A Guide to Report Writing

Writing Reports

The writing of reports is one of the constants in any psychologist's life. From first year undergraduate level to professional practice and research, writing reports is an essential skill. It is therefore important that it is a skill that is learned quickly. It is also an important transferable skill, in most professional careers not just psychology the writing of reports is essential. Over your undergraduate career you will read and produce many reports.

The the aim of this guide is to introduce you to the writing of experimental reports in psychology. There are a set of agreed conventions which dictate the way in which experimental work is reported. These are set by the American Psychological Association (APA). Most journals in Psychology, although not all, follow the APA format. This Guide doesn't give a full account of the standard format (links with more information about the APA format are given on the links page) but will try to give you guidelines which, if you follow, should help you produce a clear and intelligible report.