Tag: report writing

Creating a Report Writing Plan

Getting young writers to plan their report writing is often quite a challenge. In fact, truth be told, the idea of creating a plan before you write is somewhat of a debate in the writing community. Some writers prefer to write first and organize later. However, this is not the best approach for young writers as it is time consuming. In an exam situation, there is limited time which must be used wisely.

The challenge with planning reports, however, is that many young writers plan only the details that go into the first paragraph, the introduction. As such, by the time they reach the second paragraph they’re already stuck. See below for a quick-plan checklist that will help young writers plan more details in their report. The trick with using this checklist is to write phrases next to each hint. Young writers should only write enough information to guide themselves and resist the urge to write out the whole report during the planning phase.

QUICK PLAN CHECKLIST

Who – List the participants in the situation by name

What – State what happened briefly

Where – Identify the location, both immediate and general (classroom and school, for example)

When – Give the date (Day, date, month, year)

Before – Explain what led up to the situation in point form (two or three points is enough)

During – Show main actions during situation in point form (two or three points is enough)

After – Say what happened immediately after in point form, how participants reacted (two or three points is enough

Outcome – State consequences, outcomes, or punishments (one or two is enough)

Get your young writer practicing with this checklist by using a variety of prompts from each type of report. Be sure to time each planning session. Your aim is to have your young writer complete an effective plan within 10 minutes. Don’t worry if in the beginning it takes long, just keep practicing with your young writer and they will become more familiar with the different types of reports, report plans, and organizing their thinking. If the plan takes less than 10 minutes, the rest of the time will be well spent writing.

#CreativeWritingforPrimary#ReportWritingSkills#BetterWriters

How to Write Report Conclusions

Writing report conclusions is sometimes a challenge for young writers. Many of them end their reports abruptly while others add details that are not necessary. Knowing how to end a report effectively depends on a few things.

First, young writers must understand the type of report they’re writing. Second, they must know what the purpose of the report is. And finally, they must be able to put themselves in the shoes of the reader to determine what the reader would need to know.

Accident: an unexpected action that results in damage to property or injury.

The purpose of this type of report is usually to document the various aspects of the accident to determine its cause and to identify what can be put in place to prevent it from recurring.

Conclusions of this type of report must include any systems put in place for similar accidents not to recur. Sometimes there may be punishment for carelessness, but these are likely to be less severe than incident punishments.


Incident: a deliberate deviant action that results in damage to property or injury.

The purpose of this type of report is usually to document the various aspects of the incident to determine who is responsible, and the level of their involvement.

Such reports must include punishments and consequences in the conclusion, including any systems put in place for similar incidents not to recur.

Competition: participative situations during which individuals compete for places and prizes.

The purpose of this type of report is often to document the activity from the perspective of the person writing the report, and to outline process (if everything went smoothly) and outcome (winners).

Conclusions for this type of report should include winners of the competition and prize giving activities.

Activity: participative situations during which students engage in learning, such as field trips or projects.

The purpose of this type of report is often to document observations of students to determine if they are receiving the correct information and if the activity is educational.

Conclusions for such reports should include what learning took place. Usually, that is stated as reported speech of the teacher or other students. Outcomes, such as whether the activity will be repeated, are also often included. 

Presentation: an event in which there is a speaker-audience type of situation.

Quite often there is some type of performance.

Sometimes young writers will be in the audience observing the event unfold, sometimes young writers will be one of the speakers participating in the presentation.

The purpose of this type of report is often to document the event from the perspective of the young writer, quite often being written to individuals who were not present for the event.

Conclusions for this type of event usually include closing ceremonies and how successful the event was. These ideas can be written as reported speech of presenters or other attendees.

 

Regarding the impact of the audience, the main thing to consider is what the audience needs to know. In many cases, reports are to individuals who would be determining the outcomes or at least evaluating the outcomes. As such, careful attention should be taken in writing conclusions.

Also, consider the timeframe between the situation and the report. Was there sufficient time for any consequences to be implemented? If not, young writers could indicate that teachers or other participants indicated punishments and consequences or other outcomes would be coming.

In the end, completing a report in a satisfactory way depends on a careful assessment of the prompt, so young writers should be vigilant. 

How to Sequence Your Reports

When writing reports, students are told to use chronological order or time order. All that means is that actions should be written in the order they happened. This sounds simple enough, and really shouldn’t be a challenge, especially when actions are carefully selected. However, some students run into problems because they’re not sure how to list the actions in a way that shows the order.

This is when transitions come in very handy. Transitions help the writing flow smoothly from one idea to the next. Sometimes with a single word, sometimes with a few words. There are many transition words and phrases, but the best ones for reports are the simple ones that show time order. Some of these are: before, after, then, to begin, at the onset, next, from this point, during, at that time, at the end, to finish, and while.

The key to using transition words effectively is keeping to the ones that are specific about time order and avoiding those that could introduce opinion. For example, words like ‘suddenly’ and ‘not long after’ are subjective ideas that show how the writer feels about the actions taken place. In the first instance, the writer believes the actions are unexpected. In the second instance, the writer is making a judgment about the length of time, stating that it’s long without giving a time frame.

These subtle opinions can change the tone of the report. A better way to report information regarding time is to give the exact time that has passed. So, a statement like ‘approximately two minutes after’ would work much better than either option above.

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How to Choose Facts in Reports

Deciding what facts to include in a report is sometimes quite a challenge for young writers. Even when they understand the difference between facts and opinions and know how to avoid opinions, there’s often so much information to choose from that they really have a hard time selecting what to write.

If that describes your young writer, then what they need to understand is the concept of relevance. A great definition for the word ‘relevant’ is = appropriate for the purpose. This means that in order to know whether something is relevant or not, writers must first be clear on the purpose.

So what’s the purpose of the report? In general, a report is designed to provide a specific audience with details to help them get a clear understanding of what happened in a particular situation.

But questions remain: Why do they need to know what happened? What are they going to do with the information? Ultimately, knowing the purpose helps writers decide if the detail is needed to help readers fulfill their purpose. So, does it matter that the person observing the situation is best friends with one of the people involved? Maybe not. Does it matter that one of the children stopped to tie their shoelaces before entering class? Probably not.

A good way to help young writers understand the connection between ideas and purpose is to ask them this question: How does know that detail help the audience? Guide young writers through activities which help them see the connection between details and purpose. You can discuss a report context, decide on audience and purpose, then list a series of statements and have young writers decide if they are relevant or not. To make the activity more fun, write out the sentences on slips of paper and have them stick them in the appropriate column. Then, have them create their own sentences to place in the correct column. Discuss the appropriateness of their selections and show them how to make the best choices. Do this a few times to ensure your young writer(s) have gained the skill of selecting only relevant details.

NOTE: In many cases, young writers will be creating their own details as reports are often about situations they haven’t experienced. That’s ok. Just explain to them the type of details needed so they could make up some great ones.

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How to Use Formal Language in Reports

Using formal language in writing is an essential part of learning to write well because it allows writers to take objective approaches to explaining ideas. This is helpful when trying to eliminate bias and reduce the influence of personal opinion. Unfortunately, most of us don’t regularly engage in formal language when we speak and interact with others. This is why report writing is often challenging for young writers. In addition to avoiding opinions, sticking to formal language means adhering to a few other guidelines. 

FORMAL LANGUAGE GUIDELINES

1. Avoid contractions and abbreviations.

This means that words like can’t and didn’t should not be used, as well as std. for standard. Mr., Mrs., and Dr. when identifying a person are acceptable. For example Dr. Henry Joseph and Mrs. Susan Telesford.

2. Avoid two-word verbs.

There are many verbs in English that are made up of two words. For example: give away, bump into, knock over, pick up, take back. These are considered informal language and should not be used. Instead, replace these verbs with single words that mean the same thing. Here are some examples, but note that the exact substitute will depend on the context.

Two-word VerbSingle-word Verbs
give awaydistribute
bump intocollide
knock overoverturn
pick upretrieve
give backreturn

3. Use more complex sentence structure.

One of the things with formal language is that it moves beyond the simple sentence to include more complex sentence formats. Consider the following three sentences:
– Kai kicked Yves on his leg.
– Then ran back into the classroom.
– Yves ran after Kai.

Consider the following sentence which combines all three:
– After Kai kicked Yves on his leg, Kai ran back into the classroom with Yves right behind him.

4. Use reported speech.

Speaking is often part of the interaction young writers must report on, and they should never leave out what participants in the situation say. However, reporting speech has a particular format.

– DIRECT: “Leave me alone,” Jordan said to Kyle.

– INDIRECT: Jordan told Kyle to leave him alone.

Notice the changes in the verbs and pronouns.

5. Consider using passive voice when trying not to give judgement or opinion.

This one is a little tricky because for reports it is often useful to identify who did an action. Passive voice avoids stating who did the action.

– Carlos pushed Michael, causing him to break his leg when he fell.
– Carlos pushed Michael, and when Michael fell, his leg broke.

The first sentence creates blame on Carlos and suggests that the writer believes it was Carlos’ fault Michael broke his leg. The second sentence only reports the facts as they happen, with no judgment. The passive voice helps make the second sentence opinion free.

Some of these strategies require students to understand additional concepts, so feel free to gather information from textbooks and online resources to help you get the message across.

#CreativeWritingforPrimary#ReportWriting#BetterWriters

3 Ways to Wow Readers in Reports

To many people, reports don’t feel like creative writing, and figuring out how to score well in reports is a challenge. If students understand a couple of basic things about reports, they will consistently perform better in their writing. #BetterWriting

Report writing takes many students outside their comfort zone because it asks for a formally structured response that excludes all that they’re most familiar with – expressions, casual language, and opinions.

Exceeding expectations in report writing relies heavily on using formal vocabulary and precise language that is void of opinions.

Students must detach themselves from the events and the outcomes and look at situations from an objective position. Even when describing their own role in an event or activity, information should be presented in a measured way.

#chronologicalorder

1. Connect actions using time order

Following time order is especially important so readers can get a sense of how things happened. Connecting ideas is also important, so transition words and phrases should be used to show which came first and which came next.

There are many great transition words and phrases, but the basic ones – next, before, after – work just as well too.

The main thing is that there’s enough information given so readers have their questions answered. It’s good practice to list a few questions that the target audience might want/need to know, then ensure these are answered.

#avoidopinions

2. Avoid opinions

Opinions have a way of sneaking into everything students say and write, even without them knowing. So, to say “avoid opinions” might seem obvious for a report, but it is easier said than done.

One way to ensure that students avoid opinion is to have them think of every detail in terms of their five senses. If they did not see it, hear it, taste it, smell it, or touch it, then they need to be careful.

So, it’ll be a statement of opinion to say that someone got angry. You don’t know that for sure. You see behaviour and interpret it as anger, but you don’t see the anger.

What you see is someone walking away, stomping their feet with a lot of energy. Or maybe someone’s brow getting forrowed and their eyes looking red.

When writing about the actions as they are observed, students should carefully avoid subjective descriptions. Adjectives and adverbs introduce opinions, so avoid that as much as possible.

Also, students should report the words other people say, but not explain what they think the person means.

#telldontshow

3. Tell, don’t show

Report writing asks students to tell what happened, and not to show what happened. This is the exact opposite of what they would be practicing in narrative writing.

For reports, students should carefully avoid descriptive language that introduces how they interpret situations. So, using adjectives and adverbs is frowned upon.

Students don’t have to worry about how participants do their actions. They just need to focus on what was said and what was done.

When relaying information about what was said, reported speech is important. No direct speech or dialogue should be used.

Tell readers what was said, nothing more.

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Expository Report Writing

Report writing is different from narrative writing in some ways, but similar in others. Some of the same things which are required in narrative writing are also required in report writing.

For example, a student still has to ensure that they understand the prompt and what is being asked of them. A student also should still aim to exceed expectations in their writing in order to score 18-20 in report writing. And, students also must demonstrate an excellent command of the English language, so grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, and organization should be well managed. But that’s where the similarities end between narrative writing and report writing.

Here are three aspects of report writing that must be executed to a higher than average standard for a student to score 18-20 at SEA.

1. Use of formal language.

a. Avoid casual language which includes slang and common expressions.
b. Avoid contractions and phrasal verbs.
c. Use formal structure and vocabulary.

2. Stick to the relevant facts.

a. Select facts that relate directly to the situation.
b. Avoid opinions and commenting on feelings.
c. Avoid subjective descriptions

3. Pay attention to sequencing.

a. Use appropriate transitions to connect ideas.
b. Use chronological order when relaying actions.
c. Avoid repetition or jumping too far ahead.

Overall, once students understand that a report is a concise written account of a situation submitted to a specific audience with a specific purpose in mind, they will approach it with the right attitude. And they will do well.

#ReportWriting