WRITING REPORTS
What is a report?
A report
● is a factual and precise description of an event, a
situation, a study or a
project, usually based on practical work, a review of literature,
survey, news, etc
● provides suggestions and
recommendation for future action
● is written in a formal
style by a person who has studied the issue
● is written for a
"client"-somebody and it is therefore necessary to identify
who
will be reading the report and what they want from it (that is, the needs of
the
readers).
People who require information have some knowledge about the subject
● has a clear layout
The format or the structure
Reports should consist
of
1.
A TITLE which
tells the reader exactly what the report is about:
(Subject)/ Report on:
Gaslights restaurant
2.
AN INTRODUCTION which
○ states the purpose and content of the report and says
what the report will
cover, how the information
was collected, etc
○ gives
the details about the time, place and people involved in the incident
Useful phrases: The aim/purpose/objective of this report is to
summarize the findings of a recent survey among…/ This
report is intended to give a brief summary of the findings of our recent survey
on smoking among members of the local community. / The data was collected from newspaper reports
and documents on the internet. / A
survey was carried out among members of the local community. 7 As requested,…/ This report was
written…. / The report gives / presents
information on
3. A MAIN BODY which
○ presents
each topic in detail under suitable subheadings
○ provides most of the
information, develops the event in detail, gives
reasons, presents results
○ generalizes
facts
○ gives
positive and negative points
○ needs to
be organized into paragraphs or smaller sections each with its
own heading/subheading
○ information
should be based on facts and not opinion
Useful phrases: On the whole, smoking is a
big problem. / The majority said that they were unhappy with the situation. /
According to some members of our local community…/ One of the big(obvious)
advantages of this proposal is…/ Compared with ten years ago…./ There has been
a big increase in…./ This
shows/illustrates/indicates that…./ Most people find this….
4.
a conclusion / summaryA CONCLUSION/ which
○
summarises the information from the main body
○ should
not introduce any new information
○ can give
a personal view/opinions on the facts that you have discovered
Useful phrases: Our conclusion
therefore…/In conclusion…/ The following conclusions can be drawn from the
data:….The figures show that…/As can be seen from the findings of this report,
the only option we have is…/ All things considered,…. /To sum up,…./ All in
all, …/ From the research we can conclude that…. and/or….
5.
recommendations
○ in which
you suggest how things could be improved
○ are logical, realistic and
are based on your conclusions
○ show any further action
that is necessary
Useful phrases: The best solution is /would
be (to)…/We recommend that…./ It is recommended that….
Sample report
Subject/Report
on: The Metalcamp Festival
The purpose
of this report is to give useful information and suggestions to the organizers
of the Metalcamp Festival so that they may improve it.
The site:
Being organized next to the river, the festival seems to be at a perfect site;
however, some have expressed concern about the potential dangers a river can
present. The area by the river could turn out to be too risky especially for
drunk visitors; therefore some safeguards are necessary.
The programme:
Metalcamp offers an interesting and varied programme with a lot of music for
heavy metal fans. The bands are renowned for their outstanding performances and
provide hours of pure entertainment for the listeners. The shows start at 5 pm
and last till 1 am, and local performers alternate with the foreign artists.
The cost:
In comparison to other music festivals around the world, the prices are not too
high. The price for a ticket varies from £15-20. Students can get a 30%
discount. However, there have been some adverse comments that the local people
have to pay the same price, even though they provide the organizers with
substantial help.
All things considered, the Metalcamp Festival appears to
be a great annual festival, but eliminating a few shortcomings would make it an
even more impressive cultural event.
“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
― Albert Einstein
― Albert Einstein
