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7/24/2019 All TransparanciesTechnical Report Writ Materials

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What is Technical Writing?

Technical writingthe literature of science, technology, and systems developmentis

different from journalism, fiction, advertising, copywriting, essays, plays, poetry, andother non-technical prose. Technical writing is defined by its subject matter also as it

deals with topics of technical naturespecialized area of science and technology.

Remember: Technical writing is not a sub-standard form of epression. !t meets the

conventional standards of grammar, punctuation and synta. "owever it is mar#ed by its

own peculiarities.

GENERAL ATTRIBUTES OF TECHNICAL WRITING

Technical writing concerns itself solely with factual information$ its language

appeals neither to the emotions nor to the imagination, but to the intellect. !tswords are eact and precise and its primary purpose is to inform.

%haracterized by a no non-sense approach to the subject it treats. &oints are

seldom introduced for their interest value.

&urpose of the article or paper is usually spelled out in the opening paragraph or

two.

'ocabulary tends to be specialized.

(entences are tightly pac#ed with information for special readership.

(igns, symbols, formulas, graphs and table my pepper the prose.

)ocumentation and credit in footnotes and bibliography.

Technical & nonTechnical Writing

Content

NonTechnical Writing Technical Writing

!dea, emotion, impression, reaction to a

reality, opinion.

"ard facts, within the range of observation,

calculation and eperiment.

PurposeTo entertain, to instruct, to inspire. *actual communication of eperience,

observations and calculations.


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&ersonal feelings, li#es and disli#es +bjectivity, personal li#ing and disli#ing is

ecluded, use of passive voice and thirdperson.

St!le

Characteristics o" Technical Writing

Technicall! Acc#rate$ ccuracy in description

&erfection in calculations

O%ecti'e$

!mpersonal

%oncentrates on facts and figures

Gra((aticall! Correct$

(pellings, punctuation, sentence structure

Concise$

rief but comprehensive epression

)irectness o wordiness

)recise$

)efinite, eact, accurate,

free from vagueness

Co(*lete$

o missing lin#s

othing essential is left out

%ontains full information of the topic

Use"#l$

&rovides useful information for the reader.

Clear$

/eaningful communication of ideas

(implified epression

Well organi+e,$

0asy to read

0asy to comprehend

)ivided into paragraphs

"eadings and sub headings, if re1uired

Targete,$

(pecific audience

(pecific needs

Consistent$

%onsistency of epression and style, weights and measures.

Use o" A#,io -is#al Ai,s$

To clarify2simplify the concepts


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o decorative purpose

Technical Re*ort Writing. H/ 012

Design Elements of Technical Reports

03 Co'er$

&rominent display

!dentifies information as report title, agency by which or for which the report has

been prepared

ttractive

eed not be epensive

&rotects pages during handling and storage

34 Title *age$

ll the material on cover

ame of company or student preparing report

ame of company for which the report was prepared

Title, subtitle

ame of author5s4, contributor5s4

)ate of preparation

64 )re"ace$

+ccasion for report-why the report

(tatement of subject and purpose

*eatures of special interest

&rocedures followed

(pecial problems faced

'alue of the report

References to other reports

c#nowledgement

43 A%stract$

!nformative

%oncise, brief

(tatement of wor# performed

+bjectives and scope

/ajor conclusions

74 Ta%le o" Contents$ 8ocating device

8ists every section, headings and sub-headings and the page number

Tables, charts, and graphs are listed separately

53 S#((ar!$

&resents the entire contents in a few hundred words, usually one page


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63 Intro,#ction$

Tells the reader the subject, purpose, scope of the report

Tells the scientific or commercial importance of the research

9ives historical and theoretical bac#ground

(tates the method of investigation

&resents the #ey results of research

73 /ain Bo,!$

%ontains detailed theory behind the wor#

+utlines the apparatus and procedures used

)escribes the entire wor#

83 En,ingter(inal section$

(ummary

%onclusions

Recommendations 5if any4

9raceful eit

013 No(enclat#re$ 8ists in alphabetical order the symbols and terms used in the report, and units of

measurement if necessary

003 Re"erences9Bi%liogra*h!

023 A**en,i:es

0;3 In,e:

043


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34 ppendies

64 !nde

;4 )istribution list


(ession >

Anal!+ing !o#r A#,ience

Technical writing is targeted

Specific AudiencePurpose of audience

Different kinds of audience

a3 La!(en$

The hardest audience: their needs, capabilities and interests are difficult to pin down

They are:

cler# reading about desalination in a newspaper article

&h.). biologist reading an article in scientific merican entitled A The nature of

/etalsB

Ce are all laymen once outside our own particular fields of specialization.

A few Generalizations:

They read for interest

They read for general information

They read as prelude to action. 4 0nvironment 34 "ealth 64 9eneral Dnowledge

Reason for reading is practical

/ore concerned with what things do than how they wor#, concerned more in the cost

of devices than theory

Their interest is personal

/any of them are attuned to fiction and television than to scientific eposition.

arrative style is often an effective device when writing for them. necdotes,

incidents and dramatic dramatic style may serve them better.

What to keep in mind about Lamen

!nterests

%ultural bac#ground

ge

0ducation

)omicile

&rejudices

Cal# of life

We will do well to remember a few things while writing for them:

4 ac#ground: 9ive your readers grounding in your subject. !f possible, give

familiar things as point of comparison- comparing the unfamiliar with familiar.34 )efinitions: on specialists need specialized words and terms defined. !f you force

them to go to dictionary fre1uently, their interest will soon flag. The lay definitionsubstitutes simpler more familiar language: 8aryngitis 5inflammation of throat4$

gastritis 5inflammation of the lining of stomach4$ 8aryngo-oto-rhinology 50T4.

64 (implicity:is the essence of writing for laymen.

)efine specialized words)onEt avoid technical terms altogether. Fust avoid Ato hell with the reader A attitude.


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0plain your ideas in plain language.

;4 "uman interest:

/ost of us, at any educational level have an interest in human beings and humanpersonalities.

bstract figures 5inflation4 may not have an impact on the reader but they have

definite impact if it is related to human personalities.

74 !llustration: &ictures, pictographs, charts, tables will ma#e the presentation more interesting and

easy to understand.

E:ec#ti'es$

Similarities with lamen:

4 /uch that applies to laymen also applies to eecutives.34 They have college education, but may come from many disciplines.

64 They too are more interested in what things do- the practical matters.

;4 Criting for them approimate the level in (cientific merican.

74 Gse plain language.4 Gse simple illustration, bar graph, pie charts, and pictographs.

Differences:4 The report may influence laymen in their lives, or their decisions. They

seldom have to act upon it directly. 0ecutives must often ma#e decisionsbased upon what they read.

34 &eople and profits figure largely in eecutive decisions.

64 %ost of new venture, mar#ets, profits;4 Cill the old staff suffice or new hands re1uired

74 (ocial, economic and environmental effects upon the community at large


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74 9ive conclusions and recommendations clearly.


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5b4 9row restive with too much theoryapplied aspects are important for them.

5c4 /ay not be very efficient in reading and writing advanced complicated

writing.>. Gnless you are seen that your technicians are college trained, give them sentences

which they can readily handle.

?. Iou may assume a good deal of #nowledge on the part of the audience but not as

much as with the eperts.@. Gsually you will need to supply some bac#ground information and some

definitions.

. %are more about the practical implications of a theory than about the theory itself.3. ut technicians have a certain level of education and training may be interested in

some theory at least in the bac#ground sections but not in-depth eplanation.

6. ut #eep theory eplanations simple and fairly non-mathematical.;. The best thing would be to put most of the maths needed in graphs form.

7. Gse analogical method 5similarity process of reasoning from parallel eamples K

resemblance of functions4.

7. nalogy bridges the gap between a readerEs general information and the particular

object or theory you are trying to eplain.


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T>)ES OF RE)ORTS$

0 )erio,ic re*orts$

(ubmitted at regular intervals to provide information on the activities or status of the

organization. an# reports, 1uarterly reports etc.

2 Research Re*orts$

Results of research, studies and eperiments conducted in the lab2library2field.

; Fiel, Re*ort$

Result of an on-site inspection or evaluation of some field activity, construction, pilot-

plant or e1uipment installation.

4 Reco((en,ation re*ort$

Report submitted to the management as the basis for decisions or actions.

$ecommendations

a4 *und a research project

b4 8aunch a projectc4 )evelop a new product

d4 uy a piece of capital e1uipment )rogress Re*ort$

Gpdate on an on-going activity. !t may be construction, epansion, R), installation,

production or other projects.

5 Oral Re*orts$

Report to your boss

!nstructor2superior-subordinate relationship

&ersuade a group

rief the customer, board of directors or investors

Preparation for oral presentation

i4 %hoosing the delivery techni1ues2prepare an outline

!mpromptu

(pea#ing from memory

(pea#ing etempore

Reading from a script

ii4 'isual aids, transparencies, charts etc.iii4 %loser to conversation than oratory

iv4 ttention span of the audience 5variation in style4

6 Feasi%ilit! Re*orts$

!mportance of feasibility

t all levels of human activity from individual domestic problems to the highest levelof policy-ma#ing, considering feasibility is essential.

)ecision ma#ing not possible without considering feasibility.

+ur highly organized and technologically comple world demands feasibility studies

before decision-ma#ing.

Cithout feasibility studies we would surely waste a lot of labour, time and money.

*easibility studies are demanded before personnel and money are committed to any

sizeable project.


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%unctions of feasibilit report

feasibility report facilities choice2decision-ma#ing:

To act or not to act.

To act here or somewhere else.

To act now or sometimes later.

To act by this means or some other means.

To decide whether eisting information warrants further study of the 1uestion.

%ormat of feasibilit report

feasibility report may follow the traditional arrangement of a technical report.

"owever the format may vary from subject to subject.

%ertain parts li#e summary may be ecluded if the report is a short one. &urpose and

scope may be added.

Recommendations are an essential part of feasibility report.

*easibility report should be treated as a Afleible instrumentB.

)o not be a slave to formality.

'ariations are permissible.

)oints to consi,er in a t!*ical re*ort ,eter(ining the "easi%ilit! o" setting #* an

in,#strial #nit.

!nfrastructure facilities Cater, power, transport 5road2ir, Railway4 dumping industrial waste etc.

%limate, environment, pollution

vailability of land

(oil survey-nature of soil, compaction, and water table.

Raw material

Technology

8abour 5s#illed2uns#illed4 whether locally available.

*inance

%ost analysis K epected rate of profit- epected duration of the recovery of initial

investment: %redit facility /ar#et

Ti*s "or re*ort @riters

Juestions of feasibility must be threshed out on the basis of dependable solid

information and research

*easibility analysis re1uires logic, scientific methodology, hard wor#, intelligence and

freedom from personal bias.

9ive due consideration to human motives.

e accurate in your conclusion.

ever over-state your case.

ever ignore any aspect of the problem. Remember that on your conclusions and recommendations shall depend the success

of a project. !t may be doomed if your judgement is unsound.

Iour professional career is at sta#e.

&atterns of +rganizing )ata in Technical Criting

There are two major patterns of organizing the datathe logical and the psychological.


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a& Logical Pattern of 'rganization

This pattern builds its case step-by-step within the logical scheme leading to conclusion

and possible recommendation. !t has a number of patterns of organization:

. %hronological &attern

(ometimes called the narrative pattern, this pattern is the simplest way of arranging

the data

*ollows a time se1uence

/ost fre1uently used in informational types of reports

3. 9eographical or (patial

!n this pattern data may be arranged on the basis of location or spatial relationships e.g.

moving from top to bottom, bottom to top, from east to west or west to east, or from

nearest to the farthest.

6. *unctional

!n a report on the design of a new mechanism or instrument, a logical approach would be

to eamine each component by its function.

;. +rder of !mportance!n this pattern the report starts with the data most significant to the problem or situation.

!t is best suited where the purpose is to find the best plan for accomplishing a certain end.

7. 0limination of &ossible (olutions

!n this pattern one would eamine all possible solutions to a problem, beginning with the

least li#ely and wor#ing toward the best5opposite to no ; above4

. (imple to %omple

This pattern is appropriate to situations beginning with simple case and moving to more

comple grounds.

?. &ro and %on

This pattern groups the material of the report into data for and data against or advantages

and disadvantages.

@. %ause and 0ffect

This pattern is followed in epositions dealing with 1uestions li#e what is itH Chat

caused itH The writer may begin with a fact and proceed to the results.

b& Pschological Pattern of 'rganization

!n this pattern the most important data of the report are arranged in the most strategic

place beginning.

Gsually the conclusions are placed first and the discussion second.


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This pattern permits the reader to see the conclusion first so that he can grasp the

major issues.

This pattern follows no order of time and se1uence

lso called double report

+riginated in business industry where the eecutives want to #now the problem

1uic#ly

The main body does not contain arithmetic or other raw data, which are put into the

appendi.


(ession

Technical E:*osition

E:*osition: To persuade through eplanation

ll purposeful communication is persuasive$ your report must persuadethe reader to accept what you have said.

/ost of the writing is epository.

!nterpretation, eplanation, rational description

-ario#s ,e'ices in e:*osition$

i) Topical Arrangement

Topic

(ubtopics under the major topics

Gmbrella topics

(maller subtopics

Topic limitation

+nce the plan is set you are not restricted from using other rhetorical devices.

ii3 Exemplification:

0amples give your writing life and credibility(omething concrete to hold on

series of generalizations supported by eamples that would ma#e them

understandable%hoice of eamples

9eneralizations not supported by appropriate eamples may not communicate

eactly what you want to communicateWas to use e"amples:

+ne or more etended, well-developed eamples

series of short eamples that you do not develop in detail

iii) Definition:

s a writer you will constantly be defining your terms.

Iou should define a term that you feel is not in your readersE normal vocabulary.

)efinitions have to be short within the tet, slightly longer in a footnote.

!f many short definitions, then have a glossary, or very long one in the appendi.

(ometimes a drawing may be useful.

iv4 Classification and division:


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!n classification you group different items under one category.

!n division you brea# the broad category into similar items.

%ood

- 'egetablesa4 +nions

b4 (tring eans

c4 %arrots3- *ruit

a4 pplesb4 +rangesc4 9rapes

6- /eat

a4 %hic#en

b4 eefc4 /utton

;- %ereal

a4 %orn fla#esb4 read

c4 %upca#es

7- )airya4 /il#

b4 %heese

c4 utter

v) Comparison and contrast:

!n comparison we show how something is li#e something.

!n contrast we show how it is unli#e something else.

vi) Causal Analysis:

!n causal analysis you state and defend the proposition how something causes something

else: causes y or the converse, y is the effect of .

(ause and effect: )eductive reasoning from general to particular and inductivereasoning from particular to general


Oral Re*orts$

!n many ways preparing an oral report is much li#e writing a paper. Researching

an oral report and a paper are identical processes- use of rhetorical devices li#e

eposition, narration, description and argument.

5a4 +ral reports may be used:i- To brief your boss

ii- To instruct your superior or subordinates

iii- &ersuade a group

iv- rief the customer, board of directors, or investorsv- &resenting a written report

5b4 &reparation for oral report 5preparing an outline choosing the deliverytechni1ues4

i- !mpromptu 5off the cuff4: ris#y method, accuracy is essential in a

technical reportii- (pea#ing from memory: Crite out a speech, commit it to memory

and then deliver it. The drawbac#s are:


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i- Iour plan becomes infleible

ii- a memory lapse in one place may upset the whole

iii- Iou thin# of words rather than thoughtsiv- 8ac#s spontaneity

iii- 0tempore speech:

0temporaneous carefully planned and practiced

Iou go through all the planning steps, but you stop at the outlinestage

Iou do not write out the speech

Iou do not commit yourself to any definite phraseology!nclude vital facts in the outline

efore delivering it practice it

Deep the time limitGse spacing

Crite in bold letters

Ad#antages of !"temporaneous speech:

i- 0ye contact, so vital, can easily be maintainedii- !f you feel your audience have not understood a point, you can rephrase it

iii- !f you are well prepared, you can bring in further eamples to clarify your point.

iv- !f you are running overtime you can condense

v- Iou retain conversational spontaneityvi- Iou are not running by your audience li#e a well-oiled machine.

The manuscript speech:0perts recommend the etemporaneous speech above reading from a manuscript.

"owever, written speech is often re1uired in a purely technical situation. Research papers

delivered to scientific societies are almost always written and then read to the

group. Reports may contain comple technical information, which can only be read from

a written script.

Tips for speakers: listenerEs attention span is very limited. To retain the attention of the listener you must

#eep in mind the following points:i- &ractice reading several timesii- &lan an occasional departure from the tet

iii- /aintain occasional eye contact with the audience

iv- 'oice variation 5never spea# in monotone4v- 'isual aids, transparencies, charts

vi- %loser to conversational style

vii- /ovements, may wor# both ways: show confidence2nervousness

a4 atural gesturesb4 ervous mannerism

c4 'ocal mannerism li#e +.D, Iou #now, Iou see


(ession ;

)rogress Re*orts$

The main objective of any progress report is to give the company, department or

individual an accounting of the wor# that has been done. *our important purposes of a

progress report are:


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!t enables the customer to chec# on progress, direction of development,

emphasis of the investigation, and general conduct of the research.

!t enables the researchers to estimate wor# done and wor# remaining w.r.t. the

total time and effort available.

!t compels researchers to shape their material and focus their attention.

!t provides a sample report that helps both the customer and the researchers to

decide upon the tone, content, and plan of the report.

progress letter is sent at the close of wor# each month, ecept at the end of a month

closing the first, second, and third 1uarters of the year. t the end of each 1uarter eceptthe last, a formal bound report of progress is sent to the customer. This 1uarterly report

recapitulates the main contents of the preceding monthly letters and adds the wor# done

during the month since the last letter. !n short, the bound 1uarterly report is sent insteadof a third letter for each of the first three 1uarters.

The sche(e o" re*orting *rogress$

)st progress report:

!ntroduction

&roject )escription

Cor# done in the period just closing

Cor# plan for the net wor# period

Cor# plan for periods thereafter

+verall appraisal of progress to date

-

*+ *ndProgress $eport: !ntroduction

&roject )escription

(ummary of Cor# done in the

preceding &eriod5s4

Cor# done in the period just closing

Cor# plan for the net wor# period

Cor# plan for periods thereafter

+verall ppraisal of progress to date

- )rogress Re*ort )lans$3- Time plan: !t gives the time scheme of the overall plan of the progress report.

!t may have the following possible headings:

Cor# previously done

Cor# done in the period closing

Cor# scheduled for the net period

Cor# scheduled for periods

thereafter Task Plan: This gives the tas# brea#down of the entire project. The main headings of

the tas# plan can be:

Tas# one

Tas# Two

Tas# Three

Tas# four

Topics Plan: This plan ordinarily uses substantive headings such as Arailroad

trac#ageB, ARolling stoc#,B &ublic demand,B

(ombination Plan: *or a well-organized report the three T plans described

above should be used in combination.

Ti(e an, Tas )lan

)+ Work pre#iousl done

Tas# one

Tas# Two

Tas# Three

Tas# four

))+ Work done in the period ,ust

closing

- Tas# +ne -etc.-

Tas an, Ti(e )lan

! Tas# +ne


Cor# done in the period closing

Cor# scheduled for the net period


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!! Tas# Two


-etc.-

A,,itional Consi,erations$

&hysical ppearance

(tyle and Tone

+riginalityccomplishment and *oresight

0ceeding 0pectations

Ratio of facts to &rocedure


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