6/10/2023 0 Comments Thinking rock add time to reports![]() If you do it with care and justification, ending with a quotation can be powerful. Quote (Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?) (Getting a shaggy perm is optional, but we’d admire your dedication.) Think Livin’ on a Prayer, where the key changes for the final chorus. You’ll already have mentioned this in the body of the report, but you should crank it up a gear in the conclusion. Then follow this up with a prediction of how things will be different if they take your advice. ‘Unless we expand our recycling scheme, we are almost certain to fall short of our targets for this year and to perform worse than both of our neighbouring councils.’ We will soon be recycling over 40 per cent of our waste.’īut if the purpose of your report is to persuade the reader to take a certain action, predicting what will happen if they don’t can be a persuasive tactic. ‘The council continues to expand its recycling scheme at an incredible rate. If your report is about a decision already taken, you can use the ending to sum up the effects you expect to see. ![]() ![]() There are two main ways you can use predictions. Predict the future (Take my hand and we’ll make it I swear) There are four basic types of conclusion you can use, summed up by the letters PQRS: Predict, Quote, Repeat or Summarise. So your conclusion should contain no surprises – no Brotherhood of Man-style twist. If your report includes recommendations, you’ll already have stated them in the executive summary and supported them throughout the document. Here’s Neil Sedaka demonstrating just how awkward a bad ending can be – Breaking up is hard to do indeed. Going out with a whimper isn’t an option. You want to send your reader away thinking about what they’ve read – or even persuade them to make a decision right there and then. When you’re trying to bring your report to a conclusion, do you ever feel like Paul McCartney at the Olympics opening ceremony, rehashing the same points (‘na na na nananana …’) as the audience sneaks quietly for the exits? Or do you take the John Lennon approach in I Want You (She’s So Heavy) and crash to a sudden halt?Įndings can be tough to write, but they’re so important. Grab a pair of headphones and a lighter to wave in the air.
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