Learning Area English for Academic and Professional Purposes

12
Quarter Fourth
I. LESSON TITLE Writing a Report
II. LEARNING COMPETENCYDetermines the objectives and structures of various kinds of
reports
III. LEARNING PHASES AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
INTRODUCTION
People have often narrated their daily activities: children tell their parents who got into a fight with them,
husbands and wives tell each other what happened at home and at work, old people tell the young about their
childhood, friends tell each other where they were before they met, and students tell their teachers why they were late.

In other words, everybody has done some informal reporting at some point in their lives, but when this verbal
capacity is used to report on surveys, field work, experimental studies, systematic findings, and innovations, inquiries,
and other outcomes of technical advancements and study, a structured presentation is needed.

In this lesson, you will learn how to determine the objectives and structures of various kinds of reports which
include the principles and uses of surveys, experiments and scientific observations. As you go through this module, you
need to bring with you some experiences or instances in your life where you need to assert your beliefs as a person in
order for you to make a meaningful learning experience.

CONCEPT NOTES
Writing a Report and its Types
Report writing is a structured style of writing that focuses on a specific subject in depth. The tone of a report,
as well as the style in which it is written, is often formal. The target group is a critical section to concentrate on. For
instance, writing a report about a school occurrence, writing a report about a business case, and so on.
All of the evidence and details contained in the study must not only be free of bias, but also be completely
accurate. Before sending a submission, you should always proofread it and double-check the facts. Reports requiring a
great deal of review must be written. The object of report writing is to educate the reader about a subject without
expressing one's opinion.

2 MAJOR TYPES OF REPORTS

INFORMAL REPORTS
Informal reports are relatively short, concise, and casual documents used for internal communication within an
organization or among colleagues. These reports often focus on specific topics, updates, or requests for information.
Key characteristics of informal reports include:
 Flexibility in structure and format.
 Conversational and less formal writing style.
 Use of bullet points, headings, and subheadings for improved readability.
 Emphasis on brevity and clarity.

Examples of informal reports include:

Progress Reports: These reports provide updates on the status and progress of a project or task,
highlighting achievements, challenges, and milestones reached during a specific period.
Meeting Minutes: Meeting minutes capture the key points discussed, decisions made, and action items
identified during a meeting. They serve as a reference for attendees and provide an overview for those who were
unable to attend.
Incident Reports: Incident reports document accidents, incidents, or near-misses that occur within an
organization, including details such as date, time, location, individuals involved, and a description of the event.
FORMAL REPORTS
Formal reports are detailed, structured documents that follow a specific format and are used to convey
information to a wider audience, both within and outside the organization. These reports are typically longer, more
comprehensive, and cover complex topics. Key characteristics of formal reports include:
 Standardized structure with sections such as introduction, body, conclusion, and recommendations.
 Formal and professional tone.
 Extensive research, analysis, and supporting data.
 Professional formatting and referencing style.

Examples of formal reports include:

Annual Financial Reports: These reports present the financial performance, statements, and analysis of an
organization over a specific period, such as a fiscal year. They provide insights into revenue, expenses, assets,
liabilities, and financial ratios.
Research Reports: Research reports outline the methodology, findings, and analysis of a research study.
They include a literature review, data collection methods, results, conclusions, and recommendations.
Feasibility Study Reports: Feasibility study reports evaluate the viability and potential of a proposed project
or initiative. They cover aspects such as market analysis, financial projections, technical feasibility, and risks.
PERFORMANCE TASK: Identify what kind of report each (formal or informal) and its specific classifications such as
the purpose and structure.

A survey report is a document whose task is to present the information gathered during the survey in an objective
manner. It presents a summary of all the responses that were collected in a simple and visually appealing manner.
The purpose of writing a survey report is to study a research topic thoroughly, and to summarize the existing
studies in an organized manner. It is an important step in any research project.

A field report is a documentation of observations and analysis of particular phenomena, behaviors,

processes, and more. It is based on theories and researchers’ analysis, which are used to identify solutions for a
specific project or case study.
The purpose of a field report in the social sciences is to describe the observation of people, places, and/or
events and to analyze that observation data in order to identify and categorize common themes in relation to the
research problem underpinning the study. The content represents the researcher's interpretation of meaning found in
data that has been gathered during one or more observational events.

A laboratory report provides a formal record of an experiment. The discussion of objectives, procedures, and
results should be specific enough that interested readers could replicate the experiment.
The purpose of a lab report is simple: to document the results of an experiment and to communicate the
findings in a way which is scientifically acceptable as well as understandable. Just like other assignments related to
science, it has to be organized, objective and methodical; factual and evidence based.
 A scientific report is a document that describes the process, progress, and or results of technical or scientific
research or the state of a technical or scientific research problem. It might also include recommendations and
conclusions of the research.
The aim of your science experiment is the reason you're doing it in the first place. As a result, the intent of
your experiment should be stated in the objective section of your lab report. The effects of fertilizer on plants, for
example, would be the object of your experiment if you were trying to show the value of using fertilizer on plants. After
reading your goal, your readers will understand that the remainder of your article will cover these consequences.

A technical report is a document written by a researcher detailing the results of a project and submitted to
the sponsor of that project. Technical Reports are not peer-reviewed unless they are subsequently published in a peer-
review journal.
This report may contain data, design criteria, procedures, literature reviews, research history, detailed tables,
illustrations/images, explanation of approaches that were unsuccessful; may be published before the corresponding
journal literature; may have more or different details than its subsequent journal article; may contain less background
information since the sponsor already knows it; may have restricted access classified and export controlled reports; and
lastly, may contain obscure acronyms and codes as part of identifying information.

STRUCTURE OF A REPORT
A key feature of reports is that they are formally structured in sections. The use of sections makes it easy for
the reader to jump straight to the information they need.
Unlike an essay, which is written in a single narrative style from beginning to end, each section of a report
serves a distinct purpose and must be written in a style that is suitable for that purpose – for example, the methodology
and results sections are primarily descriptive, while the discussion section must be analytical.

Introduction, including aims and objectives

State what your research/project/enquiry is about. What are you writing about, why and for whom? What are
your objectives? What are you trying to show or prove (your hypothesis)?
Methodology
State how you did your research/enquiry and the methods you used. How did you collect your data? For
example, if you conducted a survey, say how many people were included and how you selected them. Say whether you
used interviews or questionnaires and how you analyzed the data.
Findings/results
Give the results of your research. Do not, at this stage, try to interpret the results – simply report them. This
section may include graphs, charts, diagrams etc. (clearly labelled). Be very careful about copyright if you are using
published charts, tables, illustrations etc.
Discussion
Interpret your findings. What do they show? Were they what you expected? Could your research have been
done in a better way?
Conclusions and Recommendations
These should follow on logically from the Findings and Discussion sections. Summarize the key points of your
findings and show whether they prove or disprove your hypothesis. If you have been asked to, you can make
recommendations arising from your research.
References
List all your sources in alphabetical order.

Based on the scenario, identify whether it requires a formal report or an informal report. Provide your answer along
with a brief explanation of why you chose that report type.

Example:

You have been assigned to provide an update on the progress of a marketing campaign to your team
members during a weekly team meeting.
 When writing a report paper, you can arrange it in such a way that it is simple to read and comprehend.
Although the parts you should include in your report will vary depending on the report, you can use the following report
components as a reference when writing your report:
1. Title or title page
2. Executive summary/abstract that briefly describes the content of your report
3. Table of contents (if the report is more than a few pages)
4. An introduction describing your purpose in writing the report
5. Methodology, Findings/Results, Discussion
6. Conclusion or recommendation depending on the purpose of the report
7. References

PERFORMANCE TASK
A. Directions: Read the sample report, “Fast-Food Addiction”. Then, answer the comprehension questions that
follow.

Fast-food Addiction

(1) It is no secret that the US is leading the world in its swelling obesity. The nation is subsisting on a diet of high-
calorie convenience food. In fact, Americans have increased their spending on fast-food items from $6 billion to
nearly $160 billion annually over the past four decades. What may come as a shock, however, is the
accumulation of evidence suggesting that the main ingredients in the typical “hamburger, fries, and a cola” are
addictive compounds that keep customers lining up for their next fix.
(2) The key culprits are sugar and fat. Empirical studies reveal that the heavy dosage of these substances in today’s
super-sized standard of a fast-food meal can trigger brain activity similar to that endured when a person is on hard
drugs. A representative individual serving at McDonald’s or Burger King can dish out up to 2000 calories, including
more than a cup of sugar and 84 grams of fat. Single-handedly, this meal sized portion meets the full daily caloric
requirement for the average woman. Moreover, it exceeds the recommended daily allowances of both sugar and
fat for any adult, regardless of gender.
(3) Whereas heroin is an opiate, both sugar and fat stimulate endogenous opioids such as beta-endorphins in the
hypothalamus, just above the brain stem. These naturally occurring painkillers activate the release of dopamine, a
neurotransmitter, into a small cluster of cells located in the midbrain called the nucleus acumens. Here, dopamine
functions to elicit feelings of pleasure or euphoria. What’s more, it motivates an individual to proactively repeat
any action that originally fueled its production. In the case of sugar and fat, purported addiction is a consequence
of the body craving the release of dopamine inherent in their consumption.
(4) To validate reports that fat and sugar behave in a drug-like fashion, researchers have conducted laboratory
studies demonstrating that they induce classic addictive symptoms. For example, eliminating sugar from the
nutritional regime of rats that are used to a primarily sweet diet produced anxiety asymptomatic of heroin and
nicotine withdrawal. Moreover, increased tolerance to addictive food substances was noted. In one experiment,
 rates were fed a chocolate drink containing a high ratio of both fat and sugar. Although the animals were found to
ingest increasing amounts of the potent liquid, their total production of resulting brain opiates was, in fact,
diminished. This would suggest that the rodents had become progressively more tolerant to the effects of fat and
sugar. Furthermore, it is likely they would subsequently require a greater quantity to achieve the same high.
(5) Likewise in humans, brain-imaging scans of obese and non-obese persons illustrate that the heftier the individual,
the fewer dopamine receptors are present. Researchers are uncertain whether this is the basis or the outcome of
obesity. However, as weight rises, individuals need to consume increasingly larger portions to experience a
comparable euphoric effect.

Guide Questions:
1. What is the main issue in the introductory paragraph?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What are the culprits mentioned in paragraph 2?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Give two scientific proofs that sugar and fat behave like drugs causing addiction.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How many calories are there in a serving of burger? How many calories a day is required of the average woman?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What caution was suggested in the conclusion?

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Direction: From the sample report, ‘Fast-

Food Addiction”, fill in the blank with the
correct
content.
B. Directions: From the sample report, ‘Fast-Food Addiction”, fill in the blank with the correct content.
 1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

2. CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM

3. ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSE

4. PROOF

Name: _____________________________________ Section: ________ Score: ________

English for Academic and Professional Purposes (EAPP) | Quiz No. 3
Writing a Report
I. MULTIPLE CHOICE: Read comprehensively the given items. After reading, answer each item by
choosing and writing before the item number the CAPITAL LETTER that corresponds to your
answer.

______1. What is the purpose of an executive summary in a report?

A. To provide a detailed analysis of the topic C. To present recommendations and suggestions
B. To summarize the main points and findings D. To list all the references used
______2. Which of the following should be included in the introduction of a report?
A. Methodology B. Background information C. Results and analysis D. Appendices
______3. What should be the tone of a formal report?
A. Casual and conversational C. Persuasive and emotional
B. Neutral and objective D. Humorous and sarcastic
______4. What is the purpose of including visuals (e.g., graphs, charts) in a report?
A. To make the report longer C. To enhance understanding and clarity
B. To provide a break from the text D. To replace written content
______5. Which of the following is NOT a common mistake in report writing?
A. Using jargon and technical terms C. Including personal opinions and biases
B. Failing to cite sources properly D. Proofreading the report multiple times
______6. What is the purpose of an appendix in a report?
A. To include additional information that is not essential
B. To summarize the main points of the report
C. To provide a detailed explanation of the research methodology
D. To present recommendations and suggestions
______7. What is the purpose of proofreading a report?
A. To correct grammar and spelling errors C. To improve the overall readability
B. To ensure consistency and coherence D. All of the above
______8. Which section of a report should provide a brief overview of the research methods used?
A. Introduction B. Methodology C. Results D. Conclusion
______9. What is the purpose of the abstract in a report?
A. To summarize the entire report C. To present recommendations and suggestions
B. To provide a brief overview of the report's key points D. To list all the references used
______10. Which of the following is NOT a purpose of a report?
A. To inform B. To persuade C. To entertain D. To analyze
______11. What is the purpose of the literature review section in a report?
A. To present the author's personal opinions and perspectives
B. To summarize the main findings of the research
C. To analyze and evaluate existing literature on the topic
D. To present original research data and results
______12. Which of the following is NOT a good practice when writing a report?
A. Using clear and concise language C. Including personal anecdotes and stories
B. Avoiding plagiarism by properly citing sources D. Using headings and subheadings for organization
______13. What is the purpose of a reference list in a report?
A. To acknowledge the sources used in the report
B. To include additional information that is not essential
C. To present a summary of the main points
D. To provide a detailed explanation of the research methodology
______14. Which of the following is a reliable source for gathering information for a report?
A. Wikipedia B. Personal blog C. Peer-reviewed journal article D. Social media post
______15. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a well-written report?
A. Clear and concise language C. Inclusion of personal opinions
B. Proper grammar and spelling D. Logical flow of ideas

II. IDENTIFICATION: Read and comprehend the numerically written extract. Determine which part of
the structure the numbered paragraph/sentence exemplifies.

Survey of Academic and General Reading in English

______16. On 8th February 1999, a survey was conducted among 16 overseas post-graduate students at
the University of England. The purpose of the survey was to discover the reading habits in English of
the students.
______17. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire given to the students to complete. The
first part of the questionnaire dealt with the type of reading and its frequency. The second section was
concerned with newspapers: the type of items read and those that were read first.
______18. From the table of data, the most significant items are as follows. In the first section 81% of the
students regularly read academic books" while 44% regularly read academic journals. Nothing else is
read regularly or often by 40% or more of the students. The following comments can be made about the
reading of newspapers, magazines and fiction.
______19. If any conclusions may be drawn from the data, they are, perhaps, as follows. Overseas
students presumably have little time for general reading: most of their reading time is spent on books
and journals on their own subject. Outside their studies, apart from reading news about their own
country, international news, and news about Britain, they probably spend most time watching TV and
listening to the radio.
______20. /from Academic Writing Course by R.R. Jordan/
III. MATCHING TYPE: Match the different parts of report with their respective descriptions.