Report: How Our Staff Feel About Hybrid Work
Write a report for management summarising survey results about hybrid working and recommending changes.
- Time
- 45 min
- Length
- 220-260 words
Writadia · C1 · Reports
NameClassDate
The situation
You work for a medium-sized company. For a year, staff have worked at home two days a week. Management asked you to survey staff and report back. Your notes:
- 82% want to keep hybrid working
- productivity: 61% say they focus better at home; 29% say worse
- main complaints: too many online meetings; new staff feel isolated; office desks are often full on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- several staff suggested "meeting-free mornings"
Your task
Write a report. Summarise the main findings, interpret what they mean and make recommendations for the coming year.
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Title, introduction with purpose and method.
- Findings: present data accurately, grouping related points.
- Interpretation: what do the numbers suggest?
- Recommendations: specific, numbered or under a heading.
- Conclusion: one or two sentences.
Useful phrases
Introduction
Presenting data
Interpreting
Recommendations
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- hybrid
- combining two typesHybrid working means home and office.
- isolated
- alone, without contact with othersNew staff can feel isolated.
- recurring
- happening again and againA recurring complaint was noise.
- allocate
- give a share of somethingDesks could be allocated by team.
- trial
- a test for a limited timeLet's do a three-month trial.
Model answer (221 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
Report: Hybrid Working, One Year On
Introduction This report presents the findings of a staff survey on our hybrid working arrangements and makes recommendations for the coming year.1
Findings An overwhelming majority of staff (82%) wish to continue working from home two days a week.2 Opinion was more divided on productivity: while 61% reported that they concentrate better at home, just under a third said the opposite. A recurring complaint was the number of online meetings, which several respondents felt had replaced focused work rather than supporting it. Newer employees in particular described feeling isolated, and the office is regularly overcrowded on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Interpretation This suggests that hybrid working is popular in principle but poorly coordinated in practice.3 The benefits of home working appear to be reduced by meeting overload, while uneven office attendance makes in-person days less useful, especially for those who need guidance.
Recommendations It is recommended that hybrid working continues, with three adjustments. First, each team should agree fixed office days so that colleagues actually meet. Second, new starters should spend their first month mainly in the office, paired with an experienced colleague. Third, consideration should be given to meeting-free mornings, introduced as a three-month trial.
Conclusion These relatively simple changes would allow the company to keep a popular policy while addressing its most significant weaknesses.
- Purpose stated formally in one sentence.
- Data integrated into a sentence.
- Moving from data to meaning.
Teacher notes
Accuracy: check that students don't distort the data (e.g. calling 61% "almost everyone"). Precise quantifiers are a C1 feature.
Extra challenge
Write the email that management sends staff announcing the changes.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: hybrid, isolated, recurring, allocate, trial.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “This report presents the findings of a survey of ... and makes recommendations regarding ...”, “An overwhelming majority (82%) ...”, “Opinion was more divided on ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (220-260 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | In-depth, persuasive, fully suited to the reader. | Strong; one idea could go further. | Adequate but surface-level. | Below the task. | |
| Organisation and coherence | Seamless flow; elegant, unobtrusive transitions. | Clear structure; transitions sometimes mechanical. | Structure present but uneven. | Weak organisation. | |
| Vocabulary and style | Precise, natural collocations; consistent style. | Wide range; a few unnatural phrases. | Memorised phrases and repetition. | Style does not fit the task. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Complex structures, flexible and accurate. | Minor, occasional slips. | Errors in complex structures. | Errors strain the reader. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I reported the numbers accurately.
- I interpreted the data, not just listed it.
- My recommendations are specific and linked to findings.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I reported the numbers accurately.
- I interpreted the data, not just listed it.
- My recommendations are specific and linked to findings.
Writadia · C1 · Reports
Assessment rubric: Report: How Our Staff Feel About Hybrid Work
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | In-depth, persuasive, fully suited to the reader. | Strong; one idea could go further. | Adequate but surface-level. | Below the task. | |
| Organisation and coherence | Seamless flow; elegant, unobtrusive transitions. | Clear structure; transitions sometimes mechanical. | Structure present but uneven. | Weak organisation. | |
| Vocabulary and style | Precise, natural collocations; consistent style. | Wide range; a few unnatural phrases. | Memorised phrases and repetition. | Style does not fit the task. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Complex structures, flexible and accurate. | Minor, occasional slips. | Errors in complex structures. | Errors strain the reader. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I reported the numbers accurately.
- I interpreted the data, not just listed it.
- My recommendations are specific and linked to findings.
Teacher comment
Writadia · C1 · Reports
Peer-review sheet: Report: How Our Staff Feel About Hybrid Work
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I reported the numbers accurately. | |||
| I interpreted the data, not just listed it. | |||
| My recommendations are specific and linked to findings. |
Questions
- Is the main point clear in the first paragraph? Write it in one sentence.
- Which sentence is the most convincing? Why?
- Is there any repetition or memorised phrasing? Underline it.
- Does the style suit the reader and purpose?
Two stars and a wish
★ Something I liked
★ Another thing I liked
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Writadia · C1 · Reports
Lesson plan: Report: How Our Staff Feel About Hybrid Work
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: hybrid, isolated, recurring, allocate, trial.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “This report presents the findings of a survey of ... and makes recommendations regarding ...”, “An overwhelming majority (82%) ...”, “Opinion was more divided on ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (220-260 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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