Writing a report

In a report you must:

• state the purpose of the report
• use headings for each section
• use a formal and impersonal style

How to write a report and useful phrases

How to organise it and some typical expressions

Report Phrases for the next writing

You can find many useful expressions here

Samples of personal statements

Here they are

Some recommended posts for your writing and speaking

Here are some recommended posts by Cork English Teacher:
Cover letter
Writing essays
Functional language
Extreme adjectives
-ed endings

How to make a book report

You have to make a 5-minute oral book report in mid-May. 

Here are some pointers: 

 

 Introduction

You should state the book's title, the topic, and the author's name. Include publication information as well as the book's genre and the setting.

Body

• Did you enjoy the book?
• Was it well written?
• Which characters play important roles that relate to the overall theme?
• Is this book a part of a series?
• What is the writing style?
• Plot summary. (Try not to spoil the ending in case your classmates feel like reading the book.)
  

  Conclusion

• Was the ending satisfactory?
• Would you recommend this book?  
• Your opinion

(Adapted from http://homeworktips.about.com/od/writingabookreport/a/report.htm )

Formal letters

• Letters of complaint  Samples at the bottom 
• Letter of complaint : organisation
• Formal letters
• 
   
  

   Writing formal letters to complain:

  FORMAL LETTER
  Dear Sir/Madam ( when you don’t know the name → Yours Faithfully)
  Dear Mr X (→Yours Sincerely)
  
  
  Reason for writing:
  
  

  Who I am (not the name!), What I want, When and Where it happened

  •   I am writing in order to complain about /I am writing to complain about
  • I am writing with regard/reference to (the article which appeared when/where) to express my concern about/disappointment with/dissatisfation with/disapproval of/apologies for (motivation)
  Introducing the complaint:
  
  
  • Firstly/In the first place/First of all/ My first complaint is/
    To begin with/
  • The first thing I would like to draw your attention to is /My first concern is
  
  

  •  According to your (brochure/article)/ Your (brochure/article) states that..
  • However, ...
  • , which is completely wrong
  Introducing further complaints:
  
  
  • Secondly/In the second place/Not only .......but also /In addition, /In addition to this/ Added to this/Moreover/In fact/Furthermore/In addition/Finally
    
    
    (I feel) I must also (dis)agree with/ I would like to/ I want to point out that
    
    
  •   X was also unacceptable
  
  
  Demanding action:
  
  
  • I suggest that you replace the item
  • I would be grateful if my money was refunded
  • I would be grateful if you could give me a full refund 
  • I trust/very much hope you will (print this letter in the next issue of your newspaper)
  • I would appreciate it/be grateful if you would
  • It seems only fair that you should
  • In light of the above (I feel I am entitled to a full refund and a formal apology)
  Ending the letter:
  
  
  • I look forward to hearing from you
  • I look forward to receiving a full refund
  • I look forward to receiving a replacement
  • I look forward to receiving your explanations

How to Write a Report

Reason for writing (Introduction)

• The aim/objective/purpose of this report is to ...

• This report aims to... 

• It is based on a survey conducted/carried out among...                            

• Nouns: information, ideas, suggestions, situations, conditions, comments,
  measures, steps, solutions, causes, consequences, issues, ...
• Verbs: recommend, consider, suggest, examine, evaluate, outline, analyse, present, give information on, to cause, to bring about...

Body

• Headings from the task

• It should be considered/taken into account... , it is worth considering...

• According to (the majority of respondents, 50% of ...)

• In spite of /Despite the fact (that) + sentence
• In spite of /Despite +noun or ...ing
• Predicting the future: The outlook for ... is bright/optimistic/depressing.  The future looks bleak/remains uncertain/is promising

• This seems unlikely in the near future
•  It is (therefore) believed / obvious that…would be ideal for…

• The research shows/proves...  

 

Making/giving recommendations

• We suggest/propose that + sentence
  We suggest/propose + ing ...

•  In light of the results of the survey we believe the following measures should be adopted…

•  In the short/long term, we suggest you should consider…
•  My recommendations are as follows: …
•  In my view, in future, we should…
•  To improve the situation, we recommend…
•  It is recommended that…  I would strongly recommend that ... should + bare infinitive

• The best solution is/would be to...

• This will have an impact on ...

Conclusion

• In conclusion...To sum up,…To conclude,…
• From the research/the statistics we conclude that...

Style

• Do not use contractions.
• Use passive forms whenever possible.
• Use relative clauses to join ideas: The period during which he lived was full of uncertainty.
• Use these formal words:  like such as   /   kids children   

           a lot (of) many / a large number of  + countable noun
            a lot (of) much / a great amount of / a great deal of + uncountable
             a lot (intensity) very much / significantly / dramatically 

• Avoid using the word things / something,  etc. Use a more specific word (problems, situation, solutions, subjects, and so on).
  

Adapted from  http://cae-tips.blogspot.com.es

Linking words and phrases.

Here you can download a good pdf file for Linking words and phrases

- Exercise 1

- Exercise 2 

- Linking Expressions

Reports and Proposals

Some useful expressions for reports & proposals:

• Language 1
• language 2

 An example of proposal:

• Sample

Formal letters

• Writing job applications with examples 
• Another example
• Letters of complaint with examples
• Language for Formal letters
  
  

Report sample answer

Report

Ready for cae ss p 34. reports from tomeualoy

Writing a report

• How to Write a Report 
• Example 
• Writing Task: An international research group is carrying out an investigation into the housing situation for young people around the world. You have been asked by the group to write a report about your country, including the following points:
  • the different housing options available in your country for young people in their early twenties.
  • the problems faced by young people with each option
  • possible future changes in the housing situation for young people in your country  
  • Write your report 
    
    Deadline: November  17^th & 18^th
    
    Speakout Advanced p.73

Linking word activities

• 2 linking word activities:  1   &    2 
  
•  Use 
•  Linking words and phrases 

 

Useful Language for Compositions

You can download a great handout   here

Problem-Solution Essay

You can get some ideas on how to write a problem-solution essay on p 49 and here.   

You can find useful language, here, here , here and here