М. М. Кутепова The World of Chemistry Мир

2. In abbreviated form, the traditional structure of a scientific or technical report is 1MRAD = Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion.


2. Headings, Sub-headings and Numbering
The sections and sub-sections of reports are usually headed and numbered according to the decimal numbering system. Notice how the numbering is used below together with indentation (starting writing further away from the left margin), e. g.


261

5. 
   SECTION HEADING (bold or underlined) 5.1 Sub-section heading (often underlined)
   

1. 
   sub-sea ion
   
2. 
   sub-section
   
3. 
   sub-section
   

Note: It is best not to use more than a total of three decimal numbers in the sections, otherwise it becomes too complicated to read. Not every paragraph is numbered - just sections or sub-sections. Lists within a sub-section can be numbered simply: e.g. 1. 2. 3.


3. Checklists
When writing any kind of report, it is important that none of the items, contents or procedures are forgotten and omitted. To help in this, a checklist of the details needed is extremely useful: they can be referred to and ticked off as they are covered or included. Some of the kinds of items to include are as follows:

• 
  the aim of the report;
  
• 
  collecting information/data;
  
• 
  noting all references;
  
• 
  analysis of questionnaires;
  
• 
  organizing the information;
  
• 
  providing appropriate diagrams and tables;
  
• 
  layout of the report.