COMPOSITION and REPORT WRITING

by: CAROLINA G. Alberca, Ph.D.

Composition Writing

Choosing a Topic
1 Suitable for writers purpose and audience
2 Suitable to assigned length (narrowing)
3 Suitable to resources available

Researching
1Sources: primary (e.g. 1st person interview)
2 Notetaking
3 Distinguishing between fact and opinion
4Plagiarism

Writing Process
1 Using writing process steps interchangeably

2 Choosing an appropriate method of development

3 Focusing the message
4 Choosing point of view
5 Identifying appropriate and inappropriate details
6 Importance and placement of transitions
7 Importance of revising to fine-tune effectiveness
8 Importance of editing to eliminate mechanical errors
9 Importance of appearance of final copy

Style
Technical writing
1 style: use active voice
2 avoid unnecessary words
3 avoid clichs
4 concise sentences
5 be decisive (avoid seems etc.)
6 Sentence variety
7 Word choice: use simple language
8 Define unfamiliar terms

Bibliography
Content
Format

Use of footnotes/parenthetical reference

Styles of citing references and bibliography change.
Be sure to use an up-to-date reference. Learners should be made fully
aware of the meaning and implications of plagiarism. Learners should
be encouraged to share their writing whenever possible .
Report writing is creating an account or statement that describes
in detail an event, situation or occurrence, usually as the result
of observation or inquiry.
Reports are probably the most common form of work related writing.
Reports can be any length, from a single paragraph to many pages,
and they can be either formal or informal in tone. Reports can be
written or spoken. Depending on the circumstances, a report may be
based on your own personal knowledge of a subject or on information
you have gathered through reading, listening, and interviewing
specifically for the project.
The term report is difficult to define because it refers to such a wide
variety of documents. Reports can be as simple as filling in the blanks
or answering a few questions about an accident, or they can be long
and involved requiring years of study, hundreds of contributors, and
several thick volumes to record the results. What then are the basic
characteristics of a report?
What then are the basic characteristics of a report?
1. All reports are factual. You must be able to back up any facts you
include.
2. All reports organize facts into a meaningful presentation.
3. Most reports interpret the information gathered.
4. Many reports make recommendations.

5. Almost all reports are assigned or requested. This means that your
purpose and audience are determined before you start to work.
No matter how long the presentation or how much material you want
to include, basic essay structure still applies. In other words, you still
need AN INTRODUCTION A BODY A CONCLUSION In a longer essay or
report, the introduction could require three or four paragraphs (or
more), the body could have any number of paragraphs, and the
conclusion could be three or four paragraphs or more. In addition,
transitions become even more essential because readers need help to
understand how all the sections are related to the topic sentence and
to each other. The transitions you use can be single words, simple
phrases, complete sentences, or in some cases, transition paragraphs.

TYPES OF REPORTS
There are many different kinds of reports:
1. The
1.1
1.2
1.3
2. The
The

Form Report
tax return
daily time sheet
attendance register
Informal Report
term informal report is not to be confused with the word

casual. It simply means that the report does not have to follow
the very strict rules that apply to the formal report. Informal
reports can take the form of letters, memos, and written
presentations. Normally the informal report is quite short (twothree pages), but some organizations prepare informal reports
that can be more than 100 pages long. In general, informal
reports are used regularly to permanently record information
about accidents and incidents that happen in the work place.
Other types of reports that fall into this category are sales
reports, service reports, trip reports, progress reports, periodic
reports, incident report, accident report.

2.1

The Incident Report

Five Ws and 1 H
People, the time, date, and circumstances of the event.

2.2

The Accident Report.

For many reasons, accidents must be reported accurately
and quickly. In writing an accident report either for your
boss, your personal insurance agent, or the police, you
must include all the relevant details as objectively as
possible. It is sometimes a good idea to include a drawing
or diagram of the accident so that the reader will have a

2.3

better idea of what actually happened.

The Progress Report.
If a project continues over several months, progress
reports may be required regularly. Progress reports can be
as short as a single paragraph or as long as 50+ pages
depending on the job. Regardless of size, the progress

2.4

report answers four basic questions.

Will the project be completed on schedule?
What progress has been made?
Are there any problems to report?
What do you expect to happen in the next reporting period?
The Formal Report.
A formal report is a specialized kind of report that is more
like a book and is often bound in covers. These kinds of
reports are usually more than 2,000 words long and deal
with subjects of importance. Often the audience for a
formal report is someone who works outside your

organization.
2.5 The Research Report