Writing: A Report

A report is a formal document prepared by one person or a group of people who have been studying a particular subject. There are two basic kinds of reports:

·                     The first simply provides information on a topic and gives a brief conclusion or summary at the end. Example: a report on the educational system in a particular country, written to help someone research the subject.

·                     The second sets out to identify strengths and weaknesses in a particular situation and make recommendations for improvement. Example: a report on the library facilities in a college written at the request of the principal.

Language and register

Reports are the most impersonal kind of writing and it is usually best to avoid expressing personal opinions or feelings, except, perhaps, in the conclusion. Instead of I think that … or I found that… for example, you can use the impersonal “It” construction and a passive, eg It seems that… It was found that …

It is also advisable to avoid making very definite statements unless you’re absolutely sure they’re true. Instead of saying It is for example, you can use a modal verb eg It could/may/might be or a more tentative expression such as It seems to be or It tends to be.

Useful language

You have to make sure that your language is formal.

 

Introduction

- The aim of this report is to…

- This report is intended to…

Reporting results

- Most people seem to feel that...

- Several people said/told me/suggested/thought that…

Presenting a list

- They gave/suggested the following reasons:

- They made the following points: 1… 2 …

Making recommendations

- I would therefore recommend (that we expand the library/installing a new coffee machine)

- It would seem that (banning mobile phones) is the best idea.

Here is a typical task:

Write a report suggesting improvements to classes at Today School.

Look at a student’s answer to the question.

Introduction The aim of this report is to compare different ideas to make classes in Today School more enjoyable for students while learning at the same time. A large number of students were interviewed to find out differing opinions.  Classroom Activities Some of the students suggested using more videos and songs during the classes and some even mentioned that parties with alcohol would be a good idea. A few of them gave reasons why they preferred these activities: §  Pop music and films are  interesting and topical §  Alcohol makes people relax and talk more. Outside  Class The majority of students mentioned that homework should be reduced drasticallywhereas others expressed a preference for doing excursions in English, giving the following reasons: §  Too much homework makes students stressed. §  Excursions are a fun way of putting into practice what is learnt. Recommendations Some of the ideas have benefits, however, suggestions to allow alcohol and reduce homework should beimmediately discarded. On the other hand, it is felt the majority of students would take advantage of more pop videos and excursions andso these suggestions are recommendable.

Other useful language for a report:

§  This report is intended to… §  Many of those interviewed stated that…. §  Others pointed out that…. §  Several people thought that.. §  Whilst, …

§  Another option that was mentioned was… §  Both/All the ideas seemed interesting but…. §  Taking all the points into consideration…. §  On balance then, I feel that…. §  Without a doubt the first option was…

Give Me an Ad

First, watch this really  interesting  THIS VIDEO and then read to learn further about what we've seen  in class about the topic of advertising. Here are some other techniques...

Advertising techniques

Today every company needs to advertise its product to inform the customers about the product, increase the sales, acquire market value, and gain reputation and name in the industry. Every business spends lot of money for advertising their products but the money spent will lead to success only when the best techniques of advertising are used for the product. So here are some very common and most used techniques used by the advertisers to get desired results.

1. Emotional Appeal

This technique of advertising is done with help of two factors - needs of consumers and fear factor. Most common appeals under need are:

§ need for something new

§ need for getting acceptance

§ need for not being ignored

§ need for change of old things

§ need for security

§ need to become attractive, etc.

Most common appeals under fear are:

§ fear of accident

§ fear of death

§ fear of being avoided

•  fear of getting sick

fear of getting old, etc.

2. Promotional Advertising

This technique involves giving away samples of the product for free to the consumers. The items are offered in the trade fairs, promotional events, and ad campaigns in order to gain the attention of the customers.

3. Bandwagon Advertising

This type of technique involves convincing the customers to join the group of people who have bought this product and be on the winning side. For e.g. recent Pantene shampoo ad which says “15crores women trusted Pantene, and you?”

4. Facts and Statistics

Here, advertisers use numbers, proofs, and real examples to show how good their product works. For e.g. “Lizol floor cleaner cleans 99.99% germs” or “Colgate is recommended by 70% of the dentists of the world” or Eno - just 6 seconds.

5. Unfinished Ads

The advertisers here just play with words by saying that their product works better but don’t answer how much more than the competitor. For e.g. Lays - no one can eat just one or Horlicks - more nutrition daily. The ads don’t say who can eat more or how much more nutrition.

6. Weasel Words

In this technique, the advertisers don’t say that they are the best from the rest, but don’t also deny. E.g. Sunsilk Hairfall Solution - reduces hairfall. The ad doesn’t say stops hairfall.

7. Endorsements

The advertisers use celebrities to advertise their products. The celebrities or star endorse the product by telling their own experiences with the product. Recently a diamond jewellery ad had superstar Amitabh Bacchan and his wife Jaya advertising the product. The ad showed how he impressed his wife by making a smart choice of buying this brand. Again, Sachin tendulkar, a cricket star, endorsed for a shoe brand.

8. Complementing the Customers

Here, the advertisers used punch lines which complement the consumers who buy their products. E.g. Revlon says “Because you are worth it.”

9. Ideal Family and Ideal Kids

The advertisers using this technique show that the families or kids using their product are a happy go lucky family. The ad always has a neat and well furnished home, well mannered kids and the family is a simple and sweet kind of family. E.g. a dettol soap ad shows everyone in the family using that soap and so is always protected from germs. They show a florescent color line covering whole body of each family member when compared to other people who don’t use this soap.

10. Patriotic Advertisements

These ads show how one can support their country while he uses their product or service. For e. g some products together formed a union and claimed in their ad that if you buy any one of these products, you are going to help a child to go to school. One more cellular company ad had a celebrity showing that if the customers use this company’s sim card, then they can help control population of the country.

11. Questioning the Customers

The advertisers using this technique ask questions to the consumers to get response for their products. E.g. Amway advertisement keeps on asking questions like who has so many farms completely organic in nature, who gives the strength to climb up the stairs at the age of 70, who makes the kids grow in a proper and nutritious ways, is there anyone who is listening to these entire questions. And then at last the answer comes - “Amway : We are Listening.”

12. Bribe

This technique is used to bribe the customers with some thing extra if they buy the product using lines like “buy one shirt and get one free”, or “be the member for the club for two years and get 20% off on all services.”

13. Surrogate Advertising

This technique is generally used by the companies which cannot advertise their products directly. The advertisers use indirect advertisements to advertise their product so that the customers know about the actual product. The biggest example of this technique is liquor ads. These ads never show anyone drinking actual liquor and in place of that they are shown drinking some mineral water, soft drink or soda.

These are the major techniques used by the advertisers to advertise their product. There are some different techniques used for online advertising such as web banner advertising in which a banner is placed on web pages, content advertising using content to advertise the product online, link advertising giving links on different sites to directly visit the product website, etc.

Copyright : http://www.managementstudyguide.com/advertising-techniques.htm

News this week

Read some of 
the latest news 
from 
HELLO! magazine

PLEASE leave a comment giving your opinion about this woman's life and work.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to you all  on your work at the oral presentations.


 



It's been a pleasure listening to your interesting topics 
despite the tension some have experienced!


(Sorry about that!)


See you around!

KEY to Newspapers Vocabulary

Hi guys!

This is the answer KEY to the end of the photocopies
 for unit 5C, i.e.  'Newspapers Vocabulary.' 
Check!

1) People working in the papers: 

        1C, 2F, 3K, 4N, 5E, 6B, 7L, 8O, 9M, 10I, 11J, 12H, 13G, 14A, 15D

2) Pages 

•     Welcome to... TRAVEL PAGE       
•      Prime Minister... FRONT PAGE
•     O'Toole... REVIEW PAGE
•     Coe breaks... SPORTS PAGE
•     Soft colours... FASHION P.
•     Pope to meet... GOSSIP COLUMN
•     How I saved...FEATURES PAGE
•     Will Distillers... CITY PAGE
•     The President...EDITORIAL
•      Calling all ... SITUATION VACANT PAGE

3) Other feautures:

  1 TV/radio programmes   2 Weather forecast     3 Letters from readers    4 Crosswords/puzzles

  5 Classified adds (personal)    6  Classified adds (cars for sale)   7 Obituary   8 C. adds (objects wanted     9 advertisement     10 horoscope    11 classiefied add (house for sale)  12 announcement of a marriage

4)  Turning the pages...

a. advertising    b. circulation    c. entertainment    d. headlines     e. cartoons     f. sensational

g. gossip column     h. views     i. censorship    j. correspondents    k. news agencies

l. reviews    m. editorial

5)   Hmmm...have a look at the last page of the photocopies (the language of the headlines) ;-)

NOW go on reading

 Interesting links to visit:

• Top national and international media resources from U.K.:

Go >  HERE

• And...top PAPERS in U.S. today:

1. USA Today 2. The Wall Street Journal 3. The New York Times 4. Los Angeles Times  5. The Washington Post 6. Daily News, 7. New York Post  8. Chicago Tribune 9. Newsday,  10. Houston Chronicle

Any problem? Ask here in comments or in class... as you prefer

Have a great weekend!

D.