This lesson demonstrated the most common ways to organize information in a report as well as some useful features and elements of informative writing. Now it's time for you to write an informative report of your own, using the topic you chose and developed in an earlier lesson. As you draft your report, view the steps and strategies in the tabs below.
Shape Your Ideas
Be Objective
Use the Right Words
Make Transitions Smooth
Before you write your first draft, you'll need to decide on an order for the ideas in your report. Most reports of information start with general ideas and then provide more specific ideas as examples. Almost as common is the specific-to-general structure, in which a writer starts with a few specific examples and then explains ideas in a more general way.
Read the two lists of ideas below, examples of each structure. Then look at your own report's main ideas, and decide which structure would work better for your report.
| General to Specific | characteristics of working dogs herding dogs, such as collies rescue dogs, such as St. Bernards hunting dogs, such as beagles |
| Specific to General | diseases common to toy breed dogs diseases common to large dogs dental diseases and small dogs the genetic causes of common illnesses in dogs |
Since the purpose of an informative report is to inform readers--not to persuade them to agree with you about something--your report should be objective rather than subjective. That is, it should focus on known and verifiable facts, not your opinions.
| DO include factual information about your topic. |
| DON'T include your opinion or feelings about the topic. |
| DO describe or explain both sides of any controversial ideas. |
Some topics have their own language, consisting of domain-specific vocabulary needed to explain or discuss the topic. Look at the examples of domain-specific vocabulary below, and decide if your topic will require these types of words. Be sure to define any domain-specific words you use in your report.
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| Web Page Design | Poisonous Snakes |
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Even if you organize your report well, your readers will need some help seeing when you move from one idea to another. Transition words and phrases are signals to your readers that you are about to provide an example, add a similar detail, show the passage of time, or otherwise suggest a change in focus.
| To Add or Prove | in addition, equally important, furthermore, what's more, moreover, next |
| To Compare or Contrast | by comparison, however, although, in contrast, similarly, meanwhile, nevertheless, while this may be true |
| To Show Sequence or Time | following, now, subsequently, consequently, before, next, soon, thus |
| To Show Exception | yet, however, nevertheless, despite, sometimes, in spite of |
| To Give an Example | for example, for instance, to demonstrate, to illustrate, take the case of |
| To Emphasize or Repeat | obviously, in any case, undeniably, certainly, without a doubt, as has been noted |
| To Summarize or Conclude | in brief, as shown, therefore, as a result, consequently |
Locate the Informative Topics worksheet you used earlier to generate ideas for your informative report. Use the ideas you wrote down on that worksheet to guide your drafting of an informative report. When you have completed the first draft of your report, submit it to your teacher, and save a copy.
