Guide to technical report writing

Table of contents

1 Introduction
2 Structure
3 Presentation
4 Planning the report
5 Writing the first draft
6 Revising the first draft
7 Diagrams, graphs, tables and mathematics
8 The report layout
9 Headings
10 References to diagrams, graphs, tables and equations
11 Originality and plagiarism
12 Finalising the report and proofreading
13 The Summary
14 Proofreading
15 Word processing / desktop publishing
16 Recommended reading

1 Introduction

A technical report is a formal report designed to convey technical information in a

clear and easily accessible format. It is divided into sections which allow different
readers to access different levels of information. This guide explains the commonly
accepted format for a technical report; explains the purposes of the individual sections;
and gives hints on how to go about drafting and refining a report in order to produce
an accurate, professional document.

2 Structure

A technical report should contain the following sections;

Section Details
Must include the title of the report. Reports for
assessment, where the word length has been specified,
Title page
will often also require the summary word count and the
main text word count
A summary of the whole report including important
Summary
features, results and conclusions
Numbers and lists all section and subsection headings
Contents
with page numbers
 States the objectives of the report and comments on the
way the topic of the report is to be treated. Leads
Introduction
straight into the report itself. Must not be a copy of the
introduction in a lab handout.
Divided into numbered and headed sections. These
The sections which make
sections separate the different main ideas in a logical
up the body of the report
order
A short, logical summing up of the theme(s) developed in
Conclusions
the main text
Details of published sources of material referred to or
References quoted in the text (including any lecture notes and URL
addresses of any websites used.
Other published sources of material, including websites,
Bibliography not referred to in the text but useful for background or
further reading.
List of people who helped you research or prepare the
Acknowledgements
report, including your proofreaders
Any further material which is essential for full
understanding of your report (e.g. large scale diagrams,
Appendices (if appropriate)
computer code, raw data, specifications) but not required
by a casual reader

3 Presentation

For technical reports required as part of an assessment, the following presentation

guidelines are recommended;

The report must be printed single sided on white A4 paper. Hand written
Script
or dot-matrix printed reports are not acceptable.
Margins All four margins must be at least 2.54 cm
Page Do not number the title, summary or contents pages. Number all other
numbers pages consecutively starting at 1
A single staple in the top left corner or 3 staples spaced down the left
Binding hand margin. For longer reports (e.g. year 3 project report) binders may
be used.

4 Planning the report

There are some excellent textbooks contain advice about the writing process and how
to begin (see Section 16). Here is a checklist of the main stages;

• Collect your information. Sources include laboratory handouts and lecture notes,
the University Library, the reference books and journals in the Department
office. Keep an accurate record of all the published references which you intend
to use in your report, by noting down the following information;
 Journal article:
author(s)
title of article
name of journal (italic or underlined)
year of publication
volume number (bold)
issue number, if provided (in brackets)
page numbers

Book:
author(s)
title of book (italic or underlined)
edition, if appropriate
publisher
year of publication

N.B. the listing of recommended textbooks in section 2 contains all this

information in the correct format.
• Creative phase of planning. Write down topics and ideas from your researched
material in random order. Next arrange them into logical groups. Keep note of
topics that do not fit into groups in case they come in useful later. Put the groups
into a logical sequence which covers the topic of your report.
• Structuring the report. Using your logical sequence of grouped ideas, write out a
rough outline of the report with headings and subheadings.

N.B. the listing of recommended textbooks in Section 16 contains all this information in
the correct format.

5 Writing the first draft

Who is going to read the report? For coursework assignments, the readers might be
fellow students and/or faculty markers. In professional contexts, the readers might be
managers, clients, project team members. The answer will affect the content and
technical level, and is a major consideration in the level of detail required in the
introduction.

Begin writing with the main text, not the introduction. Follow your outline in terms of
headings and subheadings. Let the ideas flow; do not worry at this stage about style,
spelling or word processing. If you get stuck, go back to your outline plan and make
more detailed preparatory notes to get the writing flowing again.

Make rough sketches of diagrams or graphs. Keep a numbered list of references as

they are included in your writing and put any quoted material inside quotation marks
(see Section 11).

Write the Conclusion next, followed by the Introduction. Do not write the Summary at
this stage.
6 Revising the first draft

This is the stage at which your report will start to take shape as a professional,
technical document. In revising what you have drafted you must bear in mind the
following, important principle;

• the essence of a successful technical report lies in how accurately and concisely
it conveys the intended information to the intended readership.

During year 1, term 1 you will be learning how to write formal English for technical
communication. This includes examples of the most common pitfalls in the use of
English and how to avoid them. Use what you learn and the recommended books to
guide you. Most importantly, when you read through what you have written, you must
ask yourself these questions;

• Does that sentence/paragraph/section say what I want and mean it to say?

If not, write it in a different way.
• Are there any words/sentences/paragraphs which could be removed without
affecting the information which I am trying to convey?
If so, remove them.

7 Diagrams, graphs, tables and mathematics

It is often the case that technical information is most concisely and clearly conveyed by
means other than words. Imagine how you would describe an electrical circuit layout
using words rather than a circuit diagram. Here are some simple guidelines;

Keep them simple. Draw them specifically for the report. Put small
Diagrams diagrams after the text reference and as close as possible to it. Think
about where to place large diagrams.
For detailed guidance on graph plotting, see the 'guide to laboratory
Graphs
report writing'
Is a table the best way to present your information? Consider graphs,
bar charts or pie charts.
Dependent tables (small) can be placed within the text, even as part of
Tables a sentence.
Independent tables (larger) are separated from the text with table
numbers and captions. Position them as close as possible to the text
reference. Complicated tables should go in an appendix.
Only use mathematics where it is the most efficient way to convey the
information. Longer mathematical arguments, if they are really
Mathematics
necessary, should go into an appendix. You will be provided with
lecture handouts on the correct layout for mathematics.
8 The report layout

The appearance of a report is no less important than its content. An attractive, clearly
organised report stands a better chance of being read. Use a standard, 12pt, font, such
as Times New Roman, for the main text. Use different font sizes, bold, italic and
underline where appropriate but not to excess. Too many changes of type style can
look very fussy.

9 Headings

Use heading and sub-headings to break up the text and to guide the reader. They
should be based on the logical sequence which you identified at the planning stage but
with enough sub-headings to break up the material into manageable chunks. The use of
numbering and type size and style can clarify the structure as follows;

3 Methods of harnessing wave energy

3.1 Shore-based systems

3.2 Deep-water systems

3.2.1 "Duck" devices

3.2.2 Rafts

10 References to diagrams, graphs, tables and equations

• In the main text you must always refer to any diagram, graph or table which you
use.
• Label diagrams and graphs as follows;

Figure 1.2 Graph of energy output as a function of wave height.

In this example, the second diagram in section 1 would be referred to by "...see

figure 1.2..."
• Label tables in a similar fashion;

Table 3.1 Performance specifications of a range of commercially available

GaAsFET devices

In this example, the first table in section 3 might be referred to by "...with

reference to the performance specifications provided in Table 3.1..."
• Number equations as follows;

F(dB) = 10*log10(F) (3.6)

In this example, the sixth equation in section 3 might be referred to by "...noise

 figure in decibels as given by eqn (3.6)..."

11 Originality and plagiarism

Whenever you make use of other people's facts or ideas, you must indicate this in the
text with a number which refers to an item in the list of references. Any phrases,
sentences or paragraphs which are copied unaltered must be enclosed in quotation
marks and referenced by a number. Material which is not reproduced unaltered should
not be in quotation marks but must still be referenced. It is not sufficient to list the
sources of information at the end of the report; you must indicate the sources of
information individually within the report using the reference numbering system.

Information that is not referenced is assumed to be either common knowledge or your

own work or ideas; if it is not, then it is assumed to be plagiarised i.e. you have
knowingly copied someone else's words, facts or ideas without reference, passing them
off as your own. This is a serious offence. If the person copied from is a fellow
student, then this offence is known as collusion and is equally serious. Examination
boards can, and do, impose penalties for these offences ranging from loss of marks to
disqualification from the award of a degree

This warning applies equally to information obtained from the Internet. It is very easy
for markers to identify words and images that have been copied directly from web
sites. If you do this without acknowledging the source of your information and putting
the words in quotation marks then your report will be sent to the Investigating Officer
and you may be called before a disciplinary panel.

12 Finalising the report and proofreading

Your report should now be nearly complete with an introduction, main text in sections,
conclusions, properly formatted references and bibliography and any appendices. Now
you must add the page numbers, contents and title pages and write the summary.

13 The Summary

The summary, with the title, should indicate the scope of the report and give the main
results and conclusions. It must be intelligible without the rest of the report. Many
people may read, and refer to, a report summary but only a few may read the full
report, as often happens in a professional organisation.

• Purpose - a short version of the report and a guide to the report.

• Length - short, typically not more than 100-300 words
• Content - provide information, not just a description of the report.
14 Proofreading

This refers to the checking of every aspect of a piece of written work from the content
to the layout and is an absolutely necessary part of the writing process. You should
acquire the habit of never sending or submitting any piece of written work, from email
to course work, without at least one and preferably several processes of proofreading.
In addition, it is not possible for you, as the author of a long piece of writing, to
proofread accurately yourself; you are too familiar with what you have written and will
not spot all the mistakes.

When you have finished your report, and before you staple it, you must check it very
carefully yourself. You should then give it to someone else, e.g. one of your fellow
students, to read carefully and check for any errors in content, style, structure and
layout. You should record the name of this person in your acknowledgements.

15 Word processing / desktop publishing

Advantages Disadvantages
Word processing and desktop publishing
Word processing and desktop publishing
packages offer great scope for endless
packages never make up for poor or
revision of a document. This includes
inaccurate content
words, word order, style and layout.
They allow for the incremental They can waste a lot of time by slowing
production of a long document in down writing and distracting the writer with
portions which are stored and combined the mechanics of text and graphics
later manipulation.
They can be used to make a document Excessive use of 'cut and paste' leads to
look stylish and professional. tedious repetition and sloppy writing.
If the first draft is word processed, it
They make the process of proofreading can look so stylish that the writer is
and revision extremely straightforward fooled into thinking that it does not
need proofreading and revision!
Two useful tips;

• Do not bother with style and formatting of a document until the penultimate or
final draft.
• Do not try to get graphics finalised until the text content is complete.

16 Recommended reading

• Davies J.W. Communication for Engineering Students (Longman 1996)

• van Emden J. Effective communication for Science and Technology (Palgrave
2001)
• van Emden J. A Handbook of Writing for Engineers 2nd ed. (Macmillan 1998)
• van Emden J. and Easteal J. Technical Writing and Speaking, an Introduction
 (McGraw-Hill 1996)
• Pfeiffer W.S. Pocket Guide to Technical Writing (Prentice Hall 1998)
• Eisenberg A. Effective Technical Communication (McGraw-Hill 1992)

Table of contents

Dr Helen Prance, 2004

Department of Engineering and Design,

School of Science and Technology,
The University of Sussex.