A book or report can have some or all of the following components, which generally appear in the order listed on this page. The standard order of components can be changed to suit the audience and aims of your publication. For example, some of the preliminary matter components, such as the acknowledgements, acronyms and glossary, can be placed in the end matter instead.

Preliminary matter

Preliminary matter for a book or report can include:

  • title page
  • reverse title page
  • dedication (if required)
  • letter of transmittal (if required)
  • foreword
  • acknowledgements
  • shortened forms
  • glossary
  • table of contents
  • preface
  • summary.

Title page

Keep the main title short, specific and informative, and ensure that it accurately reflects the content of the book or report.

On the title page, you can include the title, name of the author(s) or responsible organisation(s), and name of the publisher or publishing organisation. You might also wish to include a date of publication (or date of endorsement) on the title page.

The title page (and/or cover) may also include a logo for the organisation or business. Logos often have specific style requirements set by the organisation. For example, Australian Government publications must follow guidelines on the appropriate logo to use, and its size and placement.

Reverse title page

On the reverse title page, include:

  • copyright declaration (who owns the copyright; e.g. Copyright © Biotext)
  • copyright statement (details about the circumstances under which the material can be used, and how the material should be attributed); this may include licence information

With the exception of any material protected by a trademark, any content provided by third parties, and where otherwise noted, all material presented in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence(Opens in a new tab/window).

  • the International Standard Book Number (ISBN; a number used to uniquely identify a commercial book) or International Standard Serial Number (ISSN; a number used to uniquely identify a serial publication)
  • the preferred way to cite the report
The institute’s preference is that you attribute this publication (and any material sourced from it) using the following citation: 
Institute for Clear Writing (2020). Reaching your audience: a guide to writing technical information for a general audience, Institute for Clear Writing, Melbourne.
  • date
  • contact information.

If appropriate, add a note about the editor, designer or printer:

Production by Biotext, Canberra

Editing and publication management by Biotext, Canberra

Design by Biotext, Canberra

Dedication

The author may wish to ‘dedicate’ the book to someone. This text is usually placed on the right-hand page directly after the reverse title page.

Letter of transmittal

A letter of transmittal is like a cover letter that is included in the preliminary matter of some reports such as government annual reports or financial reports. It usually records what the report is for, why it is required, who it is being sent to and when it was completed.

Foreword

A foreword (not a forward) is usually written by someone other than the author, and often includes their signature block. The foreword commends the document to readers, and usually comes immediately after the reverse title page.

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgements text is a brief expression of appreciation to people and organisations (other than the authors) who contributed to the publication (e.g. friends and family, members of a review committee, professional editors).

In some books, the acknowledgements section is placed at the end, especially when the list of people to thank is long.

Shortened forms

The list of shortened forms provides definitions and explanations of acronyms and other shortened forms used in the document (see Lists of shortened forms).

Glossary

The glossary was traditionally placed at the start of a publication, but is often now put at the back so that the front is not cluttered and people are not discouraged into thinking ‘I need to know all this before I can read the book!’ Also, many other things (e.g. contents, foreword, preface, summary) must go at the front, so it is good to move to the back anything that can be moved. This helps the reader to get to the actual content.

Table of contents

If writing in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, create a table of contents (TOC) automatically using heading levels in the text. Do not manually create or update the TOC.

The precise format for the TOC will depend on the style of the publication and your own preferences. In general:

  • include 2 or 3 levels of heading in the TOC
  • do not include the heading Contents in the TOC itself – make it a ‘silent’ heading (see the following box)
  • do not include subheadings that occur in the summary or appendixes – make these silent headings (see the following box)
  • call the TOC simply Contents – it is not necessary to make it into a longer heading of Table of contents.

Lists of tables and figures can be included after the table of contents. Use headings Tables and Figures.

Did you know?

To create silent headings in Microsoft Word

  1. Create a new heading style in Word that is based on the existing heading level, but give it another name (e.g. Heading 1a, Heading 2a).
  2. In the options for the TOC (References > Table of Contents > Custom Table of Contents > Options), make sure Build Table of Contents from: Styles is ticked, but delete any number that appears next to your modified heading styles. Note that these modified heading styles are not recognised as headings by assistive technologies, which may affect the accessibility of the document.

If required, include in the TOC lists of tables and figures (created automatically from styles used in the text). Another option is to place the lists of tables and figures at the end of the document, before the references.

Preface

The preface is usually written by the author, explaining how the document came into being and why it was written, and providing other brief background information.

Summary

Reports often start with a summary that gives an overview of the report. This may focus on the conclusions of the report, or it may briefly look at each section of the report in turn (e.g. background, methods, results, conclusions). Ensure that the summary accurately reflects the contents of the report and does not include information that is not in the full report.

Summaries should be as clear and engaging as possible, even for very technical reports. Audiences use the summary to decide whether they want to read all the content, and some users will read only the summary and not the rest of the report.

Use subheadings in the summary to make the information as navigable as possible. These subheadings are not usually included in the table of contents.

Summary means the same as executive summary, but many people prefer the longer version. It is acceptable to call the summary an executive summary if it is an overview of policy decisions made by a working group (or similar), rather than a summary of the full content of the report.

Main content

Introduction

An introduction to a book or report usually provides general background about the topic, and the nature and structure of the publication.

Some publications have an introduction that is not numbered. This does not work well if there are figures or tables in the introduction, because it makes numbering of the figures or tables difficult. In this case, number the introduction as Chapter (or Section) 1.

Parts, chapters and sections

The main divisions of a publication can be called chapters or sections, and are numbered with arabic numbers (Chapter 1, 2, etc). Chapters or sections can be grouped into parts, which take either letters or capital roman numbers (Part A, Part B, etc; or Part I, Part II, etc).

End matter

End matter for a book or report can include:

  • acknowledgements (if not in preliminary matter)
  • appendixes
  • notes
  • shortened forms (if not in preliminary matter)
  • glossary  (if not in preliminary matter)
  • reference list
  • index
  • attachments.

Acknowledgements, a list of shortened forms and the glossary may be placed in the preliminary matter.

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgements text is a brief expression of appreciation to people and organisations (other than the authors) who contributed to the publication (e.g. friends and family, members of a review committee, professional editors).

The acknowledgements section is placed at the end of some books rather than in the preliminary matter, especially when the list of people to thank is long.

Appendixes

Appendixes (not appendices) are often used for information that is too detailed or technical to include in the body of the publication. Each appendix should directly relate to information included in the main text and be cross-referenced in the text. Do not include appendixes with information that is not mentioned in the text.

Order appendixes in the sequence that they are mentioned in the text (i.e. the first appendix mentioned is Appendix A, etc).

Subheadings can be used in appendixes, but are not usually included in the table of contents.

Did you know? Appendix is a Latin word meaning an addition. In English, a few Latin words keep their Latin plural (e.g. alga  →  algae). But most Latin words now take an English plural form, especially in common words and in writing for a general audience (e.g. appendixes not appendices, referendums not referenda).

Notes

If lengthy explanatory or source information is needed, place it at the end of a chapter or at the end of the work. These ‘endnotes’, when at the end of the work, are placed after any appendixes.

Glossary

The glossary was traditionally placed at the start of a publication, but is often now put at the back so that the front is not cluttered and people are not discouraged into thinking ‘I need to know all this before I can read the book!’ Also, many other things (e.g. contents, foreword, preface, summary) must go at the front, so it is good to move to the back anything that can be moved. This helps the reader to get to the actual content.

Reference list

The reference list or bibliography is placed towards the end; the only thing after it is the index, if there is one. 

See References for information about different referencing systems and examples of how to style different types of references.

Index

The index is placed at the end of a publication. The index is made after the document is complete, including design, layout and proofreading, so that page numbers will not change.

Attachments

Documents related to, but not part of, the main text can be included as attachments. Use attachments only when necessary. In most cases, a reference or link to the document in question will suffice.