How do you write a clear advisory report for your thesis?

When do you write an advisory report?

An advisory report often serves as a supplement to your research, especially when your client explicitly asks for advice and recommendations based on your findings. This gives your client concrete tools to get started with immediately. If you have opted for a design-oriented research, writing an advice is even mandatory. This advice can be part of your thesis, but some courses require a separate advisory report, sometimes including a detailed implementation plan, which you often see with marketing and communication plans.

Step-by-step plan before writing the advisory report:

Before you start drawing up an advisory report, it is important to go through a number of preparatory steps. These steps ensure that your advice fits seamlessly with your research and analysis, so that it does not come out of the blue.

Here are the most important steps you need to follow:

Define the problem: Start by clearly defining the problem you want to tackle or the issue you want to provide advice on. You describe this in your problem analysis (or context analysis) of your thesis.
Formulate your research question: Formulate a clear research question that arises from the identified problem and the context of the organization or company you are investigating.
Describe the relevant literature and theories: This concerns literature, theories and concepts that are relevant to your research question and topic. Focus on what is necessary to answer your question.
Describe your methodology: Explain the methods you used to arrive at your research results.
Collect data: Collect the necessary data through surveys, interviews or other research tools. Present this data in a structured way in your results, using diagrams, tables and/or quotes from respondents.
Analyze the data: Analyze the collected data to identify trends, patterns and relationships that are relevant to your issue. We have already drawn up a handy manual for quantitative research in SPSS.
Formulate conclusions and recommendations: Base your conclusions and recommendations on the analysis of your data. Make sure your recommendations are practical and achievable, and back them up with factual information from your research.

What parts does the advisory report consist of?

An advisory report follows the following format:

Title page: On the title page of your advisory report you must include the following information in accordance with the guidelines of your program. Consider the title of the report, name of the authors, name of client, place, date and year of issue.
Management summary: The management summary provides a concise introduction to your report and includes an introduction of the client, reason for the research, key findings, description of possible scenarios and substantiation of the chosen scenario, with an emphasis on the impact on money, time and people.
Introduction: The introduction focuses on the purpose of the advisory report, in which you state the reason, describe the problem addressed, formulate the main question and place the reading guide for the reader to understand the structure of the report.
Research results: In the results you describe the design of your research and provide a concise summary of the results and conclusions.
Alternatives or scenarios: Here you describe the different possible solutions to the problem, the so-called scenarios. This is often the most difficult chapter. There are several roads that lead to Rome.
Conclusion: In the conclusion you give the final advice and substantiate it and add an action plan, planning and cost/benefit analysis.
Sources: Conclude with an overview of the sources used, including research data and background information.
Implementation plan (optional): If required, the implementation plan includes the costs and benefits of the proposed scenario, the implementation action plan and the schedule.

Tips for writing your advisory report

Tip 1: For what purpose are you writing?

Before you start writing, it is important to be clear in advance what the purpose of your advisory report is and who you are writing it for. This improves the quality of your report and makes it immediately more relevant for your readers.

Tip 2: Start with the conclusion!

Readers often scan through the text looking for what really helps them. That is why it is advisable to start straight away with the core, namely the advice itself. This is followed by your arguments, which are based on your research and which substantiate your advice.

Tip 3: Adjust your language to the knowledge level of your readers

Avoid jargon, as this makes the text unnecessarily complicated. Write in understandable language, otherwise there is a risk that your readers will drop out because they do not understand the text. Keep in mind that your examiners and assessors do not necessarily come from the professional field. Therefore, adjust your language accordingly.

Tip 4: Check the guidelines of your course

The structure of an advisory report may differ depending on the course. Therefore, always make sure that you check and follow the specific guidelines of your course. A useful source to consult is the database of your course, where you can see how other students have drawn up their advice report. Although this does not guarantee a good grade, it can help you determine the structure.

Tip 5: Discuss your plan with your graduation supervisor

Remember to discuss your classification proposal with your graduate supervisor to ensure that it meets the expectations of your course.

Need help with your advisory report?

Are you planning to write an advisory report? Do you need advice about the right structure or do you need help with the content? Maybe you have already written your advisory report and are looking for a final check? Then consider having your advisory report checked by a proofreader. This way you are assured of a high-quality end product. Request your free consultation quickly.