Outline the superstructure of your report. A formal report will include the the introduction, method, facts, discussion, conclusions and recommendations.
Explain in the introduction what the reader will gain from reading the report. In a report analyzing an ethical argument, your report will summarize the argument, analyze and evaluate the argument and make recommendations regarding the value of the argument.
Detail your research methods as they pertain to gaining information about the content of the report. Describe what types of primary and secondary source material you will evaluate so as to understand the logical validity of the argument, as well as any relevant informational sources pertaining to the logical soundness of the argument. For example, if the argument pertains to the ethical treatment of the elderly, you will need to gather information about the structure and method of argumentation, as well as information regarding the treatment of the elderly.
List and explain the facts and information you gathered while using your research methods. For example, you might indicate that the argument makes several existential claims and uses a Kantian conception of ethics, while simultaneously relying on statistical data gathered from a 2006 survey of elderly in nursing homes.
Analyze and evaluate the argumentation and the evidence of the ethical argument. Indicate accurate conclusions and fallacies. For example, the argument could make a generalization by saying that because several elderly people experienced abuse, elder abuse is rampant throughout the world. Similarly, you might indicate that the 2006 survey is outdated and that much of the information had changed by the time of a 2009 survey.
Explain the significance of the facts and your analysis and evaluation in the conclusion, which attempts to indicate to readers why the argument and your report on the argument are or should be relevant to them.
Make recommendations concerning the logic and veracity of the argument. For example, you might recommend that readers supplement the argument with newer information, or you might state that the argument should be accepted because of its logic and detailed support.