Call to Write, Third edition

1
Call to Write, Third edition

• Chapter Eight, Reports Informing and Explaining

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Overview

• Looks at the genre of reportsdocuments designed
  to inform and explain
• Reports range from simple to complex, and take
  many different formats
• Gives strategies to select, organize, and deliver
  information

3
The genre of report writing

• Reports inform and explain
• They range in purpose and audience, depending on
  the context
• Reports take an objective, factual tone

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Why do reports take an objective tone?

• The focus of a report is not on the writer, but
  on the content.
• The tone is then objective, factual, formal.

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Examples of reports

• News reports
• Research articles in professional journals
• Organizational fact sheets
• Brochures
• Informational Web sites

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Research and reports

• Reports are often written to answer a question.
• They involve gathering information and doing
  research.

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Readings

• Two articles on the Mentally Ill
• A short piece from the Associated Press that ran
  in many local papers
• A longer article from the New York Times
• World Bank/IMF Fact Sheet
• Saipan Campaign

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More Readings

• Barbara Kruger, I Shop, Therefore I Am
• Milton Glaser, Dylan
• Daniel Pauly and Reg Watson, Counting the Last
  Fish
• Visual Design The Triangle Factory Fire (an
  informational Web site)
• http//www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/

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Writing assignment

• Your assignment is to write a report. There is a
  list of six options on pages 289-290.
• The list includes news report, fact sheet,
  explanatory essay, article, brochure, and Web
  site.
• Your instructor will let you know whether your
  class will be doing this particular assignment,
  and provide you with additional guidelines.

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Web sites for news

• New York Times, http//www.nytimes.com/
• Washington Post, http//www.washingtonpost.com/
• CNN, http//edition.cnn.com/
• Time, http//www.time.com/time/

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The writing process

• The last part of the chapter takes you through
  the writing process notice the use of questions
  to prepare you for doing research.
• There are suggestions to help you organize and
  present the information you find, as well as
  suggestions to guide peer review and revision.

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Student sample

• See the essay by Michael E. Crouch (Lost in a
  Smog, pages 296-302).
• Note the comment that he is following the typical
  layout of an article in Scientific American he
  uses a headline, photos, sidebars, and
  information boxes.
• See the list of questions, page 295.

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Student Companion Website

• Go to the student side of the Web site for
  exercises, chapter overviews, and links to
  writing resources for this chapter
• http//www.ablongman.com/trimbur
• Click on the textbook cover, and then select
  Student Resources.