Writing Research Reports & Essays
A good information report or essay is based on sound planning and thorough research. To ensure that your research is adequate you should follow the steps of the Information process.
The Topic Plan
As an example of sound planning, consider a research assignment which asks you to present a study of the disease malaria:
The key to starting the assignment is to break down your topic into smaller parts and create a topic plan.
There are often a number of ways of breaking down a topic. Try to choose logical parts, such as these chosen to explore the disease malaria:
- Description
- Causes
- Treatment
- History
- Current situation
- Future
The parts can be ordered in a logical sequence:
- Description
- History
- Causes
- Treatment
- Current situation
- Future
These could be further divided to form a detailed topic map:
|
Description
Symptoms
Short/long term effects
Spread
|
|
History
Extent of problem
Research/breakthroughs
Key people
|
|
Causes
Biological
Environmental
|
|
Treatment
Medicines
Therapies
Side effects
|
Current situation
Extent of problem
Latest research |
| Future |
- For a report, use the topic map as your contents page and include the parts of your map as headings and subheadings to create sections for your information. Include helpful diagrams, tables and images.
- For an essay, do not include a contents page. Use paragraphs to create the sections of your information. Check with your teacher about using headings. Do not include diagrams, tables or images - interpret the information contained in them and express it in words in the body of your essay.
You now know what to look for during your research. After you have compiled a good set of notes for each part, you can combine your notes into sentences and paragraphs that give detailed information about each part.
Your sentences should be short and direct - use clear and precise expression to convey your information.
Organising your information
Information reports and essays have different structures.
Reports
A basic information report should have these sections:
- Title page - showing your name, class and teacher, topic, date due.
- Contents - a list of headings, subheadings and page numbers that maps out your report.
- Introduction - a brief outline of the topic area and the purpose of the report.
- Body - your findings, organised under headings and sub headings.
- Bibliography - a list of all the information resources you consulted, described correctly.
Below is an example of the contents page, which sets out a clear map of the topic:
| CONTENTS |
PAGE |
| Introduction |
1 |
|
Description
Symptoms
Short/long term effects
Spread
|
2
2
3
3
|
|
History
Extent of problem
Research/breakthroughs
Key people
|
4
4
4
5
|
|
Causes
Biological
Environmental
|
6
6
6
|
|
Treatment
Medicines
Therapies
Side effects
|
7
7
7
7
|
|
Current situation
Extent of problem
Latest research
|
8
8
8
|
|
Future
|
9
|
| Bibliography |
10 |
A detailed report (senior school) about a topic or issue usually has these sections:
- Title page - showing your name, class and teacher, topic, date due.
- Contents - a list of headings, subheadings and page numbers that maps out your report.
- Introduction - an outline of the topic area and the scope and purpose of the report.
- Body - your findings, organised under headings and sub headings.
- Conclusions - your own judgements on the topic drawn
from the information presented.
- Appendix - diagrams, images, tables and other details that add to your main information.
- Bibliography - a list of all the information resources you consulted, described correctly.
For longer reports it is a good idea to use a numbering system for the parts listed in the contents.
Essays
A basic essay has three main parts:
Introduction - One paragraph:
- A sentence or two to focus the reader's attention on the topic you are discussing.
- A series of sentences that explain the way you have broken down the topic and mention of the main parts you are going to discuss in the assignment.
Body - A series of paragraphs:
One paragraph for the discussion of each of the main parts listed in your topic map. Each paragraph should consist of:
- A topic sentence that introduces the main part to be discussed.
- A series of developing sentences that discuss the relevant aspects of the main part.
- A concluding sentence that rounds of the discussion about the part.
- A directional sentence that leads into the next paragraph.
Conclusion - One paragraph:
- A series of sentences that briefly sum up the main points you have made.
- A sentence or two that rounds off your discussion of the topic, or that reinforces your argument on the topic.
- A sentence or two that gives your considered final opinion, makes recommendations, or that makes an assessment of what the future holds in regard to the topic.
Consider using headings in your essay, to show the main parts of your treatment of the topic.
Check with your teacher whether you can use headings - they are generally not used in English essays.
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