International development work including evaluation and research inevitably involves report writing. When writing reports remember that the objective is that someone reads them. So make them engaging!
- Research Report Template
Tools4dev is a resource that offers research report templates. This tool is useful when conducting both qualitative and quantitative research and simpler reports. Unfortunately it is not an appropriate template for academic or larger reports.
- Include Visuals
Adding visual graphs can help to avoid text-heavy reports. Above all, these visuals should be used to support and emphasise what you are saying. A good rule of thumb is to aim for 50/50 visuals and texts.
- Presentation is Key
Reports should be easy for the reader to understand and navigate their way around. Think about the right presentation design that suits your report purpose. Then ensure that the design layout is consistent throughout the report. A viable option that can be used is the grid approach. This is also a great way to keep readers engaged as there are smaller blocks to read.
Links:
- Research Report Template (1 min read, Template)
- 10 Report Design Tips that Will Engage Readers to Actually Read Your Report (5 min read, blogpost)
Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash
