Generic Report Template - How to Use

Sep 1, 2026

Generic report template instructions for building a Microsoft Word® report using consistent formatting and Word features. Guidance covers how to place and call template files, replace explanatory text with report content, manage section breaks at chapter boundaries, and leverage styles for consistent appearance. It also explains creating an automatically generated table of contents and other lists, adding and formatting figures and tables, and performing editorial checks such as spelling validation, while maintaining accessibility considerations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatDOCX

Pages19

Reading Time7 min

AccessFree to download

Chapter 1. Using the Template

Placing and Calling Template Files

Entering Information in This Template

Using Styles

[Replace this box with a cover image.] [Title Style, Initial Caps] [Subtitle Style, Initial Caps] Authors: [Name, Name, and Name; Cover Text Style] Prepared for [Sponsor] [Month and Year] [Replace this box with an image for visual interest.] Table of Contents TOC \o "2-3" \h \z \t "Heading 1,1,Heading 1 Front Matter,1" HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682338" List of Figures PAGEREF _Toc166682338 \h iv HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682339" List of Tables PAGEREF _Toc166682339 \h iv HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682340" Chapter 1. Using the Template [Heading 1 Style, Type in Initial Caps, Keep the Section Break after This Heading] PAGEREF _Toc166682340 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682341" Placing and Calling Template Files PAGEREF _Toc166682341 \h 2 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682342" Entering Information in This Template PAGEREF _Toc166682342 \h 2 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682343" Using Styles PAGEREF _Toc166682343 \h 2 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682344" Examples of Styles PAGEREF _Toc166682344 \h 4 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682345" [Heading 2 Style, Initial Caps] PAGEREF _Toc166682345 \h 4 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682346" [Heading 3 Style, Initial Caps] PAGEREF _Toc166682346 \h 4 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682347" Using Section and Page Breaks PAGEREF _Toc166682347 \h 5 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682348" Placing Endnotes PAGEREF _Toc166682348 \h 5 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682349" Adding Appendix Sections after Endnotes PAGEREF _Toc166682349 \h 5 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682350" Checking Spelling PAGEREF _Toc166682350 \h 6 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682351" Generating the Table of Contents and Other Lists PAGEREF _Toc166682351 \h 6 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682352" Sponsor Guidelines PAGEREF _Toc166682352 \h 6 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682353" Accessibility PAGEREF _Toc166682353 \h 7 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682354" Chapter 2. Heading Styles PAGEREF _Toc166682354 \h 9 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682355" Second-Level Headings PAGEREF _Toc166682355 \h 10 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682356" Third-Level Heading PAGEREF _Toc166682356 \h 10 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682357" Chapter 3. Figures and Tables PAGEREF _Toc166682357 \h 11 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682358" Placing Graphics and Tables PAGEREF _Toc166682358 \h 12 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682359" Landscape Placement PAGEREF _Toc166682359 \h 12 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682360" Automatic Figure/Table Numbering PAGEREF _Toc166682360 \h 12 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682361" Automatic Cross-Reference to Figures/Tables PAGEREF _Toc166682361 \h 13 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682362" Line Breaks Inserted by Word PAGEREF _Toc166682362 \h 13 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682363" Sample Captioning PAGEREF _Toc166682363 \h 13 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682364" Figure and Table Formatting PAGEREF _Toc166682364 \h 14 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682365" References PAGEREF _Toc166682365 \h 15 List of Figures TOC \h \z \c "Figure" HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682366" Figure 1. [Caption Style Using Initial Caps and Ending with a Period.] PAGEREF _Toc166682366 \h 4 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682367" Figure 2. Sample Figure Caption. PAGEREF _Toc166682367 \h 13 List of Tables TOC \h \z \c "Table" HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682368" Table 1. [Table Title Style Using Initial Caps and End with a Period.] PAGEREF _Toc166682368 \h 4 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc166682369" Table 2. Sample Table Caption. PAGEREF _Toc166682369 \h 14 [Replace this box with an image for visual interest.] Chapter 1. Using the Template [Heading 1 Style, Type in Initial Caps, Keep the Section Break after This Heading] This file contains an explanation of the report template, which is designed as a Microsoft Word® template file. Placing and Calling Template Files You can put this file in your template folder and call it up using New on the File tab. If you prefer, you can open the file directly and save it as a regular document under a new name. Either way

FAQs

How should the template be used to create a new report?

Delete the current explanatory text and enter the report information. Copy and paste entire sections to avoid accidentally removing section breaks, and end each chapter with a section break.

What is the benefit of using Word styles in the template?

Styles provide consistent formatting, make it easier to update similar items throughout the document, and are crucial for automatically generating the table of contents and other lists.

How can the template help generate the table of contents and lists?

Apply the provided styles to the relevant text elements so Word can recognize structure. This enables an automatically generated table of contents and other lists based on those styles.

Sep 1, 2026

Upload by Caleb Sterling