Report Writing.

Your report should include the following

Write a report with a title, a date, and your signature.
When, where and what happened
Who was involved
Who according to the event was in the wrong.
You may add further details if you wish.
Report 1:
Report on the incident during School Theatre Outing
Last Friday on March 10
th
2006, I was with my class travelling on the school bus from
Abbottabad to Lahore. We were going to the theatre to see Macbeth by William Shakespeare,
which we are studying for pur exam. It was a very hot day and we had been travelling for more
than two hours when the driver stopped by the roadside where there were many stallholders
selling snacks and drinks. Mr Rizvi gave us permission to buy what we wanted and return to the
bus in five minutes.
Some girls shared their money with those who did not have any, but nobody shared with
Rukhsana. I saw her join a crowd of girls around one stall and take one of the bottles of cola and
run back to the bus. The stallholder saw that Rukhsana had taken it without paying and when the
other girls had bought their drinks, he ran to the bus to demand payment. By that time, Mr Rizvi
had told the bus driver to set off, and the stallholder banged on the window, claiming that one
girl had not paid him. Mr Rizvi asked us all if we had paid for our drinks and we all, including
Rukhsana, swore we had. Mr Rizvi then told the man that his accusation was false because all
the girls had paid. Our bus then left the stallholder behind shouting and looking very angry.
Rukhsana brought dishonour on her herself and the school for stealing, and she made her crime
even worse by lying to Mr Rizvi. Perhaps, I should have shared my money with her, but I only
had enough for one drink.
Mina Latif
15 March 2006
Assessment
1. The report is an excellent example of a short formal report.
2. It begins with a subject underlined about what the report is actually about. Now, as said
earlier(see my post on the format of report writing) even if the candidate begins without
writing a subject line, the examiner will not deduct marks. In CIExaminer is more
concerned with how the report is addressed to the recipient. What matters most is if
appropriate tone is used or whether the candidate uses an accurate register.
3. In the above example the first paragraph answers the questions of What, Where and
When the incident took place. Students often confuse the beginning of a report with
letter writing and begin with Respected Sir, Madam, (this is a big error. See the below
example as well). Secondly, they also state I was asked to write a report to you on the
incident that (this is another wrong way to begin/write a report). In a report you must
not directly address the person to whom you are writing.
4. In the next paragraph the student tells How the incident took place, Who was involved
and he also very carefully answers the rubric where he is asked about what did the
teacher do?
5. Reports are supposed to be unbiased. The candidate is expected to write details keeping
aside all his/her emotions. In this example you would see that the student gives her
opinion in the last paragraph which goes against the norms of report writing. However, a
close reading of the question will show that the last rubric demands an opinion from the
observer to write about what went wrong on that day.
6. Reports often end with a signature of the writer. Thus, the candidate complies with the
format and closes with his signature.
7. The I pronoun is strictly prohibited in report writing because it gives a
subjective/personal touch to what is being reported. This is advised when the reports are
to inform about certain topics like corruption, price hike, growth rate, education, inflation
etc. On the contrary, if some incident is witnessed by the candidate and he/she is asked to
report on it then, the candidate can use the I pronoun and in that case it would be
appropriate to use it sparingly and avoid adding any personal emotions (as illustrated
above in the example). In the above example it is seen that the student, in spite of using
the I pronoun, keeps her tone completely impersonal and only gives her opinion where
she is asked to.
8. Try to keep the information simple and precise. Do not plunge in describing unnecessary
details because remember this is not a descriptive essay. Do not get carried away in
providing extra/irrelevant information. In the above example the student provides all
required information in a terse manner.
9. Do not confuse the tenses. See that the incident took place in the past so it should be
written in a past tense.
10. The incident is sketched in an indirect way the stallholder said that, the bus driver asked
usinstead of adding any direct speeches.
11. Use simple vocabulary (the purpose here is to inform not to entertain) and use Standard
English expressed in simple and compound sentences.
12. Structure your information through linking your points coherently in paragraphs.
13. Do not exceed the word count.
14. Remember! A report is to inform or explain about certain matter(s). Its purpose is not to
entertain the reader.
Report 2
Report on the incident during School Outing
Respected Sir.
I was asked by the school headmaster to write a report to you about the incident that took place a
few days before during a school outing. We were going to visit a factory which was a long way
away and we had break on the way. It was very hot and the journey was very long so everyone
was very thirsty. There was a stall selling many lovely drinks and there was also a fridge full of
bottles of orange and Coke. Everyone crowded round fighting each other to get to the drinks first
of all.
Mr Ahmed shouted at us crossly. He told us all to make a line and stop making such a noise. We
obeyed him and waited abediantly. The stallholder was quiet an old man and he was cross. I
dont think he liked all us boys and he glared at us. Some of the boys were pushing and they
payed money one by one. At the end we were getting on the bus. The old man came and shouted
at Mr Ahmed and said,That boy there didnt pay me! He pointed at Irfan said I did pay you
well. The buys who had been next to Irfan in the line said he did pay Sir I saw him pay.
So Mr Ahmed said to the stallholder I think you are mistaken because my boys sware that this
boy payed you. There were a lot of boys. To make mistake is easy for you. The stallholder
looked very angry and said again Irfan had not pay. Mr Ahmed has told us all to get on the bus
and we did and went to the factory for outing.
Jamil Khan
15 March 2006


Writing a report
1
Write your introduction. Your intro is where you introduce your topic and state your thesis. Your intro
should be engaging but not corny--the goal should be to hook the reader so that they want to read the
rest of your report. You should provide some background information on your topic and then state your
thesis so that the reader knows what the report is going to be about.
Example Intro for Thesis 1: The Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) of 1915 was
intended to celebrate both the creation of the Panama Canal, and the technological
advancements achieved at the turn of the century. The three main halls of the PPIE were filled
with modern creations of the day and were an excellent representation of the innovative spirit
of the Progressive era.
[7]

2
Write your body paragraphs. The body paragraphs are where you state your evidence that supports
your thesis. Each body paragraph consists of a topic sentence and evidence supporting the topic
sentence. The topic sentence introduces the main idea of the body paragraph and links the paragraph
back to the thesis.
[8]

Example topic sentence for Thesis 1: At the PPIE, the Court of the Universe was the heart of the
exposition and represented the greatest achievements of man, as well as the meeting of the
East and the West.
For a report about a person, a topic sentence might be something like, John Doe had a rough
childhood that shaped who he became. Obviously you would put in more specific information
relevant to the person you are reporting about.
3
Support your topic sentence. After you write your topic sentence in the body paragraph, provide
evidence found in your research that supports your topic sentence. This evidence can be descriptions of
things mentioned in your topic sentence, quotes from experts on the subjects, or more information
about the topic listed.
For the topic sentence listed above about the Court of the Universe, the body paragraph should
go on to list the different exhibits found at the exhibit, as well as proving how the Court
represented the meeting of the East and West.
For a report about a person, you would provide evidence that proved John Doe had a hard
childhood and that his experiences led him to become the famous person he was.
4
Write your conclusion. This paragraph both summarizes your thesis again, and provides your final
thoughts on your topic. It should reiterate to the reader what the reader should be taking away from
your report.