HOW TO… WRITE A FORMAL REPORT

DEFINITION…. WHAT IS A FORMAL REPORT? A formal report is a factual account about something. The purpose of a formal report is to inform, NOT persuade or entertain!

CHECKLIST FOR A FORMAL REPORT INTRODUCTION: State what you will write about. Here, include your three subheadings! THREE SUBHEADINGS: Think about the main ideas/sections of your topic. Put your most important one first! NOT TOO DESCRIPTIVE VOCABULARY: Needs to be formal and sophisticated. Make sure it relates to your topic. CORRECT PUNCTUATION FORMAL LANGUAGE: No contractions allowed (can’t), and definitely no slang. DIFFERENT SENTENCE STARTERS THIRD PERSON: Your report needs to be impersonal, and not use words like ‘I’, ‘my’, ‘we’ COMPLEX AND COMPOUND SENTENCES

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE SUBHEADINGS FROM A REPORT ABOUT T. E HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE SUBHEADINGS FROM A REPORT ABOUT T.E.A. Can you pick out the sophisticated vocab, the facts, and the range of sentences? School Facilities TEA has a range of facilities for both its’ students and staff. The LoFat canteen, for example, has a selection of wraps, salads, desserts and drinks, including chicken fajitas and fruit salad. The canteen is open every break, however, only certain year-groups are allowed to use it every break. Moreover, the school has a prayer room available on the third floor of the building. The prayer room, which is in room 304, is open throughout the day for both students and staff to use. It has a maroon carpet, and like most classrooms, a dark brown wooden door.

WHAT MUST IT INCLUDE…? LANGUAGE (THE STYLE YOU WRITE IN): STRUCTURE (HOW IT IS ORGANISED): A title describing the main subject At least three subtitles about the main subject An introduction that outlines or gives an overview of your main topic LANGUAGE (THE STYLE YOU WRITE IN): Formal language (check next slide) Ambitious and sophisticated vocab Compound and complex sentences CONTENT (THE IDEAS YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT): Paragraphs that match the subheading Expanded and original ideas Not repeating the same ideas again and again

FORMAL LANGUAGE: REMEMBER, FORMAL LANGUAGE IS: -Directed to an audience that should be respected (often older) -Without any slang! -Free of informal tone and phrases, e.g. lots of stuff -Not allowed to have contractions – can’t, don’t. -Controlled emotions – SO NO EXCLAMATION MARKS OR CAPITAL LETTERS! FOR A FORMAL REPORT ESPECIALLY: -Third person must be used – no ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘yous’ allowed

SEE THESE EXAMPLE OF INFORMAL AND FORMAL EXTRACTS ABOUT THE SAME TOPIC: I ran down the third floor corridor really fast! The corridor was empty, so it was easy. I could see all the kids still in classrooms studying, while I was going home! It was great! I couldn’t wait to go home! The third floor corridor is the highest floor in the school that has classrooms. The walls of the corridor are decorated with a range of displays from different subjects. The best displays are those outside the English classrooms.

IF YOU HAD TO COMPLETE THE REPORT, YOU COULD SELECT ANY TWO OF THESE SUBHEADINGS: YOUR PRACTICE TASK: SUBJECTS SCHOOL BUILDING LOCATION TEACHERS HISTORY Select two of these subheadings (or create your own) and write out a full report for practice. Go back through the PowerPoint to revise any areas you are unsure about, AND use the success criteria on the next slide to check you are doing everything correctly! REMEMBER: Don’t forget to include a few sentences for the introduction, giving a brief overview of The English Academy.

PRACTICE: EXTRA TASKS: Write a Formal Report on a city around the world. You could include these subtitles: Landscape Culture/Religion Cuisine (food) Tourist attractions Write a Formal Report on Avenues informing your audience. You could include these subtitles: Shopping Eating (restaurants/cafes) Other activities (children’s play areas/cinema) TOP TIP: Don’t include your own opinion – however much you love Avenues! TOP TIP: Don’t just copy from the internet. It must be your own words! CHALLENGE TASK: GO BACK TO WHEN YOU WROTE A FORMAL REPORT ON AN INSECT. Now, create your own insect and write a Formal Report on it. Use the same subtitles we asked you to last time (Yes – you have to go and open your English book!) TOP TIP: Be creative with ideas, but remember to still be FORMAL and INFORMATIVE!