How to Write a Report in Nutrition: Step-by-Step Guide to Successful Paper Writing

Nutrition is a popular topic for college reports. Everybody eats food and has to choose between healthy and unhealthy meals. Nutrition deals not only with eating habits but also with health problems and benefits connected with food preferences. Students often find difficulty in the selection of a topic that can intrigue the target audience. There are too many articles and investigations devoted to nutrition. They serve as a perfect assistant for report writing.

Successful papers start with proper planning and creation of an outline. An outline includes a structure of the report, a time frame, links to the sources (page numbers), and ideas for further research. This article provides a detailed manual for everyone who needs to write an excellent report in nutrition.

Essay vs. Report: What’s the Difference?

There is so much academic homework that a student might get confused. A student should remember that the task is to write a report but not an essay. There is a huge difference between these two types of academic assignments.

An essay has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. It can be formal and semi-formal. Tutors expect to see students’ ability to express themselves. Its goal is to show anauthor’s point of view. Students might have to persuade, narrate, explain, compare or tell the reason for the problem in essays. The task depends on the essay type and college requirements.

A report demands data collection, then its analysis, and systematizing. Its purpose is to inform the target audience about the key problem and its solution. A report aims at convincing someone in something or just providing the information. Besides the 3 basic components (an introduction, a body, and a conclusion), a report requires sections, headings, and subheadings. Such a structure lets a reader look through the document and find the needed information quickly. Each report ends with an author’s suggestions or offers concerning the solution of the represented problem.

A Report in Nutrition: Guideline Telling Where to Start and How to Finish

Inexperienced students should have a manual that might help to write an excellent report. The instruction below can be a perfect assistant in this college task.

Study the Requirements

First of all, it is necessary to study the college requirements. A person can find out whether the report should persuade or just inform the target audience about something. It is very essential to make sure that a student understands what to do. It will also say who the target audience is. Moreover, there will be details about the formatting and structure. If a student has some questions, it will be better to ask them as soon as possible. Misunderstanding never brings luck.

Select a Worthy Topic

A person feels more engaged when writing about the topic he or she is interested in. That is why it is very important to be picky. These are 10 sample topics that might be captivating and absorbing.

• Advantages and Disadvantages of Plant-based Diets;
• “The White Death”: Historical and GeneticalReason for Dangerous Salt Intake;
• Vitamins in Pills vs. Smoothies: What Is More Effective?
• The Harm of Industrial Fructose: How Does It Differ from Natural Fructose in Fruits?
• Does “Zero-Calories”CokeReally Exist?
• 6-months Barrier: Why People Start Giving “Adult” Food to Newborn Babies Only in Half a Year;
• Diets or Malnutrition: The Danger of “90-60-90” Fashion;
• The Relation Between Longevity and Nutrition;
• Pros and Cons of Ketogenic Diet;
• Soymilk vs. Regular Milk: Why Chinese Prefer the First Variant

Sometimes a student cannot select the topic. In that case, a person has to look for something catchy to get inspiration and be able to finish the paper on time. The more useful the paper for the writer is, the more chances a person has to present a valuable report. The best variant is to discuss the topic selection with the tutor. It is necessary to get the boss’s approval before starting writing a report.

Specify the Problem in the Topic

The topic must be neither too wide nor too narrow. The first one will demand much writing and it will lead to a poorly-organized report. Dealing with the second type, a student might face difficulty in finding enough data for the report to fit the college requirements. Experts recommend finding the golden mean.

Bad variant: Weight Loss (too wide)
Bad variant: Plant-based Diets Prevent Obesity and Improve Human Health Condition (too narrow)
Good variant: Vegetarian Diets as the Best Genetical Variant for Weight Loss

First, students should make sure that there is enough information for the report. Then they can specify the topic and present it to the professor.

A Report in Nutrition: What Literature to Choose to Write a Good Paper

It is impossible to write a report without trustable literature. There are three degrees of value.

• First sources to consider (interviews, original books, records of witnesses)
• 2nd importance literature (reviews, manuals, guidelines)
• 3rd rate literature (summaries, database, indexes)

Professional agencies recommend selecting several sources for a perfect report. Each page of the paper must link to one or two reliable sources. One can find them in the library and online. A person must be sure that the chosen source is reputable. Librarians can indicate the trustable ones. In the case of online literature, one should pay attention to details and check the data before applying it. Scholarly sources fit this purpose best of all. A researcher should look for the data using Lexis Nexis or Google Scholar. These search engines present authoritative publications, websites of the government, works of reputable scientists, etc.

Experts also recommend paying attention to the sources other writers have used to write their articles. For example, a student writes about the benefits of olive oil. A researcher will have to study literature to support the report with facts and statistics. One can find them in scientific articles. Moreover, almost every scientific article gives a list of used literature in the end so that a reader can check the validity of the information. A report-writer can investigate these sources to learn more about the efficiency of the oil.
List of reputable online sources one can use to write a report in nutrition:

• German Nutrition Society
• World Health Organization
• Nutrition Facts
• Medical Research Council
• Harvard T.H. Chan
• American Society for Nutrition

A person has to be careful when selecting an online source. Today everybody can write an article and publish it. The website must be official and there must be a list of literature a researcher has used in the work.

A Report in Nutrition: Structure One Should Follow to Make It Logical

First of all, a tutor pays attention to the structure of the paper. One of the most important elements is the table of contents. It reflects the ideas and information a student has given in the paper. Consequently, a student is to be aware of the structure to become a true professional.

Outline

An outline is a visualization of the general look of the report. It helps to avoid confusion. One should just research and make notes on margins of the section (page, author, title, citation) to be able to use them later. Having enough materials, a writer can identify the core idea of the paper and create a thesis statement that needs catchy facts leading to research. An outline allows a writer to understand how to connect sections of the paper logically and fill in the data gaps if there are any.

Abstract

It comes after the title page to mirror the value of the report. It hardly exceeds 150 words and conveys the message of the paper.

Table of Contents

The main goal of the report is to inform about the problem or discovery in nutrition. A person reads it to get some useful information quickly. That is why there must be a table of contents that will navigate the reader to the required section. It reminds the one of a textbook or a manual. Nobody will read the whole book or instruction just to find out something. A person will surely scan the table of contents to find out the number of the page whether the required data is.

Introduction Part

This part is short (less than 10% of the whole paper). It provides a brief overview of the topic problem and aims at attracting the reader’s attention by facts, statistics, provocative questions, or citations. It usually ends with a thesis statement.

Olive oil is an eco-product that can help to treat cancer, skin problems, and improve digestion and metabolism. Nevertheless, it is fatty and can lead to obesity and other health problems. How to make good use of it?

NOTE! It is better to write the abstract and the introduction after the paper is ready. A student will be able to see the true value of the report and to reflect it in these parts.

Body

There are two types of reports. The first one deals with case studies. The second type just presents the systematized analysis of the information.
The body of the case study might look the following way:

• Presentation of participants
• History of the case
• Results of physical examination
• Results of testing and experiments
• Plan of the nutrition
• The probable outcome of the nutrition scheme
• Actual results of the case study

If it is an average report of the problem, the body should include sections with subsections. It must be logical. The number of sections will depend on the volume of the report and the information a student wants to present. It might also have the section devoted to the applied research methods, tests, and examinations.

Discussion

A student comments on the value of the report and links it to the sources in this part. There can be also a comparison of the author’s viewpoint and other researchers’ ideas concerning the existing problem or case.

Conclusion

This part summarizes the information and restates it giving suggestions for improvement and ideas for further research. It must not give new details because it will create the impression of vagueness and incompleteness.

2 liters of water daily helps to stay hydrated but the quality of water must meet the requirements. Low-mineral and purified water results in the insufficiency of calcium, especially in children whose growth is more rapid.

Bibliography

This is ABC enumeration of the used literature. Due to that, a person can avoid accusations in plagiarism. The number of investigated sources reflects the deepness of the research and efforts of the students to create a solid report. Professors often pay attention to this part when evaluating the worth of the report.

Appendix

Sometimes students have videos, audio files, pictures, diagrams, and tables that they cannot present within the paper. Consequently, they can add these materials to the appendix section and enumerate them. Later they can just mention the numbered material using footnotes or brackets.

Other Things to Consider before Handing in a Report in Nutrition

Students write academic papers to receive the highest grades. Some of them need to write a report to get a job. Besides a good analysis of the problem, it is important to regard accuracy and avoid grammar mistakes.

Formatting

Each college has some requirements. In case there are no concrete rules, one should follow general demands that include font 12, type Times New Roman or Arial, double-spacing, and 2.5cm margins from all sides.

Proofreading

It is better never to check the paper when being tired. One should finish the report, have some rest and only then read the paper once again. A person will have a chance to see new mistakes. The best variant is to find an expert or at least an experienced student who has already succeeded in report writing.

Editing

A person should wake up and slowly read the paper with a fresh mind. Experts suggest pretending to be a reader and evaluate the paper. One more option is to ask friends to read it and check if they have understood the message.

Hope that these tips were of help to you.