Report Writing Tips - Fonts

Generally speaking Sans-serif fonts (e.g. Arial) are not commonly used for reports that have large amounts of text as they make it more difficult to read. Anyone read a book that uses some sort of Sans-serif font? Not likely. So what exactly is a "serif"? Well a "serif" is that extra bit on each letter of a font (e.g. Times New Roman) that helps the eye follow the line of text as shown in this diagram from Wikipedia:

	Sans-serif font
	Serif font
	Serif font (serifs in red)

One possible use for Sans-serif fonts in documentation is in the place of Headings. This can help to set apart the different sections of your report on top of the use of Table of Contents. As well, Sans-serif fonts are often found in presentation files that have large text (e.g. 16 point and higher) and fewer words. These type of fonts are gaining popularity in online usage too and include examples: Arial, Tahoma, and Verdana.

Some good examples of Serif fonts that would be better for reports and larger amounts of text (e.g. Textbooks, magazines, novels) include: Times New Roman, Georgia, and Courier New.

As with any written document it is important to not only consider what you want to write about and who you want to write for, but also how you are going to write it.