Imagine the scene. It’s exam day. You’re nearly at the end of your Cambridge English B2 First exam. You’ve just finished writing Part 1 – the essay, and now it’s time to start Part 2. So you turn over the page to find three options:

– A review you know

– An article you’ve seen before

– But what’s this? A report??*

Don’t be intimidated. A report is another formal writing task. And it’s actually quite formulaic, which makes it a popular choice for students in Writing Part 2. It’s also a great opportunity to show you can communicate factual information, in a formal tone with clear organisation.

Excited to learn how to write a first-rate report? Good. We’re here to help you every step of the way and make sure you leave that exam full of confidence that you’ve passed.

*Remember you only need to choose one question to answer. Other titles may include an informal or formal email, and at B2 First for Schools there is a story option instead of a report.

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:

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.

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:

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:

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:

Sample report questions

Now you’re a master in report writing, why not put everything you’ve learnt into practice? Try one of these sample report questions.

Glossary for language learners:

hold your horses (exp): used to tell someone to stop and consider carefully their decision or opinion about something.

the bones of sth. (n): the structure or main idea of something.

get stuck (v): to be in a position where you’re unable to move.

skipped (v): missed out to move on to the next thing.

paraphrase (n): to say something in a different way but so it means the same.

overdo (v): to do too much of something.

show off (pv): to show your abilities and accomplishments.

expand on (v): to develop an idea.

run out of (pv): to deplete / to be used up.

time is up (exp): the time allowed is finished.

Key

n = noun

v = verb

exp = expression

pv = phrasal verb

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