Why Report Writing is Important?
A report
is an important part of the genre of transactional writing - that is writing that is intended to convey factual information.
A report
can be …
- an account
of an investigation into a chosen topic
- an argument
to validate a point of view based on the collection of evidence to support this argument.
Learning
to write effective reports is an important skill to learn and refine as they pay a major part in many areas including science,
environment, technology, commerce, media and community involvement.
By using
a simple template you can greatly improve the quality of your report writing.
Getting
Started
Find what
the students know all ready about report writing, eg
- what is
a report?
- why are
reports written and who writes them?
- what does
the dictionary say about reports?
Develop
the idea that a report is the writing of facts, eg what information does a school report give? Why is it useful for both students
and parents?
Reports
are very important as they can often provide solutions for real problems, eg
the local
district council could employ some traffic experts to investigate and write a report about traffic problems in the local district
and suggestions for solving them.
Selecting
an Approriate ‘Real Life’ Topic
Choose topics
that are within the understanding and interest of your class level, eg
Yrs 8 and 9 students could widen their selection to include the local and wider community.
Have groups
brainstorm topics that would be suitable for report writing and report back, eg
litter problems
at school and within the community,
better use
of the playground and playground equipment,
wet weather
activities during playtime and lunchtime,
classroom
management,
Reasons
for introducing hobby clubs to the school programme
How could
we improve the physical appearance school grounds
Template
Title Page - This contains the title of the report, the
name of the authors and the date it was written
Contents - This lists the different part of the report and
the page numbers
Introduction -This tells why the report was written and
explains how the writers got their information.
Main Section - All the information that was gathered. This
should be set out in separate sections. Each section should deal with only one topic.
Conclusion - This section reminds people briefly about the
sections of the report. It gives the conclusions about what was investigated. It also lists any reccommendations on action
that should be taken.
Appendix - This lists any additional information and could
include names people who were interviewed and where their information came from.
Final Considerations
Remember
that presentation and good proofing is essential.
