Lesson 21: Writing
Report Writing
Essentially, a report is a piece of writing which presents an account of different activities or events that took place in the past to a particular audience. Most reports contain a description of sequence of events or situations observed in a given setting. When you plan to write a report, consider the following basic requirements:
- Decide the purpose of your report whether it is to give information, entertain others or give education
- Identify and write out the most essential ideas that you want to include in different paragraphs of the report, for example, the major events or activities observed, especially unforgettable experiences, the major challenges that have had negative effects when the activities were being accomplished, the remedial measures that should be taken, etc.
- Arrange the relevant pieces of information you have collected according to their degree of relevance
- Write your report freely. Get down ideas on the sheet of paper as they have come to your mind without thinking of the errors you are likely to make.
- Take time. If possible days. Then come back to it, sit down and edit your first draft focusing on the subject matter, the flow of ideas, the language use and mechanics
- Consider the editing you have made and write your report clearly and carefully.
- If you can, review it once again or if you have a closest person who can give you feedback, give it to him/her and take them into account when you write the final version
Punctuation
I. Using Apostrophe (’)
- Contraction:
- Example: “It’s” is a contraction of “it is”.
- Sentence: “It’s raining outside.”
- Possessive Noun:
- Example: “The cat’s bowl” indicates possession of the bowl by the cat.
- Sentence: “The cat’s bowl is empty.”
- Plural of Letters, Numbers, and Symbols:
- Example: “Mind your p’s and q’s” refers to letters as entities.
- Sentence: “She learned to distinguish between 7’s and 1’s.”
- Indicating Missing Letters in a Word:
- Example: “Rock ‘n’ roll” is a shortened form of “rock and roll”.
- Sentence: “They played some classic rock ‘n’ roll.”
- Showing Possession with Irregular Plurals:
- Example: “Children’s toys” shows possession by children, which is an irregular plural.
- Sentence: “The children’s toys were scattered across the floor.”
These examples demonstrate various uses of apostrophes in English grammar.
II. Using quotation mark(“ ”)
- Quoting Speech: They are used to indicate direct speech or dialogue in both fiction and non-fiction writing. For example:
- She said, “Hello, how are you?”
- The president declared, “We will not back down.”
- Quoting Text: Quotation marks are used to enclose the exact words of a text that is being cited or referenced. This is common in academic writing, journalism, and research papers. For example:
- According to the article, “The results were inconclusive.”
- The report states, “This phenomenon requires further investigation.”
- Titles of Works: Quotation marks are used to denote titles of shorter works such as articles, essays, short stories, poems, songs, and episodes of TV shows. For example:
- I read the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.
- Have you heard the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen?
- Emphasis or Irony: Quotation marks can be used to highlight a word or phrase in a way that suggests irony, skepticism, or a non-literal meaning. For example:
- His “genius” idea turned out to be a disaster.
- The “perfect” weather was actually quite stormy.
- Defining Terms: Quotation marks can be used to define or introduce a new or unfamiliar term. For example:
- The concept of “emotional intelligence” has gained popularity in recent years.
- In physics, “quantum entanglement” refers to the phenomenon where particles become correlated.
- Nested Quotations: When quoting within a quote, single quotation marks (‘ ’) are used inside double quotation marks (“ ”), or vice versa. For example:
- She said, “He told me, ‘I’ll be there by noon.'”
- Alternative Meanings: In linguistic contexts, quotation marks can indicate that a word or phrase is being used in a non-standard or ironic manner. For example:
- The restaurant advertised “fresh” seafood.
Understanding these different uses helps writers convey clarity, precision, and intended meanings in their writing.