Writing an internship report: Everything you need to know

An internship report is an important part of every internship and serves to summarize and document the experiences and knowledge gained during the internship.

A typical internship report has an introduction, a description of the host organisation and your tasks, a reflection on what you learned and a conclusion. This guide shows you the full structure, example passages, phrasing do’s and don’ts and answers to the most common questions.

How do you structure an internship report?

An internship report generally consists of an introduction, a main body and a conclusion.

Typical content/structure of an internship report:

1. Introduction: Overview of the internship, duration and area of work
2. Main body: Description of the tasks and activities, reflection on them
3. Conclusion: Summary of experiences, possible recommendations

In the introduction, you provide an overview of the internship, the duration and the area of work. In the main body, you describe the tasks and activities carried out during the internship and reflect on them. In the conclusion, you summarize your experiences and possibly give recommendations for the future.

Which sections does a full internship report include?

Many universities provide a template; if yours does, follow it. Without one, this structure covers what supervisors usually look for:

Do not include confidential company information. If you are unsure what you may mention, ask your supervisor at the host organisation before you submit.

Example: Students who have completed an internship in the field of marketing could write in this report:

Introduction: I completed my internship at company XYZ, which specializes in online marketing and social media. The internship lasted twelve weeks and I worked in a team of five people.

Main body: During the internship, I worked on various projects, such as creating Facebook and Instagram posts for different clients. I was also involved in the planning and implementation of a social media campaign. Working in a team has taught me the importance of collaboration and communication to deliver successful projects. One challenge for me was getting to know the various social media platforms and their target groups better.

Conclusion: Overall, the internship was a valuable learning experience for me. I learned a lot about how online marketing as well as social media work and was able to improve my skills in this area. I recommend that prospective interns learn in advance about the different social media platforms and their target groups to make their work more effective. I will incorporate the experience from this internship into my future career.

How should you phrase an internship report?

An internship report is a valuable way for interns to present and prove their knowledge and skills. It can also be used for job or university applications and is therefore of great importance. Hence, the wording of the sentences is also important to make a professional impression and to convey all important information correctly.

Turn your bullet points into a draft with Mimir (Example input: Running is great ➔ Result (1/3): Running is a healthy and effective form of physical activity that can contribute to improving cardiovascular fitness, mobility, and mental health.)

Do’s:

• Use clear language and structure, e.g. “I learnt how to create a business plan.”
• Give concrete examples from the internship, e.g. “I drafted twelve Instagram posts for a client campaign and learned to adapt the tone to each target group.”
• Reflect on the experience gained during the internship, e.g. “I have realized that I want to focus more on my communication skills in the future.”

Don’ts:

• Use stiff, convoluted phrasing that hides what you actually did
• Give general statements without examples
• Lie or exaggerate your experiences and achievements

Negative Examples:

• “I learnt a lot during the internship.” (Without specific examples)
• “I was the best in the team.” (Exaggeration)
• “I carried out the entire project on my own.” (Lie)

What should an internship report include, and what not?

An internship report is an important part of your internship documentation. It gives your internship supervisor an insight into your work and your experiences during the internship. It is important that the report is well-structured and easy to understand in order to leave a positive impression.

Have your text checked by Mimir (spelling, grammar, informal or imprecise words, and more…)

Do’s:

• Start with a brief summary of the internship (e.g. “I completed my internship at XYZ and mainly worked with online marketing and social media.”)
• Structure your report in clear sections, such as introduction, main body and conclusion
• Use concrete examples from your internship to support your statements
• Use a professional, factual tone and avoid slang or unexplained abbreviations

Don’ts:

• Add details that are not relevant to the report
• Use informal language or an overly conversational tone
• Copy text from the internet, which counts as plagiarism
• Use incorrect or inaccurate information

Examples:

• I contributed to the planning and implementation of a social media campaign, through which I learned how important collaboration and communication in a team are.
• An example of a don’t: “I really learnt a lot and was in great hands in the team. It was quite chilled there.”

6 tips for writing your internship report

When you start writing your internship report, it can quickly become overwhelming. There are so many things to consider and it can be hard to know where to start. To make writing easier for you, we’ve put together a few tips here that will help you write your internship report successfully, supported by the tools Mimir offers for academic work.

Tip 1: Start early

The most important tip we can give you is to start writing early. The earlier you start, the more time you have to plan, research and write your report. This way, you can ensure that you can hand in your report on time and don’t have to worry about a possible delay.

Tip 2: Use an outline

An outline is an important part of any academic paper, including your internship report. An outline helps you to organize your thoughts and ensure that your report has a clear structure. Once your outline is in place, Mimir’s AI writing assistant can help you turn your notes into first sentences.

Tip 3: Use examples

Examples are an important part of any academic paper as they allow you to make your points more vivid. Use examples from your internship to support your arguments and illustrate your experiences.

Tip 4: Use Mimir to correct your report

An important part of the writing process is reviewing and proofreading your report, ideally working through it with a checklist of the points to look at. Use Mimir to check your report for grammatical and spelling errors. Review each suggestion before you accept it; our comparison of five spell checkers shows how the common tools differ.

Try out the correction directly:

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Tip 5: Use clear language

Clear language is important to make your internship report understandable. Avoid unnecessarily complicated wording and formulations. Instead, you should use simple and precise language.

Do’s:

• Use simple words and sentences
• Avoid technical jargon unless it is absolutely necessary
• Check that all your wording is easy to understand

Don’ts:

• Use unnecessarily complicated words or expressions
• Use abbreviations without explaining them
• Use imprecise terms

You can also use Mimir to check for clear language and get feedback on how to improve it.

Tip 6: Have someone else read your report

It is always helpful to get a second opinion before you submit your report, whether it comes from a professional proofreading service or an online tool. Have a friend or family member proofread your report.

Frequently asked questions