Title of Report

Student Name

JMC Academy

Unit Code and Unit Name

Instructor Name

Due Date

Title of Report

In APA 7 style, you no longer need to have a heading titled Introduction (American Psychological Association; APA, 2019a). Instead, the title of the report is repeated at the top of the page, centred and in bold.

Your opening paragraphs should introduce the topic of the report. It may include some background information or put the topic in a wider context. The final sentence or two should give an overview of what the rest of the report will talk about. Remember that in APA7 style there are no line spaces between paragraphs, so the first line of every paragraph needs to be indented.

Level 1 Headings

The first level of headings should be bold and centred (APA, 2019a). Each section should have a specific name (.e.g. Method), rather than a generic placeholder like in this example. Generally, the start of each section should start with a topic sentence. Then you might include some examples or evidence that is referenced. For example, the truth is, you'll have to write [reports] no matter where you go. From a simple work assessment report to the high-flying technical write-up, reports are a common form of workplace communication (University of New South Wales, 2020).

Subsections

A subsection is a smaller section within a main section, and it uses a level two heading that is aligned flush left (APA, 2019a). Not every section will need subsections; this is just an illustration to show how it is formatted. Subsections are used to break larger sections down into specific parts if required.

After a topic sentence, it may be acceptable in some reports to organise information into a bulleted list. This is useful if there is a large volume of information to be covered within a small word count limit, or to highlight some major ideas you want to introduce. Your list could use:

Numbers to show steps in a series, following one after the other;

Letters to show equally important categories of a concept you are examining; or

Bullet points if there is no particular order to the items in your list (APA, 2019b).

If you are referring to another authors work, dont forget to cite the source of information at the end of a point (using the author name, year format in brackets).

Further subsections

A report should have as many sub-headings as you need to get the information across logically. Ideas for these subsections should come from the unit/assessment overview or rubric. If using subsections, you must use at least two per section (APA, 2019a).

Tables

Tables are used to display text and numbers in an easy-to-read format. Table titles are written above the table and are italicised (APA, 2019c). The column headings are centred, while the text in the left-hand column is left-aligned. The rest of the cells are centred. Refer to Table 1 as an example.

Table 1

Sample portion of an equipment budget estimate

Equipment Item Item Price Number required Subtotal Price

Headphones $50.00 2 $100.00

Microphone Lead $25.00 4 $100.00

Grand Total $200.00

Figures

In your report you might share visual information, such as photographs, charts or infographics. These are labelled as figures. The numbered figure should be the first line in bold, and on another line under that, the title is in italics. Underneath the figure the source is cited, unless it is created by you. As images are protected by copyright law, it is best to use either images in the public domain (as their copyright has expired) or images that creators have already provided permission for use (National Copyright Unit, 2021). Creative Commons is an organisation that has established a licensing system for creators to share their works on the internet, and is a great place to start searching for useable images (Creative Commons, 2021). Include the creative commons license type at the end of the attribution (see Figure 1 for an example). The full reference will again be included in the reference list.

Figure 1

AKG c214 condenser microphone

Note. [photograph] By Lucasbosch, 2014, Wikimedia Commons, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31847887). CC BY-SA 3.0Conclusion

The conclusion should summarise the findings of the report. It may also offer recommendations or predictions about the future of the topic, which follow logically from the rest of the information. Generally you do not include any new information in the conclusion; therefore, you also should not need to reference anything. The conclusion is followed by a reference list on the next page.

This report has covered common elements of a report and will hopefully inspire increased confidence in report writing.

References

American Psychological Association. (2019a, September). Headings. Https://Apastyle.Apa.Org. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/headingsAmerican Psychological Association. (2019b, September). Bulleted Lists. Https://Apastyle.Apa.Org. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/lists/bulleted

American Psychological Association. (2019c, September). Table Setup. Https://Apastyle.Apa.Org. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/tables-figures/tablesAmerican Psychological Association. (2019d, September). Figure Setup. Https://Apastyle.Apa.Org. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/tables-figures/figures

Bosch, L. (2014, March 28). AKG c214 Condenser Microphone [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AKG_C214_Condenser_microphone.jpg

Creative Commons. (2021). CC Search. https://search.creativecommons.org/

National Copyright Unit. (2021, March 2). Students and Copyright. Smartcopying. https://smartcopying.edu.au/students-and-copyright/University of New South Wales. (2020, June 1). Report Writing Support. UNSW Current Students. https://student.unsw.edu.au/report-writing-support