Reviews of style and content in psychiatric writing take a range of positions on basic questions such as whether a report should be couched in the first person and the value, or otherwise, of stating a diagnosis. By contrast, the report structure has been stable, and recent suggestions resemble those of East. Reviews of report writing note the value of structure to both reader and author. Reviewers differ greatly in their recommendations regarding length. The length of the report varies with the question, the circumstances, and the writer. Three points seem important. First, the report should provide sufficient data to support the opinion. Second, the purpose of the report is to present that opinion. Third, the information contained in a report can have consequences for the client or others that the author does not intend. When the information is superfluous, those consequences are harder to justify.