Three steps to writing a report for Cambridge B2

First
Let’s begin by taking a look at a typical question for the report.

Step One: Make a plan

Before you put pen to paper and start your report, hold your horses. A plan is the best
chance you have for success. Start by asking these two questions:

1. Who is the report for?

Take a look at the reader of your report. It’s normally a teacher, a superior or a peer
group like the members of a book club. In this case your audience is a group leader.
That means you should keep the tone nice and formal. Try to avoid contractions,
colloquial language and keep it polite.

2. What do you have to do?

Look at the question and underline all the key parts. This will help focus your
attention on the task in hand and decide how to organise your report.
There’ll normally be two or three things they want you to do and you’ll always be
asked to give a recommendation or suggestion.

Structure:
The structure is the bones of your report. It’s so important because it holds everything
together. Here’s one way to organise your report but perhaps you have another idea?
1. Introduction
2. How technology is used in subject X
3. How technology is used in subject Y
4. Your recommendation for which lesson the teacher should watch
The trick is to keep the structure nice and simple. And always check you’re answering
the question.
Brainstorm:
Now you have a clear outline, consider the main topic paragraphs and what you want
to include. If you get stuck, think about your own real life experiences. How is
technology used in your own lessons at school? Make some notes on your ideas.

Step Two: Write it

If you haven’t skipped the planning stage, writing your report should be easy. An
important thing to add here is that reports often contain subheadings. In fact, in the
B2 First exam they are strongly encouraged!
Introduction
Remember that a report is a document that presents information in a clear and
organised way. Think about science reports or statistical reports. They have strong
introductions that clearly state their aims.

Useful language:
• The aim / purpose / intention of this report is to…
• In this report I will look at…
• This report is based on…
• This report is intended to…

Here’s what a clearly defined report intro might look like…

Just make sure you don’t copy words from the question exactly, and instead try
to paraphrase.
Main body of report
This is where we get to the main body of the report. Again, we want to keep it really
clear and organised and one way to do that is with bullet points or numbering.

However, don’t overdo it. If you use bullets and numbering in one section, avoid using
them in the next. You want to show off that you can write well in English and use a
wide range of vocabulary and structures. You also want to use some fancy, formal
sounding linkers to connect your ideas.

• Currently…
• To begin with…
• Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly…
• It appears that…
• According to…
• One way…
• Another way…
• Furthermore / In addition…

Now move on to your second paragraph. Try to stay general and avoid personal
anecdotes. Don’t start talking about what you like to do at school in your technology
classes or what you had for dinner last night. Instead, keep things relevant to the task.

A good way to do this is by using passive reporting verbs:

• It is generally believed that…

• It is thought that…
• One way in which technology is used…
• X is considered to be…

Remember to expand on your points giving reasons for your ideas. And if you do
everything right, your second paragraph may look something like this.

Recommendations
Here’s the fun part! This is where you can look back at your ideas and give your own
opinion. Make sure you mention the ideas from the previous paragraphs and don’t
forget to give reasons why.

Useful language:
• All things considered…
• I would recommend / suggest + ing…
• I would recommend / suggest + object + infinitive (no to)…
 • Based on all the findings…
• Although both… , I think that…
• It would seem that……

Let’s look at this sample answer.

If you run out of things to say – remember you can mention the weaknesses of the
other option.

Step Three: Check it

Now hopefully you’ve written a report to be proud of. The only thing left to do is to
refine it before the time is up!
Make sure you’ve:

• answered all parts of the question, including making a

recommendation/suggestion
• used formal language and no contractions like I’m, It’s, haven’t etc.
• written subheadings for each paragraph
• used correct spelling and punctuation
• linked your sentences with connectors eg. However, Because, Although,
Furthermore, etc.
• It would seem that……