Practical English Listening Guide: Techniques for Report Writing and Citing Sources

So far, we've talked about what to say when you hand out a document and how to direct people's attention to important information. Now, we're going to focus on language that you would use to discuss that information. You'll be able to explain where you got the information, summarize what it says, draw conclusions or make predictions, and discuss future plans. Sometimes, a report isn't one you've written yourself. Then it's important to explain where the information or report is from. According to the International Chocolate Association, consumption of chocolate is growing. This is a report from the tourist bureau. We found a lot of data about chocolate consumption on the ICA website.

Students often ask me about the word data. Is it singular or plural? It can be either. If you're using it to mean information, then you can use it in the singular. The data is interesting. If you mean a series of facts or numbers, then you're thinking of many individual responses. In that case, it's plural. If you work in math or science, you will use it most often in the plural. The word statistics is always plural unless you're talking about a course or the field of statistics. The data is interesting. It shows how much visitors spend when they visit Seattle. The data are incomplete. We haven't finished our survey yet. Here are some statistics about chocolate consumption. Statistics is an interesting field.

Be careful about word order when you have a question word like where or how much within a statement. Look at the two examples. The first one is a question. Where should we open a new store? The second one is a statement and it has regular subject verb word order. We are discussing where we should open a new store. Here are some other examples. Notice the word order in the statements is subject verb. How much does it cost? I asked how much it costs. Where is the store? I don't know where the store is.

Okay, now you try it. Read the question that Renear chocolates asked in their survey. How will it be different in the report? Listen to the correct answer. We want to know how much you spend. We ask them how often they buy chocolate. We're trying to figure out where we should open a new store. Here are some phrases you can use to talk about conclusions you draw from the information. As you can see, pipe place market is the best place to be. This means that sales will probably be higher at the market. So, we think that the market is the best choice. If that's true, then the choice is clear. The market is the best place for us.

When you're drawing conclusions, if you're certain, you will talk about the future. If you're less certain, frame the idea as a possibility with would or might instead of will. If we are at the market, people will buy our gift boxes to take home. If we were at the market, people would buy our gift boxes to take home. If we do that, we might get more orders later on our website.