Technical report writing

Technical report writingEsther Pereapereae@lsbu.ac.uk

A technical report is a document whose purpose is to outline the solutions to a given problem, and make recommendations for future actions.It is an objective document based on facts, rather than on subjective or personal opinions.Three important aspects of a technical report will be covered in this handout: presentation, structure and style.

PresentationYour assignment should be a reflection of the quality and professionalism of your work.Remember that first impressions count and that this may be the only piece of work you may be submitting to this lecturer. Therefore, take pride in your work and show it off to the best of its advantage.The following simple steps should help you achieve this: Submit your report in a plastic folder. Do not staple or bind the pages as your work may be photocopied for quality monitoring/double marking. Submit your work on single-sided A4 paper, Use Arial or other sans serif font, 10 pt, justified and 1.5 line spacing Number the pages Include a cover page with your name, your student number, the unit title, the assignment title, the name of the lecturer the work is submitted to (check the correct spelling of their name), the date of submission and London South Bank University. Make sure you proof read and spell check your work

Structure* * Please note that this is a generic structure for a technical report and that different assignments might mean the addition of new sections or the removal of some of these sections.A technical report should include the following sections: Cover Page As detailed in the previous section Contents page Headings and page numbersRemember to include appendices and references AbstractStates the purpose of the report. Should be between one paragraph and one side of A4 in length. You might consider writing this section last. Introduction / BackgroundThe information in this sections helps put the report in context Main Body of the report The headings for this section are report-specific. You will have to decide the headings according to the brief for your assignment. DiscussionWhat is significant about the results obtained? Conclusion What have you concluded from the results?Include recommendations for future work. ReferencesUse the Harvard referencing system [Ref library helpsheet]Reference all sources and credit all images Appendices Include all non-essential information here. Make reference to the appendices in the main body of the report.

Style Consider who the audience for the report is and tailor the writing to them. Remember that you are writing a technical document. Your statements should be backed by facts, and not based on personal opinion or feelings. Do not try to write the entire report at once. Start with an outline of the sections and what information might be included in each of them. Once you have completed the outline, write the first draft of the report and review it. If possible, get someone to read it and give you feedback. Write the final version of the report, refining the first draft and included feedback. The report should flow as a whole. Maintain logical linkage between sentences, paragraphs and sections. Use a readable style with concise sentences. Reduce the number of words used to the minimum needed to get your message across. Avoid flowery language. You are writing an objective piece of work, use the passive voice rather than the active voice.Active voice I carried out the experimentPassive voice The experiment was carried out The tense of the verb should change according to the type of statement being made:Past tense is used to describe the work done to come up with the findings presented in the report (example: three samples of the material were tested under operational conditions)Present tense is used to describe something that is eternally true (example: the sun rises in the morning) or to refer to what the reader is reading.Future tense is used for plans that extend into the future (example: future work will include the testing of a statistically representative sample under operational conditions)

Further reading and referencesHart, H. (2004) Introduction to Engineering Communication. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc. Langley, G. (2007) Report Writing handout. London South Bank University, CLTHE course 11

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