English Unlimited HTL 4/5, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM

187 Writing guide Report Definition A report is a written text that presents information in a factual way, often referring to diagrams, tables or other infographics. Purpose The purpose of a report is to inform , evaluate something and / or make suggestions and recommendations as clearly and concisely as possible. Structure and layout Start your report with information about the recipient of the report and the writer , and state the date as well as the subject / title (To: / From: /Date: / Subject:). In order to make the report reader-friendly, divide it into clear sections with headings . Give a brief summary at the end and make suggestions or recommendations. Style and register Use neutral and factual language and a formal register (no contractions, no colloquial expressions). If possible, use standard phrases to make the report sound more professional. In order to avoid the personal ‘I’ (except when making suggestions / recommendations in the last part), the passive is frequently used in reports. Remember the ABC of factual reports : Accuracy (make sure all the facts are correct), Brevity (keep it short and to the point), Clarity (make sure everyone understands). Useful expressions General expressions: The aim of this report is to point out / compare the advantages and disadvantages of …  This report tries to show that …  This report is intended to …  The information below summarises statistics compiled by …  The study was conducted by … Most people seem to feel that / seem to approve of …  Several people explained / said / suggested / thought that …  The current situation is satisfactory / unsatisfactory / disappointing for … because … It is obvious that …  It was found that … I would therefore recommend / suggest …  It would seem that …  … ideas have benefits, but … To summarise, …  On the basis of the points mentioned above, …   In conclusion, … Describing and interpreting statistics: The pie chart is about …  The line graph clearly shows …  It highlights …  The slices of the pie chart compare / show …  … has the largest (number of) …  … has the second-largest … … is as big as …  … is twice as big as …  More than one third …  Less than one half … One out of four is of the opinion that …  The majority of the people questioned … The number increases / decreases / goes up / grows by …  … has risen by / has (gradually) fallen back to …  … shows an initial fall / a gradual increase …  There was a slight / sharp decline … It reached a peak at … around …  The amount of … remained (relatively) stable … Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv