ENGLISH CLUSTER

SCHOOL YEAR 2021 - 2021

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONALPURPOSES

ENG03

Course Outcome 6

Prepared by: Dangaran, Venice Cristine

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NAME: TEACHER:
YEAR AND SECTION: SCHEDULE:

COURSE OUTCOME BULLETIN

Objective:
1. To identify the purposes of different report sections
2. To identify the part of a data commentary
3. To explain how data interpretation is done

Subject Matter:
Lesson 10: Reports
Lesson 11: Data Commentary

Evaluation:
Performance Task: Reflection Essay
Written Work: Drafts

X. Writing Reports
A written report is a clear, objective, and orderly presentation of the details of a research
investigation or an assigned activity. There are different kinds of reports, but they all share some common
qualities and parts.

This section introduces you to report writing by discussing some qualities and principles that are
common across different types of reports.

THE VALUE OF REPORTS

Reports are expected and common requirements in school. But do you know that when you
become a professional, you will also be writing reports?

Written reports have different purposes in the academe and professional worlds. In school, your
teachers may use your reports as a gauge of your learning. They may use it, for instance, to evaluate your

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ability to see connections between a concept discussed in class and real-life situations. In the professional
world, reports serve as very important records of decisions (as in minutes of meetings) or as bases for
decisions to be mad (as in the case of feasibility reports).

Thus, knowing how to write a good report is an essential skill for academic and professional
success.

WRITING STYLE OF REPORTS

Regardless of type, your report should be written in a language that is concise, clear, objective, and
nondiscriminatory.

• Concise writing – means efficient writing. Your text should state an idea with the least number of
words without affecting meaning. This means editing your report in order to cut unnecessary
words and shorten expressions. For example:

From:

All the participants in the study were male who were 30 years old. They were all residents of Brgy.
003, Ermita, Manila. They were interviewed.

To:

The interviewees were 30-year-old male residents of Brgy. 003, Ermita, Manila.

• Clear writing – means writing that transmits to the reader the exact idea that you have in mind.
Ideas are clear if they are expressed in concrete terms. “Concrete” means something that can be
perceived, its opposite is abstract, something that cannot be perceived. For example:

From:

Many of the participants reported being “very satisfied” with the Barangay Health Unit’s service.

To:

Fifty-five percent (55 out of 100) of the participants reported being “very satisfied” with the
Barangay Health Unit’s maternal health service.

• Objective writing – means writing that is free of emotionally loaded or biased words, so that the
report appears neutral or factual. For example:

From:

Unfortunately, a huge majority of the respondents were “very dissatisfied” with the Barangay
Health Unit’s maternal health service.

To:

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Seventy percent of the respondents were “very dissatisfied” with the Barangay Health Unit’s
maternal health service.

Being objective also includes removing any hint of personal judgement in your writing. Consider,
for example, the sentence below.

The residents of Barangay X hoarded basic goods just before the super typhoon struck.

The word “hoard” has a negative connotation and its use in the sentence may suggest that the
writer disapproves of what the residents did. A more neutral equivalent is suggested, as shown
below.

The residents of Barangay X bought more than the usual quantity of basic goods before the super
typhoon struck.

• Nondiscriminatory writing – refers to writing that treats all people equally and with respect. Be
careful to use nondiscriminatory language when referring to the following:

Gender – Your language should reflect equal treatment of people of different genders. Avoid using
words like man, mankind, or he to refer to people in general, as “people” includes various genders.
Rather, use gender-neutral terms like people or humanity. In addition, do not assume that the
default gender is masculine. For example, consider the sentence below:

A student must have his parents sign the waiver.

In this sentence, there is an assumption that the subject must be a male student So unless this
sentence refers to a particular case in which the student being talked about really is a male, it had
better be revised to be gender-neutral, as shown below.

Students must have their parents sign the waiver. OR

Parents must sign the student’s/child’s waiver.

Moreover, be careful with the use of the affixes -man, -woman, or -ess as in barangay chairman,
presidential spokeswoman, and directress. We suggest that we use gender-neutral equivalents
instead, such as chair or chairperson, spokesperson or director.

Age

Reports must state precisely the age of any human participants in a study. For example, use
“respondents aged 60-65” instead of “elderly people”.

Take note, as well, of the usage of the following terms:

✓ boys, girls - for people less than 18 years old

✓ men, women - for people 18 and above

(American Psychological Association, 2003)

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Disability

Never refer to people through their diseases or disabilities as in “autistics.” Use instead “person/s
or people with ” as in “a person with autism.”

PARTS OF A REPORT

Report parts may vary depending on the type and the teacher’s requirements. (So, pay attention
to your course or department guidelines.) However, it can be said that most reports contain the following
sections:

Prefatory elements – are report sections found before the actual report, such as the:

✓ Title page
✓ Abstract or Executive Summary

Report proper – is the actual report, which usually has the following elements:

✓ Introduction
✓ Procedures
✓ Results and Discussion
✓ Conclusion
✓ Appendix
✓ References

The writing conventions for the sections in the report proper are discussed per type of report
covered in this book: the laboratory report, field report, and survey report. You’ll find these in lesson 3.

In this lesson, you will be presented only some general principles in writing the prefatory and
report proper sections. The report proper sections, as the substantive portion, are always prepared first.
The prefatory elements are done last.

THE REPORT PROPER

Introduction

The purpose of the introduction in general is to present the objectives of the report. Depending
on whether the report is a school or professional assignment, the readers and what they need to see in
the introduction varies.

In school, our readers are usually our teachers who are experts on the subject of the reports they
assign to the students. The students, on the other hand, are expected to demonstrate certain thinking
skills, such as being able to make connections between theories or concepts discussed in class and real-
life situations. Thus, what we usually find in the introductions of academic reports are: (1) a brief
discussion of relevant theories and (2) the purpose of the study.

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In the professional world, however, readers of your report may be from other departments, and
they may be people whose backgrounds totally differ from yours. Thus, in professional fields, the
introduction gives important background information needed in a fuller appreciation of the problem taken
up and the results to be presented. Usually, such information will include: (1) the reason for writing the
report (for example, business problems like low sales of a particular product), (2) authorization details
(e.g. identification of the officials who told you to write the report), (3) relevant definitions of terms, and
(4) the objectives of the report.

Please note that some sources use the terms “goal” and “objective” differently. “Goals” refers to
the broad outcome of the report, for example: an increase in the sales of product X, while “objectives”
refer to the more specific steps that the researcher takes to achieve the goal. For example, one specific
objective for the goal given here is to identify the factors that affect the sales of product X. In this textbook,
the two terms are used interchangeably.

Procedures

The Procedures section details the actions done, and as applicable, the materials used or the
participants involved in order to fulfill the purpose of the report.

In academic reports, the procedures section serves as an important means of evaluating the
validity of the study. Thus, the writers should include enough details for readers to determine the validity
of results and conclusions, and for other scientists to be able to repeat the procedures (Kallet, 2004).

In the professional world, this section is no less valuable. According to Lesikar et al. (2008, p. 382),
the procedures should contain enough details so as “to allow your reader(s) to judge” the work you did
and “to convince them that your work was done competently.”

The Procedures section is usually written in the past tense. Depending on your reader’s
preference, this may be presented as a narrative in paragraph form, or as a list of chronological steps. If
listed, it is suggested that you write the steps in complete sentences.

Results and Discussion

The Results and Discussion section (or sections, as they may sometimes be separate and presents
the findings resulting that resulted from the procedures performed.

The results are usually organized based on the objectives found in the introduction.

Conclusion

Depending on the report assigned, the conclusion may contain any one of all of the following:

✓ A recap of key findings in the body

✓ A final answer to the main question raised in the introduction

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PREFATORY ELEMENTS

Title page

Formal reports usually require a title page as some sort of cover to “dress up” the report-i.e., to
give it a nice, finished, and professional look. But although it may appear as the first section of your lab
report, the title page is prepared last, along with the other prefatory elements.

Usually, the title page contains the following elements:

✓ The report title – a phrase that captures the essence of the report.
A very easy way to come up with the title is to get keywords from the report’s main
purpose or objective statement.
Example:
Report purpose: “This short report, prepared for 41 countries. . . presents the major
findings from the survey of key informants’ opinions on health system responsiveness in
their country.” (World Health Organization, 2003, p. 1)
Report title: “Health system responsiveness survey results: Equitable, humane, patient-
centered treatment by health systems, or not?” (World Health Organization, 2003)

✓ The name(s) of the person(s) who conducted the experiment

To avoid confusion with the other names on the title page (e.g., the recipients of the
report) it is helpful to label this section with a phrase like “A laboratory report submitted
by:”

✓ Name of the person(s) to whom the report is submitted

Again, properly label this section with a phrase like “Submitted to.”

Abstract

Like the title page, the Abstract is found in the beginning but is written last. This section
summarizes your report by reducing it to the most essential ideas, namely:

1) The purpose/objective of the report

2) The procedures done
3) The results
4) The conclusion

The abstract condenses all of the above, so that a busy person can easily understand the most
important aspects of the report without reading the entire text. While lengths may vary, a maximum of
250 words (including articles) will be a good length for the abstract.

Ideas 1, 3, and 4 above are written in the present tense, since they refer to ideas in your report.
Number 2, on the other hand, takes the past tense since you are reporting past action.

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XI. Writing a Data Commentary

When you see a set of data, whether presented verbally or graphically, you are expected to be able to
process it. Data processing means reading and interpreting the raw data until it becomes information,
that is, something useful and meaningful. The presentation of and analysis of data is called a data
commentary. It has four basic parts:

a.Data presentation, usually in graphic form;

b. Location elements and summaries;
c. Highlighting statements; and
d. Conclusions.

DATA PRESENTATION

Data are often presented graphically for order and greater clarity. Graphic data
presentation can be in the form of tables and figures. A table is often used to present voluminous
data. On the other hand, a figure is anything other than a table, like charts, graphs, pictures, and
maps. A figure is ideal for showing general trends and patterns and for pointing out comparisons
among data.

Tables have columns (vertical divisions) and rows (horizontal divisions), each one with an
appropriate label. The first column is the stub column and the columns to the right of it constitute
the field. All the data in the field have to be read in terms of the row heading in the stub column
and the column headings in the field. A hypothetical table is presented below.

Table 1. Total fruit production (metric tons) in Trinidad Valley, Baguio (1980-2010)

Harvest Harvest Harvest

Fruit
(1980-1990) (1991-2000) (2001-2010)
Strawberry 375 300 400
Mango 423 356 525
Lemon 289 270 300

To read a table, start with the title which includes the table number. A table title is a noun phrase
that indicates the data contained in the table. In the above example, you know that it is the first table and
that it contains data on the harvest in metric tons in a particular area (Trinidad Valley, Baguio) during a
particular period (1980-2010).

Next, take note of the row and column headings from left to right. In the sample table, you see
that the strawberry, mango, and lemon in the first column or ‘stub column’ were harvested in the area
and you know how much was the harvest every decade (presented to the right of the stub column or
field).

A figure is read similarly. Take note of the title and the headings to understand the data.

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LOCATION AND SUMMARY EXPRESSIONS

The next part of a commentary is actually just a sentence that identifies what figure/table (the
location expression) is being discussed and what data this figure/table contains (the summary expression).
Each table and figure in a paper have to be discussed separately, so you have to refer to each one by its
number, or location element, so as not to confuse the reader. The number is usually an Arabic number
although in some organizations, related tables are labeled with the same Arabic number but different
letters. For example, all tables that are about fruit harvest are numbered 3 but the data from one region
may be 3.a and those from another 3.b.

The summary expression is where you indicate the data contains in the table or figure. You have
two ways of doing this:

Active Voice style – Example: Table 1 [location element] shows [verb of report always in the
present tense] the fruit harvest in the Trinidad Valley [summary element].

Passive Voice style – Example: The fruit harvest in the Trinidad Valley [summary expression] is
shown [verb ‘to be’ + past participle of the verb] in Table 1 [location element]. Take note that if you choose
to use the passive voice, you have to ensure correct Subject-Verb agreement. ‘Fruit harvest’ happens to
be singular so the verb to use ‘is.’

HIGHLIGTHING STATEMENTS

This part of data-based commentary is where you discuss the significant data. Usually significant
data are the highest or predominant and the lowest. Sometimes the unexpected result could be
significant, too, and deserves discussion. It is in this part where you can show your analytical ability by
pointing out patterns and trends. Remember, a pattern is something that is repeated and a trend is a
general direction (going up? going down?) over a period of time. In the hypothetical table above, what
claim or interpretation can you make based on the significant data? For example, which fruit is the biggest
harvest in the area? Is there a pattern in the harvest over three decades? Complete the sentence to
answer the questions: As seen in the Table 1, …

Useful expression when reporting results:

The majority (_%) of respondents said …

Approximately half (or whatever) …,

_per cent of respondents said ….

As can be seen in Table _, the dry season in _ (place) is longer/shorter than in_ (place).

Useful expression when reporting trends: There

has been a gradual (decrease) in

There is a steady (increase)/marked (fall), steep (rise in ….)

There is a sharp (drop in…)

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Price of _ has been stable in the last _ (period of time).

As you comment on the data, cite the relevant figure(s) in the table/ figure. However, remember that data
discussion is NOT MERE REPETITION of the figures in paragraph form. You need to mention the
significance of the figure.: Is it highest or lowest? Sometimes, to discuss the data, you also need to
compare values or frequencies.

A claim is a writer’s view or interpretation of data. The claims you make may vary in terms of
strength. When you are very sure of the reliability and validity of data, you may make a strong claim like,
The Philippine export trade grew by 6% last year. When your claim is made to appear like a statement of
fact, or when you don’t qualify it, then the statement appears to be very sure. This is a strong claim.
However, when you have limited data, or when you’re not too sure of the quality of research done, or
when you’re in doubt, as to the general applicability of a finding, you have to HEDGE your statement.
When presenting numerical data, you don’t have to hedge as the figures speak for themselves; however,
in commenting on data, you often need to hedge.

For example: In the latest SWS survey, more than 4 million Filipinos are jobless. This could be due to
the mismatch between labor needs and labor qualifications.

CONCLUSION

You conclude a commentary by giving explanations or discussing the implications of the data. In
academic writing, research-based explanations carry more wight than cursory comments or speculations.
In this regard, remember to observe proper documentation of your sources of information.

You may also include a data commentary by suggesting future research directions, if appropriate.

LANGUAGE POINTS

• A mix of tenses is possible in a data commentary. Use past tense when referring to specific
events/results in the study; use present tense when you interpret the results.
• Use accurate verbs of report. When a report simply presents data, use an indicative verb like
show(s), present(s), and provide(s). Use a negative reporting verb, such as disagree(s) with,
refute(s), and contradict(s), when the data result of the study is not supported by otherstudies. For
positive results, you can use reporting verbs like support and confirm.
• Use hedging expressions, if necessary, when expressing claims about the data.
• Make the interconnection of ideas in your data commentary clear by using the appropriate
conjunctions and linkers. A linker may be a transitional device like, moving on to the idea of. It can
be an idea that connects your previous idea to the next one.
• Follow the conventions of academic writing. Avoid contractions, informal expressions, and biased
language.

Below is an excerpt from a data commentary relating the data to the hypothesis that self-questioning,as
a post-reading strategy, aids in text comprehension.

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In order to determine if self-question as a post-reading strategy aids in text comprehension, the

participants were divided into two: the questioning group (experimental) and the non-questioning group
(control). (2) Both groups were given identical texts, the only difference being that the experimental group
took the same reading test after posing questions about the material that they had just read. (3) Table 1
shows the test performance of the two groups. (4) As can be seen in the table, the control group
performed slightly better than the experimental group (average score of 16.86 for the control vs. 16.29
for the experimental group); however, the results of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed the
difference to be not significant. (5) In other words, data does not provide sufficient evidence to conclude
that self-questioning affects comprehension of a prose text, contrary to the findings of previous studies.
(6) A possible explanation for this is the quality of questions generated by the experimental group. (7) As
seen in Table 2, most questions were low-level questions, a total of 898 compared to 373 high-level
questions. (8) This could be the reason why the strategy of self-questioning was ineffectual: the low-level
questions did not invite the readers to examine the text more deeply.

Adapted from Miciano, R. (2004). The content and form of reader-generated questions
Implications for teaching questioning strategies. Asia Pacific Education Review, 5,2, 149-156.

You should note the following features of the data commentary above: In sentence #1 and #2 (S1
and S2), the purpose and methodology of the study are stated. The location and summary element is
found in S3. The highlighting statements are in S4 and S5, which also cites the relevant figures. S6 and S8
use hedging expressions (A possible explanation. This could be the reason) in trying to explain the results.

The past tense is used in explaining the methodology of the study and whenever specific results
of the finished study are referred to. The present tense is used in location and summary elements and in
the highlighting statements.

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Reference:

Miciano, M. & Miciano, R. (2016). Enhanced English Engagements. Don Bosco Press.

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