Passive forms for reporting verbs

Lingua e traduzione inglese I

Tuesday, 14th March 2017

Reporting verbs can be expressed in compliance with two different patterns:

1. it + passive + that clause, e.g.: It's thought (that) restaurants change too much in the town centre; 
2. subject + passive + infinitive with to, e.g.: Restaurants are thought to change too much in the town centre.

The following video illustrates clearly the structure and the use of the above-mentioned patterns:

Report

Keeping in mind the patterns I described will help you write a good report texts during B2 examination. But what is a report?
It is a kind of text which presents information about a certain subject.  It usually contains facts about the subject, a description and information on its parts, behaviour and qualities. It is made of:

• a general opening statement to introduce the subject –a short description or a definition
• a series of paragraphs, each of which includes one feature of the subject.  Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence 
• conclusion to summarise the information.

The language must be technical language.
Pay attention: you must avoid evaluative terms and use generalised terms: eg wood, NOT beautiful wood.
The following is an example of a report.

REPORT ON FOOD HABITS IN AREZZO 

Introduction 

The principal purpose of this report is to provide a description of where local people and/or visitors can eat out in Arezzo. During my report, I will focus only on the most remarkable aspects.

The current Situation 

I conducted interviews with an representative statistical sample. The most relevant results are the following:

• Most of the local people (59%), especially the young, claimed to be particularly fond of all-you-can-eat Sushi-Bars, because they usually offer a good quality-price ratio and an effective service;

• The majority of the visitors (53%) choose traditional Tuscan restaurants located in the centre, although in most cases they are rather expensive.

Recent trends/Dissatisfaction 

Against this background: the number of Sushi-Bars is rising: it went from 7 (2014) to 11 (2016); the restaurants in the centre are getting more expensive and touristy. 

Recommendations

Taking all the factors mentioned into account, I would recommend: local people should vary further their diet; visitors should look for place where to eat away from the most touristic sites.

NB: Only use the bullet  in one paragraph!

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