More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (14)
Similar to Report Writing
Similar to Report Writing (20)
More from vlequire
More from vlequire (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Report Writing
- 1. Report Writing Writing Across the Curriculum
- 2. Discipline Determines Type Business Report Investigative Report News Report Academic Report
- 3. Presenting the Information Present information accurately Find reliable sources Aim for objectivity Present information clearly
- 4. Exploring Purpose and Topic Answer Questions Review what is already known about a subject Report new knowledge
- 5. Finding and Developing Materials Base reports on the best available sources Base reports on multiple sources Fact-check your report
- 6. Creating a Structure • date, time, or sequence of events • magnitude or order of importance • division • classification • position, location, or space • definition • comparison/contrast • thesis statement Organize by:
- 7. Choosing a Style and Design Present the facts cleanly Stay neutral Avoid connotative language Covering differing views fairly Pay attention to elements of design
- 8. Rhetorical Choices in Writing Informational Reports A clear separation between fact and opinion A formal, unemotional tone of voice A lack of personal references A lack of second person addresses: you A lack of contractions An absence of adjectives and adverbs that convey value judgments—shadowy/gloomy/bossy/domineering, etc.
- 9. Works Cited Ruskiewicz, John J. and Jay T. Dolmage. “Reports.” How to Write Anything, 2nd ed. NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 44-60. Print.
Editor's Notes
- Informational reports exist simply to inform people on subjects they don’t know about or to confirm what people think they know already. But the type of report varies from discipline to discipline and often from project to project within disciplines.
- For topics you are interested in for the informational reports, what academic disciplines do you think are connected to those topics? How so? Which nations or regions might be the focus of your reports?
- The student’s job in these reports is to present information accurately and in their own words. Opinions do not matter just yet. Imagine that you are teaching ignorant readers about your topic, but just now, we do not need to hear your own opinion. Just inform us.
- Students are expected to read their research subjects carefully, not to just skim in order to plug something into the report. Students should use these reports to teach themselves new things about global issues. We will use the following types of sources for our reports: articles and/or books from the ASU database, feature articles from well-regarded magazines and scholarly journals and in-depth newspaper reports. Sources fewer than three pages should not be used. Sources used need to be the most recent possible, and they need to be gathered from reputable and documentable sources. You will be turning in your sources with your essays – keep up with the information that is pulled from each source.
- An outline created as a prewriting strategy may help you organize your essay or at least a list of items presented in the order in which you want to discuss them. About your topics, you will want to present information that may give us an overview and basic facts on key issues and problems. The introductions to informational reports are pretty straightforward; they let readers know up front what will be covered in the report. A statement can be made, perhaps, about why the issue is important to know about. In the body of an informational report, consider covering the reporter’s questions; this may help you generate content. Answer, if relevant, who/what/why/where/when/how/why.
- You may use sources that disagree with one another. In fact, you do not want to stick with sources that all come from the same place or reiterate the same views although in the world of facts, most well-intentioned experts who do not represent corporate interests do tend to agree on what is fact and what is not regarding matters in their fields. Using opposing viewpoints is one of the benchmarks of becoming a good academic researcher and writer.
- All writing and disciplines follow certain guidelines or best practices. These are the best rhetorical choices for writing informational reports. Avoid the sort of name calling that politicians sometimes engage in when describing other nations and their issues: backward, oppressive. Let your facts speak for you.