Students' Checklist

Student checklist: report writing

1. Does your report have a heading?

2. Does your report indicate who the report is for, who it is written by and what it is about?

3. Does your report have an introduction?

4. Is your report clearly organized, e.g. does it use clear paragraphs? does it have section headings?

5. Is the register neutral / formal?

6. Is the style factual?

7. Are the style and register consistent?

8. Does it include clear recommendations?

9. Does it end with a conclusion?

10. Have you checked your writing?

Writing a Report - Task

Classroom activity: writing a report

Aim:
to help students understand the requirements of report writing for Part 2

Relevance to GCE:
Writing Part 2

Organisation:
pairs

Materials needed:
one copy of the classroom activity, plus a copy of the Student Checklist.


Procedure:
Read this question from a past Writing paper.

A group of American students has just arrived in your town and the group leader has asked for information on an interesting building to visit. Write a report for the group leader, describing one building and giving reasons for your recommendation.
Write your report.

1. With a partner, discuss:

ideas for the content of the report, i.e. which town, which building, and reasons for recommending it.
how to introduce the report, i.e. who is it for? who is it written by? what is it about?
how to organise the report, i.e. how many paragraphs? section headings?
what the style and register should be
how to conclude the report, i.e. how will you summarise the points you have made? what recommendations will you make?
2. Write the report (for homework).
3. Bring it to class and read your partner's report.
4. Check your partner's report against the Student Checklist.
5. Discuss and compare the two reports.
6. Make any final improvements and hand your report in.

Writing a report - Notes for Reading

Writing a report

What is this task?

A report could be written for a superior (a boss or a teacher) or a peer group (club members, colleagues) and will certainly contain some facts with the possibility of adding suggestions or recommendations. It should be clearly organized and may include section headings.



Look at the following skeleton of a report. Below are five sections of text. Match each section to the correct heading.

(1) To: Students preparing for FCE
From: Cambridge ESOL Teachers' Website
Re: How to write a report

(2) Introduction

(3) Functions of a report

(4) Style and register

(5) Layout

(6) Conclusion

Reports need to be written clearly. They should begin with a clear indication of who the report is written for and who it was written by and the subject matter. (At the beginning of this report is an example of a common way of starting a report.) The report writer can help the reader by including section headings and by using clear paragraphs.

A report is usually written to give information and probably to make recommendations. Therefore, it will probably contain description, explanation, justifications and recommendations, or any combination of these.

A report should summarise the points made previously and usually includes clear recommendations, for instance:

Learn the expressions used in reports.
Remember to divide the report into sections and to use headings.
Remember to keep the language formal.
As requested, I have written a report to give people advice on writing a report. Below are some suggestions.

As a report is often written for a superior and is a formal type of writing, the register should be neutral to formal. In addition, reports should be factual and precise. They should not be personal or conversational.





http://www.cambridgeesol.org/teach/fce/writing/aboutthepaper/part2/report.htm