Learning Object: Report and Essay Writing

Aims and Objectives | Learning Content | Resources | Activities and Exercises

Aims and Objectives

The aims of this learning object is to identify the possible steps in the writing process and to familiarise
you with the content, structure and format of a report and essay.

'A report is a clearly structured, user-friendly document that describes what has happened or what should
happen in a given situation, based on sound research by the report's author/s.'
(Grellier and Goerke, 2006)

The objectives of this learning object are for you to be able to:

 Understand the writing processes for delivery of information at a University.

 Understand the basic requirements of a report format.
 Understanding the basic requirements of an essay.
 How to structure an argument within an essay.

Citing and referencing in a report or essay.

Learning Content

Table of Contents

 Writing
 Styles of Writing
 The Writing Process
 Report Writing
 Essay Writing
 References
 Summary of Key Points
Writing
It is now time to learn how to write your own report. The most important factors are:

 to make sure your intention is clear,

 that you use an appropriate report structure and
 that the meanings a reader takes from your report match your intentions.

Writing is a communication skill. It is a skill that empowers each of us to communicate with a wider
audience, to make sense of unit material, and make constructive input into our community.

We can write informally for pleasure, to communicate personal ideas and information, to bare our inner
thoughts and personality. We can write formally, which is generally personality neutral, for
communicating statements of facts and interpretations or discussions, to communicate information and
knowledge.

There are legal issues such as recognizing and abiding by Copyright Laws, referencing all source
material, observing privacy obligations for data collected and not plagiarizing. When you write a report at
Swinburne University you will be expected to use a standard referencing style called Harvard System for
Referencing.

Styles of Writing
There are many different forms of writing; including descriptive and comparative forms, and summary
and analysis. It is important to read the requirements of your writing carefully and understand what your
audience is looking for. It is important to understand the structure needed for your writing. By structure,
we mean the way a piece of writing is organised and, more importantly, what work it is doing, that is, the
function of the writing. We are particularly interested in how the structure constructs the relationships
between different ideas.

Here are some examples of how writing structures can be organised.

 Chronology writing - What happened in order of the dates of events?

 Descriptive writing - What is something-or someone-like? What are its characteristics or what are
the different parts that make it up?
 Cause-effect writing - Why did something happen? What were the consequences?
 Compare/contrast writing - How are two things different from and like each other?

Here are some examples of how writing structures can show what the actual function of the writing is.

 Summary writing - What does the writer say? What is this idea about? What is important about
what the writer says?
 Analysis writing - Going deeper: what is this all about?

Strictly, 'analysis' means breaking things down into their constituent parts, and this idea comes from
science. This thought can be helpful in understanding what you need to do in any analytical writing. It
means that you can't just make 'big' statements, as you might do in daily life. For example, in film studies,
students are not required to say whether a film is 'good', which is simply a value judgment, but to work
out how it is put together to make its impact. Being analytical involves thinking through what you are
doing in your writing and the information and ideas you are presenting in a particular, sharp, questioning
way.
The Writing Process
Grellier and Goerke (2006) have a five step process for good writing. The steps are planning -> drafting -
> editing -> proofing -> making a final copy. These steps are expanded on in the following material.

Planning

 What is the purpose and requirements of the report.

 What are the materials needed for the content of the report and how will you find them.
 Research and find the material for the content of the report.
 What is the structure and format of the report.

Drafting

 Write the first draft of the report with the appropriate structure and format.
o The structure of the report could be: Title page, Executive Summary, Table of contents,
Introduction, Body, Conclusion, Reference List and Appendices.
o The format of the report considers the page numbering, font style and size, line spacing,
content headings and numbering, headers and footers, and consistency.

Editing

 You edit your draft in regards to its content, not for grammatical errors. The content of your report
will come from your existing knowledge, your research and your creativity, guided by your
understanding of the requirements of the report. As you collect and note more and more and more
information, data, ideas and opinions relating to the purpose of the report (the what? question),
you should try to take a broader view and see how the material is related and connected.
 Is the content organised in a clear, logical and coherent 'stream' appropriate for your report?
 Check that your report:
o Include knowledge: data, ideas and information
o Has established common threads
o Has no assumptions
o Clearly states its purpose
o Meets all the requirements

Proofing

 Remember to leave time in your Report preparation schedule to have your report read through
thoroughly and preferably independently. The proofreader should examine the document, not for
content but for grammar, punctuation and spelling, plus ‘readability’. Often we are so tied up in
the document we read over mistakes and assume meanings not conveyed in the text. If you cannot
get somebody else to read through your document, distance yourself from it by setting the
completed copy aside for a day or two and then re-reading it yourself. Putting it down for a while
and reading it a day or two later, you will be surprised what you missed, and you still have time to
make amendments.

Make a final copy

 Review the complete report, save a copy of the final version, and publish and submit the report.
Report Writing
Like all good literature, every report should have a beginning, a middle and an end. Also, every section of
a report should have a beginning, a middle and an end. The purpose of a beginning is to indicate what is
coming, and to invite or entice the reader to make the effort to continue. The purpose of a middle is to
present the important material associated with this section of the report.

The purpose of an end is to conclude or review the section and if appropriate, provide a lead or
connection into the next section of the report. The end of the report does not include appendices,
bibliographies, reference lists and indexes. If included these are all placed after the end of the report. If
you decide to have reference list and a bibliography in a report, put the reference list before the
bibliography.

Reports should include:

 Title Page
 Executive Summary/Abstract
 Table of Contents
 Introduction
 The Body - Discussion and Analysis Sections
 Conclusion and/or Recommendations
 References and/or Bibliography
 Appendices

A report requires a

 Title page

This is the front page of the report and so it should provide the reader with basic information about the
report, its author and its audience. It should be on a separate page. It should show a title for the report, for
whom it is written, and by whom. It should also include the unit code and unit name.

 Executive Summary/Abstract

An abstract is a brief 100-200 word summary of the completed work. Sometimes this is known as the
Executive Summary. This section of the report is always the last part to be written and should briefly state
the INTENT and the CONTEXT of the report and include a summary of the findings and discussion taken
from the CONTENT.

 Table of Content

The content page is a sectional breakdown of the report and contains such things as section headings page
numbers etc. You can create this manually or use the automatic features of your word processor
(recommended). This section is also one of the last inclusions of the report.

 Introduction

The first part of the report is the introduction where we introduce the topic of discussion of the report. It is
here that you state clearly the Intent and Context of the report. It is here where you indicate the overall
Structure of the report to assist your reader to follow your thoughts.
  The Body - Discussion and Analysis Sections

After the introduction you will most likely have several sections, which deal with the Content and
Meanings. This is where you synthesise the data and information you have gleaned into a coherent
discussion and analysis. You would also state any methodology used , for example, Literature Survey - in
the case of this report. It is in these Sections that you document meanings and definitions, the literature
relevant to the issues and any relevant contextual materials that assist your reader in absorbing your
information communication.

 Conclusion and/or Recommendations

Finally, you will draw your work to a conclusion that may also include your recommendations. You must
keep your research intention and context in mind when developing your conclusion. Note any problems
encountered and possibilities for future study or research.

These final sections of your report are very important and will contain the data that you have used when
compiling (synthesising) your discussion.

 References and/or Bibliography

The reference list consists of any literature etc. that you have quoted from or in part
synthesised/paraphrased in your report.

E.g. Smith suggests (Calway, 1999) that …

This reference would require an entry in the Reference Section of your report. If you are writing a report
at Swinburne you should use the Harvard System for referencing all material that is not your original
work.

Whereas the Bibliography lists materials the author thinks are of value to the reader of the report for
background reading and support of the discussion.

 Appendices

Appendices are the collection of extra materials, such as data tables that are too large for inclusion in the
main discussion, that are required to be viewed when reading the report (e.g. A copy of the report you
will be analysing should be included as an Appendix of the Assignment)

Remember to use Headers and Footers to include your name and id on each page, along
with the page number for use with the Table Of Contents (TOC).

Grelllier and Goerke (2006) provide the following table of report writing guidelines for first-year
university students. (Figure 8.9, pp. 130 - 132)
 Report
Purpose Component Instructions
Component

Unit cover page

This page will be provided for you. The contents will be
or assignment To identify your details
1 determined by your faculty. It may include such details as
submission and assignment and
your student ID, the assignment due date, tutor's name and a
sheet unit information
marking guide.

Include:

 title of this report (with explanatory subtitle if needed)

To identify the report
Report title  audience (if required)
2 subject clearly (This
page  date of submission
page must 'look good'.)
 name and position of the author
 name of the place where the report was written.

To summarise the  Be brief.

whole report (It is
aimed at those who
Abstract or
have little time to read
3 executive
the whole report, or
summary
who need to be
convinced to read the
whole report.)
 Position it before the contents page.
 Write one or two paragraphs.
 Summarise the purpose, main discussion and findings
of the report.
 If recommendations are required, also summarise
them.

 Format it using decimal notation.

To show report outline
4 Contents page To indicate where topics
are addressed in the
document
 Left align the headings and subheadings and right
align the corresponding page numbers.
 Make the hierarchy of headings evident in format, font
and decimal notation level.
 Make each heading and subheading informative and
relevant to the subject.

 Give every graphic a title.

To provide details of  Add correct in-text referencing.
5 List of figures any graphics used in  List each graphic in correct sequence, adding the page
the report number where it is placed in the report.

 Give details about the report's objective/s.

To introduce the reader
6 Introduction to the report's subject
and objective
 Name the audience for whom this report has been
written (if required).
 Outline the problem to be addressed or the question/s
to be answered (including the reasons why the report
exists)
 Give information about the research methods used to
research the report data.
 Explain the scope and limitations of the report.
 Give historical background relevant to the subject of
this report.*
 Give a brief review of any recent research that is
specifically relevant to the aims of this report.*
 Outline the structure of the whole report.

*If preferred, you may include this information in the first

section of the report body.
  Name, discuss and analyse only data relevant to the
report objective.
To name, discuss and  Structure each topic in a logical way using decimal
analyse information and notation.
data relevant to  Include examples and illustrations from credible,
report's purpose
7 Body relevant sources.
 Include graphics.
To illustrate any
theories and ideas with  Make sure the headings and subheadings match those
examples in the contents page.
 Maintain decimal notation throughout.

To state the main

findings based on
research and discussion  Include a concluding statement for each of the issues
in the body
8 Conclusion analysed in the main section of the body.

To give a brief
summary of the
discussion
 Start with a brief, persuasive statement.
To suggest actions that  Follow this with recommendations clearly listed in
your audience can take numbered or bullet points.
to address the issues  Make at least one recommendation that relates to
Recommendatio you have raised in the
9 each main section of the body.
ns report
 Ensure the recommendations flow from the
To give opinions and conclusions.
advice  Give clear, direct advice to the report's audience.

To acknowledge all the

 Carefully follow the required referencing style guide.
sources cited (either
10 Reference List  Format it correctly.
quoted or paraphrased)
in the report
To include sources
relevant to the report
Bibliography  Carefully follow the required referencing style guide.
11 (e.g. background
[Optional]
reading) but not used in
report

 Use material that will help the audience understand

the report's subject more fully.
To provide  Label each appendix with letters not numbers (e.g.
Appendices
12 supplemental Appendix A).
[Optional]
information  In the relevant places in the report body, direct the
reader to read the appendix material.

 Define words or terms that are essential to an

To define any jargon or understanding of the report.
Glossary
13 complex terms that are  Include only those that the reader may not
[Optional]
essential to this report understand.
Essay Writing
1. Different types of writing at university

In your studies at Swinburne, you will be asked to produce a range of different assignment
types. The main types (or genres) include: essays, reports (as covered above), book/article
reviews, literature reviews.
The following table sets out some of the differences between these genres:

In this tutorial we will focus on the essay, which is the genre you need to write for the first
assignment in INF10014 Information Methods.

2. Essay questions
 As we saw in the table above, an essay is usually based on a question. The first thing to be
said about essay questions is that they do not usually have any simple and straightforward
answer to them. In this way, they are not like the types of questions you will see on an
exam eg. in multiple choice or short answer questions.
For example, the following factual question might appear as a question on an exam.
What is social networking? (Sample short answer question)
To answer this question, you would just need to outline the basic features of social
networking, drawing on the type of information you would find in a textbook, or which is
presented in the lectures.
Essay questions, in contrast, have no simple answer, like the following question on a
related topic.
Has social networking improved the quality of relationships in society? (Sample essay
question)
To answer this question you need to exercise your own judgment, and provide what YOU
think is the best answer to the question. The answer you present in an essay is what we call
YOUR ARGUMENT.

Question: Have a look at the essay questions for Assignment 1 in INF10014. Which one are you
interested in doing? What judgment do you need to make about this topic?

3. What does an ARGUMENT look like?

In an essay it is important to present a clear ARGUMENT. Lets think about possible

answers to the social networking essay question above. The following are two possible
responses:

NO! Social networking has had a terrible effect on the quality of relationships

YES! Social networking has had a fantastically good effect on the quality of relationships

These ARGUMENTS represent more extreme positions, and while it is possible to argue
either position, there would be a good deal of pressure placed on you to justify and support
such a b claim.

The more conventional way to go is to consider both sides of the issue. This however, does
not mean you should go straight for the middle, intermediate position; that is to argue
something along the following lines.

Social networking has had both positive and negative effects on the quality of relationships

This example is a bit of YES/NO option, and while it is possible to argue it, your lecturer
may criticise you for going for the easy, ‘sitting on the fence’ option.

The better academic arguments are ones that consider both sides of an issue, but ultimately
make some commitment either way. Such arguments are often structured around
connective words like while, although, however, such as the following:

WHILE social networking has had a number of positive effects on the quality of
relationships in society, these are outweighed by the problemsthat this new technology has
brought.

ALTHOUGH there are certainly some problems associated with social networking, on
 balance this technology has done much to improve the way that people relate to each
other.

These are just two of the arguments you could run. There may be other ways you could
take the topic. In the first example below, the ARGUMENT is focused on different
‘phases’ of social networking; in the second example, the focus is ion different ‘uses’.

In its early phases social networking clearly had a positive effect on social relationships.
HOWEVER, in its more recent developments, particularly with its increased
commercialisation, it is difficult to see any positive influence.

Some specialised uses of social networking have been most beneficial to people.
HOWEVER the more common uses seem to have led to a deterioration in the quality of
relationships.

Question: For the essay questions you have chosen, what would be some possible arguments/
answers to the question?

4. How do I develop an ARGUMENT?

We do not want to suggest from the explanation above, that you just look at the question
and then decide what your position will be. This would be violating a major principle of
essay writing – which is that it is always based on wide and critical reading (see Table 1
above). It is through your reading on the topic that your argument will develop and begin
to take shape. That is to say, in the case of the social networking question, you will look at
research that has been done on this topic, and also read the ideas and views of some
leading scholars in the field. It is your engagement with this material that will help you to
develop the ARGUMENT you wish to present.

Some students however, find it useful to begin their research by adopting a

PROVISIONAL position on the issue. This is the position that you intuitively have when
you read the question. So for the social networking question, you may begin by taking for
example, a generally pessimistic view of the effects of this phenomenon. This is in effect
your hypothesis: that social networking has generally had a harmful effect on social
relationships. Equally, though you could adopt the more ‘positive’ position.

It will be in the process of reading and thinking about material that you will decide what
your final position will be. It is important when you come to writing and structuring your
work that you have made some commitment to the ARGUMENT you wish to present.
Question: For the essay question you have chosen, what would be a provisional
argument?

5. How do I STRUCTURE an essay?

The conventional structure of an essay is usually given as:

Introduction
Body
Conclusion
List of references

On its own, this doesn’t tell us very much. We know we have to begin an essay with an
 introduction and finish with a conclusion (and also provide a list of the references we have
used). The challenging part is developing a structure for the main part of the essay – the
body.

It is important that whatever STRUCTURE you develop for your body, it is one that is
going to allow your ARGUMENT to come through.
Imagine for example that you wish to present the following argument in your essay, which
is one focused on the negative aspects of social networking:

WHILE social networking has had a number of positive effects on the quality of
relationships in society, these are outweighed by the problems that this new technology
has brought.

A possible structure for this work would be as follows:

Introduction
Background to social networking
Positive effects on social relations
Positive effect #1
Positive effect #2
Negative effects on social relations
Negative effect #1
Negative effect #2
Negative effect #3
Negative effect #4
Conclusion

List of references

This essay structure would clearly be appropriate for the negative argument to be adopted. We can see in
such a plan there is a clear outweighing of negatives over the positives. If you were to adopt the view that
social networking has mainly led to improvements, then the ‘balance’ in the plan would need to be tipped
the other way.

Among other things, a clear essay plan can keep you on track with the number of words you need to
write. In the case of the INF10014 essay, you need to write 2,000 words (+/-10%). It is a good idea in
developing your plan to allocate an approximate number of words to each of the sections you intend to
include. Thus, for the plan above the following allocations may be appropriate:

Introduction 100 words

Background to social networking 200
Positive effects on social relations 400-500
Positive effect #1
Positive effect #2
Negative effects on social relations 900-1000
Negative effect #1
Negative effect #2
Negative effect #3
Negative effect #4
Conclusion 100
References*
*Not included in word count (above word count to used as a guide only)
Question: What is a possible structure for the essay you intend to write? How many words
(approximately) might you devote to each section?

6. How do I REFERENCE material in my essay?

As mentioned above, your essay needs to be based on wide reading of sources, and your
argument needs to be supported by relevant research, and evidence from these sources. To
do this you need to properly reference these materials in your work. This is done through
the practice of citation.
At Swinburne, we use the Harvard (or Author-date system). This requires that you include
details about the author and date (and optionally the page no) in the text of your essay, and
then provide full information about the publication in a separate list of references at the
end.

The following are two examples of citations that could be found in the ‘social networking’
essay:

Nowadays as many as 43% of America teens report experiencing some form of cyber
bullying (Patchin, 2008).

Nie (2005) explains that time spent on the internet actually ‘displaces’ time spent
socialising, particularly with family.

You will notice that these citations take slightly different forms. In the first one, the
citation (author –date) appears at the end of the sentence. In the second example the author
is present at the beginning of the sentence.

Thus the two citations have the following forms:

Type 1 Information …….. (author, date).

Type 2 Author (date) …. information.

Both of these are acceptable forms, and you are encouraged to use both in your essays.
Type 1 citations (information-prominent) are used when the focus is more on the actual
information itself. Type 2 citations (author-prominent) are used when the focus is more on
the ideas, opinions etc of a particular writer.
At the end of your essay you need to present all the publication details of these texts in a
separate list of references. Thus, for the citations above the entries would be as follows:

References

Nie, N 2005, ‘Researchers link use of Internet, social isolation’, Stanford Report, 23
February 2005, viewed 10 March 2011
<http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/february23/internet-022305.html>

Patchin, J. W. 2008. Cyberbullying: An Exploratory Analysis of Factors Related to

Offending and Victimization. Deviant Behavior, 29(2), 129–156.

For full details about referencing your essay, you should consult the Harvard Style Guide
provided by Swinburne:
http://www.swinburne.edu.au/lib/researchhelp/harvard_quick_guide.pdf
References

Grelllier, J & Goerke, V 2006, Communication Skills Toolkit: Unlocking the Secrets of
Tertiary Success, Thomson, Australia

Summer, J & Smith, B 2006, Communication Skills Handbook, 2nd Eed., Wiley, China

Waters, K 2000, Researching, Writing and Presenting Reports, Eastern House, Melbourne
Australia,

Windschuttle, K & Elliot, E 2001, Writing, Researching, Communicating, 3rd Ed,

McGraw-Hill, Roseville Australia,

Summary of Key Points

The main types (or ‘genres’) covered in this reources included: essays, reports,
book/article reviews, literature reviews.
Also covered was Grellier and Goerke (2006) five step process for good writing.
The steps are planning -> drafting -> editing -> proofing -> making a final copy.

-Reports structure overview should include:

-Title Page
-Executive Summary/Abstract
-Table of Contents
-Introduction
-The Body - Discussion and Analysis Sections
-Conclusion and/or Recommendations
-References and/or Bibliography
-Appendices

Understanding how to write and structure and argumentative essay: The essay is a
commonly assigned form of writing that every student will encounter while in
academia. Therefore, it is wise for the student to become capable and comfortable
with this type of writing early on.
Resources

Key Resources and Readings

Reading 1 - Faigley, L 2011, 'Composing', in The Lilttle Penguin Handbook, Australasian Edition, Pearson
Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW, pp 1-22 [Vargas, N 2012, Information Methods, Pearson Australia,
Australia, pp 1]

Reading 4 - McCulloch, R & Reid, A 2012, 'Other forms of business writing', in Your Business Degree,
Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW, pp 93-108 [Vargas, N 2012, Information Methods, Pearson
Australia, Australia]

Chapter 3 of Summers, J & Smith, B 2010, Communication Skills Handbook, 3rd Edition, Wiley, China
[optional]

Rao, V, Chanock, K, & Krishnan, L 2007, A Visual Guide to Essay Writing: how to develop and
communicate argument

Link to an essay writing site at Monash Uni

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/general/essay/index.xml

Youtube video: Massey University, NZ. This video discusses the basic elements of the report structure in a
clear and concise format. (30mins) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFGNKJruxdg

Other Video Resources: essay writing tips and assistance)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liyFKUFCQno&feature=related
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAmgEa1B1vI&feature=related
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3fCIuX7BMc&feature=fvwrel

References

Grelllier, J & Goerke, V 2006, Communication Skills Toolkit: Unlocking the Secrets of
Tertiary Success, Thomson, Australia

Iannuzzi, P, Mangrum, CT & Strichart, SS 1999, Teaching Information Literacy Skills,

Allan and Bacon, USA

Summer, J & Smith, B 2010, Communication Skills Handbook, 3rd Ed, Wiley, China

Waters, K 2000, Researching, Writing and Presenting Reports, Eastern House, Melbourne
Australia

Windschuttle, K & Elliot, E 2001, Writing, Researching, Communicating, 3rd Ed,

McGraw-Hill, Roseville Australia
Activities and Exercises

For Self Learning and Self Evaluation:

Exercise

1. Read the resource listed above as Key Resource.

Self Review Questions

1. According to Grellier and Goerke (2006) which of these 5 steps of the "writing process" are in
the correct order?
a) Planning, Drafting, Editing, Proofing, Making a final copy
b) Drafting, Planning, Proofing, Editing, Making a final copy
c) Proofing, Planning, Drafting, Making a final copy
d) Editing Making a final copy, Proofing, Editing, Drafting, Planning
e) None of the Above

2. The purpose of an Executive Summary/Abstract is to.............:

a) Provide a detailed report, roughly 1500 words, of all the information to be found in the paper
b) Provide a brief overview of the paper (Why?; What?; How?; Discoveries; Discussion) in
approximately 150 words
c) Tell the reader where you sourced your information from and is placed at the end of the report
d) Be as difficult to understand (abstract) and to have supervisory authority (executive) but in summary
form
e) None of the Above

3. Cause-effect" writing describes:

a) What something or someone is like
b) Why something happened and what the consequences were
c) What happened in order of the dates of events
d) How two things are different and like each other
e) None of the Above

4. "Descriptive" writing describes:

a) How two things are different and like each other
b) What happened and in order of the dates of events
c) Why something happened and what the consequences were
d) What something or someone is like
e) None of the Above
5. True or False: The part of the report that is used to define words or terms that are essential to an
understanding of the report is called the glossary.
a) True
b) False

6. True or False: Essays, reports, book reviews, and literature reviews are all examples of different
written ‘genres’ at university
a) True
b) False

7. True or False: Essays, reports, book reviews, and literature reviews tend have the same basic
structure in the way they organize material.
a) True
b) False

8. True or False: An ARGUMENT in an essay refers to the particular answer a student presents to
the question that has been posed.
a) True
b) False

9. True or False: In essay writing at university, it is essential to include citations (i.e. references) in
your work.
a) True
b) False

10. True or False:

1. The following sentence is an example of an author-prominent citation:

Nie (2005) explains that time spent on the internet actually ‘displaces’ time spent socialising,
particularly with family.
a) True
b) False