• Theme: Festivals / Special Occasions
  • Genre:Survey Report

A survey report summarises the data gathered from a survey aiming at collecting opinions on certain issues.

  • Details of Writing Task

Rubrics: Your school is going to organise a Teacher’s Day.Your English teacher has asked each student to conduct a survey to collect students’ opinions on how to organise this meaningful event. Each of you has to prepare a list of questions and interview your classmates to seek their opinions about (1) how best to organise the event and (2) their opinions on celebrating Teacher’s Day. Then you have to write a survey report and present the findings in front of the class.

  • Features:

Context: Class presentation

Writer: A secondary one student

Audience: The form teachers and fellow classmates

TargetLanguage:i)Wh-Questions

ii)Summarising quantitative data

  • Pre-writing Activities
  1. Procedure of Conducting a Survey

1A: Before we start to write a survey report, we have to conduct a survey with our respondents (in this case your classmates).The procedure of conducting a survey is listed below.Re-arrange the procedure in the correct order.

List of procedural elements in a survey:

  1. Prepare a list of questions.
  2. Write the survey report.
  3. Identify the target respondents
  4. Decide on the topic of the survey,
  5. Conduct interviews to collect data.
  6. Analyse, compile and summarise the data.

Answer: ____  ____  ____  _____  ____  ____

2.Structure of a Survey Report

A survey report usually consists of the following elements in the list below.

Structural Elements of a Survey Report
  1. Background information: The purpose and subjects of the survey

  1. Summary of the results of the survey

  1. Conclusion

2A: Now read the report below and fill in the blanks with the structural elements provided in the box.

Background Information Summary Conclusion

To understandmore about students’ opinions on festivals, last month I conducted a survey about class 1A’s favourite festivals. I interviewed 10 students, 6 girls and 4 boys.
Half of the students like Christmas best and the other half like Chinese New Year. The main reason why they enjoy their favourite festival is that they get gifts. Another reason is that they can eat some special food like sweets and cakes. Eight of the ten students celebrate with their family only. The other two celebrate with friends as well as their family. Six of the ten students celebrate Christmas at home or at a relative’s home. The rest of them celebrate Christmas in a restaurant. All of the students receive gifts. Half of them receive money in red packets and the other half receives gifts such as books and toys. Six of the ten students think festivals are important becausethey can spend time with their family and others think that it is important to keep the tradition. Eight of the ten students said that festivals are more important to children than adults.
To conclude, most students in Class 1A like Christmas best because they can receive giftsand most of them would like to celebrate Christmas with their family. /

2B: When we write a short survey report, we need to provide background information about the survey for the reader. We should present this information in the first paragraph of the report. Read the first paragraph of the survey report in 1B and answer the questions below.

Questions / Answers
  1. What is the purpose of conducting the current survey?

  1. When was the survey conducted?

  1. How many students were interviewed?

  1. How many males and females were conducted?

  1. What tense is used in this introductory paragraph?

3.Language Features

When we prepare a list of questions for conducting the survey, it is important for us to ask the right questions. In English, there are two types of questions.

a. Yes / no questions

e.g.: Do you like Lunar New Year?

Will you celebrate Valentine’s Day this year?

Have you ever tried Christmas turkey before?

b. Wh-Questions

e.g.: What is your favourite festival?

Why do you like it?

Where do you celebrate Christmas?

3A: Fill in the blanks with ‘What’, ‘When’, ‘Where’, ‘Who’, ‘Which’, ‘Why’, ‘How’, ‘Do’, or ‘Have’ and identify whether these questions are yes /no questions (Y/N) or wh-questions (wh-).

Sentence / Question type
E.g. What is your favourite festival? / Wh-
E.g. Have you visited relatives on Boxing Day? / Y/N
  1. ______hotel did you stay in when you went on your Christmas trip?

  1. ______does Santa Claus live?

  1. ______do people give chocolates to each other on Valentine’s Day?

  1. ______you like eating moon cakeat Mid-Autumn Festival?

  1. ______is Dragon Boat Festival this year?

  1. ______do people in Australia celebrate Christmas? It is summer!

  1. ______do people usually eat at Lunar New Year?

  1. ______you received any red packets at Lunar New Year?

  1. ______is going to act as Jesus Christ in the Easter Play?

  1. ______you and your classmates celebrate Teacher’s Day at your school?

3B: When preparing questions for a survey report, we have to pay attention to some Do’s and Don’ts. Fill in the blanks with the words given in the table.

double-barrelled yes / no logical simple straightforward choices
double negatives
Do’s and don’ts for constructing questions of a survey
Do’s
  1. Use______words.
  2. Construct short and ______questions.
  3. Ask for a ______answer only if it is a yes / no question. – e.g. Do you like Christmas?
  4. Provide a list of ______(three to five) if it is a wh-question.- e.g. whichfestival do you like most: A: Christmas; B: Lunar New Year; C:Easter; D: Mid-Autumn Festival or E: Dragon Boat Festival?
  5. Put the questions in a ______order.
Don’ts
  1. Use ______- e.g. Do you see any reason why teenagers should not smoke?
  2. Ask ______questions – i.e. Ask questions with two or more choices – e.g. Do you like Christmas and CNY?

3C: After collecting the data we have got from the interview, we need to summarise the data. This helps us to decide what information to include in the report. Look at the survey questions and results. Write the phrases in the correct space to summarise the data.

Most of the students Most Eight of the ten students The rest of them
Six of the ten None of them Eight out of ten students Others
Half of the students Another half Six of the ten students Only a few
The other two Only one student The other half The other two
Q 1. What is your favourite festival?
-Christmas: 5
-Chinese New Year: 5
______like Christmas best.
______like Chinese New Year best.
Q 2. What is the main reason you like it?
-Get gifts: 7
-Fun: 3
______enjoy their favourite festival because they get gifts.
Q 3. What kind of special food do youeat most?
-Sweets and cakes: 7
-Noodles: 1
-Turkey: 2
______eat sweets and cakes.
______eats noodles.
______eat turkey.
Q. 4 Who do you celebrate your favourite festival with?
-Family only: 8
-Family and friends: 2
-Friend only: 0
______celebrate with family only.
______celebrate with family and friends.
______celebrate with friends only.
Q. 5 Where do you celebrate your favourite festival
-At home: 3
-At a relative’s home: 3
-In a restaurant: 4
______celebrate at home or at a relative’s home.
______celebrate in a restaurant.
Q. 6. Why do you choose that location?
-Family tradition: 7
-Convenient: 3
______choose that locationbecause it is convenient.
______choose that location because it is a family tradition.
Q. 7 What kind of gifts do you receive?
-Money: 5
-Other gifts (books, toys, etc): 5
______receive money
______receive other gifts.
Q. 8 Why do you think festivals are important?
-Tradition: 4
-Time with family: 6
______think festivals are important becausethey can spend time with their family.
______think that festivals are important because of tradition.
Q. 9 Do you think festivals are more important to children or adults?
-Children: 8
-Adults: 2
______think that festivals are more important to children.
  • Writing Task

Now prepare a list of questions to seek students’ opinions on how to celebrate Teacher’s Day. Then interview your classmates to get their views. Compile the answers and write a survey report.

Interview sheet

Interviewee 1 / Interviewee 2 / Interviewee 3 / Interviewee 4
Date
Name
Age
Gender
Q.1
Q.2
Q.3
Q.4
Q.5
Q.6
Q.7
Q.8
Q.9
Q.10

  • Post-writing Evaluation

Evaluation Form

Content and Structure

Excellent
 / Pretty
Good
 / Average
 / Needs Improvement

1. The report begins by giving some clear background information about the survey.
2. The summary of the collected data isprecise and concise.
3. Thereport ends with an appropriateconcluding paragraph.
4. The paragraphs of the report are well sequenced.

Language Use

Excellent
 / Pretty
Good
 / Average
 / Needs Improvement

  1. Data analysis is presented in appropriate and correct language.

  1. Grammar is mostly correct.

  1. Words are of a wide range and generally accurate and appropriate.

  1. Punctuation and spelling are correct.

Genre

Excellent
 / Pretty
Good
 / Average
 / Needs Improvement

The general tone and style of the survey report show that the writer is aware of the purpose, context and audience of the genre.

  • Suggested Answers

1A: List of procedural elements in a survey

  1. Prepare a list of questions
  2. Write the survey report
  3. Identify the target respondents
  4. Decide on the topic of the survey
  5. Conduct interviews to collect data
  6. Analyse, compile and summarise the data.

Answer: __D__  __A__  __C___  __E___  __F___  __B___

2A: Now read the report below and fill in the blanks with the structural elements provided in the box:

Background Information Summary conclusion

To understandmore about students’ opinions on festivals, last month I conducted a survey about class 1A’s favourite festivals. I interviewed 10 students, 6 girls and 4 boys.
Half of the students like Christmas best and the other half like Chinese New Year. The main reason why they enjoy their favourite festival is that they get gifts. Another reason is that they can eat some special food like sweets and cakes. Eight of the ten students celebrate with their family only. The other two celebrate with friends as well as their family. Six of the ten students celebrate Christmas at home or at a relative’s home. The rest of them celebrate Christmas in a restaurant. All of the students receive gifts. Half of them receive money in red packets and the other half receives gifts such as books and toys. Six of the ten students think festivals are important becausethey can spend time with their family and others think that it is important to keep the tradition. Eight of the ten students said that festivals are more important to children than adults.
To conclude, most students in Class 1A like Christmas best because they can receive giftsand most of them would like to celebrate Christmas with their family. /

2B: When we write a short survey report, we need to provide background information about the survey for the reader. We should present this information in the first paragraph of the report. Read the first paragraph of the survey report in 2B and answer the questions below.

Questions / Answers
  1. What is the purpose of conducting the current survey?
/ To understand more about students’ opinions on festivals.
  1. When was the survey conducted?
/ Last month.
  1. How many students were interviewed?
/ 10 students.
  1. How many males and females were conducted?
/ 6 girls and 4 boys.
  1. What tense is used in this introductory paragraph?
/ Simple past tense.

3A:Fill in the blanks with ‘What’, ‘When’, ‘Where’, ‘Who’, ‘Which’, ‘Why’, ‘How’, ‘Do’, or ‘Have’ and identify whether these questions are yes / no questions (Y/N) or wh-questions (Wh-).

E.g. What is your favourite festival? / Wh-
E.g. Have you visited relatives on Boxing Day? / Y/N
1.Which hotel did you stay in when you went on your Christmas trip? / Wh-
2.Wheredoes Santa Claus live? / Wh-
3.Whydo people give chocolates to each other at on Valentine’s Day? / Wh-
4.Do you like eating Moon Cakeat mid-autumn festival? / Y / N
5.When is Dragon Boat Festival this year? / Wh-
6.Howdo people in Australia celebrate Christmas? It is summer! / Wh-
7.Whatdo people usually eat at Lunar New Year? / Wh-
8.Have you received any red packets at Lunar New Year? / Y / N
9.Who is going to act as Jesus Chris in the Easter Play? / Wh-
10.Do you and your classmates celebrate Teacher’s Day at your school? / Y / N

3B: When preparing questions for a survey report, we have to pay attention to some Do’s and Don’ts. Fill in the blanks with the words given in the table.

double-barrelled yes / no logical simple straightforward choices double-negatives
Do’s and don’ts for constructing questions of a survey
Do’s
  1. Use simple words.
  1. Construct short and straightforward questions.
  1. Ask for ayes / no answer only if it is a yes / no question. E.g. do you like Christmas?
  2. Provide a list of choices (three to five) if it is a wh-question. E.g. whichfestival do you like most: A: Christmas; B: Lunar New Year; C:Easter; D: Mid-Autumn Festival or E: Dragon Boat Festival?
  3. Put the questions in a logical order.
Don’ts
  1. Use double negatives.E.g. Do you see any reason why teenagers should not smoke?
  2. Ask double-barrelled questions – i.e. Ask questions with two or more choices – e.g. Do you like Christmas and CNY?

3C: After collecting the data we have got from the interview, we need to summarise them. This helps us to decide what information to include in the report. Look at the survey questions and results. Write the phrases in the correct space to summarise the data.

Most of the students Most Eight of the ten students The rest of them
Six of the ten None of them Eight out of ten students Others
Half of the students Another half Six of the ten students Only a few
The other two Only one student The other half The other two
Q 1. What is your favourite festival?
-Christmas: 5
-Chinese New Year: 5
Half of the students like Christmas best.
The other half like Chinese New Year best.
Q 2. What is the main reason you like it?
-Get gifts: 7
-- Fun: 3
Most of the students enjoy their favourite festival because they get gifts.
Q 3. What kind of special food do youeat most?
-Sweets and cakes: 7
-Noodles: 1
-Turkey: 2
Mosteat sweets and cakes.
Only one student eats noodles.
The other two eat turkey.
Q. 4 Who do you celebrate your favourite festival with?
-Family only: 8
-Family and friends: 2
-Friend only: 0
Eight out of ten studentscelebrate with family only.
The rest of them celebrate with family and friends.
None of them celebrate with friends only.
Q. 5 Where do you celebrate your favourite festival
-At home: 3
-At a relative’s home: 3
-In a restaurant: 4
Six of the ten studentscelebrate at home or at a relative’s home.
The rest of themcelebratein a restaurant.
Q. 6. Why do you choose that location?
-Family tradition: 7
-Convenient: 3
Mostchoose the locationbecause it is convenient.
Otherschoose the location because it is a family tradition.
Q. 7 What kind of gifts do you receive?
-Money: 5
-Other gifts (books, toys, etc): 5
Half of them receive money
Another halfreceives other gifts.
Q. 8 Why do you think festivals are important?
-Tradition: 4
-Time with family: 6
Six of the ten students think festivals are important becausethey can spend time with their family.
Othersthink that festivals are important because of tradition.
Q. 9 Do you think festivals are more important to children or adults?
-Children: 8
-Adults: 2
Eight of the ten students think that festivals are more important to children.
  • Writing Task

1