'Report Writing: Style and Structure\r'

' trace Writing: path and mental synthesis unofficial Writing a continue female genitalia seem daunting at primary, alone with a solid understanding of the fundamental social organisation and style employ in constructing clear and crisp enshrouds, it can be achieved. The standard report data formatting is as follows: entitle, Summary, entryway, Body, Conclusions, Recommendations, Appendix, References and accede of Contents. We go forth first appearance at how to prep atomic number 18 a report before the composition begins. Learning objectives At the end of the session, students result be able to: • Write with a precise purpose and audition in mind • Structure article of faiths, paragraphs and reports Write clearly and concisely Purpose and listening Before composing a report you should first reveal or so key factors, which forget suspensor you plan your approach and write with clarity. The first interrogate you should ask yourself is, â€Å" what is the purpose of the report? ” Purpose â€Å"What is it approximately, and what is it for? ” It is dependable to establish the purpose of your report before you run writing, so that you can think clearly on the subject, and produce a report styled to fit the take of your purpose. Recognize what your report is for, (informing, instructing, guiding) and focus your writing on explaining the details.If for example, you privation to write an instructional report for a team of colleagues, you k in a flash that you must focus your writing on providing clear concise instructions, which leave suspend your subscriber to comprehend the processes that you argon describing. Audience â€Å"Who argon you writing for? ” The jiffy question you should ask yourself is, â€Å"who is handout to train this report and why? ” Knowing your listening will service of process you determine how long your report should be, how it should be presented, and what level o f terminology you should use to exceed attract and master(prenominal)tain the interest of your reader.If for example, you atomic number 18 writing a report to inform policy makers, you would want to focus on presenting your test clearly and concisely. We will now try an exercise on identifying reference and purpose: Exercise one Malaria stripe You are a salutaryness blend iner at the Ministry Of Health and give birth been asked to write a report on Malaria. You take for access to the figures on Malaria incidents in the rude over the last five years, as well as access to the latest info on drugs and other barriers to prevent Malaria. 1. Describe the purpose of your report, and identify your audience.The sentence Now that we know how to identify our audience and define a purpose, we will look at how to write clearly and succinctly. Understanding how to structure a sentence is essential to conveying meaning clearly. pursuance are a few rules of thumb to certifyer avoid am biguous sentences: • Keep it short and to the point. legion(predicate) people have trouble with patronise sentences, creating ambiguity by attaching many ideas together with large combinations of commas, semicolons and dashes. over(p) one thought and close out your sentence with end punctuation. • Words for words sake.Avoid extraneous words, and parentheses that do non add to your point. • Don’t feed it hanging. Sentence fragments can be just as confusing as run-on sentences. Make genuine that you have completed your sentence and that it makes sense, before gag law it out. For a comprehensive explanation of the inner whole shebang of sentences and grammar, you can realise the links below. Sentence help: http://www2. actden. com/writ_den/tips/sentence/index. htm Grammar help: http://www. speakspeak. com/html/d10_english_grammar. htm We will now look over some common errors that can convolute sentences and obscure meaning.Sentence Fragment â€Å"Mar k has finish his work on m. Since he started planning ahead. ” The second sentence is a fragment here, because it does not drive off enough information to complete a thought. approximately sentence fragments are phrases that belong to the previous thought. To remediate the problem in this instance, we simply remove the period. arrange â€Å"Mark has finished his work on epoch since he started planning ahead. ” Run-on sentence â€Å"Jane loves turkey cock he is a good friend. ” A run-on sentence occurs when you have two complete sentences that are not separated by correct punctuation.In this miscue we can correct it with a comma and a linking word, or by using a period. cook up â€Å"Jane loves Tom, because he is a good friend. ” â€Å"Jane loves Tom. He is a good friend. ” Exercise 2 Correct the pursuance sentence fragments and run-on sentences. We will play cricket tomorrow. If it doesn’t rain. In our survey we contacted 212 membe rs of government cx members of government responded. In order to obtain funding. You have to write clear concise reports. Michael loves to write reports he is talented at it and his wife’s c every(prenominal) down is Shelly. Structuring Sentences, Paragraphs and Reports Tell them what you’re going to discover them, tell them, and because tell them what you told them. ” The diagram below is an glorious example on how to write clearly and logically. We will now look at each disclose of this â€Å"map” and then see how the pieces come together. [pic] Introduction Introductory paragraph The introduction should explain the oecumenic ideas to come, as well as your thesis statement, which tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the report. The rest of the report should ruck up endorse and organize a case nigh your thesis statement. root sentencesA yield sentence is same(p) a mini introduction to the body of your paragraph. Your topic sentenc e should explain what the body of the paragraph will cover, (just like your introduction explains what to expect in the report). It is a good idea to â€Å"map” out your report, by first writing topic sentences for each of the different paragraphs or sections of your report. 2. Body Support sentences Support sentences are the body of paragraphs. This is the section of your report that serves to bear evidence and examples that reinforce your thesis statement. Support sentences are in any case apply to clearly explain and underpin main ideas. . Conclusion Concluding sentences The concluding sentence is used to reiterate the main points developed by the support sentences, and signal the end of a paragraph. They are also useful for adding emphasis to certain key points, with repetition. We will now look at how to require the different take aparts of a report foreign of the general writing, which are: Title, Summary, Recommendations, Appendix, References, and Table of Con tents. Title The ennoble is your first contact with the reader, and should inform them succinctly about what they are about to read. SummaryThe purpose of a compact is to provide an overview of the report. It is not necessary to give minute information in the summary, but rather to provide an indication of the type of information that the report contains. forte summaries are mingled with 100-150 words, and are generally create verbally after the report has been completed, so that you know on the nose what you are summarizing. Recommendations Recommendations are not an essential part of a report; however, if you are including one, it should follow from your conclusion. A brief statement clearly declaring your recommendations will suffice.Appendix An appendix contains materials that are peripheral, but relevant to your report. For example you may wish to include a glossary of price in your appendix if you are writing a technical report for those who are not experts on the s ubject. You may also include copies of research tools much(prenominal) as questionnaires and manuals, as well as tables and diagrams that you timbre would disrupt the flow of your report by severance it up. If your appendix does contain tables, diagrams etc. , make original to label them properly, so that the can easily be found when referenced.References If you have consulted or abduced any media sources, (print or otherwise) to help you compile your report, they must be acknowledge here, as well as in the text. Citing your resources not only avoids running into plagiarism issues, but strengthens your work by backing up your report with evidence from the work of others. If you are quoting directly from someone else, the quote must be followed by the author’s name and hear of publication in lot brackets, e. g. Calvino (1983). A standard bibliography is an alphabetized list ordered by Author’s surnames.For a agree you must include: the author’s surname and full name, or initials; the full title of the sacred scripture; the edition (if other than the first); the place of publication; the publisher, and the date of publication, e. g. Calvino, Italo. Palomar. Torino: S. P. A. , 1983. For a complete guide to correct citation, visit: http://www. liu. edu/cwis/CWP/library/workshop/citmla. htm Table of Contents A table of contents is a page containing number that correspond to different parts of your report, allowing readers to jump between sections quickly.Number and title the different portions of your report, (such as â€Å"1. 2 checkup advancements in treating Malaria” â€Å"1. 3 Government funding for treating Malaria” â€Å"2. 1 References” etc. ) and then create a tally list of contents that lists the page number as well as the reference number, which should be sequential, startle from the summary. A good starting point for affair out your table of contents is to do it identical to your topic sentences . Below is an example of a â€Å"mapped” checklist that puts all of the steps we have learned together followed by a table of contents.It is a good way tool to use when preparing to write a report. The â€Å"mapped” checklist is simulate on the Malaria legal profession exercise we completed earlier. â€Å"Mapped” Checklist for Malaria Prevention 1. Who is it for? Health workers in district offices. 2. What is it about? Malaria prevention †success stories over the last five years. 3. Title Let’s Win the Battle Against Malaria 4. Summary This report attempts to examine the benefits and drawbacks between different methods of contending malaria in Southern Africa, including rate of success, time, cost, and other socio-economic factors. 5. IntroductionExploring the methods for evaluating available options for combating malaria, and the relation back successes of different options over the past five years. 6. Topic sentences 1. Insecticide treated net s have been proven to nourish people from malaria, by both preventing physical contact, and cleansing the mosquito. 2. Community based work projects to reduce mosquito conduct grounds have been successful. 3. Indoor residual spray remains one of the most widely used methods of vector control. 4. All of the discussed methods for the prevention of malaria work to some degree, but is it more beneficial to take a proactive or reactive stance? . What is the most successful and cost effective way to combat malaria, and how can we implement these measures? 6. With community work and adapted resources, malaria could be greatly reduced over the beside decade. 7. Conclusion Having examined the different malaria prevention methods, and weighing their pros and cons, in that location are many possible solutions. 8. Recommendations 9. Appendix 10. References Table of Contents for Malaria Prevention ContentsPage no Summary………………………†¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦. 2 Contents……………………………………………………………………………….. 3 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………. 4 2.Prevention methods…………………………………………………………………. 5 2. 1 Insecticide treated nets……………………………………………………………………â₠¬Â¦. 5 2. 2 Community based work projects……………………………………………. 6 2. 3 Indoor residual spraying…………………………………………………….. 7 3. achievement and Cost……………………………………………………………………8 3. 1 Proactive and reactive approaches………………………………………….. 8 3. 2 Striking a medium between cost and success………………………………. 9 3. 3 Future success……………………………………………………â €¦â€¦â€¦â€¦. 9 4. Conclusions……………………………………………………………………….. 9 5. Recommendaions…………………………………………………………………10 6. Appendix…………………………………………………………………………. 0 7. References………………………………………………………………………… 11 Exercise 3 Bringing it all together Now that you have an understanding of the content and structure of a report, it is time to put that know ledge to use. 1. Using one of the reports that we read last session, map out the topic sentences, then construct a table of contents. Tips for writing a report • Write in plain English • Select an appropriate title • Use your art object checker • Start writing • Use your Report Map • Sleep on it • You don’t need to start at the beginning • Be engaging • Use language the will be comprehensible by your intended audience\r\n'