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22 views3 pages

176 WritingReports

Uploaded by

yoley87198
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Professionals Podcasts – WRITING REPORTS

Transcript

T: Hi Tony? You look busy. Are you marking?


IE: Yes. I’ve got about twenty IELTS exams to mark. I’ve done half of them but I
still have a lot to go.
T: How’s it going?
IE: Not so bad. I am marking all of the writing sections first. Reports.
T: Any good?
IE: Well that’s confidential information – but let’s just say there are all sorts.
T: Reports are easy to write though. I would have thought that was what students
found easiest. They aren’t like narrative texts when you have to have a vivid
imagination.
IE: Yes. You’re right. But you’d be surprised at the silly mistakes that students
make sometimes.
T: For example?
IE: Well, lots of people don’t read the question carefully so they end up writing a
report about the wrong thing. Or they read the question too quickly, think they
understand what they have to do but miss out a whole chunk of information.
T: Yes. I know what you mean. My students do that in class. They don’t seem to
realise how important it is just reading the question and thinking about it a bit –
what it means – who the report is for – what style they should use – they are
always in too much of a hurry to start writing
IE: Yes. I am sure that half the candidates don’t even write a plan. It is easy to spot
the ones who do – their reports are much easier to follow, they include all the
information and they are noticeably better written
T: Really?
IE: Yes. Absolutely.
T: I’ll tell my students that. Can I?
IE: (laughing) of course. It should be obvious anyway. I am sure you’ve told them
before.
T: Got any other tips?
IE: Well, I think it’s a good idea to get your students used to using some sort of a
checklist after they have finished writing their report – or at least after they’ve
written the first draft.
T: A checklist?
IE: Yes. A list of things to check. Obvious things but things that often get forgotten.
T: For example?
IE: Well, to check that the register is the right one of course. So, if a report is
supposed to be formal then it should be formal. No contractions, no colloquial
expressions. And then spellings and headings.
T: Spellings?
IE: Yes, everyone makes spelling mistakes and usually the same ones again and
again. If you can identify your own particular mistakes then you can add them to
your checklist.
T: Yes, that’s true. That’s useful advice.
IE: And then the obvious things – like have I included all the information? Have I
got a concise introduction and a conclusion that sums up all my ideas? Checklists
are individual. Each student knows his or her own weak points and should write
a list accordingly.
T: That’s great. I like the idea of a checklist. I think I’ll talk about that in class today.
Fancy a coffee?
IE: No thanks, I haven’t got time. I still have ten reports to correct and I am
supposed to finish them by the morning.
T: Oh – well I won’t disturb you any more – thanks for the advice
IE: No problem!

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