What is a Report?

Reports are informational texts that support a hypothesis with facts and data. Learn how to structure and write an effective report in elementary school.

A report is a concise piece of writing that uses facts and evidence to look at issues, situations, events, or findings. Reports are informative texts that aim to analyze different topics with a specific purpose and audience in mind. They provide factual information to their reader.

Reports are a form of non-fiction and aim to be as objective as possible, focusing on facts. This differentiates them from other forms of non-fiction, such as essays, that are heavily opinionated (though they may use statistics and factual information to persuade).

There are different types of report including:

information report
non-chronological report
book report
lab report
school report
student report
research report

You'll find that reports are especially useful in social studies and science topics for gathering information into a clear overview. The research and objective writing skills required for making a report, as well as the insight of the topic, will be useful in future education and vocations. Before writing out their full report, they can make notes and plan their outline. Children need to know the difference between fact and opinion.

Here's one example of an information report for kids.

How to Structure a Report

Reports are usually structured using subheadings, numbered sections and subsections. Key information can be listed using bullet points, and it can include features such as statistics, graphs or quotes as evidence to support its analysis.

Reports also tend to follow a structure that progresses through the following sections:

Introduction. State what the report is investigating, as well as its aims and objectives. Also, identify what your hypothesis is (a theory that you’re trying to prove).
Methodology. Write about how you approached the investigation, collected data and analyzed it. For example, if you got your data through a survey you conducted, write about how many people you surveyed, where you found them, how they communicated with you and what you did with the information. You could have gone about this in more than one way, in which case you can use subtitles to break down the different methods you used.
Results. What were your findings? This isn’t the part where you interpret or analyze what you found, you simply share the results of your investigation. Continuing with the above example, what did the survey participants say?
Discussion. This is where you interpret the results. What insights do you have into the information you collected. Did it support your hypothesis that you wrote earlier?
Summary. Without introducing any new information, summarize your findings and what you learned from the investigation. You can also include recommendations here that relate to your findings.

This is commonly referred to as the IMRAD report structure (Introduction, Methodology, Results and Discussion) and is the common way to approach report writing. However, if you’re unsure, check the required format with your teacher, professor, mentor, manager etc.

Other Features Used in Report Writing

You can also get students to ask the main questions of what, where, when, who, why, and how about their topic.

There are other common features you might find in nonfiction reports:

title
table of contents
pictures
captions
charts
graphs
evidence
glossary
bibliography

Here's an example animal research report with prompts to help children find the right information to include.

What Language Should You Use When Writing a Report?

Clear, objective language. Report writing should not include emotive words and should focus primarily on being clear, accurate, and concise. This is because the goal of a report is to communicate the facts, as opposed to convincing readers to think or feel a certain way.

Aim to use Standard English and a straightforward vocabulary - and going back to revise the first draft will help.The writer should try to be technical and descriptive, providing useful and relevant details.

Although reports are direct and factual, this doesn't mean they have to be dull. Students should try to make their reports easy to read and interesting using both their choice of information and their English language skills.

They're often in the present tense, written in the third person, and the passive voice may be used. Topic vocabulary should be used accurately. This helps to limit the personal voice in the informational content.

Information Report Examples for Kids

Here are some information report ideas for elementary lessons:

animal/nature research report
fiction book report
country or culture research report
historical event research report
scientific investigation findings
weather or geography report
technological report
news report

You might like to set a report project for your students in social studies, science, ELA, STEAM, or almost any subject.

Resources and Templates for Report Writing

If you’re a parent or teacher looking to introduce report writing to upper-grade students, you may be interested in some of our report writing templates and resources which cover several subject areas. You can use planners and graphic organizers to help with all kinds of report writing, and students will need access to the internet and information texts for their research.

For more resources or templates for report writing, feel free to browse around our website. You'll find ones for specific topics in their subject categories. We have plenty of great materials made especially to help educators teach report-writing skills along with other kinds of nonfiction texts.

More Tips on How to Write an Information Report

We live in the information age, and the skills used in distilling knowledge into an easily digestible report is applicable in many areas. During elementary school, students can try out report-writing for the first time and develop their research abilities. Once you have chosen a topic, children can follow a linear process to create their information report.

Their main objective is to provide facts to their reader about their chosen topic. See our ideas for this above. It can be about something very specific, or more general, e.g. polar bears or climate change. Students will have to work to keep their report objective - this is not opinion writing. We are evidence detectives, presenting the facts we find in an accessible way.

They should remember to break up their writing with images, graphs, diagrams, headings, and any other helpful elements. A strong introduction and conclusion make for a great information report. Unlike creative writing, they should keep things clear and to the point.

Make sure students have sufficient time for research and planning before they have to write their report. They should identify important vocabulary for their topic and use sources for evidence. They might like to include a glossary of technical terms in their report. Read information report examples with kids before they start their own. They will learn new things and become better writers from this activity.

What is a Report? - Information Report Structure - Twinkl (2024)