Students who struggle with learning, attention, working memory, and other executive functioning problems can benefit from a structured step-by-step approach to preparing written reports as outlined in this article. Help your student try these six steps the next time she is faced with a writing project.
Try these strategies taught in our Summer Success Groups to improve your student’s success!
Step 1: Before Writing the Report
Before starting a writing project, there are several tasks to complete to assure your success.
Understand the Directions and Purpose of the Assignment
First, read and write out the directions to make sure you understand the assignment. If your teacher provided a rubric, focus on the criteria for the best score. Next, consider the purpose of your report: cause/effect, compare/contrast, description, problem/solution, example, process (sequential), narrative (chronological), or any other possible purpose.
Brainstorm
Next, use your imagination for brainstorming a list of topic ideas (if not assigned). During brainstorming, it is important to give yourself permission to express and write down all thoughts in random order and plan to figure out what to do with them in a later step.
-
-
Don’t judge, challenge, evaluate, or criticize ideas.
-
Go for quantity, not quality.
-
Put analysis and organization in the background for now
-
Narrow Your Topic
Next, from your ideas, narrow the topic to write about by answering these questions
-
Is my idea too big for the time I have to complete the assignment?
-
What are some components or subparts of my idea?
-
What one component or subpart is of most interest to me?
-
Will this component of the subpart meet the teacher’s expectations?
-
Finally, identify the main point or thesis statement of your paper/project.
Step 2: Do Your Research!
First, identify research sources at the library/online. Identify two more resources than you think you will need. Consider the article Do Your Research for suggestions.
As you complete your research, organize thoughts and supporting details using bibliography sheets so that it is easier to keep track of what you’ve learned and to later develop your bibliography.
Step 3: Brainstorm Your Thesis Statement & Supporting Statements
Re-read the directions and make sure you are still on track, and then focus on organizing the thoughts and ideas you gathered from your research into an appropriate sequence based on the purpose of your assignment.
Based on what you now know from your research, brainstorm the thesis statement or the main point for your report. Next, make yourself a list of ways the research supports your thesis statement.
If you’re required to complete an outline, use the format your teacher has suggested or consider using one of the following.
If an outline is not required and you don’t like completing one, at least consider using one of the above formats as a starting point for organizing the ideas you have brainstormed before you start typing your first draft.
Step 4: Write Your First Draft
When writing the first draft, you should focus on getting your ideas on paper without being overly concerned with spelling, grammar, and punctuation at this stage.
Write the Supporting Paragraphs First
Start by writing the supporting paragraphs of your report. Writing these first helps you better organize your thoughts and keeps you from getting stuck trying to write the introduction first.
Write the Concluding Paragraph
Next, write your concluding paragraph. Depending on the purpose of your assignment, you could tell your readers what you told them, leave them with a memorable quote, or ask them to take an action.
Write the Introductory Paragraph
Finally, write your introductory paragraph summarizing your thesis, outlining your supporting ideas, and grabbing your readers’ attention to motivate them to read your paper. Possible grabbers could include a surprising fact about your topic, an interesting statistic, or an important quote about your subject.
Step 5: Revise the Draft
First, re-read your written product and the teacher’s instructions for the writing assignment and make sure your written product adequately meets expectations. Next, review your sentences, paragraphs, and narrative using the following suggestions.
Review the Sentences
Add descriptors to your sentences by asking questions about the nouns (which one?, what kind?) and verbs (how? when? where?).
Use the thesaurus or synonyms feature in your word processors to change dull, boring words (ran) to more exciting descriptive words (sprinted).
Carefully proofread for errors in sentence structure and correct sentence fragments and runs: make sure each sentence has a subject and verb, and break up run-ons into smaller sentences. Check noun and verb tense for agreement and use other suggestions in the article Ask Questions to Write Better Sentences.
Review the Paragraphs
Make sure each paragraph has one central idea, a topic sentence, supporting sentences, a concluding sentence, and appropriate transitions between ideas. Consider the suggestions in the article Writing Better Paragraphs.
Review the Narrative Structure
Review your narrative to make sure it has the following:
-
A strong introductory paragraph
-
Adequate supporting paragraphs
-
A concluding paragraph that summarizes the ideas you have tried to express.
Read your written product aloud at least one time to help make sure your ideas are clear, the sequence makes sense, and your report says what you want it to say. Rearrange, reword, and modify as needed. Add, cut, reorder, and replace information as necessary.
Add Transition Words
Add appropriate transitions between ideas. Use a Transition Word Bank based on the purpose of your report.
Step 6: Finalize the Report
Re-read your teacher’s instructions for the writing assignment one last time and made sure your written product adequately meets expectations.
Check the appearance of your written report, and make sure you follow the appropriate formatting required by your teacher.
For APA format, go to the APA Style website.
For MLA format, go to the MLA format website.
Use your bibliography sheets and the tools under the References tab in the latest versions of Microsoft Word or an online tool like MyBib to make bibliographies that meet the requirements of APA, MLA, and other formatting standards.
Finally, Go for it! Turn in your report on time!
Need Help Applying These Concepts?
If your student needs help applying these concepts, contact us to make an appointment.
These and other strategies are taught in our Summer Success Groups to improve your student’s success!
(c) 2009-2019, Monte W. Davenport, Ph.D.
