Technical Report Writing

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 Introduction
• A good report is easy to recognize.
• Its title is precise and informative and its format logical to the
reader, with headings to indicate the content of each section.
• Diagrams are well-presented and clearly labelled.
• There are no absolute rules on report production because every
report must be adapted to the needs of its reader.
• This guide, however, suggests that there are laws of good report
writing which should be generally applied (but broken if necessary).

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• Keep these rules in mind and you will be more likely to attract readers,
direct them towards relevant, clear information and steer them towards
the desired response.

• Notice that the first law is repeated because it’s a law which shouldn’t
be broken.

• Taking shortcuts to save time and money are counterproductive if your

reader is left confused by the report or decides it’s too difficult to work
out what you are trying to say.
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 What is a technical report?
• The main purpose of an Engineering technical report is to present a solution to a
problem in order to prompt action.

• Technical reports provide a record of your developing expertise and are a legal record of
your work and decision making.

• Technical reports are a central part of your professional success and are usually
designed to:
Convince the reader of your position

Persuade them to act, or

Inform them of your findings.

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They are an opportunity for you to:

• Clearly communicate a solution to a problem

• Recommend action, and
• Aid decision making.

• Technical reports are designed for quick and easy communication of

information, and use:
• Sections with numbered headings and subheadings, and
• Figures and diagrams to convey data.
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How do I structure a technical report?
• Regardless of the specific purpose of your technical
report, the structure and conventions rarely differ.
• Check your subject requirements and expand the sections
below to learn more about each section.
• The document may contain some of the basic parts:
• Title page
• Technical reports usually require a title page.
• To know what to include, follow the conventions
required in your subject.
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 Table of contents
• Help your reader quickly and easily find what they are looking for
by using informative headings and careful numbering of your
sections and sub-sections.
• Summary
• A technical report summary (or abstract) should include a brief
overview of your investigation, outcomes and
recommendations.
• It must include all the key information your reader needs to
make a decision, without them having to read your full report.
• Don’t treat your summary as an introduction; it should act as a
stand-alone document.  Write the summary at last.
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 Introduction
• A technical report introduction:
• provides context for the problem being addressed,
• discusses relevant previous research, and
• states your aim or hypothesis.
• To help, consider these questions:
• What have you investigated?
• How does your study fit into the current literature?
• What have previous studies found in the area?
• Why is it worth investigating?
• What was the experiment about?
• Why did you do it?
• What did you expect to learn from it?
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 Body
• The body of a technical report is structured according to the needs
of your reader and the nature of the project.
• The writer decides how to structure it and what to include.
• To help, ask yourself:
• What does the reader need to know first?
• What is the most logical way to develop the story of the
project?
• Tip: look at other technical reports in your discipline to see what
they’ve included and in what order.

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 Figures, tables, equations and formulae
• Technical reports include a mixture of text, tables, figures and formulae.
• Consider how you can present the information best for your reader.
• Figures and tables should:
• Be numbered
• Be referred to in-text, e.g. In Table 1…, and
• Include a simple descriptive label - above a table and below a figure.
• Equations and formulae should be:
• Numbered
• Referred to in-text, e.g. See Eq 1 for…
• Centred on the page, and
• On a separate line.

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 Conclusion
• Your conclusion should mirror your introduction.
• Be sure to:
• Refer to your aims
• Summarize your key findings, and
• State your major outcomes and highlight their significance.

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 Recommendations
• If your technical report includes recommendations for action.
• You could choose to report these as a bullet point list.
• When giving an answer to your problem, be sure to include any
limitations to your findings.
• Your recommendations can be presented in two ways:
• Action statements
e.g. Type approval should be issued for tunnel ventilation fans.
• Conditional statements
e.g. If fan blades are painted with an anti-corrosion coating
system, it is likely that…
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 References
• Acknowledge all the information and ideas you’ve incorporated from other
sources into your paper using a consistent referencing style.
• This includes data, tables and figures.
• Learn more about specific referencing conventions here:
https://library.unimelb.edu.au/recite
• Appendices
• If you have data that is too detailed or lengthy to include in the report itself,
include it in the appendix.
• Your reader can then choose to refer to it if they are interested.
• Label your appendix with a number or a letter, a title, and refer to it the text, e.g.
• For a full list of construction phases, see Appendix A.
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 10 laws of good report writing
1. produce the report for your reader(s)
2. keep the report as short as possible
3. organize information for the convenience of the reader
4. include accurate references
5. ensure your writing is accurate, concise and straightforward
6. include diagrams with the right labels in the right place for your reader
7. make sure your summary gives the whole picture in brief
8. check the report for technical errors, typing errors and inconsistency
9. consider design as well as content
10. produce the report for your reader(s)
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 Information Gathering
• Information gathering can be from a variety of sources.

• Importantly to say, there are no best method of data collection.

• In principle, how data are being collected depends on the researcher’s

nature of research or the phenomena being studied.

• Data collection is a crucial aspect in any level of research work.

• If data are inaccurately collected, it will surely impact the findings of

the study, thereby leading to false or invaluable outcome.
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 What is data collection?
• Data collection is a systematic method of collecting and measuring
data gathered from different sources of information in order to provide
answers to relevant questions.
• An accurate evaluation of collected data can help researchers predict
future phenomenon and trends.
• Data collection can be classified into two, namely: primary and
secondary data.
• Primary data are raw data i.e. fresh and are collected for the first time.
• Secondary data, on the other hand, are data that were previously
collected and tested.

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 Methods of data collection
• The system of data collection is based on the type of study being
conducted.
• Depending on the researcher’s research plan and design, there are
several ways data can be collected.
• The most commonly used methods are: published literature sources,
surveys (email and mail), interviews (telephone, face-to-face or focus
group), observations, documents and records, and experiments.
• For all identifying the place where we can get correct and appropriate
information/data is critical thing.

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 1. Literature sources
• This involves the collection of data from already published text available
in the public domain.
• Literature sources can include:
textbooks,
government or private companies’ reports,
newspapers,
magazines,
online published papers and articles.
• This method of data collection is referred to as secondary data collection.
• In comparison to primary data collection, it is inexpensive and not time
consuming.
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 2. Surveys
• Survey is another method of gathering information for research
purposes.
• Information are gathered through questionnaire, mostly based on
individual or group experiences regarding a particular phenomenon.
• There are several ways by which this information can be collected.
Most notable ways are:
web-based questionnaire and paper-based questionnaire (printed
form).
• The results of this method of data collection are generally easy to
analyze.

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 3. Interviews
• Interview is a qualitative method of data collection whose results are
based on intensive engagement with respondents about a particular
study.
• Usually, interviews are used in order to collect in-depth responses
from the professionals being interviewed.
• Interview can be structured (formal), semi-structured or unstructured
(informal).
• In essence, an interview method of data collection can be conducted
through face-to-face meeting with the interviewee(s) or through
telephone.

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 4. Observations
• Observation method of information gathering is used by monitoring
participants in a specific situation or environment at a given time and
day.
• Basically, researchers observe the behavior of the surrounding
environments or people that are being studied.
• This type of study can be controlled, natural or participant.
• Controlled observation is when the researcher uses a standardized
procedure of observing participants or the environment.
• Natural observation is when participants are being observed in their
natural conditions.
• Participant observation is where the researcher becomes part of the
group being studied.
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 5. Documents and records
• This is the process of examining existing documents and records of an
organization for tracking changes over a period of time.
• Records can be tracked by examining call logs, email logs, databases,
minutes of meetings, staff reports, information logs, etc.
• For instance, an organization may want to understand why there are
lots of negative reviews and complains from customer about its
products or services.
• In this case, the organization will look into records of their products or
services and recorded interaction of employees with customers.

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 6. Experiments
• Experimental research is a research method where the causal
relationship between two variables are being examined.
• One of the variables can be manipulated, and the other is measured.
• These two variables are classified as dependent and independent
variables.
• In experimental research, data are mostly collected based on the cause
and effect of the two variables being studied.
• This type of research are common among medical researchers, and it
uses quantitative research approach.
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 Communicate technical
information clearly
• Technical reports offer the most concise and clear way to
communicate technical information with non-technical experts.
• This is the preferred way to communicate complex information
with upper management executives and other stakeholders
because technical reports are unambiguous and follow a standard
structure.
• When you write a technical report, use diagrams and illustrations
to communicate complicated data in an easy-to-read manner and
add footnotes and appendices so that readers can explore the raw
data if they like.
• Conveying information clearly makes it easier for key people to
make effective business decisions.
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 Organize Data
• Technical reports allow professionals to organize data in a clear and
easy-to-understand way.
• In some fields, such as science, technical experts are responsible for
analyzing large volumes of data and condensing this data into simple,
actionable reports.
• It's often necessary to write a technical report upon the conclusion of a
project and the report organizes all of the data from the project and
presents it in charts, graphs and infographics
• that make it possible for all members of staff to understand the data and
draw sensible conclusions from it.

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 Evidence and evaluate your work
• If you work in a research capacity, either as a student or as a research
assistant.
• , evidencing and evaluating the work that you do is one of your
responsibilities.
• Scientists and research associates use technical reports to write up the
findings of their work and demonstrate the value of their work to
stakeholders, funding bodies and supervisors.
• Knowing how to write a professional technical report makes it easier
to evidence the value of your work and present your research in a way
that's persuasive and meaningful.
• It's also an opportunity to evaluate the results of your data in detail.
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 How to write a technical report
• If your job, requires you to write a technical report at work, knowing
how to structure and format your report makes
• it possible to write a formal and professional report that's easy for
executives at your organization to understand.
• Follow the step-by-step guide below to find out how to write a
technical report that's clear and concise:
1. Choose your approach
• Before you start writing your report, decide what approach you wish to use.
• The top-down approach involves starting with the overarching structure of
the report first, setting out titles, sub-sections and a conclusion, and filling
in the content of each section later.
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• Others choose to use the evolutionary delivery approach, which involves
allowing the report to evolve naturally, adding sections and editing sections
as you go.
• Different approaches work well for different writers, so choose an approach
that suits your style of working.
Follow the typical structure of a technical report
• Once you've chosen the approach you're going to take to write your
technical report, start writing the report following a typical technical report
structure.
• Many technical reports follow a standard structure which includes:
• cover page, title page, abstract, preface, table of contents, introduction,
central chapters, conclusion, appendices, references, bibliography

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 Use a professional writing style
• Ensure the style in which you write your report follows a professional tone.
• Use formal language and write your report in the third person, avoiding first-
person pronouns throughout.
• Ensure that each sentence is grammatically complete and avoid using
passive voice in your report.
• Avoid using abbreviations, dashes and other informal grammatical
contractions.
• Make sure that your spelling and punctuation are clear and correct
throughout.
• Consider your readers carefully as you write the technical report.

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 Proofread your technical report
• Before you finish your technical report, proofread it for errors in spelling,
grammar and content.
• You could ask a colleague to read through it for you and offer advice on the
style and tone of your report.
• Ask them how readable your writing style is and if any sections are
confusing or unclear.
• Make sure that there are no spelling errors because this could impact the
credibility of your data.
• Free online proofreading tools may help you to identify spelling errors and
typos in your work, although none of them is as accurate or valuable as a
human proofreader.
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 Present your report formally
• Choose a formal presentation style for your report.

• Use a simple, professional typeface like Times New Roman or Arial and
use a standard font size of around 12 pt.

• Include standard line spacing and margins to keep your report easy to
read and print your report on single-sided A4 paper to aid readability.

• Create a simple, clear title page to cover your report and bind individual
copies of your report to keep the pages together in the correct order.
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 Ask for assistance
• If you haven't written a technical report before, you may worry
that you're going to make mistakes.

• Ask for assistance from senior members of staff to make sure you
get the presentation right and sensibly structure your chapters.

• Showing your report to other members of staff after the printing

stage may mean it's too late to make changes but their feedback
helps you to improve your report-writing skills for the future.
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 Proposal Components
•Introduction
•A proposal can have various components depending on the sponsor or requirements.
•A solicitation is also known as a call for proposals, request for proposals, or funding
opportunity.
•Each agency and even specific programs within an agency may require components that
are specific to a funding opportunity.
 Cover Sheet/Face page
 Table of Contents
 Abstract or Project Summary
 Project Description/Research Plan/Statement of Work
 Biographical Sketch
 Bibliography and References Cited

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 Check Point Questions
1. What is the importance of Technical Report Writing?

2. Compare and contrast report writing and proposal writing.

3. In document development what is the first step?

4. What does it mean by saying “Make your report or document short as

much as possible”?

5. Where we can get accurate and correct information?

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