by The Open University
Available in 34 free installments
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Being a successful writer in one area doesn't always make it easy to know what is required in another. Here are some general questions that you can ask to help define the requirements for particular pieces of writing:
What will my tutor be expecting? (this is sometimes phrased as ?think about the audience?)
What is the most appropriate format: report or essay? Do I have a choice, or is it stipulated in any guidance notes I've been given?
What is the question asking?
Is the aim to inform, to analyse or to recommend ? or perhaps something else?
Is there a recommended length?
Is there advice about how to distribute the word allocation between sections?
Is a formal style required (?it could be argued ??) or a more personal tone (?I think??)?
Your answers to these questions will depend on the type of assignment you are being asked to write and the advice or guidance given for that assignment, or for the course more generally. Your tutor will be able to help if you are unsure.
We will concentrate on two forms here, the report and the essay.
Let's look at reports first.
Note down in your Learning Journal what you consider to be the purpose of a report.
Your answer may well depend on the subject you are studying, and again we would recommend that you refer to any guidance notes that you may have been given. Essentially a report can be simplified into three general principles:
How was it done?
Why was it done?
What does it mean?
Once you are clear in your mind about these questions in relation to a particular assignment, you will be in a position to think how best to proceed in answering them.
In general, a good report is one that you don't need to reread, it is clear and the information that it contains is easy to find. The structure is fairly rigid, usually divided into sections, probably with subheadings, each performing a very specific task. For example a scientific report will be a structured account of an investigation or experiment that you have carried out, whereas a business report may require you to imagine that you are making recommendations to your boss or colleagues for a particular course of action. You need to strive for relevance and conciseness, and your report should proceed in a logical and ordered way.
Now let's turn to essays.
Note down in your Learning Journal what you consider to be the purpose of an essay.
Michel de Montaigne, a French philosopher, developed the essay form in the 16th century. The term itself derives from the French word essai meaning ?testing? or ?trying out?. The purpose was (and still remains):
