Report writing
Reports are a mixture of fact and
opinion.
In a report, you need to give your reader
information and make suggestion.
The language will depend on your
audience, and most are written in a
formal style.
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✘ Structure of a report
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Structure of a report
✘ Introduction (reasons for writing the
report)
✘ Body (what you did/ experienced – in two
separate short
paragraphs)
✘ Conclusion (suggestions,
recommendations, or
solutions)
✘ The report may also use features such as
Content of a Report
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Content covers:
✘ Task fulfilment (i.e. whether the
piece fulfills the task, how relevant
the content is and an awareness of
style, register, purpose and
audience).
✘ Development of ideas (i.e. the
detail/explanation provided).
Language of a Report
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Language covers:
✘ Range (i.e. complexity of grammatical and
lexical structures).
✘ Accuracy (i.e. the level of grammatical and
lexical accuracy, the
type of errors and whether
these impede communication).
✘ Organisation (i.e. whether ideas are
organised and sequenced
effectively, the range of
linking words/phrases and other
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“Tips for writing a report”
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Language
✘ Think about the audience that
the report is for, e.g. the head
teacher, organisers of an event,
etc.
✘ The tone of the report should be
impersonal and relatively
formal.
✘ Your report should also be
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Language
✘ To make your report sound more formal,
✘ Use the passive voice (e.g. ‘no food
had been provided’, ‘we were given
plenty of information’, ‘the seats were
damaged’, etc.)
✘ Use reported speech (e.g. ‘most
students said they would have liked to
take part in more activities’, etc.)
✘ Include a range of topic related
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✘ Organisation
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Organisation
✘ Be well-organised and clear.
✘ It often has headings to show the reader
what information can be found in each
section of the report.
✘ Link ideas using appropriate, more
formal sounding, linking
words/phrases (e.g. in
✘ addition to that, finally, however, etc.).
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Structure
Introduction
✘ why you are writing the report
✘ you can also add how you collected the
information (e.g. from a survey).
Findings
✘ the positive and/or negative things you and
other people have noticed.
Conclusion
✘ include a brief summary and recommendations,
solutions or suggestions.
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Dos:
✘ Organize your report into 3-5
paragraphs depending on the
requirements of the question.
✘ Take care of spelling, punctuation, and
grammar.
✘ Use a combination of simple, compound,
and complex sentences, with more focus
on complex structures.
✘ Use a wide range of formal vocabulary,
including some advanced and less
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✘ Include a range of topic-related
vocabulary.
✘ Use a wide range of formal linking
words.
✘ Aim to complete towards the
maximum word limit
✘ Write legibly
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Don’ts
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Avoid contractions Avoid abbreviations Avoid using informal
(isn’t, aren’t, etc.). and slang (texting vocabulary, informal
language) such as, linking words (e.g.
OMG, BTW, gonna, “besides”, “anyway”,
etc. etc.) and idioms.
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Don’ts
Avoid directly addressing the reader (using “you”).
Avoid listing (firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc.). There is no
problem in writing “firstly” but avoid writing “secondly”
and “thirdly”.
Avoid repetition of vocabulary and beginning your
sentences with the same words. Sometimes, students
write 3 or more sentences in a row starting with “The”!
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