Quick Answer
How do you write recommendations in a university report?
Link every recommendation to a specific finding, state the action clearly, explain why it is needed, identify who should implement it where relevant, consider feasibility and risks, and prioritise recommendations when several actions compete for limited time or resources.
Recommendations Must Come From Findings
A recommendation is not a new idea added at the end because it sounds useful. It should solve, reduce or respond to a problem demonstrated in the analysis. If the report never established that staff turnover is a problem, a recommendation about retention incentives will feel unsupported.
Create a simple chain: finding → implication → recommendation. This keeps the recommendation section connected to the evidence.
Make the Action Specific
“Improve customer service†is too broad. A stronger recommendation identifies what should change, such as introducing a response-time target, revising the complaint workflow or training staff in one identified weakness.
A recommendation does not need to be extremely detailed, but the reader should understand what action you are proposing.
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A Useful Recommendation Structure
| Part | Question to answer |
|---|---|
| Action | What should be done? |
| Reason | Which finding or evidence supports it? |
| Owner | Who or which department should act? |
| Priority | How urgent or important is it? |
| Implementation | What resources, timing or steps matter? |
| Risk / measure | What could go wrong and how will success be checked? |
Consider Feasibility, Not Just Ideal Solutions
Academic recommendations should still be realistic. If a small organisation has limited resources, recommending a complex international technology platform may not be feasible. Consider cost, skills, time, policy constraints and implementation capacity.
Where evidence is limited, use cautious wording such as “pilot†or “evaluate†rather than claiming the recommendation will definitely produce a large benefit.
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Prioritise When There Are Several Recommendations
Not every recommendation should have the same urgency. You can group them as immediate, medium-term and long-term or use high, medium and low priority. Explain the basis for the ranking.
Prioritisation is especially useful in business, policy and consultancy reports because the reader often cannot implement everything at once.
Reference Evidence Without Rewriting the Discussion
The recommendation section can briefly refer to findings such as low satisfaction scores, repeated interview themes or comparative cost evidence. You do not need to repeat the whole analysis.
If an external source supports implementation, cite it appropriately. However, the core reason for the recommendation should remain connected to the report’s own analysis.
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Use Appropriate Recommendation Language
Use direct verbs such as introduce, revise, prioritise, monitor, reduce, establish or evaluate. Avoid vague phrases such as “it would be nice if†or absolute promises such as “this will definitely solve the problem.â€
Recommendations should be confident enough to guide action but cautious enough to reflect uncertainty and limitations.
Common Recommendation Mistakes
- Adding recommendations that were never discussed.
- Using vague verbs such as improve or enhance with no action.
- Ignoring cost, time or organisational capacity.
- Giving too many recommendations with no priority.
- Repeating the entire discussion section.
- Promising outcomes the evidence cannot guarantee.
If you cannot identify the supporting evidence, the recommendation probably belongs in future research or should be removed.
For every recommendation, point to the finding that justifies it. Then ask whether the action is specific enough to implement and whether the report has considered cost, risk, responsibility or timing where those factors matter.
Audit Each Recommendation
If several recommendations depend on one another, state the sequence. An immediate enabling action may need to happen before a larger strategic recommendation can work.
Before finalising the section, compare the recommendations with the assignment's intended audience. A recommendation written for a university manager, government agency or private company may need a different level of detail, responsibility and implementation language. Then check whether two recommendations overlap. If both propose almost the same action, combine them and use the space to explain priority, cost, monitoring or expected benefit. Where the evidence cannot support a strong claim, use proportionate wording. Recommending a pilot programme, review or staged implementation may be more defensible than promising a large result. This makes the recommendation section practical while keeping it academically cautious.
Marker-Ready Final Check
Before submission, compare the recommendation section with the conclusion. The conclusion should establish the overall judgement, while the recommendations should translate that judgement into actions. Do not repeat the same sentence in both sections. If the assignment asks for implementation, add a brief indication of sequence or monitoring. For example, an organisation may first pilot a new process, review performance after a defined period and then decide whether wider implementation is justified.
Keep the final list concise, ordered and easy to implement.
Key Takeaways
- Build each recommendation from a finding.
- State the action clearly.
- Explain why the evidence supports it.
- Consider ownership, feasibility and risk.
- Prioritise actions when resources are limited.
- Use direct but evidence-conscious language.
