REPORTS USEFUL LANGUAGE 1) To begin reports:

The purpose / aim / intention of this report is to examine / assess / evaluate the suitability of for / the advisability of (+ ing) / the performance of The purpose / aim / intention of this report is to outline / present / discuss the meeting held on ... / the progress of / the decision of the committee As requested, this is a report concerning / regarding the subject of This report contains the assessment of . .. which you requested / asked for This report outlines the advantages and disadvantages of This report contains the (relevant) information / details of / concerning which you requested / asked for ... This report outlines recent investments in ... / changes made to club rules and procedures / the companys achievements in ... / concerning The information below summarises the events which took place It is based on / It draws on

2) Reporting an observation:
It seems / appears that ... It was found that... ... tend(s) to (do) It was felt that ... A / The majority/minority of were in the majority/minority

3) Quoting:
According to

4) Speculating:
It may / could / might (well) be that... May / could / might + (do/have done)

5) Commenting:
Interestingly / Curiously / Oddly / Strangely / Surprisingly Predictably / As might be (have been) expected / It is interesting that

6) More general expressions :

and the views expressed by / who were interviewed ... has a Wide range of / Perhaps, should consider facilities include which is / was felt to be / can be broadly split / divided into two types which offers mainly while / It also includes appeals more to / connected with are / is said to be ... / like

7) Making a recommendation:
It is (therefore) felt / believed / apparent / obvious (that) would be ideal for It would (not) be advisable / advantageous / practical to I (strongly) recommend / would suggest (that) My / Our recommendation is that should be I recommend that the best course of action would be It is recommended that... I / We conclude / recommend / would suggest (that)...

8) To express generalisations:
In general it seems that... On the whole / Mainly / In general terms

9) To end reports: Summarising:

To conclude / To sum up / In conclusion On the basis of the points mentioned above / On the whole, it would seem that ...

Extra expressions
The only / obvious conclusion to be drawn from these facts is that ... On the whole, it would be fair to conclude that ... To conclude / To sum up / In conclusion, the survey clearly shows ... . On the basis of these findings, it would seem that ... .The results of this survey suggest / indicate / demonstrate / reveal that ... . Most consumers prefer ..., which is shown / illustrated by the fact that ... It is generally felt that ..., as proved / demonstrated by the fact that ... Few people approve of ..., as confirmed/emphasised by the fact that ... This fact suggests /implies / indicates that the average person chooses ...

To express facts and proportions:

Of the 460 people / students / workers who, etc, were questioned/ interviewed / asked ... Ten / fifty-six per cent of people / consumers were of the opinion ... The majority / minority of viewers felt / believed that ... A significant percentage of those who responded expressed (dis)approval of . .. A large / small proportion of people surveyed replied / reported that ... Over one third / half of those interviewed chose / preferred ...

Examples of using percentages

Only fifteen per cent of those surveyed said that they would purchase a fur coat, which shows / indicates / illustrates / implies that most people are against the practice of killing animals for their skins. Most people are against the practice of killing animals for their skins, which is shown / indicated / illustrated / implied by the fact that only fifteen per cent of those surveyed said that they would purchase a fur coat.