UG03 Research Report Guide: From Questions to Paragraphs

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Every paragraph in a report has one job. Each question below helps you build one sentence of that paragraph. You research, answer the questions in your own words, then connect your answers into a paragraph.

Your official brief decides. This guide follows the UG03 Research Report assessment brief (50% of the module grade, deadline 14:00 CET, Friday 22 January 2027, submitted through Moodle). If anything here differs from the brief or from what your lecturer tells you, follow the brief and your lecturer.

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These questions are a thinking and planning tool. They do not write sentences for you. Write and edit your own work. Follow the rules in your brief about AI.

Report structure

Word ranges as given in the guide. Total target: about 1,000 words, between 900 and 1,100, not counting the reference list. Confirm with your brief.

Section	Words	Job of this section
Title	10-20	Concise and clear about the content of your report. Your chosen topic goes at the start as your title.
Executive Summary	75-100	Sum up the whole report, including the main conclusions. Write it last.
Introduction	175-225	Present the problem, why it matters, and the context. Two paragraphs.
Research	250-300	What the evidence says: studies, initiatives, real examples, what worked and what did not. Use subheadings.
Analysis	200-250	What the evidence means. Why things worked or failed. How convincing the evidence is.
Recommendations	200-250	Concrete solutions supported by your research and analysis, how they would work, and their limits.
Reference List	not counted	Full APA references, in alphabetical order.
AI Declaration	not counted	Your own statement about whether and how you used AI. See your brief.

Images, graphs and charts are allowed where useful and relevant, and you should think about how the design of your report helps communicate it. Subheadings guide the reader. If you use a graph or table, give it a title and a source, and say in the text what it shows.

The four topics

How can people be encouraged to buy electric rather than fossil fuel cars?
How should the working practices of the gig economy be regulated?
How should the conflict between freedom of speech and access to trustworthy and reliable information be managed?
How can the threats to democracy posed by disinformation best be countered?

You may focus on a specific region or nation. Your recommendations must arise clearly from your research and analysis. The full wording of each topic is in your brief.

Research and Analysis are different. Research answers: What does the evidence say? Analysis answers: What does that evidence mean, and how convincing is it?

Requirements checklist

From the brief. Tick things off as you go. Ticks are saved with your work.

How your report is assessed

The brief's rubric has four criteria: Structure (logical sections, linking words, structure that helps your argument), Content (relevant content and sources, a well-reasoned argument drawing on evidence, critical thinking), Referencing (in-text citations and reference list present, complete, and matching), and Formatting and Writing (clear writing, few errors, correct formatting). Read the full rubric at the end of your brief.

AI rules

Your report must be written and edited by you. The brief does not allow generative AI or similar tools to produce any part of your report or its structure, to translate your writing into English, to suggest more academic wording that you then submit, to paraphrase sources for you, or to improve your writing beyond your own ability. AI must not be used to write your AI Declaration. Read the full AI section of your brief. This guide is a set of questions, not sentences, so that the thinking stays yours.

The universal paragraph formula

Use this in every section, adapting it to the job of the paragraph. It is especially useful in Research and Analysis.

1. PointWhat am I explaining?

2. EvidenceWhat supports it?

3. ExplanationWhat does the evidence mean?

4. LinkHow does this connect to my report?

Every recommendation must be traceable to something you investigated and analysed. If you cannot point to that evidence, rethink the recommendation.

Report builder

For each paragraph: answer the questions in your own words, press Put my answers in the draft box, then edit the result into a real paragraph. New here? Open Guide in the steps bar first.

Word count

Evidence trail

For each recommendation, name the finding in your Research and the point in your Analysis that supports it. If a box stays empty, your recommendation may not be supported yet.

Reference list and AI declaration

Neither is counted in the word total. The reference list comes first, then the AI Declaration, both at the end of your report.

Reference list (APA, alphabetical order)

AI declaration

Your declaration must state whether any generative AI tool was used. If you used one, it must: name the tool; explain how you used it; include the prompts; explain what you changed in what it produced; say how much of your final report is AI generated; and confirm that the work is your own and you take full responsibility. If you used no AI, say so explicitly. Write it yourself.

Full draft

All your paragraphs in order, ready to copy into your document. Formatting, page numbers, and layout are your job in your document: check the format required in your brief.

Saving and continuing

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