What sets report apart from story writing? In a word, audience. Reports are generally written with a specific audience in mind: your teacher (or sometimes your boss).
Students write reports all the time. Reports demonstrate what you have learned about a subject, persuade your reader to your point of view (not to be confused with POV) or share an opinion. Keep reading to learn about report structure and differnt types of reports.
Jump to types of report Jump to report structure
Sometimes reports are a mere recitation of facts. Biographies and country studies fall into this category.
More involved reports will start with a thesis. The rest of the paper will support the thesis.
Persuasive writing (takes a position and not only defends it but) uses facts and anecdotes to bring the reader to your view.
Opinion pieces state the obvious facts as the writer sees them.
Report structure
Reports follow a set structure: introduction, body, and conclusion.
Introduction
This is the first paragraph of your report. In it you will give the reader a flavor of what to expect. You give a single sentence for each of three or more points you will make in your report. Typically, your last sentence (sometimes it’s the first) you will state your thesis—the point you are pushing in this paper.
A good introduction will grab your readers and drag them to want to know more. Or maybe they’ll want to see how on earth you arrived at that position. Either way, the goal is to light a fire under your reader. If your reader is your teacher you can play it safe by writing what you think they want to hear, or live dangerously by taking a position that you know they oppose.
I’d like to suggest the latter. Making a case for an unpopular position or one you don’t hold is a real exercise in thought. Supporting a position that you don’t share will teach you more about writing than just about anything else. It forces you to consider the other side, look at relevant information, and develop a controversial thesis. I pity the poor teacher with thirty papers to read that all say basically the same thing.
If on the other hand your reader is your boss, he or she is probably looking for facts that the company can use to further the business. Do not under any circumstances get creative with the facts. But don’t ignore facts that subvert the boss’s expectations, either. Present them honestly but frame them in such a way that the boss will be able to use them to his or her advantage.
Body
This is the meat of your report. You will spend a paragraph presenting information for each of your three or more points. Remember, the goal is to enlighten your reader and hopefully sway them to accept your views on the subject. Keep each paragraph laser focused on the point you are making. Facts matter in this portion.
Conclusion
Now that you have introduced your thesis, supported it with at least three points, it is time to draw your report to a close. The conclusion must synthesize all the information from the body to convince the reader that your thesis is correct. The final line of your conclusion is often a restatement of your thesis. Be careful not to restate word for word. That is just lazy writing. Find another way to say it.
Types of reports
Where do you start your report? At the beginning, of course!
Three things to consider are topic, audience, and purpose, TAP for short. Usually the topic is assigned either by your teacher or your boss. Reports are often written for an audience of one: the person assessing your end product. The purpose can be to relay information, convince the reader to your position, or to prove you understand the subject. Let’s call these informational writing, persuasive writing, and deep dives.
Informational writing lays out facts in logical order. A how-to paper will give a list of materials with sequential steps to complete the project. An informational paper on Europe will be divided into sections for instance, geography, customs, major industries, and points of interest. A logical order for a European travel guide follows transportation routes from one country to the next with emphasis on tourist sites.
Persuasive writing starts with the premise that you want your reader to adopt followed by supporting evidence to win them over. A really good persuasive paper will also acknowledge the opposing view and then tear it to shreds.
Deep dive writing is perhaps the most difficult. You need to assume the reader has no knowledge of the subject without being preachy or insulting their intelligence. You must lay the groundwork, carefully present pertinent information, then conclude by tying it all together to show you understand your subject.
Informational or Recitation of Facts
Think of this type of report as a line. Biographies are told in a timeline—birth to death. How to papers go from start to finish. Geographic studies are told in order as if traveling or by unifying theme such as region, industry or language.
Another approach is to go from small to large, or conversely large to small. Say you’re doing a report on European Union. Logical choices would be from smallest country to largest country which allows for compare and contrast, or contiguous countries as if traveling from one to the next.
Persuasive
Persuasive writing can be the most satisfying of reports to write. Tired of the lunch menu at your school? Fire off a letter to the food service department asking for change. Unhappy with positions of your elected officials? Send an email outlining the changes you want to see. Want everyone to love the latest book or movie as much as you? Post a review.
Intro
Some writers start by painting a bleak picture of what things will look like without the desired change.
Students push food around on their lunch trays. Meat, vegetables, and pudding
are all the same color and texture. Energy levels sink along with test scores.
Others start with the desired change.
I’m writing to ask for a tastier, healthier lunch menu.
Middle
However you decide to start your persuasive writing, follow it with good strong reasons that will convince your reader. The key to persuasive writing is to acknowledge the opposing viewpoint. If you eliminate this crucial step, your reader may ignore your entire argument. By recognizing an opposing viewpoint, it reels your reader in while giving you an opportunity to counter their position.
How do you do this? After you have stated your position and recognized the opposing view, use supporting facts to prove your point. It’s helpful if your supporting facts happen to show the competing viewpoint is wrong. Don’t lose focus. Provide facts so compelling your reader has no choice but to agree.
Conclusion
Next it’s time for—what marketers label—the call to action. This is where you tell your reader what you want them to do or think. Tie this to a personal experience with an emotional plea. For extra oomph, show a Bedford Falls moment. In the Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey believes his little town of Bedford Falls would be better off if he had never been born. A bumbling angel grants his wish and George stumbles into a parallel universe where the lack of his good deeds changes the character of his hometown. In the end, he recognizes his value and all is restored.
Advertisements online or in print, social media feeds, book reviews, and political campaign ads are all forms of persuasive writing. Convince the reader with facts and you’ve done your job.
Deep Dive
coming soon