How to Write a Report: Lesson for Kids
Table of Contents
- The Writing Process
- Gather Information
- Organize Information
- Write Your Draft
- Revise, Edit, and Publish
- Lesson Summary
Have you ever built a Lego house? Think about the different stages of the process: designing your house, organizing your materials, constructing your creation, making final tweaks, and presenting your creation to your friends and family. Writing a report involves a similar process, and it can seem a lot more intimidating than making a house out of Legos. But once we break it down into five simple steps, it won't be so intimidating! Today you'll learn about each of the steps, which together are called the writing process.
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The first thing to do in the writing process is to select a topic and then gather the information you'll need to begin writing. It's just like when you build your Lego house - you need to design your house and gather the pieces you'll need before construction.
For your report, you'll need to research your topic, which means you need to find information on your topic to use in your report. Two main types of research sources include:
- Print sources including informational books, magazines, encyclopedias, newspapers, interviews
- Internet and media sources including search engines, television, movies, music
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The next step is to organize the information you gathered during research, which will help make writing the report easier later. It's like when you organize the pieces for your Lego house. You separate the blocks into different types and colors so that you can easily grab what you need when you need it.
For your report, graphic organizers like essay maps, Venn diagrams, tables, and charts are great tools for organizing your information.
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So, you've gathered and organized everything you need and you're ready to build your Lego house or write the first draft of your report. If you completed a graphic organizer, this step can be a breeze. Take the information from your graphic organizer and turn it into essay format. Typically, your report will be five paragraphs, as follows:
- Introduction
- Main Idea 1
- Main Idea 2
- Main Idea 3
- Conclusion
If you filled out your graphic organizer in complete sentences, this step will be even easier!
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Your report is almost finished, but not quite. Now you must revise and edit. It's a lot like when you make your final tweaks and corrections to your Lego house. Read through your report, proofreading as you go. You will find that there will be some parts of your essay that need rewording, and you may even find accuracy errors.
You may need to edit or revise your report. To edit means to correct mechanical errors like typos and grammar issues, whereas to revise means to rethink and reorganize your report in a broader sense. After editing or revising, proofread again for typos and grammar issues. You might even have someone else proofread as well. After all, it's easy to miss mistakes when you're the writer.
The final step is to publish or present your report. You worked hard writing this report, so be proud. Much like you want to show off your beautiful Lego house, you should let people see your report!
If the report is for school, hand it in to your teacher or present it to the class. You could also publish your report in a class book, post it on a website or blog, or submit it to your school newspaper.
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Writing a report involves separate steps that we call the writing process. The five steps include:
- Gather information
- Organize information
- Write the draft
- Revise and edit
- Publish your work
The use of graphic organizers, such as essay maps, Venn diagrams, tables, and charts, are useful tools in organizing information.
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Writing a Report: Explore Further
This lesson taught you how to write a report, which is an essential skill that everyone needs to learn in order to be successful in school and beyond. Use these activities to learn more!
Be the Teacher
Now that you understand the important steps in writing a report, share your knowledge with someone else. Explain to a classmate, friend, family member, or teacher how to write a report. Be detailed in your explanation. Be ready to answer any questions your audience might have, as though you are a teacher helping your students learn a new skill.
Try It Out
Apply the structure of this lesson to a real-life report. If you are not sure what to write about, consider writing a book report, a description of a historical event, or even a narrative report of your own experiences. In addition to the steps outlined here, go above and beyond this lesson by doing one or more of the following:
- Cite your sources: If you are doing research for your report, cite your sources! Include a bibliography at the end of your report so that anyone reading it can see where you got your information from.
- Create a title page: Creating a title page is not mandatory for many reports, but it is a great way to make your work stand out. Draw a picture, do some fancy lettering for the title, or create a digital title page for your report.
- Peer review: This lesson suggested having someone else proofread your work, which is a great idea. You can also ask friends or classmates for their opinion on the content of the piece. Is there anything they were curious about or wanted to hear more about? Consider their suggestions carefully and edit your work accordingly.
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