There is no set format or protocol for
writing a trip report. However, I would suggest a few things to make
the finished report more useful to you and whoever reads it...
Introduction
Always include an introduction to your report. The introduction
should include:
- A descriptive list of the various people in the group that you've
traveled with (this makes the report (especially a "play-by-play"
style report) more interesting because you know the characters)
- Appropriate summary information including the dates of your
trip, the resort(s) in which you stayed, and other such pertinent
information. This gives the reader "advanced warning"
about what to expect from the report.
- Also, if you use some standard scoring scheme for your comparisons,
make sure you explain your criteria for making judgment calls
(and include this in your introduction, too).
Headings by Day or Category
Use the date and day as a heading to each new day of a play-by-play
report. This is more important than you might think. For example,
if you visit Typhoon Lagoon and notice that the crowds are huge
on a given day, it helps for the reader to be able to note the day
of the week. Perhaps the crowds are due to the locals that visit
the park on Saturdays and Sundays and swell the ranks of the vacation
visitors.
Use appropriate headings for a summary report, too. Of course,
days and dates are not appropriate, but if the next few paragraphs
of the report discusses your meal experiences at Epcot, make that
clear. Such headers will clarify a summary report significantly.
Highlight Hints and Tips
Hints and tips can be handled nicely two different ways. First,
you can describe them in the text of the report (a play-by-play)
as they come up. If so, use some appropriate heading so a casual
reader can pick out those tips. Second, your summarized hints and
tips can be listed at the end of the report. Frankly, I like to
do both -- I mention them as they come up (but I don't highlight
them in any special way), then I include a summary list at the end
of the report to capture the "lessons learned" on the
trip.
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