REPORT WRITING
What is a report –Its aims and
objectives?
• Technical Report describes a research process
or research and development results or the
current state-of-the-art in a certain field of
science or technology.
• Therefore all documents in the following list
are technical Reports, if they deal with a
technical subject:
• reports about laboratory experiments
• construction and design reports
• reports about testing and measurements
• various theses written at the end of study
courses, doctorate theses
• articles or reports about research works in
scientific journals
• project reports etc.
• work report
• functional specifications and functional
requirements
• business plan
• functional description, user manual, software
documentation etc.
• A report is a form of written communication
that is used within science, engineering and
research organization and thought industry.
• Reports are used: to record information, to
provide an account of activity or present the
results of an investigation.
• Quite often a report includes: an analysis,
evaluation and recommendations
• What is expected in a report?
• The structure of a report allows different forms of
information to be compiled in one document.
Such information may include:
• design drawing
• Economic analysis, calculations, models,
spreadsheets.
Graphs, charts, photographs and other
illustration of equipments, processes and people.
• Discussions, Critical analysis and synthesis of
information.
• Whatever the purpose and whoever the
audience, the objective is to gain acceptance
of the concepts, ideas and recommendation
contained in the report.
• Adaptation of a common structure, format
and style in a report; improves the
communication process by minimizing clutter
or noise that might confuse the reader.
The Process of Report Writing
• Report writing is an interactive process.
• The steps in the writing process include:
clarification of the objective, investigation,
planning, drafting and editing.
1. Clarification- In order to write a good report,
the writer must have a clear understanding of
the report’s objectives.
2. Investigation
investigation can be conducted in a number of
ways. You may need to visit a work site,
undertake discussions with a range of people
or observe industrial processes and systems.
3. Planning
How the report will be organized?
what information should be included in the
report and in what sequence?
4. Drafting
Revise the task and objective’s of the report
Be selective and create a structure.
Developing the information in several levels:
sections, paragraphs and sentences.
5. Editing. Useful strategies for editing:
- “the bottom-draw treatment” editing at least
after 24 hours.
• Ask someone else for their comment on
the report.
• Use a checklist to summarize the
requirements of a report.
• Poorly prepared report affects the
overall quality of the report.
