Writing a report

It also shows the difference between a report that informs and one that only describes.

What a report is

A report collects information about a situation and presents it in an organised way to a reader who must make a decision. It might cover a school trip, a proposed change, a survey of opinion or a problem to solve.

In IGCSE English the report is a directed-writing task. You get a scenario and a reader, and you set out findings and, often, recommendations.

A report must be useful. The reader does not want to be entertained. They want to understand quickly and act.

Clarity and organisation matter most. A report that hides its key finding in the middle of a long paragraph has failed, however nice the sentences are.

Tone, layout and structure

The tone is formal and mostly objective. You report what is true and support it with evidence where you can.

Keep your feelings in the background, although a report can still argue towards a recommendation. Do not use contractions or chatty comments.

The layout is organised and clearly signposted. A usual order is:

1. A short statement of purpose.
2. Grouped sections, often with headings.
3. Recommendations or a conclusion.

Headings and short lists help, but the writing between them must be full sentences, not fragments. Boards differ on what a report task expects, so check our qualification pages.

A worked example, written by our teachers

This is our own original writing, made for teaching.

Report on the Proposed Cycle Route to Bandar Utama School

Purpose This report presents the results of a student survey on the proposed cycle route. It also gives recommendations for the school council.

Findings Most students who replied said they would cycle to school if a safe, separate route existed. Their main worry was not distance but traffic on the main road.

There, cars and buses share one narrow lane with cyclists. Several parents added that they would let younger children cycle only if the route avoided that junction completely.

Recommendation The council should build a protected lane along the quieter back road, even though it is slightly longer. Safety was the one factor most likely to change what families do.

The report states its purpose plainly and groups its findings. The recommendation follows directly from the evidence. Nothing is decoration, and everything helps the reader decide.

What a strong report includes

• A clear purpose near the start.
• Findings grouped in a logical way, not listed at random.
• A formal, objective tone from start to finish.
• Evidence or an example behind each important claim.
• Recommendations that follow from the findings, not only from opinion.
• Clear signposting, through headings or well-ordered paragraphs.

Common mistakes

The most common mistake is a report that only describes. It says what happened, but not what it means or what to do next. The second is a tone slip, where the writing becomes like an article or a letter.

The third is disorganisation: findings scattered so that the reader cannot follow the logic. The fourth is a recommendation that comes from nowhere, with no finding to support it. For each recommendation, point to the finding behind it.

How this helps your other writing

A report practises choosing the relevant points, organising them and writing for a specific reader. These skills also help the summary, the discursive essay and the formal letter.

The objective tone is good training for literature essays too. See our skills guides, our grammar guides and our annotated model responses.

Next steps

Read the annotated model response for directed writing: report, then try the directed writing: report practice tasks. The skill guide writing a report gives the plan. If you want a similar format with more opinion, see how to write a review.

Students usually get stuck on recommendations. They write good findings, then add advice that does not connect to them.

In 1-to-1 lessons, our teachers ask the student to match each recommendation to one finding, and delete any that has no match. This is part of our First Language English tuition, from RM70/hr.

Bring a recent report to a paid one-hour trial lesson, and the teacher who would continue will mark it with you.

Next, visit our original practice tasks to write this form to a real brief. Our IGCSE English tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.