Writing Skills – How to Write a Report

TutorGiant

     A report is a factual piece of writing that contains information.  Reports involve research to explore a topic.

     The key behind writing a good report is to be well organized.  Students must learn to organize their ideas and present them in a clear and succinct manner (the lesson on Report Writing here at Tutorgiant is one of my favorites).

     If your child is writing a report, you can help him/her organize it effectively at home.

1.    Have your child choose a specific topic for the report (granted your child has a choice).

2.    Your child should decide on 3-5 main ideas to focus on.  For example, if your child is doing a report on elephants, he can focus on: 1) Appearance, 2) Diet,  3) Babies,

      4) Behaviours.

3.    Have your child find information on each of the 3-5 main ideas.  He/she can write the information in point form notes.  Make sure your child focuses on facts not opinions. He should use relevant data, and good detailed information.  If needed, your child can organize the information in a graphic organizer.

4.    Now, your child has enough information to write 3-5 paragraphs.  Help your child to write a topic sentence for each paragraph.  The topic sentences should introduce the paragraph’s content. Then, he can take his point form notes and put them together in sentences.

5.    After your child has the 3-5 paragraphs with good topic sentences, he/she should write a good, strong opening that tells the main idea of the report.  A good opening can be a question or very interesting fact.  A strong opening sentence makes the reader want to read on.

6.    A strong closing sentence or sentences finishes off the report.  The closing should sum up the report and connect the main ideas together.  It’s almost like a summary of the report.

7.    Finally, the fun part, edit, edit, and edit.  Have your child use an editing checklist. 

8.    When your child is finished, allow him/her to read the report out loud to family and/or friends. 

     Clearly, writing a report is not difficult once your child learns the proper organization and format.  It is important for your child to add in facts and details.  A report must have good factual information for the reader.

©Tutorgiant.com

Tutorgiant.com provides complete Report Writing lessons with worksheets.

See some of the lessons in our video library.

REPORT WRITING - Lesson (A) Writing a Report (Grades 2-3)

REPORT WRITING - Lesson (B) How to Write a Report (Grades 4-6)

PARAGRAPHS - Lesson (A) Introduction to Paragraphs (Grades 1-3)

PARAGRAPHS - Lesson (B) Writing an Informational Paragraph (Grades 4-6)

TOPIC SENTENCES - Lesson (A) Introduction to Topic Sentences (Grades 1-3)

TOPIC SENTENCES - Lesson (B) Topic Sentences and Details (Grades 4-6)