Job Discussion Forums

[biffinbridge]

I'm in the desert but am going to be in Poznan, Poland very soon, so I need to get an order in.

Could anyone recommend a Pre-intermediate level Report Writing ESP coursebook?

Thanks in advance, it will save me a lot of work.

[redeyes]

I am not sure what you mean by "report writing" -- narratives describing processes in technical/scientific writing as opposed to Humanities style academic essay writing I guess?

I usually teach more Humanities/Arts based academic writing skills based around setting up and staging arguments/resolving/concluding debates in writing etc, but I imagine you mean commentaries on technical/scientific process, right?

If you can clarify, it would help in advising a text.

Currently I am teaching Academic Writing courses at University level, and rather than relying on one text, I tend to prefer compiling my own hybrid materials, usually sourced from assorted IELTS texts. The chapters on writing skills are usually excellent for objective academic and technical,scientific writing skills, with outstanding vocab sections and pages of charts which outline in simple, easily useable hands on terms the language they'll need for effective technical/ scientific wrting.

I also cherry pick from decade or so old "Headway"/"Matters" texts for key grammar points such as adverb collocation, discourse markers,punctuation, conjunctions etc.

Also Biffin, I took the liberty of PM'ing you offboard on a different point, connected to your ME/Gulf experience -- hope that's ok.

[Dedicated]

I would agree with most of what redeyes has said above.

I think finding a book at pre-intermediate level just for Report Writing will be difficult....whatever you mean by " report writing" at this level.

Can I suggest a more general EAP book " Study Writing"( published by Cambridge) which is from good intermediate to proficiency level. This deals with all kinds of academic writing skills., including essays, projects, research articles or theses.

There are two standard textbooks we use in the UK, which have a chapter/section on report writing (usually reports from carrying out surveys and questionnaires) :

Academic Writing Course by R. Jordan (Longman) and

Academic Writing by Stephen Bailey (Routledge).

If it is science report writing, let me know, and I'll check with Science Depts.

[biffinbridge]

Just to clarify....I teach 6 contact hours a day, so time is precious.

We've been asked to design a Report Writing Course for Engineers in the gas company I work for.

Thier speaking skills are often upper-intermediate but their written skills are much lower.

The skills they need are very functional...ie incident reports for health and safety, progress reports for the training courses, overviews etc. They also have to deal with a of of maintenance reports and requests. I've started a task based course using past reports and forms but it's a lot of work on top of the teaching load and I was really trying to see if there was an appropriate short course available.

[redeyes]

I taught these kinds of classes to Saudis about fifteen years ago -- it sounds dull, but actually wasn't -- we had a laugh. Good down to earth guys.

I used books like the following --

http://www.eflbooks.co.uk/book.php?isbn=0582539633

http://www.eflbooks.co.uk/book.php?isbn=2912460964

http://www.summertown.co.uk/default.asp?V_ITEM_ID=211

BTW, Summertown Publishing are excellent for finding EFL books, and deliver fast.

[Dedicated]

Biffinbridge,

I think I've located just what you are looking for, having checked with science depts.

It is called " English for the Energy Industries" (oil, gas and petrochemicals) by Peter Levrai, published by Garnet.
ISBN : 1 85964 911 4 + CD/cassettes

I looked at it quickly - it is pre-intermediate and contains exciting stuff such as safety instructions, equipment, processes and systems. The reading is drawn from authentic materials such as instruction manuals, and writing tasks include accident report forms.

Hope this helps!

[biffinbridge]

Thanks for the input...

I've already fot the 'English for the Energy Industries' book....it's not bad but we really want to run a short course...ie max 50 hours.