Useful phrases

To: ………….

From: ………….

Subject: ………….

Date: ………….

(the exact information you include depends on the rubric.

The first paragraph is usually a short section entitled Purpose or Introduction.

It is important that you mention the reason for writing the report and prepare the reader for the information that you will include in the main body.

The end of the report should be a final section, often entitled Conclusion, in which you:

- summarise the points in the main body

- make recommendation for future actions

- offer a personal opinion

GRAMMAR

The most commonly used verb tenses in reports are as follows:

The Present Simple – to describe the present situation e.g. It is estimated that at least half of the students at the college regularly take part in some kind of sporting activity.

The Present Continuous – to describe things that are happening now e.g. While the main hall is being repaired, classes are being held in the lecture theatre.

The Present Perfect – to emphasise past actions that are relevant now e.g. Over three thousand people have visited the centre and there have been very few complaints.

The Past Simple – to report on past actions, events, etc. e.g. Most people who were interviewed expressed an interest in the project.

In some reports, you will need to assess the suitability of a person or a place for a particular job or use. To do this, you will need to think of different aspects of the person or place. The following may be useful:

People - personality, people skills, track record, background, projects presently working on, level of competence, skills, qualifications, special qualities, etc.

Places – accessibility, local history, population, local economy, cost of accommodation, availability of housing, places of interest, local climate, etc.

Descriptive adjectives play an important part in this type of report because it is necessary to portray as accurate a picture of the person/place as possible.

Openings

A successful report needs a title and often makes use of subheadings as well. Begin with a title which summarizes the purpose of writing the report. It may be relevant to include some comments on how the information was gathered.

USEFUL PHRASES

Start with the purpose of the report: The aim of this report is to assess the provision of entertainment facilities for young people in Bridgeton. | This report is intended to give a brief summary of the findings of our recent survey on smoking.

Say how you collected the data: The data was collected from newspaper reports and documents on the Internet.| A survey was carried out among members of the local community.

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