How to prepare a good report?

Allen P. Valdez

Good reporting is a skill every student must develop. Classroom report is assigned by teachers to encourage students’ participation. It is one of the means the teacher uses to measure the ability of a student to express his ideas orally. The skill in communication is an important factor to successful reporting. Equally important is the quality of the report being made or prepared.

Good reporting is always essential and valuable whether in classroom, general meetings, or seminars. Here are some suggestions in preparing a good report.

First, choose a topic. Ask yourself: What question am I going to answer? Choose a topic that can give you new knowledge and which you think is interesting to your listeners. Specify your topic or narrow it down to a size you can manage to finish. For example “The History of Presidential Elections in the Philippines” would be very wide in scope. “The 1998 Presidential Election” is narrower in scope and is more specific.

Gathering data and materials. Surfing the Internet is the latest trend in gathering data and information. But remember to choose only the ideas related to your topic. Other sources of information are the following: your own personal observations or experience; interviews of persons who can give you helpful information; special reports and bulletins from government offices/agencies, industry, and other organizations; and library materials.

Note taking. The objective of taking down notes is to help you remember what is said in your sources of information. Use your own words instead of copying the exact words in the resource material.

Outlining the report. The most effective way to organize your ideas is to put them in an outline. An outline helps you see the order of your ideas from the very significant or major ideas to the least significant or minor ideas.

The author is Teacher

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II at Doña Asuncion Lee Integrated School