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Regardless of which genealogy service you ordered, our genealogists understand the importance of writing accurate genealogical reports. After all, inside every genealogist is a hidden detective. Compiling a report about your family history automatically takes your search to the next level. This is a much better alternative than presenting your family history in the form of a chart that may not be too easy to understand.
Each page of a genealogy report is solely dedicated to telling the life history of your loved ones – who they were, where they were born, whether they were married, where they worked, as well as providing other important information. We believe that the best family history is that which perfectly describes the lives of those who came before you.
A genealogy report will enable you to leave a family legacy behind. This is not only important for your existing family members but also an important one for those who will come in future.
The Importance of a Genealogy Report
A genealogy report is a powerful investigative tool. It is written concurrently with family history research or after every research session. As such, it becomes easy to track personal research and share vital information about your ancestors. Multiple reports can be written on your family, depending on how much research is done.
Family historians can spend a long period of time developing a family history. Sometimes, their best information may come from a report. This also makes it easy for future family members to conveniently pick up beneficial in information about their descendants.
Types of Genealogy Reports
- Narrative Report – This report takes into account all parts of a family history. It is more expressive and biographical in nature and may not necessarily detail the research procedures that underscore it. Usually, these narratives include the story teller’s interpretations of events.
- Letter Report – Used to answer simple genealogical queries, this report details brief request that a professional researcher makes to a librarian or archivist in order for them to provide documents that will essentially further the research.
- Formal Report – Just like the title suggests, the formal report is written in a consciously-developed and professional manner. It represents expertise and reputation. A tone of familiarity or chattiness does not have any place here.
- Software Program Report – This report contains a summary of relevant information in a number of data fields. This report contains excellent supplements such as charts and graphs that further elaborates the information.
Ultimate Steps for Writing Your Family’s Genealogy Report
Although writing your family history report may seem like a daunting task, our experts are well-versed in the process. Worry not! You are in the best hands. We are well-equipped to find all the information that you seek. Here are 7 steps to writing your family’s genealogy report, step by step:
1. Choose a format for your family history
We allow you to decide on the format that you envision for your research report. As discussed above, there are various formats to write a report. You may choose a narrative or factual report depending on the depth of information you are looking for.
2. Define the scope of your family history
It is important to decide whether you want information about a particular relative or everyone who is part of your family tree. Thus, you should choose a focus for your report. You may include everyone who comes from the same descendant line or write about all of your general descendants. However, these suggestions are easily adapted to suit your interest.
3. Choose the right plot and themes
The report should include the problems that your ancestors faced such as their immigration, survival during wartime and even how they rid of slavery. These are the best themes for any report, especially one that is written in a narrative nature.
4. Focus on background research
Forget about dull and dry family histories. Instead, focusing on background research to ensure that the reader has an eye-witness perspective of your family history. It is best to have an idea of how far back you intend to go into research. You may want to create a story of your immediate family or alternatively, you can choose to begin with your great, great grandparents and slowly incorporate your family members.
5. Organize your research
By creating a timeline or duration for every ancestor that is part of your report, it is easy to spot any mistakes that may be in your report. You can easily sort a number of photos or records for every ancestor, thereafter identify what should be included in the report. Once all the right decisions have been made, use the set timelines to create an outline for your report. It can be organized geographically, chronologically, by theme or character.
6. Choose where to begin
You may choose to begin the report from interesting parts of your family history. Maybe you may choose a duration in which they escaped war or an era when an interesting invention was developed. Interesting facts make your report more exciting. Remember, you do not have to start writing your family history from the beginning, you are free to choose any starting point.
7. Include an index, source, and citations
An index is an important feature of a genealogy report. It makes it easy to find the portions of the report for easy reading. As such, no level of confusion will be experienced.
Once the report is completed, you can confidently sit back, relax and read it with pride. Our professionals will certainly enable you to meet all of our research objectives and encourage you to make strides in the right direction. Regardless of the kind of format that your report is in, it is important to have a backup copy and save it in a flexible manner so that you could access it anytime-anywhere.
Thinking of writing a family history report? We’re here to help you get all the answers that you need – step by step.
