Describing Achievements: Writing a Report on Rwanda's Development, and a Sector Project

25 min

Let's begin

Describing achievements is harder than it looks. A writer who lists every number bores the reader; a writer who chooses only good news misleads; a writer who adds praise sounds like an advertisement. In this lesson you study a short report that describes Rwanda's development from 2017 to 2024 in a balanced, checkable way, and then you apply the same method to your own sector in a two-period project.

Definition

Terms for report writing

report (n): a formal piece of writing that presents facts on a subject, organised under clear headings, usually for a stated reader and purpose.
overview (n): a short statement of the main trend or the most important point, without detailed figures.
achievement (n): something good that has been done, especially with effort, and that can be shown with evidence.
balanced (adj): giving fair weight to different sides: achievements and challenges, strengths and weaknesses.
neutral tone (n): a way of writing that reports facts without praise, blame or strong emotion.

From figures to a report

A report that describes achievements is not a list of numbers. The writer selects, groups and compares, then balances the achievements against what remains to be done.

Worked example

Model report: "Rwanda's Development, 2017 to 2024: Achievements and Challenges" (246 words, headings included)

[1] Introduction. This report describes the main changes in Rwanda's development during the first National Strategy for Transformation (NST1), which covered 2017 to 2024. The figures come from MINECOFIN's review of NST1 in the NST2 document.

[2] Overview. Most indicators improved during the period, some of them sharply, while unemployment and child nutrition remained serious challenges.

[3] The economy and infrastructure. The economy grew by an average of 7% a year, and income per head rose from US$729 to US$1,040 in 2023. Infrastructure expanded quickly: access to electricity more than doubled, from 34.4% to 78.9%, and street lighting more than tripled, from 664 km to 2,185 km. Tourism revenue rose from US$374 million in 2017 to US$620 million.

[4] Health, education and public services. Life expectancy rose from 66.6 to 69.9 years. The number of health posts increased from 473 to 1,252, and more than 27,000 classrooms were built. In addition, the number of government services available online grew from 155 to more than 680.

[5] Challenges. However, some problems remained. In 2023 unemployment stood at 17.2%, and it was higher among young people (20.8%) and women (20.3%) than among men (14.5%). A third of children under five were stunted. NST2 (2024–29) sets targets for both: 1.25 million new jobs and a reduction in stunting to 15%.

[6] Conclusion. In conclusion, the period brought measurable progress in infrastructure, health and public services. The figures also show, however, that growth has not yet created enough jobs for young people or ended child malnutrition.

How the report works

¶	Its job	Language to notice
1	Introduction: the subject, the period and the source	This report describes … · The figures come from …
2	Overview: the main trend, with no figures	Most indicators improved … while …
3–4	Achievements in two groups, each with figures	trend verbs, from … to, more than doubled, the passive were built
5	Challenges, also with figures	However, … · higher among … than among …
6	Conclusion: a balanced judgement drawn from the figures	In conclusion, … · The figures also show, however, …; present perfect has not yet created

Notice the tone. The report uses neutral verbs (rose, increased, remained) and lets the numbers speak. It does not praise or blame anyone, and every figure can be checked in the source it names.

Worked example

Turning a list into a grouped paragraph

Notes: health posts 473 → 1,252 · life expectancy 66.6 → 69.9 · classrooms: 27,000+ built · online services 155 → 680+

Group. Health posts and life expectancy belong together (health); classrooms (education) and online services (public services) can follow.
Open with the theme, not a number: Social services also improved.
Choose verbs that fit: life expectancy rose; the number of health posts increased; classrooms were built (passive: the result matters); online services grew.
Join with linkers: and, In addition.

Result: paragraph 4 of the model report.

Useful language for describing achievements

Job	Phrases
introducing the data	This report describes … · According to … · The figures, taken from …, show that …
giving an overview	Overall, … · The most striking change was … · In general, …
describing progress	… rose from … to … · … more than doubled · … were built · … has increased since …
adding	In addition, … · … also … · Furthermore, …
contrasting	However, … · While … rose, … · Despite this progress, …
concluding	In conclusion, … · Taken together, the figures show …

Tip

Let the numbers do the praising. "Access to electricity more than doubled, from 34.4% to 78.9%" is more impressive than "Rwanda achieved an amazing transformation". Adjectives such as amazing, miraculous or disastrous make a report sound like an opinion piece; figures with sources make it sound like evidence.

Warning

Don't copy the whole table into sentences. Select the figures that support your overview.
Don't change the period silently: if one figure is for 2023 and another for 2024, say so.
Percentage or percentage point? Electricity access rose by 44.5 percentage points (from 34.4% to 78.9%), not "by 44.5%".
Keep the tense steady: past simple for the finished period (rose, were built); present perfect only for change up to now (has not yet created).

Cambridge C1 Advanced: How to Write a Report, from Teacher Phill's YouTube channel (about 11 minutes). Note the advice on layout and headings, and compare it with the model report above.

Important

Project (two periods): development in our sector

In groups of four, report on how your own sector or district has changed, and what young people can do next.

Plan (first period). Choose three indicators you can find out about: for example, homes with electricity, children in nursery school, feeder roads, health posts, members of a savings group or SACCO.
Collect. Use public sources: your district's development strategy or website, notices at the sector office, and NISR's publications. Interview one older person about how life has changed since he or she was your age. Note the source of every figure and the year it refers to.
Write. Produce a one-page report in the shape of the model: introduction with sources, overview, achievements with figures, challenges, conclusion.
Present (second period). Give a three-minute presentation and finish with one practical proposal for young people in your sector, such as a homework club, a savings group or a clean-up of a water source.

Assessment checklist: accurate figures with sources and years; a clear overview; correct tenses and trend language; a balanced conclusion; a realistic proposal.

✦

Practice

Sort these indicators into two groups, (A) economy and infrastructure and (B) social and public services: tourism revenue · life expectancy · street lighting · health posts · income per head · online government services.
Write an overview sentence for these figures (MINECOFIN, NST2): financial inclusion 89% in 2017 and 96% in 2024; tourism revenue US$374 million in 2017 and US$620 million at the end of NST1.
Rewrite in a neutral tone: "Thanks to brilliant leadership, Rwanda has achieved a miraculous and amazing increase in electricity."
Correct the errors: (a) Life expectancy has risen from 66.6 to 69.9 years between 2017 and 2024. (b) Access to electricity increased by 44.5% from 34.4% to 78.9%. (c) Unemployment was more high among young people.
Write the challenges paragraph of a report using these figures (NST2, 2023): overall unemployment 17.2%; women 20.3%; men 14.5%.
Use this illustrative table about an imagined sector, Umucyo, to write a report of about 200 words with an introduction, an overview, achievements, a challenge and a conclusion.
Indicator (illustrative) 2019 2025
Homes with electricity 41% 83%
Children in nursery school 320 610
Feeder roads (km) 12 19
Young people (16–30) without work 24% 22%

Show answersHide answers

(A) tourism revenue, street lighting, income per head; (B) life expectancy, health posts, online government services.
Model: Both financial inclusion and tourism revenue rose over the period, although tourism revenue grew much faster in proportion.
Model: Access to electricity more than doubled, from 34.4% to 78.9% (MINECOFIN).
(a) Life expectancy rose from 66.6 to 69.9 years between 2017 and 2024. (b) Access to electricity increased by 44.5 percentage points, from 34.4% to 78.9%. (c) Unemployment was higher among young people.
Model: However, unemployment remained a challenge. In 2023 it stood at 17.2% overall, and it was considerably higher among women (20.3%) than among men (14.5%).
Answers will vary. Check: the overview mentions the strong rise in electricity and nursery places and the small fall in youth joblessness; electricity rose by 42 percentage points and nursery places almost doubled (610 against 320); youth without work fell only from 24% to 22%, so it is the challenge; figures are labelled illustrative.

Indicator (illustrative)	2019	2025
Homes with electricity	41%	83%
Children in nursery school	320	610
Feeder roads (km)	12	19
Young people (16–30) without work	24%	22%

1From figures to a report

2How the report works

3Useful language for describing achievements

From figures to a report

How the report works

Useful language for describing achievements