Writing Technical

Reports
Learning Tasks

By the end of this session you are expected to be able

to:
1. Define technical report
2. List common types of technical reports
3. Explain essential components of technical reports
4. Write technical reports
•What is a technical report?
• A technical report is a specific form of writing that is
organized to guide management and organization to
make decisions.
• Technical Reports have an organized format because a
majority of the receivers may not read the entire
report in one reading.
• The specific format allows readers to quickly locate
the information they need.
General purpose of technical
reports:
• To guide decisions on particular issue and problems
• To monitor and control operations
• To document work performed for a client
• To help implement policies and procedures
• To comply with legal or regulatory requirements
• To obtain new business or funding
The scope and style of reports varies widely, depends
on:
i. The report's intended audience;
ii. The report's purpose;
iii. The type of information to be communicated.
Common Types of Technical Reports
i. Investigative reports:
• Any organization or Government can commission a
report to investigate a matter, a question or a
situation

ii. Informative reports:

• Require written information about a certain
issue/topic
iii. Business reports:
• Are written administrative reports

iv. Special reports:

• Reports specific to certain organization
• Contents of reports relate specifically to the work of
the place/area, for example hospital reports,
pharmacy reports and Court reports (deals with
matters relating to Court of Law).
v. Scientific reports:
• They are common in all the Sciences and Social
Sciences.
• These reports use a standard scientific report format
describing methods, results and conclusions to report
upon an empirical investigation.
General guidelines for report writing
• The purpose of the report should be clearly stated
• Set a schedule on the tasks and time required to complete
the report.
• Give the report a clear heading
• Arrange the information in a logical order for example
accurate details, logical conclusion and recommendations (if
any)
• Plan the lay-out carefully, pay attention to headings and
paragraphs
Writing style
• Use indirect speech except for personal reports.
• "What time does the train arrive?" she asked = She asked
what time the train arrived.

• Recommended to use third person. This creates an

appropriate sense of distance or formality between the
reader and the writer.
• ‘I (or we) have verified that all the results are included in
the report’ = ‘It has been verified that all the results are
included in the report’
• First person – I, me, we
• Second person – You
• Third person – He, she, they, them
• Use an Active Voice
• Voice, in writing terms, refers to whether the subject of the
sentence acts or receives the action.
• In active voice, the subject does the action; for example:
‘The manager recommended an investigation’.
• In passive voice, the subject receives the action; for example:
‘An investigation was recommended by the manager’.
• Use Correct Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
Essential Components of Technical
Reports
(a) Short report
• Title page
• Introduction
• Discussion
• Recommendations
• References
(b) Science (scientific) report
• Title page
• Introduction
• Method & materials
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Appendices
• References
(c) Business report
• Title page
• Executive summary (or abstract)
• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Recommendations
• Appendices(subsidiary matter or material)
• References
1. Cover letter (Cover memorandum or
Letter of Transmittal)
• Gives an explanation of why you have written the report and
simultaneously gives the sender a permanent record of
having sent the material.
• Cover memorandum is used when the report is for internal
distribution.
• Letter of transmittal is used when the report is for external
distribution.It is a note or brief letter sent with report.
Examples of opening
paragraphs
• I submit herewith the annual hospital report…
• I present to you herewith the attached report of
monthly….
2. Title Page
• Should be descriptive enough to immediately provide
the reader with a concrete idea of the subject.
• Name of person or organization to whom the report is
being submitted.
• Name of person or organization submitting the report.
• The date of submission.
 3. Abstract (or Summary)
• This summarizes the contents of the report.
• It should include the purpose of the report, details of what
you have done, how you did it, the main findings, the
conclusions that were reached and any recommendations
that you make.
• Enable a potential reader to decide if they want to read the
whole of your report i.e., is your work relevant and of
interest to them
• Must be concise yet informative, word count between
200-250 (1 page)
• Abstract is written after the completion of the rest of
the report
4. Acknowledgments (optional)
• Acknowledgments precede the contents and should
be no longer than two paragraphs.
• This is where you acknowledge any help and support
you have received whether from your supervisor,
colleagues or external bodies
4. Table of Contents
• List all headings within your report exactly as they
appear in the body of your report.
• It enables the reader to locate information quickly.
• It enables the reader to comprehend the scope of the
report and its organization.
5. Introduction
• Contains preliminary information necessary for
understanding the data compiled in your report.
• It enables you to show that you have right information
about the subject and you are aware of the current
status
• Put into context why your work is useful.
• Brief statement of the report’s objectives.
6. Method & materials
• This section explains how you carried out your work.
• For example it will detail the particular research
methods you used, why you used a particular method
(justification) and how you analyzed your findings.
• Enough information for a knowledgeable person to
reproduce the results you are about to present.
7. Results
• Findings are presented as concisely and clearly as
possible
• Graphs, charts or diagrams may help the reader to
focus on the results
• Can also include problems encountered (depending
on the type of report)
8. Discussion
• This section discusses the results you have obtained
and reported.
• For example, were the results as anticipated or were
they unexpected?
• If there are any unexpected results or discrepancies
you should suggest reasons why they have occurred.
9. Conclusions
• In your conclusion you will need to explain how your
findings address the task or objective that you were
posed.
• Logical, clear final observations based on the findings
recorded in your text.
10. Recommendations
• Recommendations are:
• Actions not convictions
• Focus on the future
• E.g. you could suggest that your work is to be
repeated with more sensitive equipment, over a
longer time scale or with more funding.
11. References
• This will ensure that anyone who reads your report and
wants to see the material you have used will have
enough information to be able to find it.
• Includes all the sources of information that you have
referred to in your report.
• Entries should be listed alphabetically by author’s name, as
follows:
1. Kadeghe M. Communication Skills, Theory and Practice 3 rd.
Edition UDSM 2005.
2. Msafiri K.K How to Prepare Technical Reports. 2 nd Edition.
2015.
12. Appendices
• This is where you place supporting information such
as questionnaires.
• This ensures the material is available for those who
want to avail themselves of it (e.g. your Tutor).
• May be labelled in an alphabetic or numeric system
(but not a combination of both), for example
Appendix 1, Appendix 2 or Appendix A, Appendix B.
 Assignment
Prepare and submit an official quarterly (October-December 2017)
report on consumption of medicine (PHARMACY QUARTELY REPORT)
S/N Item Unit Price/unit Beginning Purchased Loss Donation Ending
balance received balance
1 Paracetamol tablets Tin/1000 10,000/= 100 100 6 50 12

2 Amoxicillin Capsule Tin/1000 50,000/= 100 100 10 50 4

3 Gentamycin Injection 10ML 2,000/= 1,000 200 0 600 120

Ampoule

4 Co-trimoxazole tablets Tin/1000 50,000/= 200 0 20 0 10

5 Ciprofloxacin Box/100 20,000/= 0 0 0 0 0

Assume the following
• You are the Acting in-charge of the Pharmacy department at the
Nyamagana District Council, P.O.BOX 635 Mwanza. A district referral
hospital.
• The pharmacy has five sections: STORE, OPD, IPD, CTC and NHIF.
Total number of pharmacy staff is 6 (2 pharmacist, 2 pharm tech and
2 pharm assistants)
• The number of patients that were attended was 3,000. Those with
NHIF were 1,600. Cash payment was 900. The rest were exempted
• The total amount of money generated from sales was 15,000,000/=
• Money received from government was 3,000,000/=
• You have established that the fault on the door of pharmacy store to
be the cause of loss through theft.
• Did your department performed well? Overall profit/loss? Any O/S?
• Submit the report to Regional Medical Officer of Mwanza, P. O. Box
214, Mwanza.