Vusumuzi Dube
There are many different kinds of reports. For example, there is report writing at work. There are many jobs in which the ability to write a clear report is a required skill. Note the different tenses used on various reports. The main tenses used in reports are past and present.
You may realise that some reports are written entirely in the past tense. Similarly, some are written entirely in the present tense. On the other hand, some reports use both the present and past tenses.
Above all, it is important to use tenses correctly. Selection of detail is also key in report writing. For example when writers report on a football match they do not give a second-by-second account of the game – it would be a ridiculously long report.
Writers have to select the main points in the match, the ones the reader would be interested in, and report these. Similarly, when teachers write reports on students, they do not write everything they know about those students. They select things that are relevant to the subject and what the students’ parents or guardians would want to know.
There are different formats for reports. In a report the writer give information to the reader. This can be presented in a number of different ways – through prose, graphs, tables, diagrams and charts. From the above I think you have noted the following points: that report writing is an essential part of many jobs and have heard the importance of using the correct tenses. Reports should be clear and accurate.
How to write a successful letter of complaint. Get to the point from the beginning. A letter of complaint can provide proof of exactly what had been said and can be used for further action if needed. It is important to make sure a formal letter of complaint is written well in order to get the desired results.
You need to think about both content and language.
You can ask yourself: How can I make my complaint clearly and get what I want? There are four simple steps to follow to get the content right: state the problem clearly, give the relevant details, make clear what you want done and give a date by which you want it done. Language: what kind of language should
I use to help me get what I want? A letter of complaint is almost always formal and requires formal use of language.
Reminders about creating characters and settings as well as useful lists of connectives, verbs and adjectives. Use these to improve your writing. For example, how do you create characters in your story?
Choose a name – any you wish to use. Decide – would a nickname sound more interesting than the actual name? Describe one or two details so the reader can “see” your character.
For example, freckled face, brown jeans and scruffy to mention but a few. How is your character feeling? (Angry, sad, lonely, excited, mean, jealous, brave, calm, silly, hungry, tired, happy, exhausted and delighted). Noun building – Who is your character? – a boy called Billy for example. Add in description: for example, a tall, scruffy boy called Mike. What is your character doing? He dashed, ran, scampered, where is your character? He dashed out of the classroom
You can build your vocabulary using this example: Adjectives describing character: angry – bad-tempered, boiling, cross, fed up, fuming, furious and stormy. Bad – cruel, evil, foul, grotty, hideous, horrible, mean, naughty, rotten, sneaky sour, terrible, vicious, villainous, wicked. Frightened – afraid, alarmed, fearful, ghostly, petrified, scared, spine-chilling, terrified and trembling.
Happy – contented, delighted, glad, jolly, laughing, merry, thrilled. Nasty – disgusting, foul, horrible, horrid, mean, revolting, unkind. Nice – amazing, bright, charming, fantastic, generous, incredible, kind, pleasant, stunning, wonderful. Sad – depressed, gloomy, glum, lonely, miserable, moody, sorrowful.
Weary – exhausted, footsore, shattered, tired, worn out.
Cried – grizzled, howled, roared, screamed, screeched, shouted, sobbed, wailed, wept, whimpered, whined, whinged, yelled and yelped. Looked – examined, gaped at, gawped at, gazed, glanced, glimpsed, observed, peeped, peered, stared and viewed. Ran – bolted, dashed, galloped, hurried, hurtled, jogged, raced, and rushed, scampered, scooted, scurried, scuttled, sped, sprinted and trotted.
Said – babbled, bawled, bellowed, blurted, called, chatted, complained, cried, croaked, declared, gossiped, groaned, howled, moaned, mumbled, murmured, muttered, objected, pleaded, roared, screamed, shrieked, snapped, snarled, spoke, spilled the beans, squealed, stammered, uttered, waited, whimpered, whined, whispered and yelled.
No matter how familiar words are there are alternatives you can use in their place. Walked – ambled crawled, crept, hiked, hobbled, limped, lurched, marched, paced, plodded, prowled, rambled, sauntered, scuttled, slinked, staggered, stalked, stepped, stomped, strode, strolled, stumbled, swaggered, tiptoe, toddled, tramped, trudged and waddled.
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