writing a report ks4

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Writing non-fiction

Non-fiction texts are those that deal with facts, opinions and the real world. Many non-fiction texts follow specific conventions of language and structure.

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Writing a report

A group of office workers with one person looking at a report.

A report is highly factual and informs the reader rather than trying to make them feel or react in a particular way. It is likely to include facts, figures and statistics to support the points being made and might also use quotes from experts to lend weight to the report’s findings.

The language in a report is objective. It states facts rather than attempting to manipulate the reader’s emotions.

The purpose is usually to provide the reader with relevant information in an ordered way. Conventionally, a report is written in Standard English and presents the topic precisely.

Here’s an example question and response:

Your school/college is considering running a fundraising event for a local charity.

Write a report for the Headteacher/Principal suggesting ways this might be done.

You could include:

Fundraising at Frecklewood

The Frecklewood Donkey Sanctuary is a charity that cares for rescued and unwanted donkeys. The sanctuary is based a mile away from Frecklewood Academy and the school has a long history of partnership, having sent many year 10 students there for work experience week. The charity is currently in need of funds, having seen a 12% dip in charitable giving during the past few years.

They have asked Frecklewood Academy for their help. This report aims to explore the potential benefits to staff and students of fundraising for this cause and to outline a number of possible activities that could be undertaken.

Benefits of fundraising

As part of this investigation we have spoken with school leaders at the five state secondary schools in the Danshire area about the fundraising activities that they undertake. Collectively they raise funds for numerous causes, including Shelter (a charity that tackles homelessness), Stonewall (a charity that promotes equality for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people) and Young Dementia UK (who provide support for people whose lives are affected by young onset dementia).

Each of the schools report that their students benefit in a variety of ways from supporting these charities. The main benefits cited are:

One team leader said ‘Some of our students have pursued careers in the charity sector as a result of their fundraising work at school.’ Another said ‘It’s fantastic to see young people working together to make a genuine difference in the world.’

Suggestions for activities

As Frecklewood has a student population of more than 1500, we could easily raise a substantial sum for the Donkey Sanctuary through a non-uniform day in which each student pays £1 for the pleasure of wearing ‘normal’ clothes to school.

However, if we view this as an opportunity for team building, we could run an event such as a summer fete. Teams of students could be responsible for different aspects of the organisation and promotion. Funds could be raised from ticket sales in advance and also from raffles, duck races and other fun events on the day.

Alternatively, we could give groups of students the challenge of raising the most funds. This will encourage them to work collaboratively, creatively and independently.

Ultimately the benefits of fundraising events are huge. Whichever approach Frecklewood Academy takes, the charity, students and staff are all set to benefit.

The writer communicates clearly and effectively using a formal and unbiased tone suitable for a report. The information is well organised into paragraphs, that make good use of transitional words. The writer focuses on each of the bullet points from the question in turn and develops these. Statistics and quotes from official sources give the report credibility. Subheadings and bullet points are used to highlight key information.

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Writing Reports

Reports are normally formal accounts, written in a logical, sometimes chronological, order by a person with specific knowledge of a certain subject. Reports are more common in business, technical, legal and academic settings but can include more informal settings also.

Reports tend to have objective language and a sole purpose to inform ; therefore, they include denotive rather than connotative language and also tend to use passive voice rather than active voice. Examples of passive voice were discussed in Unit 1 – refer back to this if it is something you need to recap. Passive voice in report writing helps emphasise the importance of the subject being spoken about, therefore it is automatically more formal. These features allow a report to convey information as clearly and concisely as it can. It also allows the report to remain neutral, preventing any emotion or biased points of view that may affect the tone.

Another common feature is the use of reported speech rather than direct speech as it shows that the events being reported are in the past tense (reported speech is something we will look at in more detail in Unit 4 of this course). Because of their purpose to inform, factual information is sometimes included within the main body of a report; for example, quantitative data expressed in tables, charts and graphs.

The structure tends to stay the same across all reports, no matter the purpose or intended audience. However, the purpose and audience must always be considered with report writing as these can affect the tone or style of the report. Not every report is formal and so you may find that some have a more informal style and tone.

As mentioned previously, the use of first person narration is more informal than third person, therefore if you are asked to write a report in the exam then use third person unless the question asks you specifically not to. Below an example of a short report written in third person has been provided for you.

If you are asked to write a report in the exam, then it may be much longer than the example provided. However, there is a simple plan you can follow to make sure you write an effective report:

The example report consists mainly of providing a summary of a specific event that has happened. It is written in the third person, in the past tense and told in chronological order. The language remains objective and it is merely reporting facts of the night, with a brief opinion included from the other students. Bear in mind that not all reports you come across or are asked to write will be summaries.

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9-1 GCSE English Language - Writing the perfect REPORT (with examiner podcast) PAPER 2

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

A great selection of modern, informative and interactive resources.

Last updated

11 October 2021

Fantastic PowerPoint on writing a GRADE 9 REPORT. Also comes with a podcast from an examiner. The resource looks at the following:

GRADE 9 example Sentence starters REPORT form REPORT conventions DAFOREST Stylistic devices Lecturer tips Common mistakes SPAG

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