Report - Language Notes

A report is a putting together (compilation) of information on a subject or topic. It is an account of an event, incident or problem. It is aimed at a particular audience and serves a specific purpose.

Purpose of a Report:
  • To present information on a subject or topic.
  • To recount an experience.
  • To present detailed information about an event, situation or incident.

Types of Report:
  • Newspaper reports
  • Information reports (statistics/surveys)
  • Eye- witness reports
  • Simple Reports

General content:
  • Reports should be pieces of factual continuous writing.  
  • Should be about 250 words long, depending on the question asked. 
  • Individual views and opinions are not to be included. 
  • If the information is in the form of a dialogue then reported speech MUST be used.
Newspaper Report
This type of report covers many different types (genres) of writing. The practice of aiming newspaper reports at particular groups is called SLANTING. This is where one avoids putting so much of one’s opinion in the report in order to avoid seeming biased. Instead, the focus is on those aspects of events which will most interest the readers. The major features of a newspaper report are:
  • It contains facts (should).
  • Written in the past tense and passive voice.
  • It takes the fact that it has various groups of people as its audience into consideration.
  • Gives concrete details in order to help readers to visualize an incident.
  • The Newspaper Report has a catchy phrase or title and a by line. This identifies the person who wrote the article. 

Commonly used words in a newspaper report are: Alleged, said, reported, claimed, denied, suspected, reiterated, confirmed, agreed, when contacted, refused.

Information reports (statistics/surveys)
When writing a report from a statistic or survey, it is necessary to notice trends. A trend is when the reader/ observer views information as a whole and searches for evidence of a general pattern. The language that is used when writing a report of this nature is:
  • Increase – goes up
  • Decrease – goes down
  • Consistent – follows a set pattern
  • Fluctuation – not consistent, up and down
  • Adjectives to describe these 4 words are small, minimal, steady gradual, sharp, significant, great, reasonable, fair

Eye – Witness Report
This type of report presents what a person remembers as important during an incident (scene of an accident/award ceremony etc.), therefore, the report contains:
  • Facts
Please exclude:
  • Opinions
  • Impressions
Some questions that one would ask oneself when constructing an Eye Witness Report are:
  • Where did the incident occur?
  • When did the incident happen?
  • What important details do I need to mention?

Simple Report
  • Used to report incidents that may affect another in one way or another.
  • Usually not used for more than an audience of two or three. 
  • Usually directed to a particular person. 
  •  Used as reminders- in the form of a memorandum- to our peers or others in a lower position than ourselves. 
  • The business letter format is used for more formal reports.
  • This format is very informal and is only used for writing to persons of equal status or persons of a lower position. 
  • May also be used when writing to a person of a higher status IF INSTRUCTED TO DO SO. OTHERWISE, THE BUSINESS LETTER FORMAT IS USED. 


Contributors: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
                         Samouye Brown



Fraser, L. A. CXC Lecture Series: English Language. (2nd ed.) Kingston, Jamaica, Observer Limited, 2001.
King, P.H. Writing Summaries and Statistical Reports. Jamaica W.I: Carib Publishing Limited, 1998.
Narinesingh, R, Seetahal-Maraj. English For All bk.3. Trinidad and Tobago, WI: Datazone Publishing Co. Ltd., 2008.


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