6 Habits That Build a Solid Foundation for Your Report in Word or Google Docs
In this post, I share six editorial and design tips anyone can do to improve their reports right in Word or Google Docs. By doing these things, every document your team creates will start from a solid foundation no matter who’s writing or who hits publish.
1. Create a template cover page with the date of publication
Include your logo, the title, and the name of author(s). What’s most often missing is the date. Information changes constantly, and the date matters both for citation purposes and for cluing your reader into how current and relevant your content is.
2. Use header styles
Do not format your headings by hand; use the styles palette to format body type, titles, and headings. Consistent styles tell your reader when they are moving into a new section or chapter, and how ideas are organized within your report, but they also do much much more! They carry structured, dynamic code behind the scenes that supports:
- A dynamic table of contents that’s clickable and easy to navigate. This is also a great way to check the structure of the document as it’s coming together.
- A clean transfer from Word into InDesign, so your designer can update styles without having to guess or rebuild them by hand. This will save everyone rounds of editing and revision later.
- A tagged, accessible PDF, built on the underlying structure screen readers use to navigate your report.
- Global changes. By applying headers, you can easily change the formatting throughout your report without having to manually reformat everything again and again.
A footer with page numbers, your logo, and report title helps readers navigate multi-page documents, reinforces your brand, and gives the page visual structure.
4. Start new chapters on a new page
It’s counterintuitive, but failing to give your readers breathing room can make long reports feel even longer. You can edit heading styles to include a page break before each new chapter.
5. Create a template
Create your cover page, modify your styles, set up the footer, then save the file as a .dotx or add it to your template gallery in Google Workspace. Start every new file from the template instead of a blank page, and share it with your whole team once it’s built. A template keeps your brand consistent and sets everyone on your team up for success.
6. Use a clear file naming convention
A clear structure like OrganizationName_ProjectTitle_YYYYMMDD.docx keeps your files logical and easy to find. This is one of the most persistent things your audience sees, especially once they download and save your report as a reference. Make sure your organization’s name is built into that structure, so it reinforces brand recognition every time someone opens, forwards, or saves the file. See our post about file-naming conventions for more information on this often overlooked detail.
These things may sound minor or even obvious, but when they add up, your document can start looking like an unmade bed, calling into question the rigor of research that underpins your writing. Setting up your documents with a solid foundation improves efficiency, reduces confusion, builds trust, and gives your content the presentation it deserves.
If you found this post helpful, have questions, or want to get started on your next report, we’d love to hear from you.