back spacking .
· Insert a section break in its place. Do this by insert / break / section page break
· Repeat for the page break after the table of contents.
4. Break the connection between the three sections of the document.
· Put your cursor on the table of contents page. View Header/Footer to see the header, and then click footer to see the footer. Click the button that says "Same as Previous" when you hover. It should no longer say "same as previous" over the footer. Repeat this for the table of contents header.
· Repeat this for the first footer in the body section (the first page after the table of contents).
5. Insert a page number with table of contents formatting at the bottom of the table of contents page.
· Put your cursor in the table of contents page and press view / header footer / and then choose footer.
· Insert / page number / format / change the type of number to " i ii iii" and change to start at 1.
· Switch back to the header and type in the name of your report so it will print on all pages.
6. Insert a page number with normal formatting at the bottom of the first real page.
- Put your cursor in the first real page and press view / header footer / and then choose footer.
- Insert / page number / format / change the type of number to "1 2 3 " and change to start at 1.
- Also, insert the date and the filename.
7. Check that the page headers and footers are correct.
- View / Page Layout. Then page down to see that the headers and footers are correct.
8. Mark the table of contents entries.
- Highlight the first entry that should be in the table of contents. You will find this in the body of your text.
- Choose "format" from the menu, and then choose "styles and formatting".
- Double click on " Heading 2" or "Heading 3". (3 will indent further than 2 in the table of contents.) This style tells word that the text should be included in the table of contents when it is built later.
- Repeat this for every entry that needs to be in your table of contents.
9. Create the table of contents.
- Put your cursor under the words "TABLE OF CONTENTS" that you typed. (See the cursor blinking on the page.)
- Choose "insert" from the menu, and then choose "reference". (In older versions of word, it may say "index and tables")
- Click on the "table of contents" tab.
- Click on OK. The table of contents should now be inserted.
- If you make changes to your document later, you can repeat this process, and when you choose ok, it will ask if you want to replace the existing Table. It will then replace the existing table with one that has any new entries you added.
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How to Add Page Number "X" of "Y" to a Report Page Header
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- 5 contributors
In Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2013, page breaks on tablix data regions, groups, and rectangles give you better control of report pagination. When you add page breaks to a report page, each page can have different page names and page numbering can be reset between pages. By using expressions, the page names and numbers can be dynamically updated when a report is run. You can also disable page breaks, or use an expression value to determine whether a page break should be inserted.
For some document reports, you may want to add page number “X” of “Y” in a report page header. This topic uses the Order report as an example to show how you can add page number “X” of “Y”.
The following procedure illustrates how page number “X” of “Y” is added to report 405, Order . You can use similar steps to add the same page numbering to other reports that have a similar layout, but the exact names of controls, text constants, functions, and expressions vary from one report to another.
To change the page numbering caption
Start the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Development Environment.
On the Tools menu, choose Object Designer .
Choose Report , and from the list select the Object ID 405.
Choose Design , and on the View menu, choose C/AL Globals .
Open the Text Constants tab. Find the text constant PageCaptonLbl , which is used as the report page caption.
In the ConstValue field, replace the text with Page %1 of %2 , where %1 and %2 are the placeholders for the current page and total page numbers.
On the View menu, choose Layout .
This opens the report layout in Microsoft Visual Studio.
To add page number “x” of “y” in a report page header
In Microsoft Visual Studio, on the View menu, choose Other Windows , and then choose Document Outline .
Under Body , choose List1 tablix, which controls an instance of a report.
In the Row Groups pane, verify in the Group Properties that the list1 tablix for the Order report has a single row group, which is grouped by No_PurchHeader , DocType_PurchHeader , and OutputNo .
If some reports have several tablix row groups, you should merge them into a single row group.
In the Row Groups pane, choose the group, and then, in the Properties window, under Group , fill in the PageBreak properties as described in the following table.
In the Document Outline pane, under Page Header , choose the PageCaption1 text box, which displays page numbers.
This selects the text box in the report designer.
Right-click the text box, and then choose Expression . Replace the existing code with the following code.
The Replace function expands the placeholders in the %1 and %2 caption text with actual values.
In the Document Outline pane, under Body , navigate to the NewPage text box under the table11 tablix.
The text box is not visible in the report layout.
Right-click the NewPage text box and choose Cut and then on the Page Header node, choose Paste .
Replace the existing expression for the NewPage text box with the following code.
Save your changes and close Visual Studio.
Return to the development environment, then save and compile the report.
Designing Reports
Additional resources
IMAGES
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COMMENTS
Page numbering: A common courtesy if you're writing a longer report, page numbering makes sure the pages are in order in the case of mix-ups or misprints. ... Don't be afraid to make mistakes; that's the number one rule for writing a rough draft. Expecting your first draft to be perfect adds a lot of pressure. Instead, write in a natural ...
Insert page numbers into a report Open the report in Design view or Layout view. On the Design tab, in the Header / Footer group, click Page Numbers . The Page Numbers dialog box appears. Choose the format, position, and alignment that you want for the page numbers.
Preliminary pages: The pages of your Abstract, Copyright, and Title Page should not be numbered. Since your Title Page is presumed to be the first page, but is not numbered, numbering should start with lowercase Roman numeral "ii" on the page that appears after your title page.
headings and page numbers for each section of the report. I. All chapters and section titles in the report should match the TOC. II. Provide listings for major and subordinate headings that are separated by typeface and indentions. F. List of Figures: A list of figures is used when a report contains more than five figures.
If the structure of the report requires numbering (for cross-referencing or navigational purposes), then use a conventional report style with a cover page and table of contents. In conventional reports with a cover page (see Technical reports and papers ), all section headings in the front matter (table of contents, preface, executive summary ...
Page numbers do not appear on part titles. Most citation systems call for the identification of the page number from which a quote or point is drawn. For example, such usage is specified in their citation formats of both the Chicago Manual of Style, [2] and The Bluebook. [3] Unique numbering schemes [ edit]
If your research report is less than 20 pages, you need not include a table of contents. List of tables and list of figures, if the report includes tables and figures Sequentially list each table/figure number and title, as well as the page number on which the table/figure appears. The list of tables and/or list of figures follow the
Generally, Chicago referencing requires you to use Arabic numerals (e.g., 1, 2, 3) instead of Roman numerals (e.g., i, ii, iii) for page numbers. Roman numerals should only be used in Chicago referencing for the front matter of books, and only then if the source itself uses Roman numerals. When to Use "P." and "Pp."
Drafting at a higher level. When creating contracts in Microsoft Word, you will be drafting very concrete clauses — in the sense that each clause that you are writing, will typically have a concrete number associated with it (e.g., "article 5.4"), a certain styling (e.g., Arial 10 with 125% line spacing) and specific information (e.g., Mary Johnson, living in Rue Neuve 1, 1000 Brussels).
California. Beginning January 1, 2017, California introduced a new state rule governing pagination of "papers," motion documents, and motion memoranda — rules 2.109, 3.1110 (c), and 3.1113 (h). It provides that page numbering must begin with the first page and use only Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2, 3). Numbering must start with the first ...
Page numbers should be right-aligned in the header (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 44); see the page numbers in the Annotated Student Sample Paper for examples of this formatting.
Heading Level 2 is used to divide major sections of the report. This should be a flush left, boldface, uppercase and lowercase heading. Heading Level 3 is used to divide major sections of the report. This should be an indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.
Conventionally, the rest of the report, beginning with the Introduction, is paginated starting from p. 1, 2, so forth to the end of the appendices. To set up page numbering for your report in MS Word, see the instructions above.body of the report Section numbering. It's not necessary to number the section headings in
When citing to things like tables, charts, or other graphical materials, you should give the page number on which the item appears and the designation that the source gives it (if any). There should not be a space between the abbreviation of the source type and the number.
To number pages, follow these steps: On the Insert tab, click Page Number. A menu appears. Point to Top of Page or Bottom of Page, depending on where you want the page numbers. A submenu appears. Click one of the presets. The document enters header/footer mode, and the new page number appears in either the header or footer.
Here in part 2, I offer recommendations for making headings consistent, commend some traditional outlining rules, and suggest a simple numbering system. These guidelines should help you create readable, skim-able documents. Consistency. Your headings should form an outline, and in outlines, entries at the same level should be structured and ...
In the header or footer area, you should see a label on the first page that says First Page Header. Select the page number and press Delete. Select Close Header and Footer or press Esc to exit. Tip: If you want your second page to start at 1 rather than 2, go to Insert > Page Number > Format Page Numbers, and set Start at under Page Numbering ...
To reset the page number to 1 for each group of data, you must modify code on the client report definition (RDLC) report layout. To reset page numbers In the development environment, on the Tools menu, choose Object Designer. In Object Designer, choose Report, select a report that you want to modify, and then choose the Design button.
A note on page numbers: The title page should not include a page number, but this page is counted as page "i." Use software features to create two sections for your report. You can then utilize two different types of numbering schemes. When numbering the pages (i.e., i, ii, iii, etc.) for a formal report, use lowercase roman numerals for ...
You need to specify those pages by number if you wish to print them. Giving them roman numerals (or one of the other five possibilities, assuming you have used 1…2…3 for the main pages) allows you to print, for example, the Table of Contents so that you can check it against the main pages. Author Posts Viewing 7 reply threads
6. Insert a page number with normal formatting at the bottom of the first real page. Put your cursor in the first real page and press view / header footer / and then choose footer. Insert / page number / format / change the type of number to "1 2 3 " and change to start at 1. Also, insert the date and the filename. 7. Check that the page ...
To change the page numbering caption Start the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Development Environment. On the Tools menu, choose Object Designer. Choose Report, and from the list select the Object ID 405. Choose Design, and on the View menu, choose C/AL Globals.
How to give separate page number in report? Himalaya Ban 626 subscribers Subscribe 197 18K views 6 years ago This video is a step by step process of entering different page number (roman and...
The number of pages in a book is meant to include all content except for advertisements and preview chapters for other books. Included end material may include acknowledgments, afterwords, appendices, bibliographies, glossaries, indexes, notes, and suggested discussion questions.