Information Reports

Information reports are quite different to creative writing so they will not be included in this blog. If you want to write an information report, add it to the Student Wiki.

The main features of an information report are:

A general classification
Details


The general classification is a sentence or paragraph that states what it is that you will be writing about.

Details: all the following paragraphs should be descriptive. They contain details about your subject.

Here is an example:

Koels are birds from the Cuckoo family.

Koels migrate to Australia in Spring and leave again in Autumn. While they are here they breed.

Koels lay their eggs in the nest of another species and are not involved in raising their own chicks.

The male Koel is black all over with red eyes. The female has red eyes and a black cap. Her back feathers are spotted and her belly feathers are barred. The juvenile is similar in appearance to the adult female except its head is mottled brown and its eyes are also brown.

Koels are between 39 and 46cm long.

Reference: Simpson, K. & Day, N. (1984). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Penguin, Ringwood, Victoria.

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Review

The main features of a review are:

Orientation
Details
Conclusion

Here is an example:

The Secret Life of Wombats by James Woodford is a fantastic book because it has lots of fascinating facts about wombats and is written in a very engaging way.

The information in this book is mostly derived from the adventures of one man, Peter Nicholson, who had extraordinary experiences as a teenager observing wombats in the wild and even climbing down into their holes to investigate them.

I read this book aloud to my children and we were all gripped with suspense at various passages of the book. We were also very sad to learn how endangered the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat has become.

In conclusion, I think all Australians should read this book and get to know these intriguing, nocturnal creatures.

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Exposition

The main features of an exposition are:

Issue statement
Preview
Arguments
Summary/recommendation

Here is an example:

Should foxes in Regional Parks be killed?

I believe foxes in Regional Parks should be killed because they are a great threat to our native wildlife.

There are lots of good reasons to kill foxes in Australia but it is very tricky when they are in a Regional Park. Regional Parks are like National Parks but because they are close to urban areas they have different rules. Rangers cannot shoot foxes in these parks because they are too close to people's homes. But the homes actually help to increase fox numbers by providing sources of shelter and food for them.

Foxes in Regional Parks could be poisoned with 1080 but this poses a problem for people who have pets that access the park without supervision. The pets could eat the poison and die.

If rangers used traps to catch animals they could kill any foxes they caught. If they caught pet animals they could find the owners and warn them about keeping their pets on a leash in the park.

Foxes are clever animals. They survuve well because they can eat almost anything and they are good at hiding from people. I believe it is important to remove them from Regional Parks but a satisfactory method has yet to be found.

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Procedure

The main features of a procedure are:

Goal/Aim
Things you need
Steps - these start with action verbs

Here is an example:

How to make a bird's nest

You will need:
old tennis balls
sharp scissors
strong glue
leaves, feathers, string, coconut fibre etc
play dough

Steps
1. Cut the tennis ball in half
2. Glue fibres to the outside (grass, string, leaves, etc)
3. Let the glue dry
4. Shape the play dough into birds eggs
4. Line the inside of the nest with soft feathers
5. Place your eggs in the nest

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Discussion

The main features of a discussion are:

Topic/issue
Issue statement
Arguments against
Arguments for
Conclusion

Here is an example:

Should Councils remove large street trees?

A lot of streets have very large trees lining their streets. Some think they should be chopped down and replaced with younger trees while others believe they should be kept.

One reason to remove the trees is that the roots cause concrete paths to warp and people could trip on them.

Another reason is that old trees are more likely to drop branches and people could get injured.

The branches of big trees interfere with power lines and often have to be pruned which costs the Council money.

However, it takes a long time to grow a big tree and they are a valuable part of any neighbourhood that cannot be easily replaced.

Trees provide shade for parked cars and people walking along the street. New small trees will not provide shade for many years.

Trees are home to birds and many other creatures. The larger the tree, the more species it can support. Having nature near our homes improves our quality of life.

Old trees can be managed to maintain safety without removing them altogether. This could involve checking the trees for disease regularly and solving problems before it is too late. Pruning could help remove dangerous branches.

Therefore, the value of keeping mature trees in our streets outweighs the benefits of removing them and replacing them with immature trees.

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Explanation

The main features of an explanation are:

Title
General statement
Explanatory sequence

An explanation may be linear (for example a flowchart) or it may be circular (for example a life cycle. It could also be causal: each new thing described causes a change (thing --> change --> thing --> change).

Here is an example of an explanation that is linear and causal:

Mangrove food chain

For an activity sheet relating to this image, see Amazing Mangroves.

Here is an example of a circular explanation:

Mangrove life cycle

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland. ‘Why We Need Mangroves’. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/2618.html

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Literary description

The main features of a literary description are:

Introduction
Details
Conclusion

Descriptions are often used within another text type. Use adjectives to give extra information about the thing or person you are describing.

The introduction should establish who, what, when and where.
Details could include how things look, sound, feel, smell or taste. Or you might describe details about a person's looks or feelings.
The conclusion is optional. You could use this to sum up your description.

Here is an example:

The rain teemed from the dark grey sky.

Great raindrops plopped onto the parched earch. Instead of soaking in the droplets skittered across the earth and joined other drops forming rivulets that sought out the softest earth and carved a path through it.

The air smelled fresh and clear as the rain fell and washed the dry earth clean.

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