Are you planning to take an English exam like Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced or the Trinity ISE exams and feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of writing a report? Let’s discuss the style and purpose of a report, the suggested format when you write a report for an exam, and useful phrases for reports. Finally, we’ve got some free downloadable materials to learn useful phrases for reports and sample writings to practise at home.
Contents
Style and purpose of a report
The style of a report should be formal and objective, presenting information in a clear, concise, and logical way. The purpose of a report is to communicate important information, findings, and recommendations to a specific audience in a structured and organised format. A report should also provide evidence to support its claims, such as statistics, data, and expert opinions.
Reports in English exams are mini-replicas of what you would be expected to write in a professional context. These may be written for a company, a government organisation, or for a university/school setting.
How to write a report with paragraph headings
A report typically follows a specific format with paragraph headings that make it easier for the reader to navigate the content. In the real world, a report would probably be several pages long, with multiple sections, and packed full of data, graphs and conclusion based on those. Obviously, in 150-250 words (depending on the exam) you can’t do that, but it’s good to keep paragraph headings to split up the text into sections. This leaves you with a four paragraph plan, much like we have for many other writings.
- Introduction: This sets the context and outlines the purpose of the report.
- Main body 1: This contains the findings and analysis related to the topic.
- Main body 2: This contains further analysis and recommendations.
- Conclusion: This summarises the key points made in the report and a call to action for the main recommendations.
Paragraph headings should be descriptive and focussed on the content of each section. Both Introduction and Conclusion can be the headings of your first and last paragraphs, while the central ones can often be taken directly from the question. What headings would you use for this sample question?
Remember to include a title in your report as well. It doesn’t have to be exciting or engaging like an article, but it should describe what the report is about.
Seeing samples is a good way to learn how to write a report. This example is the answer to the question above.
Useful phrases for reports
To write a successful report, it’s essential to use appropriate phrases that convey your ideas clearly. There are often many ways to do this, but you will want to learn several of them for exam day. The useful phrases we recommend considering include:
- The aim of this report is to…
- This report considers several aspects of [topic] in order to…
- The findings of this report/survey are outlined below.
- One issue is that…
- The current situation is unacceptable because…
- According to several students/employees/clients…
- It was suggested that…
- The vast majority of students/employees/clients believe…
- I would therefore strongly recommend…
- Based on the above, the best course of action would be…
These phrases are all part of our downloadable materials below, so if you want more practice, check them out. With practice and dedication, you can write a successful report that impresses your examiners and earns high marks.
The materials
These materials can be used in class or individually. First, you’ll discuss the purpose of reports and some details. Then there is a quick task to learn some useful phrases for reports. Finally, you can test if you know how to write a report by trying one or both of the practice questions. Both questions include sample answers.
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