Each paragraph should contain at least 4 sentences.
Here are some tips to help you write a fantastic report!
Create an outline and a plan:
Your report needs to be planned well. Start by making a rough outline. You don't need to worry about sentence structure, just get your ideas down.
- Brainstorm your ideas
- Write down keywords about your topic
- Think about some good questions using how, why, how, when, where, what?
- Divide your keywords into categories - these will make up the body of your report
- Use the categories as the basis for each paragraph
Write a rough draft:
This is where you write down your ideas and put them together into sentences. Usually during this stage you will rearrange and move your sentences around to put them with other sentences about the same topics. Don't worry at this stage about pretty or cool fonts, you just need to get your ideas down, so don't worry about spelling or sentence structure. You will fix that up later.
- Introduction:
- This gives your audience a general idea of what they will be reading about by listing the main points of your report.
- Middle Section:
- This part is where you will discuss five or six topics that are to do with your topic. Each topic should have it's own paragraph. (Each paragraph should have at least 3 sentences!)
- You might even like to use subheadings in this section to describe each paragraph.
- Include diagrams to help your readers understand your topic.
- Summary / Conclusion:
- This is where you tell your audience what you think about your topic. You might talk about what might occur in the future. Basically, you sum up (or summarise) your topic.
- Bibliography:
- You MUST cite (tell your readers) where you got your information and pictures from. See here for more info on writing a bibliography.
Proof read your rough draft:
Now is the time to edit and revise. Read your report out loud. You will hear and notice more mistakes this way. Check your spelling and fix and change your sentences. Write notes on your report with a different coloured pen. You might end up revising your rough draft 2 or 3 times, maybe even more. After you have read your rough draft and made any changes, ask a friend or an adult to read your report for more feedback and suggestions.
Write your good copy:
Include pictures and diagrams
Choose interesting fonts for your headings and subheadings, but don't go overboard, too many fonts will make your report look messy, stick to three different fonts at the most.
