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 IntroductionA 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 StructureA
technical report should contain the following sections; Section DetailsTitle page Must
include the title of the report. Reports for assessment, where the word length has been
specified, will often also require the summary word count and the main text word
countSummary A summary of the whole report including important features, results
and conclusionsContents Numbers and lists all section and subsection headings with
page numbersIntroduction States the objectives of the report and comments on the way
the topic of the report is to be treated. Leads straight into the report itself. Must not be a
copy of the introduction in a lab handout.The sections which make up the body of the
report Divided into numbered and headed sections. These sections separate the
different main ideas in a logical orderConclusions A short, logical summing up of the
theme(s) developed in the main textReferences Details of published sources of
material referred to or quoted in the text (including any lecture notes and URL addresses
of any websites used.Bibliography Other published sources of material, including
websites, not referred to in the text but useful for background or further
reading.Acknowledgements List of people who helped you research or prepare the
report, including your proofreadersAppendices (if appropriate) Any further material
which is essential for full understanding of your report (e.g. large scale diagrams,
computer code, raw data, specifications) but not required by a casual reader 3
PresentationFor technical reports required as part of an assessment, the following
presentation guidelines are recommended; Script The report must be printed single sided
on white A4 paper. Hand written or dot-matrix printed reports are not
acceptable.Margins All four margins must be at least 2.54 cmPage numbers Do not
number the title, summary or contents pages. Number all other pages consecutively
starting at 1Binding A single staple in the top left corner or 3 staples spaced down the
left hand margin. For longer reports (e.g. year 3 project report) binders may be used. 4
Planning the reportThere 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 articlename of
journal (italic or underlined)year of publicationvolume number (bold)issue number, if
provided (in brackets)page numbers Book:author(s)title of book (italic or
underlined)edition, if appropriatepublisheryear 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 draftWho 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
draftThis 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
mathematicsIt 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; Diagrams Keep them simple. Draw them specifically for the report. Put small
diagrams after the text reference and as close as possible to it. Think about where to
place large diagrams.Graphs For detailed guidance on graph plotting, see the 'guide to
laboratory report writing'TablesIs 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 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.Mathematics Only use
mathematics where it is the most efficient way to convey the information. Longer
mathematical arguments, if they are really necessary, should go into an appendix. You
will be provided with lecture handouts on the correct layout for mathematics. 8 The
report layoutThe 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 HeadingsUse 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 energy3.1 Shore-based systems3.2
Deep-water systems3.2.1 "Duck" devices3.2.2 Rafts 10 References to diagrams,
graphs, tables and equationsIn 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 plagiarismWhenever 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 proofreadingYour 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 SummaryThe 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 wordsContent - provide information, not just a description of the
report. 14 ProofreadingThis 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 publishingAdvantages
DisadvantagesWord processing and desktop publishing packages offer great scope
for endless revision of a document. This includes words, word order, style and layout.
Word processing and desktop publishing packages never make up for poor or
inaccurate contentThey allow for the incremental production of a long document in
portions which are stored and combined later They can waste a lot of time by slowing
down writing and distracting the writer with the mechanics of text and graphics
manipulation.They can be used to make a document look stylish and professional.
Excessive use of 'cut and paste' leads to tedious repetition and sloppy writing.They
make the process of proofreading and revision extremely straightforward If the first
draft is word processed, it can look so stylish that the writer is 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) Recommendations
Based on the conclusions, your recommendations are also best
presented in a numbered list and justified with the pertinent conclusions.
Since this may be the only section of your report that many important
readers will have time for, you should give deep thought to writing it. In
particular, always remember that your recommendations must derive
scientifically from material within, not outside, the report.