STUDY AND WRITING SKILLS
11.4
WRITING SKILLS
A REPORT
4
Discuss these questions with a partner.
1
Have you ever read a report? If so, what kind of
report was it?
2
Have you ever written a report?
3
In which situations will you need to write reports in
the future, do you think?
5
Read the report below and choose the best title.
1
Plans for a new runway
2
Reactions to plans for a new runway
3
Opposition to plans for a new runway
6
Put these headings and sub-headings in the correct
place (A–F) in the report.
1
Conclusion
2
Arguments against building the new runway
3
Introduction
4
Alternative locations for the runway
5
Arguments for building the runway
6
Findings
7
a
Asking critical questions
Look at the questions in
Exercise 1 again. How many of them can you answer
about the report?
7
b
Write two or three questions you can ask yourself
about the report. Use the questions in Exercise 3a to
help you.
Is the information true?
8
Look back at the essay on page 85. What is the main
difference between a report and an essay?
9
a
Match these phrases (1–6) with their functions
(a–f) below.
1
The aim of this report is to …
2
The data was collected by …
3
The majority … said that …
4
The main reason … was that …
5
A minority … felt that …
6
To sum up, there was …
a
the opinion of most people
b
the opinion of a small number of people
c
why the report was written
d
a summary of the report
e
how the information was obtained
f
why people had particular views
9
b
In paragraphs C, D and E of the report, which four
verbs are used to report the residents’ opinions?
9
c
Which other phrases in the report could you use
in a report on any topic?
10
You work for an independent market research
company. The government wants to build a new
terminal at a major airport. You have carried out a
survey and found out what local people think about
the idea. Write your report. Use the information on
page 138 and your own ideas.
A
The aim of this report is to summarise the findings
of a recent survey among local residents in the
village on plans to build a new runway at the
local airport. AEB Research was asked to carry out
the survey by a local action group. The data was
collected by questionnaire and interviews with 400
local residents between 6th and 17th October.
B
C
The majority of local residents (83%) said that they
were against the plans for the new runway. The
main reason (mentioned by 75%) was that it will
destroy the village, and many families will have to
move house. These people sometimes have long
connections with the area, going back hundreds
of years. Another important reason (mentioned
by 64%) was that the runway will cause noise and
pollution.
D
A minority of residents (17%), on the other hand,
felt that a new runway could bring benefits to the
area, as it could create new jobs.
E
However, 96% of all residents thought that a better
idea was to build a new runway at one of the other
airports in the region.
F
To sum up, there was a great deal of opposition to
the plan for the new runway. There was an almost
universal feeling that the government and BAO
should build an extra runway at another airport.
Because of the strong local feeling, we believe that
the government and BAO should consider other
possible locations carefully.
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