In our latest blog post, we are going to take a look at an example piece of writing answering a CAE report question.
Here is an example question.
You have recently been working on a project for your company. Your manager has asked you to prepare a report on the progress of this project.
Your report should outline the aims of the project, describe any challenges that you have faced, and explain what you have done to overcome them.
The first thing you need to do is analyse the question. You can ask yourself some simple questions
1) Who is the target reader
2) What register and format does the candidate use
3) What key points must be included
Asking these key questions will help you to maximise your score in Communicative Achievement.
After this and planning your key points you are ready to start writing.
Here is an example answer to the question above.
Health and safety procedures at work
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to update management on the progress that has been made in the ‘Health and Safety Procedures’ project. As you will be aware, the project has two distinct aims:
· To help employees better report and manage hazards in the workplace
· To prepare for the Health and Safety inspection due in July
The challenges so far
Initially, staff members were asked to read the new Health and Safety documents and policies in their own time as we assumed they were already familiar with most of it. However, complaints were received by department heads making it clear that this was not the case. An unanticipated problem was the low level of literacy in three employees in the warehouse. Although these men are highly competent in the work they perform, they cannot easily follow health and safety documentation or fill out forms appropriately.
Overcoming the challenges
Health and Safety sessions have now been scheduled for an hour on Friday mornings for the next four weeks so that all staff can work through training material together, and we can deal with questions as they arise.
A literacy tutor has been contracted to assess the needs of the three warehouse employees, and to work out a suitable development programme for them.
Future Developments
All in all, the project is progressing well. Clear systems have been put in place for reporting and managing workplace risks. A final feedback session is going to be held in early June so we can deal with any unresolved issues.
As you can see, the report is given a title and then divided into subheadings. The tone is appropriate for writing to a superior and all of the points have been covered.