Writing a C1 Advanced report is one of the options in the second part of the C1 Advanced Writing exam. You must always write an essay in the first section; however, you can select between an email or letter, a proposal, a review, or a report in the second section.
Writing a report is not difficult, because there are very clear guidelines that guide you and give you a framework to use to achieve a good score.
All report tasks are similar, which means you can practice and learn to recognize these common characteristics. This makes writing reports simpler and faster, and as a result a good option for your test. This article discusses these similarities, report structure, as well as useful phrases and common errors to avoid if you want to earn good marks.
Similarities
Whenever you prepare to examine a task, make sure to consider these particular points:
- Who is going to read your report? – green
- What is the topic? (subject) – red
- What should it contain? – blue
When you read the task, underline the most important phrases that answer the three questions above. For example:
Firstly, you need to answer the question: Who is going to read your report (green).
In this example, it is for your training manager. You need this information to tell you whether your report should be written in formal, semi-formal or informal English.
Your training manager is your superior, so in this case, it should be in formal English. In formal English, you shouldn’t use phrasal verbs, idioms, colloquial language or contractions. This an important part of your score, so you should be familiar with doing it correctly.
The answer to the second question, the topic, is in red. It is crucial that this is correct. You don’t want to write a great report on the wrong subject. This is a very common error!
Then, you need to analyse the main points that should be included. There are two main points in this question (sometimes there are three) highlighted, and they are in blue.
Report Structure
You can structure every report in more or less the same way.
You have to use the three parts in blue from the question above.
Use one paragraph for each.
So,
Paragraph 1: Introduction –
Paragraph 2: describe the tasks and activities you participated in
Paragraph 3: explain any problems with the programme
Paragraph 4: make recommendations for two improvements for future programmes
Paragraph 5: Recommendations/ conclusion
In a report, you should also have a title and subheadings for each paragraph. Reports are written for specific people or group of specific people. In Cambridge C1 advanced, these people are usually a superior, such as a manager or a boss or a peer group, such as members of a club you have just joined. They do not want to read through information they are not interested in, so subheadings show them exactly where to find the information they want quickly and easily.
Therefore, using a topic sentence is not as important as usual because the subheadings introduce the paragraph instead.
As usual, planning is essential, although many students either don’t plan at all or make their plans so detailed, they run out if time to write their task.
A report doesn’t need to be exciting or creative, all you need to do is state the facts clearly and concisely.
To state the facts clearly and concisely, use your paragraph structure to note what you know about each part and also what you need to create to complete the task.
In this question, for example, you could have the following ideas.
Paragraph 1: Introduction – work experience programme in an international hotel for a month for work experience hotel
Paragraph 2: Your duties at the hotel.
Paragraph 3: Any problems regarding the programme when you were working at the hotel.
Paragraph 4: recommendations / conclusion – Recommendations about improvements of two of these problems.
Using this method to practice will let you know about how many sentences you need in each paragraph. You need to write between 220 to 260 words in total, so if you have four paragraphs, that means between 55 and 65 words per paragraph. If you have five paragraphs using three points, then you should write between 44 and 52 words per paragraph.
Note, when you count words, don’t count each word, count how many words are in one line, then count the lines. Much quicker. If you practice well, then you will know how many lines you need in each paragraph.
Sometimes it is easy to think of ideas for one part but difficult for another. If you turn an idea around, it can be useful. For example, you could take a reason you enjoyed working at the hotel as being too enjoyable and not realistic for full time employment.
Work Experience at The Hilton
Introduction
The aim of this report is to describe the duties expected of me while on the one-month work experience programme, identify any problems that seemed evident and recommend improvements.
Duties
The duties are split into weekly assignments, each with a different department. The first, was with the front desk where I was expected to help customers with their luggage, help them with any problems (usually directing them to another member of staff) and spend two days assisting the receptionists answering calls and taking payments. The second week was spent with housekeeping, preparing and cleaning rooms, while the third week was spent in the kitchen. Week four was waiting on tables in the restaurant and bar.
Problems Associated with the Programme
Although there the inevitable problems of lack of any work experience, there were obvious issues as far as the programme itself was concerned. The first of these was being put in a position where I was not physically capable of lifting some of the guest’s bags, which was embarrassing for both the guest and myself. Furthermore, it became increasingly clear that because I was only there for a month, any in-depth training was deemed impossible.
Recommendations
I would strongly recommend the following courses of action for those issues. Regarding any difficulty with physical work, the applicant should be assessed physically for any department they are expected to assist in. As for in-depth training, in my opinion, each applicant should be able to show a preference for a department, while each of these departments should have a teachable skill prepared if needed.
Template Phrases for a B2 First Report
Let’s go into more detail about how to write each paragraph with some model phrases to help you.
Note that it is ALWAYS better to use your own words to say something rather than copying them from the question. Aim to be as accurate as possible, but if you find you can’t paraphrase like this, just do your best. Paraphrasing is good for your score, but doing it poorly won’t deduct as many points as not doing it at all.
Title
State briefly what the report is about. In the above example, you could use a title such as Work Experience at The Hilton, or A Month’s Work at The Hilton.
Introduction (the goal of the report)
The aim of this report is to …..
The purpose of this report is to explain / describe / present / …
This report aims to…
It is the result of a discussion which took place among / between …
Developing Paragraphs
Useful phrases for developing paragraphs are:
First of all,…
Firstly,…
Secondly,…
Furthermore,…
Moreover,…
In fact,…
Lastly,…
Finally,…
The outlook for …… is bright/optimistic/depressing
The future looks bleak/remains uncertain/is promising
This seems unlikely in the near/foreseeable future
A last short paragraph is needed to finish the report.
This depends on the things you mentioned in the topic paragraphs and the exact requirements in the task. Usually, you have to make a recommendation, so it is important to be persuasive.
In this example though, some recommendations have already been made, so you can either reinforce them or give a short conclusion. Whatever you do, make sure the subheadings let the reader know where that information is.
Phrases for recommendations or conclusions are:
Recommendations
I would strongly recommend that…
The best solution would be to…
In order to improve …… it is necessary to..
This will have an impact on NOUN
Conclusion
In conclusion, …
From the above it can be concluded that…
Practice
Like any writing task you will improve your report writing with practice. These improvements will be faster and more effective if you enlist the help of a professional teacher to help you. Good luck with your report writing! I’m sure after some trial and error, they will become effortless.
Sample Answers
There is a sample report here.