Personally I use LaTex as it is excellent for formatting formulae (kind of useful when your doing a maths degree) and will produce an great looking document, but will take a while to learn and can be incredibly frustrating. So maybe not easier than word but if your report contains any formulae (IMO) it would be hard to recommend anything else.
Edit: LaTeX also lacks a spell check. Not sure if that will bother you but thought I might as well mention it.