How to Write a Visit Report

This article was co-authored by Madison Boehm. Madison Boehm is a Business Advisor and the Co-Founder of Jaxson Maximus, a men’s salon and custom clothiers based in southern Florida. She specializes in business development, operations, and finance. Additionally, she has experience in the salon, clothing, and retail sectors. Madison holds a BBA in Entrepreneurship and Marketing from The University of Houston.

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Whether you’re a student or a professional, a visit report helps you document the procedures and processes at an industrial or corporate location. These reports are fairly straightforward. Describe the site first and explain what you did while you were there. If required, reflect on what you learned during your visit. No additional research or information is needed.

Explain the site's purpose, operations, and what happened during the visit. Identify the site's strengths and weaknesses, along with your recommendations for improvement. Include relevant photos or diagrams to supplement your report.

Describing the Site

• Reports are usually only 2-3 pages long, but in some cases, these reports may be much longer.
• In some cases, you may be asked to give recommendations or opinions about the site. In other cases, you will be asked only to describe the site.
• Ask your boss or instructor for models of other visit reports. If you can't get a model, look up samples online.

Start the paper with general information about the visit. This will serve as your introduction. In a paragraph, tell your audience when you visited the site and where the site is located. State who your contact was at the site. If extensive travel was needed, you may also briefly state how you arrived at the site. [2] X Research source

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• If you visited a factory, explain what it is producing and what equipment it uses.
• If you visited a construction site, describe what is being constructed and how far along the construction is. You should also describe the terrain of the site and the layout.
• If you’re visiting a business, describe what the business does. State which department or part of the business you visited.
• If you’re visiting a school, identify which grades they teach. Note how many students attend the school. Name the teachers whose classes you observed.

• Who did you talk to? What did they tell you?
• What did you see at the site?
• What events took place? Did you attend a seminar, Q&A session, or interview?
• Did you see any demonstrations of equipment or techniques?

• For example, at a car factory, describe whether the cars are made by robots or humans. Describe each step of the assembly line.
• If you're visiting a business, talk about different departments within the business. Describe their corporate structure and identify what programs they use to conduct their business.

Reflecting on Your Visit

• Is there something you didn’t realize before that you learned while at the site?
• Who at the site provided helpful information?
• What was your favorite part of the visit and why?

• For example, you might state that the factory uses the latest technology but point out that employees need more training to work with the new equipment.
• If there was anything important left out of the visit, state what it was. For example, maybe you were hoping to see the main factory floor or to talk to the manager.

• Tailor your recommendations to the organization or institution that owns the site. What is practical and reasonable for them to do to improve their site?
• Be specific. Don’t just say they need to improve infrastructure. State what type of equipment they need or give advice on how to improve employee morale.

Formatting Your Report

• If you are following a certain style guideline, like APA or Chicago style, make sure to format the title page according to the rules of the handbook.

• Don’t just say “the visit was interesting” or “I was bored.” Be specific when describing what you learned or saw.

Include any relevant pictures if desired. While pictures are usually not required, they may be helpful in some visit reports. Group photographs, images of machinery, or graphics demonstrating the layout of the site might be helpful.

Proofread your report carefully. Check for any grammatical errors or typos. Ask someone else to read over it for you to make sure it sounds good. If you’re a student, check your professor’s guidelines to make sure that you have all of the required parts. [11] X Research source

Sample Visit Report

Community Q&A

Try splitting it up into 5 paragraphs. In the first, introduce your trip and why you went on it, but don't give too many specific facts. For the next paragraph, explain in more detail where and when you went. Include factual information, and maybe what you were expecting before the trip. In the third section, write about what you liked about the specific trip. This will also include more information - for example, if you went to a museum, explain in detail what specific exhibition you enjoyed. This will be your longest paragraph. For the fourth, include some other things you saw, and maybe how your friends or classmates reacted to the trip. Then, write a short conclusion about what you learned on the trip, etc.

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