Writing - C1 Report
Essential strategies and common pitfalls to help you ace the Report for Cambridge C1 Writing exam.
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How to write a C1 Report
A report in C1 Advanced (CAE) is usually written for superior. For example a manager, director or for peer group that could be other students or members of a club that you are a member of as well. In a report, you always have to describe and evaluate a situation and usually suggest some cause of action that you would recommend.
If you don’t consider yourself a creative writer — and that’s completely fine — writing a report can be a smart and strategic choice for Part 2 of the C1 Advanced (CAE) writing exam.
What is a report?
A report is a formal piece of writing that is similar in tone to an essay. In the C1 Advanced (CAE) exam, reports are always addressed to a superior — such as a teacher, director, or manager — so the tone must remain respectful.
A good report typically:
- Analyses a present situation and often includes suggestions or recommendations
- Is divided into clear sections and presents factual information
- Uses a formal style that is objective and precise
- Includes headings to clearly separate each part of the report
C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Structure
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The purpose of this report is to…. |
| Subheading + Paragraph | Give the relevant facts |
| Subheading + Paragraph | Give the relevant facts |
| Subheading + Paragraph | Give the relevant facts |
| Conclusion | Make your recommendations |
C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Writing Guide
We will use the example CAE report topic below:
Last year a new sport and leisure centre opened in your home town. You have recently received the following letter from the manager of the centre:
I am writing to all members of the Active Leisure Club to thank you for your custom over the last year. We want to make the facilities even better this year! Please send a short report to us, telling us what you think are the best and worst aspects of the club. We also want to hear your suggestions for new facilities...
Write your report to the manager of the club (between 140–190 words).
Step 1: Find (If not given) – key points, topic and target reader
You need to start writing your report by finding the key points/information, the subject and the person to whom you are writing.
Last year a new sport and leisure centre opened in your home town. You have recently received the following letter from the manager of the centre:
I am writing to all members of the Active Leisure Club to thank you for your custom over the last year. We want to make the facilities even better this year! Please send a short report to us, telling us the best and worst aspects of the club. We also want to hear your suggestions for new facilities…
Topic: Active Leisure Club wants to improve their facilities
Main key points:
- Describe the best aspects of the club
- Describe the worst aspects of the club
- Suggest new facilities
Target reader: manager of the centre
As soon as we’ve analyzed the task and extracted all the information that we need, we can start building the report structure and writing it.
Step 2: Title
Although the title is not obligatory, it is certainly an attractive addition and could be something like:
- Report on ……. + Topic
- Topic + : a report
If you remember in the previous step (Step 1) we found the topic.
Topic: Active Leisure Club wants to improve their facilities
Let’s use it now:
Title: Report on Active Club facilities
Title: Active Leisure Club facilities: a report
Step 3: Introduction
A good and equivalent introduction should contain two things:
Firstly, you have to state the purpose of the report as clearly as possible – this gives the reader a clear idea of what to expect and sets the tone for the rest of the report.
The purpose of the report is nothing more than three points you found (in step 1)
- describe the best aspects of the club
- describe the worst aspects of the club
- suggest new facilities
Example:
The purpose of this report is to outline the best (point 1) and worst parts (point 2) of our club, as well as to recommend improvements to the facilities. (point 3)
Finally, you mention how you collected the data for your report — this is not something that you have to do, but it can help your report stand out a little bit.
Example:
The purpose of this report is to outline the best and worst parts of our club, as well as to recommend improvements to the facilities. The data for the report was collected based on the opinions of club members(source)
Complete and finished introduction with title:
Example:
Title: Active Leisure Club facilities
The purpose of this report is to outline the best (point 1) and worst parts of (point 2) our club, as well as to recommend improvements to the facilities. (point 3) The data for the report was collected based on the opinions of club members. (source)
Step 4: The body paragraphs (main content)
When we have a ready title and introduction to our report, we can move on to writing the proper content.
In the main content, you should answer the main key points that you discovered in the task (see step 1) under suitable subheadings, and each is placed in a separate section/paragraph.
Main key points (see step 1):
- describe the best aspects of the club
- describe the worst aspects of the club
- suggest new facilities
Example:
The best aspects of the club – add a heading
Most members seem to enjoy the swimming pool with its daily water exercise classes and the opportunity to swim in 50–metre lanes. It also appears that offering a child care programme is appreciated by the majority of our members since many of them have families, but still would like to use the facilities of the club.
[first key point answered – best aspects]
The worst aspects of the club – add heading
According to most of the members I have spoken to, the café does not meet their expectations with below-average food and slow service. Another problem is the state of the gymnasium which, in general, is avoided by manybecause of broken equipment and a lack of staff during peak times.
[second key point answered – worse aspects]
Suggestions
[….. here you can add one more paragraph and give suggestions, OR include them in the conclusion]
– Formal/indirect language – official
– Transitional words, expressions and conjunctions, which link the sentences and make the text more fluid
💡 TIP: Headings are very important!
When you write a report every paragraph must have a title but don’t worry, these do not need to be creative titles. This is not an article!
Headings must be factual. They must only let the reader know what information will be contained in the paragraph.
So what is a very boring and factual title?
Introduction..., Positive aspects of..., Negative aspects of..., Improvements..., Recommendations..., Suggestions...
Step 5: Conclusion
After writing the entire content, we only have a summary where we can also include our suggestions or recommendations – to do this we can use some specific language that is there to persuade the manager of the centre to take up our idea and implement it.
Suggestions & conclusions – add a heading
In the final analysis, the best solutions seem to be to improve the quality of the menu and the service at the café as well as the maintenance schedule and number of staff at the gymnasium. If manager is decided to follow recommendations, the experience of members would improved
– Persuasive language (recommendations)
– Pink
See Full Report
Active Leisure Club facilities
The purpose of this report is to outline the best and worst parts of our club, as well as to recommend improvements to the facilities. The data for the report was collected based on the opinions of club members.
The best aspects of the club
Most members seem to enjoy the swimming pool with its daily water exercise classes and the opportunity to swim in 50-metre lanes. It also appears that offering a child care programme is appreciated by the majority of our members since many of them have families, but still would like to use the facilities of the club.
The worst aspects of the club
According to most of the members I have spoken to, the café does not meet their expectations with below-average food and slow service. Another problem is the state of the gymnasium which, in general, is avoided by many because of broken equipment and a lack of staff during peak times.
Suggestions & conclusions
In the final analysis, the best solutions seem to be to improve the quality of the menu and the service at the café as well as the maintenance schedule and number of staff at the gymnasium. If manager is decided to follow recommendations, the experience of members would improved.
To sum up….
A report is a formal paper, it has to be concise, well-organized, which makes it recommended to use bullet points and headings so that the reader can quickly find the information they are looking for in your text.
The language of a report is expected to be formal and objective. For this reason, you should avoid including yourself or your views in most of your sentences.
C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Writing Checklist
After writing your report, you can check it yourself using the writing checklist below.
Content
Communicative Achievement
Organisation
Language
C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Common Mistakes
Recommended in the Report
Not recommended in the Report
C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Tips
Tips on structure
Tips on language
C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Grading
Language
It might seem that it’s difficult to use advanced language in a Report. After all, the topics are usually so dry – what can you write to show your creativity?
This is why being specific so important. The more specific your ideas, the more specific the language you have to use, and therefore the more advanced your language will seem. Don’t stop with ‘computer’ – think of ‘interactive whiteboard’, ‘webcam’ and so on.
Organization
It’s not always easy to show links between paragraphs in a Report – especially since each paragraph addresses a single point.
However, you can make sure to link your ideas in each paragraph, so that the sentences build up to a complete, fully-formed idea.
Try to use different sentence patterns. For example, use an adverbial clause at the start of the sentence to introduce your idea – ‘It’s highly likely that…’ for example.
Communication
Reports should be written in formal register.
It’s a good idea to use the passive voice (e.g. ‘This report has been written …’) but not in every sentence – you will send the Target Reader to sleep if you rely on it too much.
Introduce complex ideas as well as simple ones. Saying that there is a computer in every classroom is a simple one – but saying that the webcam can be used to communicate with people online is an example of a more complex idea.
Content
It’s important that you consider all of the content points.
Everything you write must be relevant to the task. Don’t get distracted by something you think is more interesting.
Add as much specific detail as you can – this will make the Target Reader feel fully informed.
C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Useful Phrases & Expressions
We'll wrap up with some useful vocabulary commonly used to organize ideas. While it might feel like taking a shortcut, learning a few key expressions for each paragraph type can help you produce a well-structured and cohesive text in your exam.
Introduction (the goal of the report)
The aim of this report is to...
As requested, I am writing this report to...
This report aims to outline/assess...
The purpose behind this report is to...
Development
The first observation to make concerns...
It has to be stressed that...
According to (the majority of respondents)...
In spite of (the fact that)...
Despite (the fact that)…
The outlook for ... is (far from) bright/optimistic/depressing/daunting
The future looks bleak/remains uncertain/is promising
This seems unlikely in the near/foreseeable future
Recommendations
I suggest/recommend
I would like to suggest/recommend
I therefore suggest
I advise you (not) to
I believe it would be beneficial
It would be advisable to
You may wish/want to consider
If you wish to…, you should
If we wish to…, we ought to
Conclusion
Provided that these recommendations are taken into consideration,...
In conclusion,...
From the research one can conclude that...