report writing notes

Sembawang Secondary School

Secondary 4E5N English Language

Situational Writing: Report Writing

Ms Stella_2015 1

NAME: ( )

TYPES OF REPORTS

1. Newspaper reports 2. Eye witness reports

a. Report on a bullying incident b. Report on a traffic accident

3. Reports of findings a. Report on the bad conditions of the school canteen

4. Reports of recommendations a. Which student to take up the post of Head Prefect?

5. Proposal reports a. Where should the Outdoor Club have its year end expedition?

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD REPORT

Accurate and specific

Your credibility suffers when there are inaccuracies in your report. It raises questions about

how many other errors are there in your report. Being accurate also means being specific.

Vague references do not give readers much information. For instance:

VAGUE SPECIFIC

The patient had a high fever.

The young man attacked a teenager.

The mobile phone was damaged.

Factual

What is the difference between fact, inference and opinion?

A fact is something real that is provable, observable, and measurable. An inference is a

conclusion based on reasoning. An inference can either be accurate or inaccurate. It becomes

sound or believable if supported by facts. An opinion is a personal belief or judgement that is

not founded on proof or certainty. For instance:

Identify the fact, inference and opinion in this extract:

We suspected that he was driving under the influence of alcohol because

we could smell alcohol on his breath and because his speech was slurred.

Blood tests confirmed he had a blood alcohol level that was twice the

legal limit. The driver is, hence, an alcoholic and he should refrain from

drinking as it may harm the innocent people around him.




Ms Stella_2015 2

Objective

Objective reports are fair and impartial, not influenced by emotion or opinion. One key to

being objective is to avoid words whose connotations change the tone of the report.

SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE

The woman was brutally pushed by the

teenager.

The hooligan attacked the disgustingly

filthy old hag.

Activity: Identify whether each of the sentences below is written from an objective or

subjective stance. Then, try to rewrite the sentence from the opposite stance (if the

sentence was subjective, try to make it objective, and vice versa.)

1. Nikes trademark logo is Just do it. O / S

Rewritten:

2. Shakespeares plays are irrelevant these days as they are difficult to understand. O / S

Rewritten:

3. The habitual use of drugs creates physical addiction. O / S

Rewritten:

Objective reports also do not favour one side or another, even if you are writing a report for a

murder case! Report objectively and factually. The higher authority (discipline master, police

etc.) will have the capability to come to their own conclusion, so you do not have to decide

for them.

Additionally, objective reports should not be overly dramatic. Unlike a narrative, the use of

emotive language and literary devices (such as metaphors, hyperbole, and irony) are not

encouraged.

FLOWERY LANGUAGE HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED? It was a clear and beautiful morning. The

sunlight filtered into the classroom through

the windows, giving everything a golden

glow. The English teacher was conducting

a most entertaining lesson on report

writing when suddenly a loud shout

punctured the silence of the lesson.




Ms Stella_2015 3

Complete and clear

A well-written report is complete. It does not leave unanswered questions. You should add

necessary details to give the clearest possible unbiased picture to the reader.

It covers the who, where, when, why and how.*

It covers what happened before, during and after.

Remember the old adage: If it isnt documented, it didnt happen.

A clear report is one that can be easily understood and that contains no ambiguities. If

different people can read the same report and come up with different interpretations, the

report is not clear.

Provide specific details. The more details you provide, the clearer the incident will be to

readers. For instance:

OPEN TO INTERPRETATION HOW CAN IT BE CLEAR?

The balcony collapsed because it was

overcrowded.

Problem with overcrowded?

The wooden balcony collapsed because it

was overloaded. Structural engineers

confirmed that it was designed to hold a

maximum of eight people. Several

witnesses said there were at least fifteen

people on the balcony when it collapsed.

I treated the patient while waiting for the

ambulance to arrive.

Problem with treated?

Well-organised

Poorly organised reports can leave readers feeling lost and confused, so its important that reports be well-organised.

The best way to organise information will depend somewhat on the type of report and

complexity of the situation. A simple incident report might work best if organised in

chronological order. An investigation report, on the other hand, might flow better if

organised by type of violation/offence.

When in doubt, follow the bulleted points provided in the question!

Organise your answer such that each point is covered by one paragraph.

*(Refer to Annex A for details)




Ms Stella_2015 4

Grammatically correct and effective

Errors in grammar and punctuation can affect both the clarity and accuracy of your report.

Apart from making sure your grammar is accurate, here are some common language features

of report writing:

1. Generally, events should be recounted using the past tense

2. Transitions and conjunctions

Strong and frequent transitions are required to support the logical and smooth development

of your facts.

(Chronological order) (Comparison /contrast)

In the beginning Later Finally On one hand On the other hand

3. Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases to make your report more concise

It may seem contradictory to say that a report should be both complete and concise.

However, being concise does not mean leaving out important details. Rather, it means

using words economically and omitting words that do not add value. Your report should be

free of the excessive wordiness that interferes with readability.

Activity: For example, how should you revise the following phrases?

Modern students of today Join together

Refer back Red in colour

Plan ahead Basic essentials

Attached together Small in size

4. Use the active voice as much as possible.*

There are two voices in the English language: active and passive. The active voice

emphasizes the one doing the action, while the passive voice emphasizes the person or

thing being acted upon.

The active voice is generally clearer, more powerful, more interesting and more concise

than the passive voice.

Use the active voice when the actors identity is more important than the action. Active: The butler did it.

Passive: It was done by the butler

Use the active voice when you want to be direct and emphatic.

Active: Management expects the staff to follow the rules.

Passive: It is expected by the Management that the rules will be

followed by the staff.

Passive: CPR was being performed by the patients wife prior to our arrival.

Active: ...

*(Refer to Annex B for more details and practices)

The first sentence

is stronger and

firmer.

The active voice

delivers the

message more

effectively.




Ms Stella_2015 5

HOW SHOULD YOU CONCLUDE?

EXHIBIT B HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED?

I would love for you to investigate the matter and

bring those responsible to justice. Violence of any

nature should not be tolerated in school and I am

sure that you are more than capable of handling

this case. I am ready and willing to offer my fullest

cooperation to assist you in any way.

FORMAT

To: Sergeant Lim of Bukit Timah Police Post

From: Stella Tan Wei Si of Class 4TE3

05 April 2015

Report on explosion at laboratory on 23 March 2015

The following is an account describing events which I witnessed on --------------

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Report written by:

Stella Tan Wei Si




Ms Stella_2015 6

ANNEX A The emphasis placed on each of these questions will vary based on the type of incident but these

ideas can stimulate your thinking

Who?

Who was directly involved? (Who was injured? Who experienced the release?) Who discovered the incident? Who reported the incident? Who witnessed the incident? Who saw or heard something important? Whom did you talk to while on scene or while investigating the incident? Who responded to the incident? Who took what actions? Who is the responsible party? Who was notified of the incident? (Did you call parents, an insurance company, or other agencies?) Who collected, marked, and received evidence?

What?

What happened? (Include type of incident and enough details to paint a picture of the incident.) What property was involved and to what extent? What was the patients chief complaint? What actions did you take? What were the results of your actions? What automatic systems were involved (alarm systems, sprinkler systems, air bags, etc.)? What was said? What evidence was found, photographed, and/or collected? What unusual circumstances did you encounter en route, on scene, or after leaving? What equipment was used? What equipment was damaged or contaminated? What equipment must be repaired or replaced? What follow-up is required?

Where?

Where did the incident occur? Where was evidence found? Where do responsible parties and other key people live/work? Where did you make entry into the building?

When?

When did the incident happen? When was the incident discovered and reported? (Delays between when the incident occurred and when it was discovered and reported can be significant.)

When did emergency responders arrive on scene? When did other agencies arrive? When was the incident brought under control? When will follow-up activities take place?

Why?

Why did the incident occur? Was it accidental or intentional? What factors contributed to the incident? Why did you take the actions you did?

How?

How did the incident occur? How was the incident discovered? How is this incident related to other incidents (if applicable)? How was evidence or samples collected? How was information obtained?




Ms Stella_2015 7

ANNEX B / ACTIVE & PASSIVE VOICE

For recap purposes, lets define again what active/passive voice is:

Active: The subject does the action.

Example: Kang Shen played the piano.

Passive: The subject receives the action.

Example: The piano was played by Kang Shen.

When to use active and when to use passive voice?

ACTIVE PASSIVE

To focus readers attention on the actor, not what is being acted upon.

To focus attention on the process or materials,

rather than on the actor, as in scientific or

technical writing.

Active: Captain Ahab pursues the whale relentlessly.

Passive: The whale is pursued relentlessly by

Captain Ahab.

Next, salicylic acid was added to the test tube.

In the above example, the active voice would be preferred if the writer wanted to focus readers attention on Captain Ahab. The passive voice would be preferred if the writer wanted to focus readers attention on the whale, or on the fact that it is pursued relentlessly.

When it is important that readers know exactly

who did (or said) what to whom.

To focus attention on the object, rather than the

actor.

Active: When U.S. troops invaded Iraq, they

inadvertently killed many civilians.

Passive: When Iraq was invaded, many civilians

were killed inadvertently.

Paper, the main writing material today, was invented

by the Chinese.

In the above example, the active voice would be

appropriate if the writer wanted to name or

emphasize the actors (U.S troops), not only their

actions.

The passive voice would be appropriate if the writer

did not think it was important for readers to know

who did the actions in the sentence.

This is appropriate when the focus is on the history of

paper, not on Chinese innovations.

Choosing passive voice allows the writer to use

paper as the subject of the sentence.

If we dont know who has done what we are talking about.

Our car was stolen last night.




Ms Stella_2015 8

More reasons for why, in most cases, its better rhetoric to use active voice:

1. Active voice sentences are often more concise than passive voice. Expressing the same idea in passive voice frequently takes 30% to 40% more words! For example:

Active: The fighter punched Ali and dodged the uppercut. [8 words]

Passive: Ali was punched by the fighter, and then an uppercut was dodged by him. [14 words]

2. The heart of your sentence beats within its strong verbs, concrete nouns, and vivid description. Prepositions and articles are dead weight. It you understand that, it follows that

your writing will be more direct and powerful if fewer prepositions and articles clog the

sentence structure. Using active voice consistently is one way to ensure that doesnt happen.

A woman was mugged last night in Las Vegas.

My diary has been stolen!

An assailant mugged a woman last night in Las Vegas.

A thief stole my diary!

Which sentences come across stronger and more direct to you?

3. Linguistic studies show that native English speakers are better able to remember material they read in active voice than the same material in passive voice. If you want your readers to

remember what you wrote, use active voice.

PRACTICE

Directions: Rewrite the passive voice sentences as active voice sentences.

Passive: The dog was hit by the car.

Active: _________________________________________________________________________

Passive: The house will be built by the construction crew in five months.

Active: _________________________________________________________________________

Directions: Rewrite the active voice sentences as passive voice sentences.

Active: Julie answered the question.

Passive: ________________________________________________________________________

Active: The dolphins have learned many tricks.

Passive: ________________________________________________________________________




Ms Stella_2015 9

Rewrite the following passage in the passive voice.

Someone broke into a local jewellery shop yesterday. The owner had just

locked up the shop when a robber with a gun threatened him. The robber told

him to unlock the shop and give him all the diamonds in the safe. Then the

robber tied him up. The police have organized a search for the robber. They

hope they will find him in a few days. Doctors are treating the owner of the

shop for shock.

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