Advice on how to write a report essay
A report essay is not the same as a standard academic essay, and if you do not understand what is required in this assignment then you cannot, of course, provide a good paper. A report essay is an essay that invites you to inform, rather than to argue, which a standard essay would require. Knowing this, how can you go about constructing an interesting and engaging report essay? Well, follow these tips.
- Find a Topic
- Research Many Opinions
- Be Balanced
- Provide Appropriate Citations
- Conclude in a Discursive Way
One similarity with all academic assignments is the necessity for an engaging topic to write on. If you are interested in a subject, then you can be sure that others will be too. Plus, the more interest you have in a subject/ topic, the more you are likely to be willing to put the required research time in!
A report is not a space for you to express your opinion, and to attempt to argue this opinion to convince a reader. The report is, if you imagine journalism, an opportunity for you to demonstrate the skills of objective and unbiased understanding of the issues in a given subject. So, research and present the issue from many angles, without bias.
Be balanced in your use of sources; do not weight the evidence in one direction, or in support of one interpretation of the issue at hand. Even of you avoid expressing an opinion, weighted evidence will betray a bias.
Make sure that each source that you use is credible, and comes from a respected publication or figure. Avoid citing Wikipedia, even though this site can point you in the right direction in the preliminary stages.
You should, in your report, have been balanced, and although you will have discussed the relative merits of your sources, you would have presented them in an objective way. In your conclusion, continue this trend; it is fine to discuss the various opinions, but avoid making any claims about the issue which you are reporting.
So, the central idea is that you are reporting, objectively, on a given topic, and not bombastically arguing for your position, even if you feel strongly about your topic!