Report Writing Tips for Students

Every student must know how to write a report skillfully. It is a must for each and every level of schooling and higher grades of education. Education boards introduce report writing in the school curriculum to test the communication skills of a child and thus eradicate rote learning. A adept report written by a student demonstrates his learning skills and command over the language. Students usually bound themselves with fear of report writing, but once they get the knack of it, then they may find report writing as easy as a simple narrative essay. So let us start learning with the basic principles of report writing and understand how to begin writing a good report.

Principles of Report Writing

One cannot say that there are any mentioned hard and fast rules for report writing. Hence students can expect lots of flexibility which would be accepted in terms of how one writes a report. A student can write a report as he wishes, but all he needs to do is include some important points which will ensure qualitative output when writing a report.

1. The first and the foremost point a student should remember is the opening statement which is nothing but brief summary of the whole report.

2. The events that are mentioned in the report should be arranged in a logical order rather than sequential order.

3. Try and be precise and use of simple language works well.

4. Repetitions of facts should be avoided. The facts mentioned should be brief yet comprehensive.

5. A good report includes condensed details, critical thinking and lucid adjectives.

Characteristics of a Good Report

A good report on whatever subject or level it may be, for school submissions or for work purposes should have these eight important characteristics which makes it a good. These eight characteristics of a good report are

1. Fresh Presentation - The report that you are planning to write on whichever subject and on whichever level should have a fresh appeal to it.

2. Outstanding Originality -  A good report is when the content of the report sound original and exceptionally good.

3. Appetizing Style - The style and manner in which the report is written should be impressive and engrossing. The content within the report should be equally interesting.

4. Lively and Lucid Language - Usage of vivid adjectives, brief yet comprehensive details, perceptive writing and energetic output are all important features of a good report.

5. Appealing to Human Interest - A report is considered to be good, if it is found interesting and appealing to a reader.

6. Factual Content - The content used within a report should do complete justice to the subject on which it is written. It should be factual and should remain pertaining to it.

7. Well Organized - The content of a good report has to be organized very well, preferably in a sensible order.

8. Grammatically Correct - Usage of proper grammar, punctuation and spellings should be given utmost importance while writing a report. A good report should be error free.

How to Begin a Report

Once a student understands the principles and characteristics of a good report, then all remains is the way one should begin a report. The beginning of a report is the most important part of a good report. This is where a reader or the examiner is going to sum up a judgement on how he would find the rest of the report and whether he should continue reading or put it aside. So let us learn how to begin a report.

Selection of the Topic

Before you begin to write a report, the most important thing one has to do is go through all the topics that are provided and select the one topic carefully for which which you have at least a bit of an understanding. Select a topic which you can associate yourself to or you have interest or experience to some extent. 

Jot Down Relevant Points

You have obviously selected a topic which you have some interest in or can associate yourself with. So get down to work by jotting out all the points or events that come to your head related to the topic on a rough paper. Remember you need to write down these points as these are flow of thoughts which come and pass by; and when you don't note them down they may just disappear when you really want them.

Arrange Points in Logical Order

Once you have made a rough note of all the points relevant to the subject, start putting them in an order to make sense. Roughly arrange these points in a manner on how and when you wish to use them. This way, once you start writing your report your focus is clear on how you are going to begin the report and how you will start including these points throughout the report. 

Make it Interesting

Make sure that you arrange and present these points in your report in such a manner that they make it an interesting read. As mentioned earlier the first paragraph of the report is the cream of the whole report, hence make sure that you write about the most important points or facts in the beginning. Rest of the points should be included in the second and the third paragraphs. But make sure that these points too should be important and relevant to the first point. 

Ask Yourself 

While writing a report, you should ask yourself few questions such as, 'what?', 'who?', 'why?', 'when?' 'where?' and 'how?'. Now see that you try and answer all these questions in your report. That is finally the whole purpose of writing a report where one has to provide details of a particular event or a fact. So these questions need to be answered. However it is not necessary that you may need to answer all the question in every report, finally it depends upon the topic. You need to analyse which questions relate to the topic you selected and act accordingly. 

Go With the Flow

Once everything is clear to you about how you are to start with the report writing format, you begin writing the first paragraph of the report. This is the only difficult part of the report writing. Once you get done with the first paragraph, you ease yourself and get into the flow of thoughts. Thus the next paragraphs set in, as it gets easier with the amount of rough homework that you carried out in the beginning of the report writing.

Don't Drag the Ending

The report which starts out interesting in the beginning may go a bit slow towards the end. This usually happens when we are not thoroughly prepared with the logical sequence of the points. Once you know how to start and how to end, there is nothing that would stop you from writing a good report. But always remember something that you started on an interesting note has to end in the similar manner. 

Expansion of Ideas - Speech is Silver But Silence is Gold

Man always has to carry the weightage of words he has spoken. Words once fall out of one's mouth can never be carried back. Such is the case of value of words and the value of silence. It is said that values of the words we speak is not more than silver, but value of silence we maintain is worth gold. When we start to speak or give our opinion on a particular subject, it is necessary that we have thought through before speaking. It is always important to know when to speak and how much to speak. Speaking unnecessarily on subjects we do not know much about, can land us in trouble. Hence, sometimes it is best to remain silent. The act of being silent is more powerful than  the act of speaking without knowledge.

When people have arguments where both the parties wish to prove their point, each one may start to speak irrelevant points just to portray himself wiser than the other or just to prove his point. But if one of them would just stay silent and wait for that perfect opportunity to prove his point, then maybe an argument would not get heated at all. Instead of blabbering insignificantly; which would not provide any solution one should use the power of silence to solve such situations. Thus Silence would prove out it's worth with the valuable role it would play in such situations and in our life.  

Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman and the Greedy Brahmins

Once when King Krishnadevaraya's mother got very ill, she spoke to the king about her wish of wanting to donate mangoes to the Brahmins. Not being a season of mangoes, the king found it difficult to fulfill her wish and before his guards could find any mangoes in the neighboring states,  his mother passed away. The king was heartbroken that he couldn't fulfill his mother's last wish. Time passed but king couldn't forget this episode at all.

So one day, the king called a Brahmin and asked him for an advice. He said, " O Brahmin! It was my mother's last wish to donate mangoes to the Brahmins. It was not a mangoes season so it was difficult enough and before we could find any, my mother passed away. I couldn't fulfill her last wish  and now I wonder whether my mother's soul will rest in peace?  O dear Brahmin! please help me to bring peace to my mother's soul."

This Brahmin was a greedy man and considered this as a golden opportunity to make some money for himself and the other Brahmins. He said to the king, " O my dear Lord! This is indeed a grave situation. If a person's last wish isn't fulfilled then the soul of this dead person never attains peace and wanders in the dark. Now that you haven't been able to fulfill her wish when she was alive, you will have to make sure that you fulfill it before its too late. But right now the only way to do this is not by donating real mangoes but only pure, golden mangoes to the Brahmins."

Being a religious and faithful man, King Krishnadevaraya readily agreed with the Brahmin's suggestion. He not only distributed golden mangoes among the Brahmins but also offered them other gifts. The Brahmins guaranteed the King that now his mother's soul would rest in peace. This made the king very happy and relieved.

Tenali Raman had witnessed the religious ceremony and was unhappy with the Brahmin's greed. The fact that angered him more was that the Brahmins had actually looted and deceived the king in the name of religion. So he decided to teach the Brahmins a lesson.

As soon as the Brahmins got ready to leave the king's court, Tenali Raman approached them and requested, " O dear Brahmins! I am so impressed with the rites that you performed to liberate the soul of the king's mother. It is my mother's death anniversary today and I request you to come visit my home and perform some religious rites for her. I have made arrangements for some gifts that I wish to give you after the rites are performed."


Hearing about the gifts the Brahmins readily agreed to perform the rites and happily went with Tenali Raman. They were aware of the fact that Tenali Raman always received gifts from the king for his witty answers and intelligence. So they knew that Tenali Raman would offer them expensive gifts. As soon as the Brahmins entered Tenali's house, Tenali locked the doors from inside and lighted a fire in the hearth inside the kitchen. He also put some long iron rods in the fire to heat.

The Brahmins were shocked by Tenali's act and wondered what was going on. They did not see any preparation for the religious rite that was to be performed. On the other hand Tenali was busy heating long iron rods and turning it properly from all sides to heat well.  After losing patience,  the Brahmins asked Tenali, "Dear Raman, can you tell us what is going on here? We don't see any signs of preparation for rites to perform. On the other hand you are busy heating iron rods. If you don't wish to perform any rite, please let us know so we could leave." On this Tenali replied, " O Brahmins! please have some patience. I am waiting for the rods to heat, once that is done you can start with the rituals."

Puzzled, the Brahmins started looking at one another. They started to get a bit nervous. One of them asked Tenali, " Tell us Dear Raman, what has iron rods got to do with the rites that are to be performed for your mother? This just looks like a complete waste of time and we have to return home."

Calmly, Tenali Raman replied, "The thing is my mother suffered from arthritis. She used red-hot irons to relieve pain in her joints. On her last day, she asked me to heat the iron rod, but before I could do so she passed away. Now I know that her soul hasn't attained peace because her last wish was not fulfilled. So I am going to put this red-hot irons on your bodies. This way I am sure her last wish will be fulfilled and finally her soul will rest in peace." The Brahmins looked shocked. Tenali continued, "Why not! If the king's mother can attain peace by you receiving golden mangoes then why can't my mother attain peace if I put red-hot iron on your bodies. If the king's sin can be recompensed by offering you golden mangoes then I am sure my sin can be recompensed by putting red-hot iron on your bodies."

The Brahmins looked aghast. Tenali allowed them some time to recover from their shock. Then he said, "O Great Brahmins! Please have patience. Now in few minutes I will bring red-hot iron to each one of you." And, saying so Tenali Raman went inside. Now the Brahmins had realized what message Tenali Raman wanted to convey them. They were ashamed of themselves. All the Brahmins went to Tenali Raman and asked for his forgiveness. The very next day they went to the king's court and returned the golden mangoes. Wondering why, the king asked for explanation. The Brahmins replied, " O Lord! You have been kind and generous to us. But we have taken undue advantage of the situation. We got greedy and we are ashamed of our behaviour." Now they told the king about their episode with Tenali Raman and how he helped them realize their mistake.

After listening to all this the king said, " O Brahmins! It is against my custom to take back the gifts that I give as charities. So there is no way that I will take back the golden mangoes. Please keep them with you." On this the Brahmins replied, " No way we could keep the mangoes and continue to be the sinners. Please O King! don't force us to keep the mangoes."

The king got very angry on listening all this and started losing his patience. Finally Tenali Raman came to the Brahmin's rescue. He said," O Lord! Please don't force the Brahmins to accept the mangoes against their wishes. Your stand is also right when you say that you can't take the gift back. But I would request you to send the golden mangoes directly to each Brahmin's house. This way the problem will be solved without any trouble." The King readily agreed and was pleased with Tenali Raman. He came forward and hugged him.

Expansion of Idea - An Idle Mind is a Devil's Workshop

When a man's mind is idle, he is meant to face problems! Once the idle mind of a man starts indulging in the activity of it's own, then the problems seem to arise. One problem thus gives rise to other problem and so on. It could easily be associated with a child too. When a child has nothing to do, he starts engaging himself in things that do not belong or relate to him in the first place. The curiosity of a child makes him do things which he himself does not understand. For example, say a child would want to play with any appliance available at home, say a mixer-grinder. He would be curious enough to know how a machine works and would go on to play with it's buttons. If a parent is around, he would stop the kid from doing so. But when the child is alone, this curiosity of an idle mind may create a mishap.

Thus a child should be kept engaged with activities which are engrossing and entertaining. For example, small children can always enjoy a puzzle or educational game. Adult children can engage themselves in hobby cultivating activities such as reading, coin collecting, drawing, singing, cooking etc. This helps a child to keep his mind at work rather than keeping it idle and inviting problems. Same is the case with grown-ups who should always keep their mind engaged in activities they enjoy rather than constant worrying and bickering. An idle mind is a host of unnecessary thoughts which may lead to dangerous actions from such man. It is said that some dangerous things that happen in the world are a result of an idle mind. Hence one can say that an idle mind is a devil's workshop. The best one can do is engage in fruitful activities and thus keep his brains active for the betterment of his own self and the society at large.

Expansion of Idea - Laughter is the Best Medicine

It is said that when we wake in the morning, the first thing we should do is smile. Smile works wonder for us as it gives a positive approach to the day we look forward to. And if we could just laugh and begin our day what better than that! People who laugh fall less ill. This can be done by those are optimistic in life. Or we could rather phrase this by saying that laughter makes man optimistic. Laughter is also an exercise for our facial muscles. as it helps keep wrinkles at bay and also helps avoid double chin.

Now that man has realized the importance of laughter, no wonder we find tons of laughter clubs emerging out in every part of the city. Laughter clubs are places where members of the club come together and enjoy loads of laughter by sharing funny and livid moments with each other. Even doctors suggest patients to enroll in a laughter club or enjoy a good comic book or even watch funny television shows which could add a little humour to life. Thus one can conclude that laughter does helps us maintain good health in all is the best medicine.

Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman and The Shrewd Barber

The royal barber in the court of King Krishnadevaraya was known for his efficiency. He was a real expert and was known for his skilled hands and expertise. But the barber himself was never happy and satisfied with his work. He wanted to be better and do much better than his present work. His discontentment was known by few courtiers. These courtiers were jealous of Tenali Raman and always came up with new ways to get him out of the court. So they tried to use the discontentment of the royal barber to remove Tenali Raman from the king's court.

The courtiers visited the royal barber and said to him, "Don't you think you are wasting your skills and your life?". On this the barber answered, "Yes, I do believe it myself, that I can do better than this. But I seriously don't know what other than this I am good at!" One of the courtiers laughed on his reply and said, "Who said that one has to be skilled to do better in life! Now just look at Tenali Raman. He is successful for nothing. All he has to do is tell few jokes to the king and make him laugh. He is handsomely rewarded just to do that." Another courtier added, " Yes! In fact we are indeed sure you are rather more intelligent that Tenali Raman. Maybe you should try to impress the king and replace Tenali in the King's court."

The barber was impressed with the idea and said, "Yes! I think I am intelligent enough than Tenali Raman. But how do I replace him?" To this the courtiers suggested, "Why don't you impress the king with a good shave and when the pleased king asks you what you want as a reward you request him to give you Tenali Raman's position." So accordingly the barber, very next day impressed the king with a good shave. The pleased king asked him how he wanted to be rewarded and the barber asked the king to give him Tenali Raman's position in the court. The king thought to himself, " It is impossible to refuse this man. But I am sure the courtiers are trying to create unneccassary trouble for Tenali Raman. Now it is totally upto Tenali Raman to deal with this situation." So the king readily agreed and offered the barber Tenali's position in the court with a promise that the barber should be able to entertain the king as much as Tenali does.

So the next day, in the king's court the barber came and sat on Tenali Raman's seat. When Tenali entered the court he was surprised to see the barber seating in his place but did not say anything. He simply bowed to the king and left the court. The courtiers who were jealous of Tenali Raman were very happy that they were successful in removing Tenali from the court. The court proceedings started and the barber came up with some jokes which were enjoyed by no one. He realized that he had made a fool of himself in front of the entire court. After the end of the session, the barber left for his house.

On his way home, the barber saw Tenali Raman sitting under a tree washing and scrubbing  a black dog. Amazed, the barber went to Tenali and enquired, " Dear Sir, why are you washing this black dog? On this Tenali replied," Well, I saw this black dog on the road, but did not like his colour. So I am scrubbing the dog and removing his colour and turning him white." To this the barber said, "But Sir, we cannot change the colour of the dog". On this Tenali looked at him and replied, "Why not! If one person who is skilled in his profession can suddenly change his own profession and become something he is not at all good at, why can't this dog change it's colour."

The barber realized the message Tenali Raman was trying to convey to him and immediately apologized for his behaviour. The very next day the barber apologized to the king and said, "My Lord! I got greedy and on my friend's suggestion tried replacing Tenali Raman. But Now I have realized that a person can't become what he is not. I am a skilled barber and wish to remain the same. And I hope you will appoint me back as your personal barber again if you have forgiven me for my mistakes."

The king replied, "Don't worry barber, I am not angry with you. It's good to know you realized your true worth. I purposely granted your wish back then of replacing Tenali, otherwise you would never have realized the truth. Tenali Raman is indeed a jewel and his brightness cannot be replaced by anything else." Tenali Raman visited the king and narrated him about the whole incidence that happened the day before about the black dog. To this the king laughed merrily and handsomely rewarded Tenali Raman. And thus Tenali Raman once more proved his wit and intelligence.

Kiddle - Safe Search Engine for Kids

We always worry about our child's safety, when it comes to their web browsing. Web-browsing for children is definitely necessary, as they have to check answers, details, work on projects and so on. But parents get real worried with the exposure the kids have to unlimited media and world which is harmful for kids. While web surfing, kids are exposed to information, media, images or even words which can be pretty harmful for their young minds. And that's not all, kids can fall prey to various dangerous activities and may provide sensitive data to people who may harm them or can turn out dangerous for them. 

Nowadays schools ask for projects which require complete research work and that's where internet comes into picture. Other than that kids enjoy watching movies, playing games, listening to songs, enjoying hobby activities and much more. Few young minds who are voracious readers, opt for reading books online and also enjoy researching or finding meanings for words they don't understand. Even using word search, synonyms, thesaurus and word builders are so much common these days. But whenever a child is online, web surfing how could one stop a parent hovering around! A chill-pill for parents has come in this case with the Kiddle Browser. 

Safe Search Engine - Kiddle

Kiddle Web Browser is a visual kids search engine, which is powered by Google. It helps kids to enjoy and experience safe web surfing, downloading images and videos which are filtered and assure safety. All the images, news and videos that are found on Kiddle Search are said to be tailored as 'Safe-Search'. There is no fear of kids searching keywords which they used to do in other browsers. With Kiddle, only kid-safe filtered data is produced. This stuff that is shown as a result for Kiddle Search is only related to kids. For example, if your child searches for a word say, 'Apple"; the first result the Google Web Browser would give you is about Company Apple, but in Kiddle 'apple search' would be related to fruit information, nursery rhymes, videos and other results suitable for kids. Only if the kid searches for Company Apple, then the relevant data would be shown on Kiddle and that too the data related to what this particular company is doing for kids as their audience. 

Usually the first three results that are shown in Kiddle search are specifically for kids, which are been hand-picked and checked thoroughly by Kiddle Editors. The design of Kiddle is child-friendly, so the kids tend to enjoy the surfing and web-browsing. The best part about Kiddle is that, it claims to not collect any personal information or identifiable information on kids. There is no registration or downloading required. Thus no personal information on the child would be made available on the web through Kiddle. Kiddle is basically a juniors safe search where all a parent can expect is a safe search results for kids. Usually the websites that are oriented through search results from Kiddle are been recommended by educators, librarians and concerned parents across the globe.

How Safe is Kiddle

As mentioned earlier, Kiddle is a safe search engine and hence parents can trust their children to custom search safely with Kiddle. Kiddle images are safe for children so are Kiddle games. Kiddle videos provide a safe video search for kids. The first three searches, as I said earlier are hand-picked, the next four searches include names of sites that are kids- friendly and usually include content understandable to kids. From result 8 onwards, the sites which usually provide expert content, written by adults yet for kids are provided. Hence one can be assured that the results are kid-oriented and do not contain explicit content. If sensitive words are used during a search on Kiddle, the guard robot blocks the search. Kiddle app can be easily downloaded on the kid's smart phones to help them browse information whenever they need. Google Kiddle for a safe Kiddle download. 

For example, if the term 'sex'  or 'porn' is used in the Kiddle search it usually blocks the search. Though terms like 'transgender', 'gay', 'lesbian' etc would provide relevant searches. The sites listed for these word searches usually are kids friendly, at least in the first few searches. But still, parents should definitely supervise the search on Kiddle, as the search finally depends totally on the use of keywords. Yet, one must say that Kiddle does a splendid job with preventing and blocking sites which contain adult content, unjustified violence, nudity and swearing. 

Kiddle Site Blocking Request

Kiddle provides an option for parents to use a form, where in a parent can fill in such keywords or sites that they have found on Kiddle Search and don't wish their children to see. By using this option parents actually help Kiddle do better filtering and blocking. Once the form is submitted, Kiddle promises to take action immediately and help Kiddle Search do better. 

Kiddle Internet Safety Tips for Parents and Educators

Kiddle provides certain internet safety tips for parents and educators, which can help parents safeguard their kid's online experience much further. As it is to be understood that Kiddle Search can be helpful only to a certain limit, and beyond that it is totally on the specific child to handle himself. Hence it is the duty of parents and educators to inform and teach kids how to take care of themselves and their privacy. Speaking one to one with a child is really helpful. A child has to know how much he should be speaking about himself to strangers and thus not posting information about him and his family on the internet. He or she needs to be explained the importance of the passwords and how revealing them to outsiders can be dangerous. Also it is the duty of a parent to regularly monitor his children activities , about which sites they regularly visit or which apps they use on the internet. The child should me made aware of the threats and dangers some sites can cause them if they try to access it. 

Thus one can say that Kiddle can be safely recommended to kids as a safe search engine. It will definitely help a child to have a wonderful experience filled with fun and education. If the child understands how to use Kiddle in a safer manner, then Kiddle would be the best tool for him when it comes to learning and understanding topics that are relevant for his personal and mental development.