WHAT IS A REPORT AND HOW TO DO ONE? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The rapporteur is an academic text that exposes a topic that has been studied by its author or authors, through meticulous reading and comprehensive analysis of multiple bibliographic resources.

It is the synthetic result of the critical reading effort, added to the personal arguments raised by the author after the analytical exercise. It differs from other types of writing because it allows mastery of a topic through documents and works articulated in an idea.

It differs from a summary in that the latter does not have subjective ideas or personal arguments. The rapporteur is the creative reconstruction of the texts that are being treated.

It is a very useful resource for the analysis of issues in which several people are involved, since it allows the compilation of everything analyzed individually and show the various points of view. There are two types of rapporteurs.

On the one hand, informative, where the rapporteur does not state his own opinion, but rather presents the opinions of various authors on the subject of study. It should be as objective as possible and cite the sources accurately. Lets you view a topic of study from various angles.

On the other hand, there is the argumentative report. In this, the rapporteur presents his personal points of view supported by the research with the intention that, after the analysis, he can reach conclusions different from those already known or previously exposed by other authors or rapporteurs.

Build a rapporteur: main characteristics

There is no single way to build a rapporteur. However, it can be said that it is built on three basic elements, which are:

The theme of the text

A thesis must be determined on which the rapporteur will base his analysis. It will always be a personal construction that must be argued and justified based on an exhaustive reading of documents by various authors related to the topic to be addressed.

Likewise, the central notions or concepts to be exposed should be considered. Finally, you should have clear conclusions upon reflection, whether in the form of questions or definitive solutions.

The structure of the text

It is the form that the rapporteur will give his ideas. It must have a meaning and coherence, using diagrams or concept maps that facilitate the visualization of the subject to be discussed. You should use short sentences and language that can be understood by your entire audience.

The reading process

It is rigorous work that requires exhaustive analysis, a good level of understanding and critical connection. The reading analysis is broken down into three parts.

The first is interpretive and allows the central ideas of the text to be identified. The second reading is analytical and refers to the reader's own knowledge on the subject.

The third reading is critical and is the moment when the reader proposes new alternatives on the topic read.

Both in terms of subject matter and structure, a good report should make clear the position from which the subject will be approached, as well as the purpose that is pursued with the preparation of the text.

A successful rapporteur must consider aspects such as excellent writing and spelling (see APA Standards), coherence in discourse and argumentation, variety and quality of bibliographic resources, a deep and creative analysis.

The length of a report should not exceed five pages; Although the latter is not limiting, unnecessary explanations should be avoided.

Guide for the preparation of a report

The first requirement to prepare a good report is reading as a prior and indispensable process.

Understanding this, its realization can be assumed taking into account all or some of the aspects that, in the form of a question, are described below, depending on the objective pursued, the intention of the rapporteur or the characteristics of the investigated texts.

Regarding the theme

• What is the proposed thesis? It should not be confused with the topic; the thesis is the author's position on this issue.
• What is the argumentative scheme? It has to do with the interpretative development that supports the proposed thesis.
• What are the central notions of the text?
• What are the conclusions? They are the result of reflection and analysis; You can confirm, refute or modify the thesis raised at the beginning.

Regarding the structure

• What are the implications or meaning of the title?
• What is the plot structure of the text like?
• How is the use of language and how does it affect the text?

Regarding the reading process:

• What new ideas or concepts emerged?
• Which of these ideas should be cited in the text?
• What strategies were approached for the comprehension and analysis of the text?

Purpose and usefulness of the report

The rapporteur must demonstrate that he made a correct interpretation of the text and that it allowed to explain, deepen or expand the thought or position of the author on a topic.

Likewise, the rapporteur must face two or more different approaches that allow comparing different arguments or positions that will give solidity to the thesis. Any personal opinion on the subject must be solidly founded.

In the academic field, the rapporteur allows the student to appropriate one or more texts to analyze and articulate them; strengthens the critical and participatory attitude to the student.

In everyday life it allows to have a pertinent and analytical exchange of ideas, managing to enrich the discourse in any form of communication.

For the rapporteur in particular, it allows a more in-depth analysis, to identify and organize all the materials read so that his conclusions can be developed more clearly and presented to his audience in a clear and professional way.

Basic example of a narrative: the story of Pinocchio

Text to analyze

For this example we will take the story of Pinocchio, written by the Italian writer Carlo Collodi in 1883.

For those who do not know her, the story is about how a carpenter creates a puppet named Pinocchio with the appearance of a child, who wants with all his might to become a real boy.

A blue fairy grants her wish, but only halfway, as the puppet comes to life but is not flesh and blood. In addition, she warns the carpenter that Pinocchio must demonstrate values such as kindness or generosity, otherwise she will become a simple piece of wood again.

However, Pinocchio makes many mistakes by disobeying his father and lying, which caused his wooden nose to constantly grow. Finally, Pinocchio repents of his bad deeds and the fairy turns him into a real boy.

Text theme

The author of the work shows us the need to have a good heart and always act from kindness and positive values ​​such as generosity and respect for parents, as well as avoiding behaviors such as lies or disobedience.

Structure

The plot structure of the text shows us how life offers us certain opportunities that require sacrifice and that we must be strong not to lose those gifts that we sometimes find along the way.

For Pinocchio it would have been impossible to become an animated being without the magic of the Blue Fairy. This makes him a privileged person, so he should have been more aware of it and not make the mistakes that almost led him to lose the privilege of becoming a real child.

In terms of understanding and interpretation, it is a children's reading, so its reading is simple and free of messages that cannot be understood by the little ones.

Reading process

As a personal contribution, I would like to point out that the author not only wanted to show us how we should care

He wanted to give a message closely linked to Christianity, which is that of forgiveness. Although Pinocchio disregarded the advice of the Fairy, his father and his own conscience out of selfishness, he finally repents from the heart. The Fairy understands his change in attitude and decides to finally turn him into a real boy.

The flesh is weak, but if you open your eyes and are aware of your mistakes, you have time to reorder your life and get forgiveness.

APA rules

The APA (American Psychological Association) norms are a set of standardized and universally accepted norms to unify formats and criteria in formal writing, whether used in academic works, documents or articles of any kind.

The APA standards regulate various aspects such as formal presentation, the way of citing and making bibliographic references, and so on.

References

1. Guide for the preparation of reports. Luis Amigó University Foundation. Recovered from virtual.funlam.edu.
2. The Rapporteurship. Sergio Arboleda University, School of Philosophy and Humanities. Recovered from usergioarboleda.edu.co.
3. How to make a report? Recovered from docs.google.com.
4. APA 2017 Standards. Recovered from normasapa.net.