The purpose of an information report is to present
factual information on a given subject. There's a particular structure we need
to follow, and certain language features we need to use when writing one.
We'll start by looking at the structure. By following the correct structure of an
information report, we make it easy for the reader to
understand the information we're presenting.
This is the basic structure of an information report:
title, introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Let's start with the
introduction.
The introduction gives an overview of what the reader can expect to learn from
reading the report. It includes a brief outline of the
subtopics within the report. Here's an information report on sea turtles.
Let's take a closer look at the introduction.
We can see from the title and the introduction that this report will focus
on threats to sea turtles.
Further on in the introduction, it gives a brief outline of the threats the
report will include.
An introduction should also include a hook. That is,
something to catch the reader's attention. This could be an interesting
fact, statistic, or even a question.
Let's go back to the 'threats to sea turtles' introduction
The author has used this alarming statistic to hook the reader.
After the introduction come the body paragraphs.
Each body paragraph focuses on its own subtopic.
Let's say we were writing an information report on rainforests.
We might decide to give information about the animals that live in
rainforests, the plants, and the different layers of a rainforest.
Each of these subtopics would need its
own paragraph in the body of our report. Let's take a closer look at what a body
paragraph is. Body paragraphs often have subheadings.
Subheadings make it easy for the reader to navigate the report
and find information quickly. Each body paragraph
needs a topic sentence. A topic sentence is a sentence that tells the main idea
of the paragraph.
The rest of the paragraph provides more details and examples, all focused on the
subtopic. Let's take a closer look at one of these
body paragraphs: body paragraph 3: Layers.
Here is the subheading: 'Layers of a Rainforest'.
Here is the topic sentence: 'Rainforests have four main layers.'
Just like the subheading, this signals to the reader what the paragraph is about.
The rest of the paragraph provides details and examples,
all focused on the subtopic: layers of a rainforest.
Information reports can have many body paragraphs.
They should be ordered logically. Which subtopic does it make sense to place
first? Last? Perhaps some of the subtopics make
sense to be placed together. After the body paragraphs comes the
conclusion.
The conclusion should briefly summarise what the reader has learned.
No new information should be introduced. Let's take another look at the report
'Threats to Sea Turtles', specifically the conclusion paragraph.
No new information has been introduced here, and we can see that it wraps up the
main idea of the report for the reader.
Sometimes the conclusion might leave the reader with something to think about.
The author of this report has done that here.
Finally a reference list, or a bibliography,
should be included to let the reader know where the author of the report got
their information.
Let's now take a look at the language features of an information report.
Information reports should be written in present tense
and in third person. Let's go back to the introduction we looked at earlier.
We can see that present tense has been used here.
It's also written in third person.
Passive voice. Information reports should be written in passive voice.
Take this example from a different part of the same report.
It reads: 'Many sea turtles are injured or killed by boat propellers.'
This is passive voice. I'll rewrite the same idea in active voice:
'Boat propellers injure and kill many sea turtles.'
Can you see why passive voice must be used rather than active voice?
In the active voice example, the emphasis is on the boat propellers.
We want to always keep the focus on the topic of our report;
in this case, sea turtles. Passive voice lets us do this.
Include only facts. Information reports must present
facts, not the author's opinions. Let's imagine we're writing a report on
elephants, and we find an information source that
tells us every year, thousands of elephants are killed for
their tasks. Can you see a problem if we were to
write this sentence in our report: 'It is awfully sad that thousands of
elephants are killed every year.'
Here is the fact. This is opinion. Opinions don't belong in information reports.
Technical vocabulary. These are words that are specific to a certain topic or
field and are therefore not used in our
everyday language. Staying on the topic of elephants, some
everyday vocabulary might include: 'skin', 'mouth', 'legs', 'food'.
Now here is some technical vocabulary that could be used:
'tusks', 'mammal', 'herbivore', 'trunk', 'habitat', 'diet'.
An information report will use everyday language,
but it also must include technical vocabulary, as it allows the author to
communicate with greater clarity and accuracy.
Conjunctions. Conjunctions are important to use in information reports
because they link together information and ideas.
Here is a list of conjunctions grouped by their purpose.
We can see that some compare; some add details;
others show cause and effect; and others are used to illustrate a point.
We're going to look at three passages taken from three different information
reports. Each will show the use of a different
conjunction. Here's the first example. The conjunction
'as a result' has been used.
This conjunction links the demand for more land
with the fact that elephants are coming into contact with humans more often.
Here is the second example. The conjunction 'similarly' has been used.
The word 'similarly' links by comparing where crocodiles and alligators
lay their eggs. Here's the third example. The conjunction
'additionally' has been used.
The word 'additionally' adds more information to the topic.
In this case, it adds humans to the list of threats
turtles face.
Another feature of information reports is visual information.
This includes diagrams images with captions,
maps, graphs, tables, and charts.
These should be used to support the written information in a report.
For example, in our report about elephants, we might include a graph to
really make clear to the reader how many elephants are being killed each year.
Before we finish, it's important to mention research.
A large part of the total time you spend creating an information report
should be spent on the research phase.
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