Reporting profiles

Reporting Information/Profiles

ENG 111

Unit Three

Reporting Information

• There are a lot of types of writing that report information, such as newspapers, textbooks, websites, institutions, and people.

• When you write a report information, you are the expert, and it is up to you to give information on a certain topic.

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Key Features/Reports

• Tightly focused topic: the goal is to information readers about something without digressing or bringing in the writer’s own opinion.

• Accurate, well-researched information: reports require some type of research. That research will depend on the topic. Scholarly sources will be required for some topics, while others may need field research (interviews, observations, etc.)

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Key Features/Reports Cont.

• Various writing strategies: presenting information will require several different types of patterns, such as defining, comparing, classifying, explaining process, analyzing cause and effect, contrast, etc.

• Clear definitions: provide clear definitions of any key terms that the audience may not know.

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Key Features/Reports Cont.

• Appropriate design: reports may often combine paragraphs with information presented in lists, tables, diagrams, and other illustrations; however, the information must be presented correctly and referenced correctly.

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A Guide to Writing Reports

• Choosing a Topic: Try to approach a topic from an angle that interests you.

• If you get to choose: What interests you? What do you wish you knew more about? Topics are limitless.– Intriguing technology * common objects– Sports * important environ. issue

--the arts *An important event– A historical period Page 73

A Guide to Writing Reports Cont.

List a few possibilities and then choose one you’d like to write on or know more about.

• If your topic is assigned: try focusing on a more limited topic within the larger topic.

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Considering the Rhetorical Situation

• Purpose: Why are you presenting this information? To teach readers about subject? Demonstrate about research?

• Audience: Who will read this report? What do they already know about the topic? What background info do they need? Will you need to define terms? What do they want or need to know about it? Why should they care? How can you attract their interest?

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Considering the Rhetorical Situation Cont.

• Stance: What is your own attitude toward the subject? What interests you most about it? What about it seems important?

• Media/design: What medium are you using? What is the best way to present the information? Will it all be in paragraph form, or is there information that is best presented as a chart or table? Do you need headings? Diagrams? Photographs?

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Considering the Rhetorical Situation Cont.

• Generating Ideas and Text: good reports share certain features. Remember the goal is to present information clearly and accurately. – Start with exploring what you already

know about your topic. Write what you know through freewriting, listing, or clustering.

– Narrow your topic: Narrow the focus and what you need to know a fair amount about your topic. Start with sources to find issues the topic may include.

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Generating Ideas and Text Cont.

– Come up with a tentative thesis: write out a statement that explains what you plan to report or explain. A good thesis is potentially interesting and limits your topic enough to make it manageable. (A declarative sentence with three areas to cover in the paper.)

– Do any necessary research and revise your thesis. Outline the aspects of your topic you expect to discuss and develop a research plan.

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Ways of Organizing a Report

• Reports on topics– Begin with an anecdote, quote, or other

means of interesting to readers.– Provide background and state your thesis.– Describe your topic, defining any key terms.– Explain by comparing, classifying, analyzing

causes or effects, explaining processes, etc.– Conclude by restating your thesis or referring

to your beginning.Page 76

Ways of Organizing a Report Cont.

• Reports on an event– Introduce the topic; provide any necessary

background info; state your thesis. – Narrate the first event or procedure– Narrate the second event or procedure– Narrate the third event or procedure– Repeat as necessary– Conclude by telling what happened, stating

the implications, or some other means. Page 77

Ways of Organizing a Report Cont.

• Reports that compares and contrasts– Introduce the topic; provide any necessary

background information; state your thesis.– Describe the item– Describe the other items, using the same

structure used to describe the first– Conclude by restating your thesis

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Writing Out a Draft• Drafting: try to write a complete draft in one sitting;

concentrating on getting the report on paper or screen and on putting in as much detail as you can. – Explain the process, analyzes of the cause, compare

it with something more familiar. • Draft a beginning

– Simply state your thesis– Start with something that will provoke readers’ interest– Begin with an illustrative example

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Writing Out a Draft Cont.

• Draft an ending: an effective ending leaves the reader thinking about the topic. – Summarize the main points– Point out the implications of your report– Frame your report to its introduction– Tell what happened

• Come up with a title: tells readers something about your subject—makes them want to read more.

Considering Matters of Design• What is the appropriate typeface? (Times

Roman, Courier, etc.• Are headings needed? (For short essay,

no they are not)• Any information that would be easier in a

list?• Any information summarized in a table?• Data presented in graphs?• Illustrations needed?Page 79-80

Getting Response and Revising• Getting responses from others is good.

– Does the title and opening sentences get the reader’s attention?

– What information does this text provide and for what purpose?

– Does the intro explain why this information is being presented? Larger context?

– All key terms defined?– Any questions?– Visual information?– Quoted, paraphrased, and summarized information

cited correctly?– End satisfying?Page 80

Editing and Proofreading

• Editing paper– Check key terms– Check transitions– Check headings if included– Make sure photos and illustrations have

captions– Documentation?– Proofread and spell-check

Taking Stock of your Work

• How well did you convey the information? • What strategies did you rely on and how did they

help you achieve your purpose?• How well did you organize the report?• How did you go about researching the

information?• How did you go about drafting the piece?• What did you do well?• What could you improve?Page 81-82

Profiles

• Are written portraits of people, places, events, or other things.

• A profile presents a subject in an entertaining way that conveys its significance, showing us something or someone that we may not have known existed or that we see every day but don’t know much about.

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Key Features/Profiles

• An interesting subject: something unusual or may be something ordinary shown in an intriguing way, like an interesting person, a place, or an event.

• Any necessary background: includes just enough information to let readers know something about the subject’s larger context.

Key Features/Profiles Cont.

• An interesting angle: captures its subject from a particular angle.

• A firsthand account: spend time observing and interacting with your subject.

• Engaging details: include details that bring your subject to life by using specific information, sensory images, figurative language, dialogue, anecdotes. Leave dominate impression.

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A Brief Guide to Writing Profiles

• Choosing a suitable subject: make a list of five to ten topics that interest you. Make sure you can do firsthand research. Interviewees must be willing to be interviewed.

A Brief Guide to Writing Profiles Cont.

• Considering the Rhetorical Situation– Purpose: Why are you writing the profile?

What angle will best achieve your purpose? How will you engage and inform the readers?

– Audience: Who is your audience? How familiar are they with the topic? What expectations might they have? What background information do you need to include?

Considering the Rhetorical Situation Cont.

– Stance: what view of your subject do you expect to present? Sympathetic? Critical? Sarcastic? Is perspective balanced?

– Media/design: Will your profile be a print document? Published on the web? Oral? Etc.

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Generating Ideas and Text• Visit your subject and do observations and interviews.• Explore what you already know about your subject. What

is interesting? What do you know already? What do you expect to find out?

• If you’re planning to interview someone, prepare questions.

• Do additional research. • Analyze your findings—look for patterns & use reading

strategies• Come up with an angle—most memorable part?• Note details that support your angle—use describing

subject, comparing, and dialogue that captures subj.

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Ways of Organizing a Profile

• As a narrative– Introduce your subject and your angle on it;

provide any necessary background.– Tell about various incidents or characteristics,

one by one, that bring your subject to life.– Conclude by stating your overall impression

with an anecdote, a quote, a summary comment, or some other ending.

Ways to Organize a Profile Cont.

• As a description:– Introduce your subject and your angle on it,

providing any necessary background.– Present details that create some dominant

impression of your subject: sensory details, examples, dialogue, anecdotes, etc.

– State your overall impression, offering a final anecdote or quote or finishing a description begun earlier.

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