HOW TO WRITE AN OFFICIAL

REPORT
 PURPOSE

 In the professional world, decision makers rely on two broad

types of official report: Some reports focus primarily on
information ('what is being done now,' or 'what the
survey/research found). Beyond merely providing information,
many reports also include analysis ('what this information means
for future policy,' 'what courses of action should be considered,’
'what action should be taken and why'). . . .
 CONVENTIONS

• Formal register
• Language is impersonal and factual (avoid first person “I” and
emotive vocabulary)
• Uses cautious language e.g. “may'” and “could” etc.
• Uses straightforward but precise language
• Content is logically organized and concise
 STRUCTURE

• Report Title
• Name(s) of Author(s) / To whom is the report addressed
• Introduction: short summary of the report (context, people
involved, purpose, dates, stages) (who, what, where, when, why)
• Body: headings and sub-headings (causes, effects, steps,
dates, benefits, etc.)
• Conclusions: summary of the report (results, proposals, further
actions, warnings, etc.)
 OFFICIAL REPORT

 The essence of this text type is the ability to present a clear explanation of a given subject –
which involves analysis, summary and organization.
 Criterion A: Language
 > How clear and effective is the choice of vocabulary + sentence structure?
 Criterion B: Content
 > The fundamental skill in handling this text type must be to organize explanation in a
clear, objective, and logical way.
 > How the text should best be organized will again be determined by the precise nature of
the task, but these main elements should probably be recognizable : background … overall
description … description of important details … concluding summary.
 Criterion C: Format
 > format: headings … bullet points … clear, purposeful paragraphing?
 REPORT INTRO SAMPLE

 This report presents the findings from the first phase of the County Community Health
Assessment. This first phase is the Community Themes and Strengths Assessment, and was
conducted from September 2010 through April 2011. This study is the first of four
complementary assessments based on the National Association of County and City Health
Officials’ (NACCHO) Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP)
model. MAPP is a community planning process developed to identify key health issues and
recommendations to improve public health through the involvement of community
members and stakeholders from community-based organizations, advocacy organizations,
and government. The process is facilitated by public health leaders and is intended to
increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and, ultimately, the performance of local public
health systems.
 STIMULUS A

 You have noticed that in your community there is a problem

related to contamination. As your neighborhood has some
areas without construction, people have started using these as
landfills, throwing away all types of garbage there. Being the
representative of this community, you write an official report to
the government authorities with the intention of explaining the
problem, describing the consequences it has on the
commmunity, as well as giving some proposals on how to end
this problem.
 STIMULUS B

 You have heard of many students in your school suffering from

stress due to the big amount of subjects, exams, contents and
asssignments. As the representative of the student council, you
write a report to the school authorities in which you explain the
problem, the effects that high stress levels have on students as
well as some proposals in order to aleviate the situation.