How to write a good report?
What is a report?
A report is defined as a writing form that specifically identifies and examines issues, events and incidents that have happened in the world, for instance: incidents that happened within a company, school industrial institution. A report aims at telling the reader about the most important issues and events in a clear, concise, and objective way. One of the most important skills students should have is reporting, either orally or in a written form. This is something that they definitely need in real-life situations.
Students of high school and college will have to learn how to report for two main reasons:
- To find out what they learned from reading, research, and experience.
- Develop reporting skills that are widely used in the workplace.
The components of a report
A report should be comprehensive and covers everything that happened. Therefore, the reporter should include several elements in his/her report. Basically, a report should answer five essential questions:
- What was the event?
- Who was involved in the event?
- When did the event take place?
- Where did the event happen?
- What were the main conclusions/recommendations of the event?
It definitely depends on the incident. However, when writing a detailed report, you will use the elements in the following table.
| Organizers of the event |
| Topic of the event |
| Place of the event |
| Time of the event |
| Participants in the event |
| Attendance at the event |
| Activities in the event |
| Main ideas of the event |
| Evaluation of the event |
| Reactions to the event |
Questions you ask when you write a report
| Organizers | Who organized the event? |
| Topic | What is the topic of the event? |
| Place | What is the place of the event? |
| Time | How much time did the event take? |
| Participants | Who were the participants in the event? |
| Attendance | How many attended the event? |
| Activities | What were the activities during the event? |
| Main ideas | What were the main ideas discussed during the event? |
| Evaluation | How was the event evaluated? |
| Reactions | How did participants react to the event? |
| Organizers | The golden gates association |
| Topic | Leadership and youth |
| Place | What is the place of the event? |
| Time | 3 hours |
| Participants | Teachers, students, parents, educators, administrators |
| Attendance | 200 persons |
| Activities | Workshops Presentations Dance Singing Sketches |
| Main ideas | young people should be taught how to be leaders. They need to be supported and educated |
| Evaluation | The event was very successful and fruitful |
| Reactions | Every attendant was satisfied and educators called for putting an action plan to help young people in the city. |
Practical tips to write a well-detailed report:
- Title: it should be short and concise. It should give the reader a general idea about the content of the report.
- Introduction: The introduction sets the scene for the report by providing the reader with details such as: date, time, participants… etc.
- Body: This is the main part of the report. You have to focus on the main activities of the event.
- Conclusion: evaluate the success of the event and mention the reactions and opinions of the participants.
