Writing Effective Ecological Reports: A Guide to Principles and Practice

by Mike Dean

Overview

An in-depth guide to writing high-quality and effective professional ecological reports. Mike Dean distils the knowledge and experience gained over a period of more than 20 years working as an ecological consultant, during which time he has written and reviewed many such reports.

There are existing good practice guidelines on ecological report writing, published by CIEEM and co-authored by the author of this book. Writing Effective Ecological Reports goes beyond those guidelines. It provides practical advice on the structure, content and style of ecological reports, using numerous case study examples to help the reader’s understanding. It also tackles topics not covered by the guidelines, such as how to write an effective summary, how to create and use a report template, how to proofread reports, and what those tasked with reviewing reports should be looking for.

This book will be invaluable for any professional ecologist, or anyone hoping to become a professional ecologist. It is particularly aimed at those who write ecological reports, such as ecological consultants. However, it also provides practical advice for those tasked with reading and reviewing reports written by others, including those working for local planning authorities or nature conservation consultees.

The book has been written to be useful to those with limited experience, such as recent graduates, as well as those with many years of experience as a professional ecologist, and everyone in the middle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784272418
Publisher:	Pelagic
Publication date:	01/31/2021
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	6.16(w) x 9.33(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Mike Dean has worked as an ecological consultant since 1997, with roles in varying size consultancies from the very small (one or two staff members) to the very large multi-disciplinary consultancy, and a few in between. He's undertaken ecological surveys and produced ecological reports of all different types and sizes. In 2013 he joined the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management's (CIEEM) Professional Standards Committee, tasked with producing guidelines on, amongst other things, ecological report writing. He's been delivering training on report writing for CIEEM since 2015.

Table of Contents

List of text boxes viii

Foreword Mike Oxford ix

Acknowledgements xiii

1 Introduction 1

Key characteristics 8

2 Competence, qualifications and experience 19

3 Getting the basics right 27

General 27

The passive voice 28

Impersonal style 28

Emotive language 30

Accuracy with words describing quantities 31

Forming sentences 32

Forming paragraphs 34

Tenses 35

Certainty of language 37

Punctuation 38

Bullet points and numbered lists 39

Abbreviations/acronyms 40

Species names 40

Brackets 41

Headings and sub-headings 41

Sub-sub-headings 42

Numbering 42

Avoiding double negatives 43

Font size and type, and paragraph or line spacing 43

Highlighting text 44

Headers and footers 44

4 Fact versus opinion 46

5 Report structure 55

6 Making a start 58

7 First impressions and opening lines 65

Title Page or Cover Page 66

Contents Page 68

Introduction 70

8 Getting your facts right 72

9 So what does all this mean? 89

10 Keeping it in proportion 109

11 Tables, figures, photos and appendices 117

Contents Pages 118

Tables 118

Figures, drawings, maps or plans 119

Photos 124

Other illustrations or drawings 127

Appendices 127

12 Creating and using a template 130

Why use a template? 130

What are the drawbacks? 132

Other options 133

Solutions to the pitfalls of using a template 133

How to set up a template 134

How to use a template 136

13 Writing an effective Summary 138

14 PEA or EcIA Reports - what's the difference? 146

PEA Reports 147

EcIA Reports 149

What do these differences mean? 151

When can you submit a PEA Report instead of an EcIA Report with a planning application? 153

15 Writing Environmental Statement chapters 155

Background 155

Scheme description 156

Assessment methods 156

Structure 158

Cross-referencing 158

Consultation 159

Summaries 160

16 Proofreading, technical review and Quality Assurance 161

17 Tips for those reviewing reports 173

18 Referencing sources 179

19 How long is a report valid? 187

20 Useful sources of information 191

Appendix A Suggested headings and sub-headings for an ecological survey report 194

Appendix B Suggested headings and sub-headings for Preliminary Ecological Appraisal Reports 196

Appendix C Suggested headings and sub-headings for Ecological Impact Assessment Reports 198

Appendix D Suggested headings and sub-headings for Biodiversity Action Plans or Strategies 201

Appendix E Suggested headings and sub-headings for an ecological monitoring report 202

Appendix F Suggested headings and sub-headings for an ecological monitoring strategy 204

Appendix G Suggested headings and sub-headings for ecological method statements 205

Index 209

Editorial Reviews

The author, undoubtedly a skilled writer with a lucid mind, describes how one can produce quality ecological reports with proper style, structure, and contents...It should be on the bookshelf of every ecologist or anyone who wishes to write effective ecological reports.

This is a useful guide particularly for those with limited experience, such as recent graduates, but also for those who write or review ecological reports in their profession, including ecological consultants and individuals working for local planning authorities.

Anyone producing or reviewing reports within the ecology sector, at whatever level, would benefit from reading this book. In short - not 'preferential', but 'essential' for anyone involved with reports within our sector.

From the Publisher