Writing a Report

By Fu Jinyu
 Basic Plan of Organization

• an introduction,
• a summary consisting of one or more
paragraphs,
• a reaction consisting of two or more
paragraphs, and
• a conclusion.
Part 1: A Summary of the Work

• Identify the author and title of the work, and

include in parentheses the publisher and
publication date. With magazines, give the date
of publication.
• Write an informative summary of the material.
Condense the content of work by highlighting its
main points and key supporting points. Use
direct quotations from the work to illustrate
important ideas.
 How to Summarize a Book
• To write a summary of a book, first preview the
book by briefly looking at:
• Title
• Table of contents
• Preface
• First and last chapters
• Other items (headings, subheadings, opening
and closing paragraphs of each chapter, charts,
diagrams, pictures, any other special features
such as index, glossary, and appendixes etc)
 Remember that …
• Do not discuss in great detail any single aspect
of the work while neglecting to mention other
equally important points. Summarize the
material so that the reader gets a general sense
of all key aspects of the original work.
• Keep the summary objective and factual. Do not
include in the first part of the paper your
personal reaction to the work; your subjective
impression will form the basis of the second part
of the paper.
 Part 2
Your Reaction to the Work
• Focus on any or all of the questions below
• 1. How is the assigned work related to
ideas and concerns discussed in the
course?
• 2. How is the work related to problems in
our present0day world?
• 3. How is the work related to your life,
experiences, feelings, and ideas?
• Evaluate the merit of the work: the
importance of its pints; its accuracy,
completeness, and organization; and so
on.
• You should also indicate whether you
would recommend the work to others, and
why.
 Points to Keep in Mind
• Apply the four basis standards of effective writing (unity,
support, coherence, and clear, error-free sentences).
• Make sure each paragraph presents and then develops a
single main point.
• Support with specific reasons and details any general
points or attitudes you express.
• Organize the material in the paper. Follow the basic plan
and use transitions to connect the parts of the paper.
• Proofread the paper for grammar, mechanics,
punctuation, and word use.
 Quotation

• Document quotations from all works by

giving the page number in parentheses
after the quoted material.
• * You may use quotations in the summary
and reaction parts of the report, but do
not rely too much on them. Use them only
to emphasize key ideas.
 Use of Quotations

• A direct quotation is exactly the same as

the original and must be put in quotation
marks. Everything within the quotation
marks should be exactly the same as the
original.
• An indirect quotation may be an
interpretation, a paraphrase, or a
summary of the original in the writer’s
own words.
Rules of the Use of Quotations

• 1. use quotations sparingly (no more than

10% of a paper, unless the subject of the
paper is on the style of the author);
• 2. make them a natural part of the paper;
• 3. provide the source of every quotation
 Assignment

• Please write a book report of no less than

500 words about a book that interests or
impresses you the most. You may follow
the advice given in the above pages.
• Enjoy yourself while reading and let me
enjoy your reading report!!!