This document provides guidance on planning a report. It discusses analyzing the brief, conducting research and planning, and writing a plan. The key stages are: 1) Analyzing the brief to understand the topic, purpose, and key issues; 2) Researching and planning, which involves developing aims and objectives, taking notes, and organizing information; 3) Creating a writing plan with an outline and paragraph structure for each section to show evidence and meaning. Effective planning is essential for clearly communicating the findings of an investigation.

1. Planning a Report
You will be able to…
Explain the stages of planning and
structuring a report
Apply and evaluate the processes
Start planning for your next report
LJMU Academic Achievement Team

2. How have you been planning reports so far?
Let’s take a few minutes to reflect….

3. Planning is essential because…
… a report communicates the findings of an investigation. So, think of planning it as going for a
walk: get to your destination clearly and logically, without detours.
A report has clear sections that tell
the reader:
what you did
why and how you did it
what you found out
why that is important
In your groups, can you match the
title of the report section with the
description of what goes in it?

4. Analyse
the brief
Research
and plan
Writing
Plan
Write
When does planning start?
What is it asking you to do? What is the
purpose of the report? What key issues
and concepts will you need to include?
Get down some initial ideas.
Gather evidence for your writing. What
do you need to know? What will your
reader need to know? How will you
collect your information? Are there key
points and themes starting to form?
How will you communicate your knowledge,
understanding and ideas?
You will need to
write and re-
write until your
ideas are clear
are
communicated
clearly

5. Conduct an experiment to assess the relationship between university
students’ study habits and their levels of anxiety before exams. The report
will be presented to LJMU’s Academic Achievement Team to inform their
planned programme for Directed Study Week.
THEN:
 Think about what you already know about the
topic
Make a rough plan or diagram of all relevant
material
 Ask yourself: What do I need to find out?
Where and how might I gather the
information?
 Start to form aims and objectives
FIRST:
Identify the subject, key
terms, audience and
purpose.
Analyse
the brief

6. Conduct an experiment to assess the relationship between university
students’ study habits and their levels of anxiety before exams. The report
will be presented to LJMU’s Academic Achievement Team to inform their
planned programme in Directed Study Week.
Start to plan out the type of information
you would need to include.
How will you decide? How will you
gather this information?
What are your aims and objectives?
Analyse
the brief

7. • This rough outline plan and the establishment of aims and objectives before you
do your research helps you focus on what information you are gathering, make
some decisions about how to structure the material and keep your audience in
mind.
• Don’t forget – as you research, your ideas may change.
Analyse
the brief
How about keeping this initial plan
and your breakdown of the brief
somewhere visible during your
research and planning process?
Keeps you focused!

8. Reading, Research and Note-Making
• Using your initial thoughts, start your background reading. This will help you to start to plan what
will go in your introduction and will help you to interpret your findings, ready to put in your
discussion.
• Don’t forget to read for your methods section too.
• Never just write everything down.
• Keep an eye on the brief – have a purpose.
Research
and plan
Remember that books and articles are not
written around your assignments. Ask
yourself whether it will help you, how
much of it is relevant and how/why.

9. • How you go about your research and gathering your information will vary greatly
depending on your subject and the actual brief.
• Don’t forget to use your aims and objectives: these don’t only guide you in the
research phase but help you see how your findings chapter will be structured.
Research
and plan
Go back to the research aims and objectives
you wrote earlier. How would these help you
to plan your introduction, your findings
section and your discussion?

10. A grid like this can help you keep track of your reading and analysis, and think
about how you will use or refer to it in your writing:
Author, title Topic Key idea Strengths/Weaknesses How to use
Bill Johnston (2010)
The First Year at
University: Teaching
Students in
Transition: Teaching
Students in
Transition (Helping
Students Learn)
Effect of
stress on
university
students
Students need to
have differences in
study practices
made clear at the
outset: this is
primarily the
responsibility of
the university
Very small sample
Longitudinal study
– appropriate
methods
Compare to
sources which
emphasise the
responsibility of
the student –
introduction.
Compare with own
objectives -
methods
Compare to own
findings -
discussion
Don’t forget, use diagrams like mind maps too if you prefer
Research
and plan

11. It can also help you keep track of your research and think about how you will use
it in your discussion and conclusion sections:
Aim Objective Finding Links to reading Analysis
What these
findings mean to
you in relation to
the brief – discuss
them, draw
conclusions.
Don’t forget, use diagrams like mind maps too if you prefer
Research
and plan

12. Reflect and evaluate – refine your plan
• Check the brief –have you addressed every part of it in your plan?
• What are your conclusions/recommendations?
• How and where will you use the research?
• Does each point relate to the brief?
• Is each section clearly defined and doing what it should do?
Writing
Plan

13. Introduction What I am going to
write about and why.
Evidence to use
/ works to cite
Key point 1 1
2
3
Key point 2 1
2
3
Key point 3 1
2
3
Key point 4 1
2
3
Conclusion Summarise/highlight
noteworthy
points/future
research?
Notice each section should have a brief
introduction.
Plan each paragraph and briefly note the
evidence you will present.
Can you explain why you are including
that point?
It is important to remember that we all
plan at this stage differently BUT the
principle is the same.
Writing
Plan
Now make a detailed paragraph plan for each section,
with notes on where your reading will fit in.
Your analysis of the
brief, your aims and
objectives and your
focused research
and notes have
already started you
give you a
structure.

14. Planning your paragraphs: WEED
What is your paragraph about? This will be your topic
sentence. Try writing each of these first
Explanation: what do you mean?
Examples: illustrate your point with examples.
Do: What do I do with this information? How is it
relevant? Keep thinking ‘So what?’. Relate to brief and
particular section.
Writing
Plan
Your findings section is mostly descriptive, so
you may need think about how you present
them to show some ‘D’ meaning, e.g. a graph
of significant statistics from across your
research.

15. So, thinking back to your reflections
at the start of this session, what will
you start trying to do to make
improvements to your report
planning?
This is a really useful online tool you
could use to help organise your
report planning.