How to Write an Information Report – by Word Philocaly
How to write an information report? That’s a good question that many of our readers have been pondering on.
The purpose of an information report is to present factual information on a given subject. We need to follow a particular structure and certain language features we need to use when writing one.
This article will guide you on how to write an information report for primary students, secondary students (high school students), professionals, and beyond.
What is the basic structure of a report?
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.
1. 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.
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.
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2. Body Paragraphs
After the introduction come the body paragraphs. Each body paragraph focuses on its 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 rainforest layers.
Each of these subtopics would need its 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 put together.
After the body paragraphs, it concludes.
3. Conclusion
The conclusion should briefly summarise what the reader has learned. You should introduce no new information, and the ending wraps up the main idea of the report for readers.
Sometimes the conclusion might leave the reader with something to think about.
4. Reference List
Finally, a reference list, or a bibliography, should be included to let the reader know where the report’s author got their information.
What should an information report include? What are the different language features used in a report?
Let’s now take a look at the language features of an information report. You should write information reports in the present tense and third person.
Passive voice. You should write information reports in passive voice.
Take this example from some content of an informational 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 you must use passive voice 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 that thousands of elephants are killed every year for their tasks.
Can you see a problem if we were to write this sentence in our report:
‘It is unfortunate that thousands of elephants are killed every year.’
Here is the fact. This is an opinion. Opinions don’t belong in information reports.
Technical vocabulary. These are words specific to a particular topic or field and are therefore not used in our everyday language. Staying on the subject of elephants, some everyday vocabulary might include: ‘skin’, ‘mouth’, ‘legs’, ‘food’.
Now here is some technical vocabulary that you could use:
‘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 essential to use in information reports because they link together information and ideas. Some conjunctions compare; some add details; others show cause and effect; others are used to illustrate a point.
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 make clear to the reader how many elephants are being killed each year.
Before we finish, it’s crucial to mention research. You should spend a large part of the total time creating an information report on the research phase.
How to Write an Information Report with Word Philocaly
Word Philocaly delivers an unparalleled information report writing service for many industries and disciplines. We have experienced and skilled report writers from different domains to offer the best copywriting and writing services.
Our professional writers know the requirements and guidelines for writing information reports, annual reports, marketing reports, business proposals, and corporate documents. We ensure all the information necessary to convey the report results and findings.
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