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A guide totechnicalreport writing

A guide to technical report writing – ContentsContents1. What makes a good technical report?32. Objectives42.1 Who are you producing the report for?43. Format53.1 Appendices3.2 Sections and subsections3.3 References5564. Writing74.1 Spelling4.2 Punctuation4.3 Sentences4.4 Paragraphs4.5 Formality4.6 Example7778885. Diagrams95.1 Positioning5.2 Tables5.3 Graphs5.4 Diagram references99996. Finishing the report106.1 Summaries6.2 Abstracts6.3 Table of contents6.4 Title page6.5 Appearance6.6 Checking1010101010107. Resources1102

A guide to technical report writing – What makes a good technical report?A Guide to Technical Report Writing was originally written by Joan vanEmden and the late Jennifer Eastel and has been revised by the IET,with input from Alex Kerr who delivers this course on behalf of the IET.1. What makes a goodtechnical report?A good report is easy to recognise. Its title is preciseand informative and its format logical to the reader,with headings to indicate the content of each section.Diagrams are well-presented and clearly labelled.Keep these rules in mind and you will be more likelyto attract readers, direct them towards relevant,clear information and steer them towards the desiredresponse.There are no absolute rules on report productionbecause every report must be adapted to the needs ofits reader. This guide, however, suggests that there arelaws of good report writing which should be generallyapplied (but broken if necessary).Notice that the first law is repeated because it’s a lawwhich shouldn’t be broken. Taking shortcuts to savetime and money are counterproductive if your reader isleft confused by the report or decides it’s too difficult towork out what you are trying to say.10 laws of good report writing1. produce the report for yourreader(s)2. keep the report as short as possible3. organise information for theconvenience of the reader4. include accurate references5. ensure your writing is accurate,concise and straightforward6. include diagrams with the rightlabels in the right place for yourreader7. make sure your summary gives thewhole picture in brief8. check the report for technicalerrors, typing errors andinconsistency9. consider design as well as content10. produce the report for yourreader(s)03

A guide to technical report writing – Objectives2. ObjectivesSet the objectives for your report before you startwriting. Note them down and check that you arekeeping to them, even during the last stages ofproduction.2.1 Who are you producing the report for?Your objectives should identify:If you want your report to make an impact, you needto consider your reader. Knowing your reader shoulddetermine your approach, the technical content andstyle of your writing.– who you’re producing the report forAsk yourself:– why you’re producing the report– What does the reader already know about thesubject?– what information you’re covering– What do you need to tell the reader?What happens without clearobjectivesIf you don’t take time to clarify yourobjectives, writing the report will bemore difficult, understanding it evenmore so and you may not achieve thedesired response.A report which was meant to coverthe UK, but instead just dealt withEngland and Wales resulted in lostopportunities for development andsales in Scotland and Northern Ireland.A report which tried to be both aspecification of a machine and a reporton the results of using a machineleft readers in confusion, as it didn’tprovide a precise specification or asatisfactory conclusion.– Why does a particular reader need this particularreport?– What is the desired response from the reader?– How can you bridge the gap between what thereader knows already and what they need toknow, in order to produce the desired response?– What level of formality is appropriate? (e.g. ashort emailed report to a colleague will be lessformal than a report for a managing director ofanother company)Reports are often written for multiple readers, forexample, technical and financial managers. Writingtwo separate reports would be time-consuming andrisk offending people who are not party to all of theinformation. One solution to this problem is strategicuse of appendices (see page 5).04

A guide to technical report writing – Format3. FormatOnce the objectives have been established, startorganising the information available. As you findmaterial, put it into one of three categories:1. important information that is relevant to theobjectives2. borderline information which might be usefulto some readers or support more importantmaterial3. information which may be interesting to you,but is not relevant to the objectivesSet aside category 3 material to check it later. Materialin categories 1 and 2 must be kept available andthought of as probable main text (category 1) andappendix material (category 2).When you’ve identified probable main text, you canstart looking through it to decide on how it could beordered logically.3.2 Sections and subsectionsDivide information and place it under headings that areas specific as possible. From a visual point of view, thisspace on the page makes your report easier to read.Also, readers can identify and refer to sections whichare relevant to their interests.Section headingsIf you don’t have a template for a report provided byyour company or university, then there are some widelyaccepted section headings you can use:– Title page– Acknowledgements– Summary– Table of Contents– Introduction/Terms of Reference/Scope3.1 Appendices– ProcedureAlthough appendices are at the end of a report, thinkabout them first as they can be one your most usefultools. Appendices should be used to remove from themain text all information which is not needed by themajority of readers.– Findings– Conclusions– Recommendations– References/BibliographyIf the main text is clear of detailedstatistics, maps, explanations oftechnical terms or experimentaldata, it will be kept as short and asreadable as possible.By using appendices, you can also caterto different types of readers, theirneeds and priorities. Experts may feelpatronised by too much explanationin the main text and non-experts leftconfused by lack of information – butappendices can satisfy both parties.– AppendicesThese sections can be adapted or merged together,depending on what you think would be appropriate foryour reader. They form a framework for a report, but youdon’t need to start writing at the beginning. Writersoften find it easier to start with the factual material inthe Findings section.NotationThe logical linking of headings is shown by notation,usually decimal notation. The system is easy to produceand follow, and the fact that it is widespread meansthat readers are likely to be familiar with it.An engineer may be frustrated bytechnical information interwoven withdetails of costing, but both technicaland financial readers will be happy tofind costings in the appendix.05

A guide to technical report writing – FormatHeadings should match the numbering in importance,so a main heading should have a major notation (asshown below):1. MAIN HEADING1.1 Lesser Heading1.1.1 Small heading8. MAIN HEADING8.4 Lesser Heading8.4.6 Small HeadingThe heading numbered 1.1.1 should be equal inimportance to heading 8.4.6. Ideally notations shouldhave no more than four numbers, as more subdivisionsare difficult to follow.Appendices should be distinguished from the main textby a letter, and if necessary, a decimal notation after theletter:Appendix B2.4This is the fourth subsection of the second majorsection of the second Appendix.3.3 ReferencesAccurate references improve the credibility of yourdocument, making your report more convincing. Make anote of references as you go along, so you don’t forgetwhere your information came from, as that’s whereerrors can creep in.There are various referencing systems and you shoulduse the system preferred by your company or university.If you don’t have guidance on referencing, a couple ofoptions are shown below.In-text citingIn the text, references are shown by a number in squarebrackets [1] and the full references are listed in order atthe end of the report:1. Van Emden, J. (2005). Writing for Engineers.3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.2. Hawley, R. (1996). Leadership challenges in anengineering environment. EngineeringManagement Journal, 6 (5), pp. 217-231Harvard referencingIn the text, the author’s surname and the date (Hawley,1996) are included, and at the end of the document, thedetails are given in full:Van Edmen, J and Becker, L. (2017). Writing forEngineers (Macmillan Study Skills). 4th ed.Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Hawley, R. (1996). Leadership challenges in anengineering environment. Engineering ManagementJournal, 6 (5), pp. 217-231.For online materials, cite them in the same style asother bibliographical sources, but indicate it is onlineand provide the URL and the date accessed.The IET, (2019). The Institution of Engineering andTechnology’s official website. [online] Available athttp://www.theiet.org [Accessed 13 Mar. 2019].06

A guide to technical report writing – Writing4. WritingA well-written report is easier to read,makes your meaning clear and builds thereader’s confidence in what you are saying.4.1 SpellingWhen you’ve completed a section of the report, checkit for spelling errors. If you’re relying on a spellcheckerprogramme, watch out for the following errors whichmay not be picked up:– Using the wrong wordIf you use a word which was not intended, aspellchecker will often accept it. ‘Not’ and ‘now’,for instance, are easily confused.– Technical wordsThese words need to be checked carefully as aspellchecker programme often has no adviceon them.– New technical wordsNew technical words or semi-technical words oftenstart out as two words, then become hyphenated,before finally becoming accepted as one word. Forexample, cyber-security/cybersecurity, e-mail/email.Look to the technical press, such as IET journals, forguidance on these words. Where both variants arestill used, go for one word, as hyphens tend toclutter up the text.4.2 PunctuationCommasCheck your use of punctuation, such as commas, as itcan transform the meaning of sentences. For example:The engines, which were in perfect running order,had been tested previously. (all engines were inperfect running order and had been tested)The engines which were in perfect running order hadbeen tested previously. (only the engines in perfectrunning order had been tested)HyphensDo use hyphens if not using them will lead to ambiguousmeaning, e.g. ‘a cross-section of staff’ vs ‘a crosssection of staff’. They should also be used to form shortcompound adjectives. e.g. three-year plan, two-tonnevessel.4.3 SentencesGood style involves varying sentence length. A longtechnical explanation, which mentions somewhere in themiddle that maintenance costs can be reduced, risks theimportant point being lost.Short sentences provide a clear, easy-to-read style forfactual information. Where information needs to becompared with other information, longer sentences canwork better.07