technical report writing assignment

Cookies on our website

We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use our site. And we'd like to serve you some cookies set by other services to show you relevant content.

Accessibility
Staff search
External website
Schools & services
Sussex Direct
Professional services
Schools and services
Engineering and Informatics
Student handbook
Engineering and Design
Study guides

Guide to Technical Report Writing

Back to previous menu
Guide to Laboratory Writing

School of Engineering and Informatics (for staff and students)

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, 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.

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.

A technical report should contain the following sections;

For technical reports required as part of an assessment, the following presentation guidelines are recommended;

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.

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.

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.

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;

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.

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;

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*log 10 (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)..."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
Davies J.W. Communication Skills - A Guide for Engineering and Applied Science Students (2nd ed., Prentice Hall, 2001)
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)

Updated and revised by the Department of Engineering & Design, November 2022

School Office: School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Chichester 1 Room 002, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QJ [email protected] T 01273 (67) 8195 School Office opening hours: School Office open Monday – Friday 09:00-15:00, phone lines open Monday-Friday 09:00-17:00 School Office location [PDF 1.74MB]

PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
EDIT Edit this Article
EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
Browse Articles
Learn Something New
Quizzes Hot
This Or That Game
Train Your Brain
Explore More
Support wikiHow
About wikiHow
Log in / Sign up
Education and Communications
Technical Writing

How to Write a Technical Report

Last Updated: September 28, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Christopher M. Osborne, PhD . Christopher Osborne has been a wikiHow Content Creator since 2015. He is also a historian who holds a PhD from The University of Notre Dame and has taught at universities in and around Pittsburgh, PA. His scholarly publications and presentations focus on his research interests in early American history, but Chris also enjoys the challenges and rewards of writing wikiHow articles on a wide range of subjects. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 84,847 times. Learn more...

Engineers, scientists, and medical professionals need to be good writers too—and technical reports prove it! A good technical report presents data and analysis on a specified topic in a clear, highly-organized, and effective manner. Before you begin writing, define your message and audience, and make an outline. Then, write the main body of the report and surround it with the other necessary sections, according to your chosen layout.

Technical Report Outline

Planning Your Report

Step 1 Establish the message you want to convey through the report.

For instance, you may want to convey the message that a new technique for extracting a particular chemical compound is both safer and more cost-effective.
The best technical reports remain clear and focused throughout—they have a specific purpose and convey the information in a logical order.
Work with advisors, supervisors, or colleagues to fine-tune the message and/or goal of your report. These can vary widely depending on whether the report is being produced for academic, business, or other purposes.

Step 2 Define your audience before you begin writing.

If others in your field will be reading the report, it can be more “technical” in language and detail. In many cases, though, technical reports are intended for those outside of your particular discipline. If so, cut back on the jargon for non-expert readers.
Consider having a non-expert friend look over your report throughout the process to give you feedback on its accessibility to a broad audience.

Step 3 Create an outline to follow while you write.

Determine which particular sections your report must or may have. Consult the person or organization to whom you’ll be submitting the report for any layout requirements.

Writing the Main Body of the Report

Step 1 Create a thorough but focused introduction to the report.

In most cases, the introduction will likely be 1-3 paragraphs in length.
The end of the introduction should clearly state what the report “does.” It might do so by way of a direct statement (“This report analyzes…”), or by providing a series of questions (which may in some cases be bulleted or numbered) to be addressed.

Step 2 Provide background information and/or a literature review in the next section.

Essentially, you want readers who may be new to the subject matter to feel like they have at least a rudimentary grasp of it after reading this section.

Step 3 Follow up with a clear and detailed project description.

If, for instance, your report is focused on a particular experiment, be specific on the way it was conceived, set up, and conducted.
This is sometimes called a “methods” section, since you are describing the methods used to conduct your research.

Step 4 Present your data and describe what it all means in the next sections.

It can be hard to determine how much data to present. Giving too little can significantly weaken your analysis and the overall report. Giving too much, however, can drown the reader in a sea of tables and figures. Make sure you provide all essential data, and err on the side of providing a bit too much unless otherwise instructed.
Present your data in a logical order, so that each table or figure leads into the next one.

Be as bold in your conclusions as your data and analysis permits you to be. Don’t use terms like “might,” “perhaps,” “could,” and so forth—write something like, “The data shows that…” However, don’t draw conclusions that aren’t supported by your data.

Adding Components in the Proper Layout

Step 1 Check for specific guidelines with your university, employer, etc.

Executive Summary
Table of Contents
List of Figures / List of Tables
Main Report: Introduction; Background / Literature Review; Project Description; Data / Description of Data; Conclusion
Acknowledgements

Step 2 Create a simple title page at the beginning of your report.

Write the abstract after you’ve written the actual report. You want it to be a condensed description of what you have written, not of what you intend to write.
Check to see if there is a specific word limit for your abstract. Even if there isn’t, 300 words is a good word limit to aim for.

Step 4 Create an executive summary that condenses the report by about 90%.

The executive summary should focus on your findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations, and allow the report itself to present the data—although highlights of the data should be provided.
Depending on your situation, you may need to write an abstract, an executive summary, or both.

Step 5 Draw up a table of contents, list of tables, and list of figures.

Check for any formatting guidelines for these sections. If the format is left up to you, keep things simple and straightforward.

Step 6 Follow the main body of the report with an acknowledgments section.

This section typically runs 1-2 paragraphs, and follows a fairly simple “The author would like to thank…” format.

Step 7 Include citations in the references section, using a consistent format.

In some cases, you may also be expected to provide a listing of works you have consulted but not specifically cited in the work. Check with the relevant department, organization, individual, etc., if you’re not sure. [13] X Research source

Use a consistent, easy-to-navigate format when creating appendices. They aren’t meant to be dumping grounds for random snippets of data or information.

Expert Q&A

About This Article

Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Nov 2, 2019

Did this article help you?

Featured Articles

115 Cute, Creative, & Funny Ways to Say “Thank You” Over Text

Watch Articles

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Do Not Sell or Share My Info
Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve

Academic Skills
Reading, writing and referencing

Technical reports

A resource to writing technical reports in Engineering.

The main purpose of an Engineering technical report is to present a solution to a problem in order to prompt action. Technical reports provide a record of your developing expertise and are a legal record of your work and decision making.

What is a technical report?

Technical reports are a central part of your professional success and are usually designed to:

Convince the reader of your position
Persuade them to act, or
Inform them of your findings.

They are an opportunity for you to:

Clearly communicate a solution to a problem
Recommend action, and
Aid decision making.

Technical reports are designed for quick and easy communication of information, and use:

Sections with numbered headings and subheadings, and
Figures and diagrams to convey data.

How do I structure a technical report?

Regardless of the specific purpose of your technical report, the structure and conventions rarely differ. Check your subject requirements and expand the sections below to learn more about each section. Download a Technical Report template here.

Technical reports usually require a title page. To know what to include, follow the conventions required in your subject.

A technical report summary (or abstract) should include a brief overview of your investigation, outcomes and recommendations. It must include all the key information your reader needs to make a decision, without them having to read your full report. Don’t treat your summary as an introduction; it should act as a stand-alone document.

Tip: Write your summary last.

Help your reader quickly and easily find what they are looking for by using informative headings and careful numbering of your sections and sub-sections. For example:

A technical report introduction:

provides context for the problem being addressed,
discusses relevant previous research, and
states your aim or hypothesis.

To help, consider these questions:

What have you investigated?
How does your study fit into the current literature?
What have previous studies found in the area?
Why is it worth investigating?
What was the experiment about?
Why did you do it?
What did you expect to learn from it?

The body of a technical report is structured according to the needs of your reader and the nature of the project. The writer decides how to structure it and what to include.

To help, ask yourself:

What does the reader need to know first?
What is the most logical way to develop the story of the project?

Tip: look at other technical reports in your discipline to see what they’ve included and in what order.

Technical reports include a mixture of text, tables, figures and formulae. Consider how you can present the information best for your reader. Would a table or figure help to convey your ideas more effectively than a paragraph describing the same data?

Figures and tables should:

Be numbered
Be referred to in-text, e.g. In Table 1 …, and
Include a simple descriptive label - above a table and below a figure.

Equations and formulae should be:

Referred to in-text, e.g. See Eq 1 for …
Centred on the page, and
On a separate line.

Your conclusion should mirror your introduction.

Be sure to:

Refer to your aims
Summarise your key findings, and
State your major outcomes and highlight their significance.

If your technical report includes recommendations for action. You could choose to report these as a bullet point list. When giving an answer to your problem, be sure to include any limitations to your findings.

Your recommendations can be presented in two ways:

Action statements e.g. Type approval should be issued for tunnel ventilation fans.
Conditional statements e.g. If fan blades are painted with an anti-corrosion coating system, it is likely that… e.g. The research has found that the fan hub should be constructed from forged steel and the fan housing should be constructed from hot dipped galvanised steel, but future research…

Acknowledge all the information and ideas you’ve incorporated from other sources into your paper using a consistent referencing style. This includes data, tables and figures. Learn more about specific referencing conventions here: https://library.unimelb.edu.au/recite

If you have data that is too detailed or lengthy to include in the report itself, include it in the appendix. Your reader can then choose to refer to it if they are interested. Label your appendix with a number or a letter, a title, and refer to it the text, e.g. For a full list of construction phases, see Appendix A.

Looking for one-on-one advice?

Get tailored advice from an Academic Skills Adviser by booking an Individual appointment, or get quick feedback from one of our Academic Writing Mentors via email through our Writing advice service.

Go to Student appointments

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical and Report Writing

Bay College

Learning Objectives

What is Technical Writing? [1]

You’re probably wondering what this “technical writing thing” is. Someone may even have told you, “It’s this course where they make you write about rocket science and brain surgery.” Well, not really, as you will see in a moment. Actually, the field of technical communication is essential in a wide range of fields and occupations. It is a fully professional field with degree programs, certifications, and—yes!—even theory. It’s a good field with a lot of growth and income potential; and an introductory technical-writing course for which this book has been developed is a good way to start if you are interested in a career in this field .

Technical writing is an audience-centered means of communication that provides a reader with clear and easy access to information. In the business world, time equates to profit, and profit is the force behind all business interaction. The technical writer and reader have a vis-à-vis relationship. The writer recognizes, respects, and addresses the importance of time in effective and efficient communication by providing documents written in specific formats, using unambiguous language to send clearly accessible information. The reader in turn thoroughly understands the information in order to give a thoughtful response.

The Meaning of “Technical”

Technical communication—or technical writing, as the course is often called—is not writing about a specific technical topic such as computers, but about any technical topic. The term “technical” refers to knowledge that is not widespread, that is more the territory of experts and specialists. Whatever your major is, you are developing an expertise—you are becoming a specialist in a particular technical area. And whenever you try to write or say anything about your field, you are engaged in technical communication .

Academic Writing Versus Technical Writing

The definite purpose, strict format and use of appropriate language in technical writing define the differences between technical writing and academic writing. The academic writer’s purpose may be to write an assignment, a story, a letter, etc.. These works may or may not have a reader. However, technical writing always has a definite purpose and will always have a reader. Regardless of the number of the intended readers of a document who may or may not read the document, the document will be read by the primary reader.

Workplace Writing

However, the focus for technical-writing courses is not necessarily a career as a technical writer but an introduction to the kinds of writing skills you need in practically any technically oriented professional job. No matter what sort of professional work you do, you’re likely to do lots of writing—and much of it technical in nature. The more you know about some basic technical-writing skills, which are covered in this guide and in technical-writing courses, the better job of writing you’re likely to do. And that will be good for the projects you work on, for the organizations you work in, and—most of all—good for you and your career .

Really Technical Writing

Keep relaxing, but you should know that professional technical writers do in fact write about very technical stuff—information that they cannot begin to master unless they go back for a Ph.D. But wait a minute! The technical documents have to ship with the product in less than nine months! How do they manage? Professional technical writers rely on these strategies to ensure the technical accuracy of their work:

Study of books, articles, reports, websites related to the product
Product specifications: what the product is supposed to do, how it is designed
Interviews with subject matter experts: the product specialists, developers, engineers
Product meetings during the development cycle
Live demonstrations of the product
Familiarization with similar, competing products
Experimenting with working models of the product
Most importantly, subject matter experts’ review of technical writers’ work for technical accuracy and completeness

Of course, experienced technical writers will tell you that product development moves so fast that specifications are not always possible and that working models of the product are rarely available. That’s why the subject matter experts’ review is often the most important.

Considerations of Technical Documents

There are key components of what makes a document strong. Therefore, writers keep these items in mind while constructing technical documents.

The Importance of Audience

Another key part of the definition of technical communication is the receiver of the information—the audience. Technical communication is the delivery of technical information to readers (or listeners or viewers) in a manner that is adapted to their needs, level of understanding, and background. In fact, this audience element is so important that it is one of the cornerstones of this course: you are challenged to write about highly technical subjects but in a way that a beginner—a nonspecialist—could understand. This ability to “translate” technical information to non-specialists is a key skill to any technical communicator. In a world of rapid technological development, people are constantly falling behind and becoming technological illiterates. Technology companies are constantly struggling to find effective ways to help customers or potential customers understand the advantages or the operation of their new products .

Not only is the the level at which you write important but so are the language choices you make as you do so. Please review the information on the following link for tips: Use Language that is Sensitive to Your Audience [2]

So relax! You don’t have to write about computers or rocket science—write about the area of technical specialization you know or are learning about. Also, plan to write about it in such a way that even Grandad can understand !

Formatting and Language

Formatting and appropriate language are the basic design elements of all technical documents. A format that shows a hierarchical structure and a coordinate structure of information le ads the reader thorough text.

Readers should be able to identify a writer’s organizational pattern very quickly when reading a technical document . This sometimes refers to a document being “reader friendly.” In addition , using appropriate language is significant in providing the reader with a thorough understanding of the purpose of the document, how the document relates to the reader’s needs, and what action is expected of the reader. [3]

A document may also have one reader (the primary reader) or several readers (the secondary readers). A primary reader is the person who ordered the report to be written or the person for whom a report is intended. These readers will usually read the entire report. Secondary readers are those readers who will read only the sections of the report that relate to them, their jobs, their departments, responsibilities, etc. For example, if a report was sent that detailed funding for different departments, a piping superintendent may only want to read the section that relates to piping. This is where format, the use of headings, is significant in allowing the reader easy access to information. When the piping superintendent can scan through the document and clearly find the heading that identifies his department saves time.

Cultural Communication

Technical writers need to be aware of the differences between the behavior and the norms, beliefs and values of specific cultural. According to Edward T. Hall and Mildred Reed Hall, In Understanding Cultural Differences, each culture operates according to its own rules (1990, pp. 3-4). Hall and Hall add that problems occur when members of one culture apply the rules to another culture (1990, pp. 3-4). To communicate effectively with other cultures, the technical writer needs to not only be aware of rules governing behaviors that can be observed but also of the not-so-obvious rules that govern the norms, beliefs, and values of the people of a culture. The invisible rules of a culture dramatically impact the acceptance of ideas, plans, and strategies. The Cultural Iceberg illustrates patterns of world communication, showing indicators of Institutional Culture (the obvious behavior of a culture), which can be clearly seen as the tip of the iceberg, and People Culture (the norms, beliefs and values of a culture), which cannot be seen and which are the barriers to successful communication .

Figure 2 The Cultural Iceberg

The Cultural Iceberg. Awareness is the top part of the iceberg. It includes Institutional Culture/Behavior such as government, education, economy, language, and laws. The hidden part of the iceberg is Unawareness of people's culture/cultural norms, values, and beliefs. It includes the concepts of time, space, and humor; intelligence; status; competition/cooperation; and theory of past and future.

Technical writers have a responsibility to their readers and to their employers to follow ethics when writing reports.

Technical writers must use words that demonstrate valid appeals to reason, avoiding emotional words and phrases that appea l to basic emotion instead of justifiable reasoning. In addition, technical writers must use valid references to support ideas and strategies, avoiding referencing non experts to sway readers’ support. Also, technical writers must use accurate numbers to report data, avoiding charts and tables that skew data. Using any type of fallacies in technical writing is unethical and could result in dire consequences.

Not only do technical writers have a responsibility to report accurate information, but they also have a responsibility to credit accurate sources of information. At no time is it acceptable to rearrange information in order to attempt to indicate that the writer is the source of someone else’s idea or to indicate that the writer read a report that included information he/she cited, when the primary source of the information was cited in another report. All sources must be referenced accurately in the text and cited on a reference page.

Daniel G. Riordan (2005), in Technical Report Writing Today, cites Dombrowski to define three threads of ethics:

One major thread is that the communicator must be a good person who cares for the audience. Communicators must tell the truth as convincingly as possible, because truth will lead to the good of the audience. Another thread is that the communicator must do what is right, regardless of possible outcomes. A third thread is that communicators must act for the greatest good for the greatest number of people (p. 16) .

In addition, Riordan (2005) references the “code of ethics of the Society for Technical Writers, and cites five of the code’s tenants:

My commitment to professional excellence and ethical behaviors means that I will …

Use language and visuals with precision.
Prefer simple direct expression of ideas.
Satisfy the audience’s need for information, not my own need for self-expression.
Hold myself responsible for how well my audience understands my message.
Report the work of colleagues, knowing that a communication problem may have more than one solution (Riordan, 2005, pp. 15-16) .

Hall, E. T. & Hall, M. R. (1990). Understanding Cultural Differences. Yardmouth: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Riordan, D. G. (2005). Technical Report Writing Today. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Visuals & Readability

To make a document more reader friendly, many technical writers rely on visuals to achieve this goal. [5] For example , la bels, callouts and captions are identifying text for graphics . Labels and callouts identify specific elements or features on a graphic; whereas captions are short phrases or sentences that describe the graphic. Notes, or footnotes, explain, or give credit.

Labels and Callouts

To identify specific elements or features, labels and captions are placed directly on the graphic or near it. “Although the terms are used interchangeably, labels are text identifiers that are self-explanatory in an image, while callouts are labels that require further information outside the image to explain what they are identifying” (Gurak 304). They supplement the visual information. But use them selectively; use them only if readers need them (Rude 116).

The advantage of labels is that the reader gains a basic understanding of elements in the graphic without referring to supplementary explanations. But, too many labels obscure the image. In this case, callouts are the better option. Use numbers or letters to identify each element and the supplementary explanations.

Guidelines for Creating Labels and Callouts

Determine the number of items to identify in the image (Gurak 308).
Estimate how much explanation each item requires to determine if labels or callouts are more appropriate (Gurak 308).
create a consistent visual style (Gurak 308)
use the same terms on the label or callout as in the text (Rude 116)
in general, all parts mentioned in the text should have a label or callout, and all parts with a label or callout should be mentioned in the text. (Rude 116)
Use a standard font and size for readability (Rude 116)
Align the labels and callouts for a neater appearance (Rude 116)
If callouts are used, place the explanatory text in a key next to the graphic.

Labels can take different forms (Gurak 304 – 306):

They may be placed directly on the graphic (whereby they become part of the graphic).
They may be placed around the graphic and use lines to point to the relevant element in the graphic.
Online, labels can be links or hotspots whereby more information about the element is displayed on mouse rollover.

This is an example of l abels placed directly on the graphic.

Map of Central Park with labelled streets and park areas.

Figure 3 Map of the West Side Central Park, NYC between 102nd and 110th Streets.

Here, the labels are placed around the graphic.

Drawing of a flower with all parts labelled with lines to their placement on the drawing.

Figure 4 Parts of a flower.

In this sample, when the mouse is rolled over the ‘Firebox’ label, the text will read: “Literally a box containing the fire. It is surrounded by water on the top and all sides. The bottom is a grate with an ash pan below that.” Additional information is displayed .

Anatomy of a steam locomotive. Each part of the train is labelled with a line to the part.

Figure 5 Labels as hotspots.

Callouts are best used when many parts of the image need to be labeled and each part requires a longer explanation. In fact, the label sequence may be in alphabetical or numerical (as in Figure 6) order. Ensure that the explanation is near the graphic.

Sample Nutrition Facts label from Macaroni and Cheese. Call outs on the left side point to different parts of the label, such as Start Here, Check Calories, Limit these Nutrients, Get Enough of these Nutrients, Footnote, and the Serving Size.

Figure 6. How to understand and use the Nutrition Facts Label.

Coded callouts are in numerical sequence; the explanation for each number appears below the graphic. The example above shows part of the explanation of Number 1 explanation only.

Captions, table, and graphics titles must clearly identify information to the reader. Interpretive captions usually require one or more sentences. Captions should be informational, without becoming too lengthy. Captions that are merely a title for a graphic are not very helpful (Franklin 96).

Writing Style for Captions

Captions for graphics include the title and any explanatory material, immediately under the graphic.
Words such as Figure, Illustration, and Table should be in bold type.
The caption should be italicized.
Treat tables and figures the same.

Good captions are what guide readers not only to see, but also to understand. Captions label graphics with titles and explain to readers what they are seeing, and how to interpret the information captured in the visual. The Franklin Covey Style Guide for Business and Technical Communication provides an excellent source for writing captions (Franklin 39 – 41).

Five Specific Style Rules

Use interpretive captions whenever possible. I nterpretive captions provide both a title and explanatory information, usually expressed in a complete sentence, to help readers understand the central point(s) that the writer wants to convey. A graphic and its caption should be clear and understandable without requiring readers to search for clarifying information in the text:
Figure 4. Cabin-Temperature Control System. Constant cabin temperature control is maintained by the system’s modulated cabin sensor.
This interpretive caption gives the title and then tells the reader the principle message – that the check valve provides near-zero risk. And, it states how the check valve provides near-zero risk (Franklin 39).
Figure 23. Check Valve . The risk of bad air entering the changer is near zero because the check valve permits air flow in one direction only.
This interpretive caption gives the title of the figure and emphasizes that the cabin has a constant temperature – a benefit provided by the feature described in the figure. The caption states clearly what the writer wants the reader to learn from the drawing (Franklin 39).
Avoid using short, often ambiguous, titles to replace interpretive captions. In the past, styles for technical and scientific documents used only short, simple title captions for visuals. These were often superfluous, providing no real information other than the obvious to the reader, i.e. – A Horse. Titles that are so short and cryptic that they sound telegraphic are not useful. Such captions are only useful when the graphics are self-explanatory, and require no interpretation (Franklin 40).
Number figures and tables sequentially throughout the document, and place the number before the caption. If an important figure or table is presented twice, treat it as two separate visuals and number each. Figure and table numbers should be whole numbers (Franklin 40).
Captions may appear below or above a visual, but consistency throughout a document is critical. Arguments support both options; choose one, warrant your choice, and be consistent.
Put the caption above the visual for better visibility when captions are used with slides and other project visual aids. Captions placed at the bottom may be blocked by the heads of those seated in front (Franklin 99).

Notes or footnotes are categorized as either explanatory or source notes. Explanatory footnotes are identified by a superscript number or letter. The order in which notes appear is important; explanatory footnotes are placed above source notes. And both are placed above the caption, if the caption is placed at the bottom of the illustration.

A pie chart about Toxic Chemical Releases. Below the chart, a footnote is listed with a source note and caption.

Figure 7. Placement of footnote, source note and caption.

Source: Rude, p. 115, modified.

The Writing Process [6]

Writing, especially when compiling a larger document, is not something you sit down, complete in one session, and quickly submit. This is especially true when writing for the workplace where accuracy and clarity are necessary. In fact, writing should be seen as a process that is recursive where the writer moves in and out of various stages of writing and often times revisits some of the stages. The writing process might consist of the following:

This is the planning done before writing a document. It may be defining the purpose of the task, analyzing the primary and secondary readers, sketching the document and what will go in each section, or gathering research.

This is writing and compiling a first draft of the document. Sometimes, the writer worries more about getting ideas down more than guaranteeing every punctuation or grammar choice is correct.

When a writer revises, a writer revisits the draft and makes substantial changes to it. This is more than editing. It is adding, deleting, and moving entire sections of the document around to prepare it as a final, comprehensive document. In fact, it is here that many writers ask others for feedback before revising to ensure that another, unbiased set of eyes have looked over the document and easily understand it.

This is the final part of the process. It is reading through the document several times while looking for clarity, consistency, and accuracy. In fact, consider reading your document aloud and listening to it as you do so instead of reading and “seeing” it. Most individuals communicate mostly through talking and listening. Therefore, when you read aloud, you can hear if something in your document doesn’t sound right and then correct it. You should be able to read it in a way that it is understandable and sounds conversational.

For additional information on the writing process, visit The Writing Center website for the University of Texas: University of Texas Writing Center & The Writing Process .

Using a process in the workplace and in our class will strengthen your documents significantly. In fact, remember that your documents reflect on who you are as student, technical writer, employee, and even researcher.

[1] Technical Writing. Authored by : Dr. Elizabeth Lohman. Provided by : Tidewater Community College. Located at : http://www.tcc.edu/ . Project : Z Degree Program. License : CC BY: Attribution , edited by Amber Kinonen , edits included in italics

[2] Use Language that is Sensitive to Your Audience. Provided by : Writing Commons. Located at : http://writingcommons.org/open-text/collaboration/143-common-comments/word-choice-/575-use-language-that-is-sensitive-to-your-audience . License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives edited by Amber Kinonen , edits included in italics

[3] Image of Textbook. Authored by : Dominik Wagner. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/eoAvCb . License : CC BY: Attribution

[4] Image of Text with Watch. Authored by : Stephen Wu. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/tZ1LP . License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

[5] Norbert Elliot’s “Labels, Callouts, Captions and Notes” CC-BY Saylor, edited by Amber Kinonen , edits included in italics

[6] The Writing Process CC-BY Amber Kinonen

Share This Book

Technical Writing

(28 reviews)

Annemarie Hamlin, Central Oregon Community College

Chris Rubio, Central Oregon Community College

ISBN 13: 9781636350653

Publisher: Open Oregon Educational Resources

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Amine Oudghiri-Otmani, Instructor, Marshall University on 10/15/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text offers a good amount of instruction (though at times limited) underlying effective workplace and technical writing/communication. Having personally examined a number of technical writing materials, this is by far one of the very few texts that incorporate a section about texting. Freshman students will benefit from this introductory-level text and will appreciate the authors' emphasis on conventional technical documents including emails, letters, memos, reports, and proposals. The textbook, however, may not satisfy the needs of students in advanced technical writing courses looking for guidance on complex documents beyond the conventional ones identified here. Visual representation of information could be improved, and the organization of chapters could be more strategic. A separate section about reports with important introductory information, for instance, could precede the progress reports and technical reports sections.

Content Accuracy rating: 2

A full citation guide is not provided, which may not reflect well on the credibility of the authors and/or the accuracy of the information provided. The attribution information at the end of each chapter is the only reference provided, contradicting the authors' recommendation to support one's writing with material from outside research.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Although the materials are relevant to orthodox technical writing contexts, the text could benefit from a separate section that introduces writing in the digital world to reflect the evolving nature and changing landscape of technical communication. As part of the additional section, for instance, the authors could discuss potential similarities/differences between documents produced traditionally (e.g., pencil and paper, in addition to those developed by means of regular Word processor) and those produced digitally using various contemporary media. Similarities and/or differences could be discussed in light of prose and rhetorical strategies, among others.

Clarity rating: 5

The authors use simple, clear, and easy-to-understand prose. After all, sentence structure in technical writing is expected to be short, concise, and to the point. This text fits under this category of direct and unambiguous language. In addition to the authors identifying and covering essential technical terminology, the reader will appreciate the combination of descriptive (i.e., regular declarative) and direct (i.e., imperative, instructional) language. The memo, for instance, "has a header that clearly indicates who sent it and who the intended recipients are," and the reader is asked to "always consider the audience and their needs when preparing a memo."

Consistency rating: 4

Consistency is off a few times throughout the text. At the beginning of the first chapter, "Professional Communications," for instance, the authors write, "From text messages to reports, how you represent yourself with the written word counts." In this first chapter, however, only texting, emails, memos, and letters are discussed. Reports are mentioned only briefly under the cover letter to a technical report section, but no prior background about reports is provided.

Modularity rating: 5

Consistent use of headers and special highlights (e.g., boldface, etc.) helps chapter sub-sections and other important information stand out. The headings and sub-headings minimize potential distractions or other inconsistencies in modular presentation of chapter content.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Chapter organization throughout the text consists of introduction and discussion. A conclusion in which a general, targeted final reflection is provided, however, is missing. Although the same chapter structure is used throughout the text, which will help keep the reader focused as they navigate subsequent chapter content, the authors could discuss chapter presentation, structure, and framework prior to the first chapter. The introduction section could benefit from a few sentences previewing this across-the-board structure.

Chapter lineup could also be more strategic. The chapter "Ethics in Technical Writing," for instance, could go first before "Information Literacy" and "Citations and Plagiarism."

Interface rating: 4

Readers may be distracted by the number of blank pages at the end of chapters. Readers looking to print individual chapters with ample text on each page (or those simply interested in saving trees by minimizing the number of pages printed in multiple jobs) may be disappointed. Text navigation and individual chapter selection, however, are made easy thanks to the hyperlink attached to each line/item under "Contents." Readers looking to go to a specific chapter do not need to engage in much scrolling and are given the opportunity to jump straight to the specific chapter or chapter sub-section by clicking the link.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

No grammar errors have been detected. The authors' occasional use of the "conversational" tone may not be an issue, especially in terms of deciding whether the language matches the universal, agreed-upon conventions of technical writing. The textbook being an introduction to technical writing is meant to provide a general overview of the field, and technicality at the clause level is not required. The latter is expected to be a feature of advanced-level texts. The authors, however, could consider adding a separate section that discusses style and tone (in addition to orthodox grammar/sentence structure error patterns like splices, fragments, etc.). That the language used in the text may not match the conventions of technical writing - in terms of style and tone - could also be emphasized.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Chapter 13, "Communicating Across Cultures," introduces the reader to the importance of considering the variety of cultures and culture uniqueness (and peculiarity) in technical communication, which I believe does the job. Advanced-level texts may delve deeper into the requisite component of culture and culture sensitivity in both drafting certain technical documents and deciding on the style/tone to be used, context dependent. This textbook subscribes to the general/introductory category in this (i.e., discussion of culture) respect.

Reviewed by Sylvia Hayes, English Instructor, Midlands Technical College on 7/26/21

This book is concise and covers an array of Technical Communication topics and genres. This text provides flexibility in the fact that it focuses on Technical Communication for a more generalized audience and therefore this would work well as a Technical Communications text for a First-Year Writing course at a 2 or 4-year college. The organization of the section is not very logical, luckily most instructors do not use textbook chapters in order. The text could use more examples for students in the medical and legal fields. It could use more visual support within the chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The information presented in this text is accurate, error-free, and unbiased; however, there are no references to original sources for most of the content.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content of this text is written so students can use the information in many different technical communication settings.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is clear, the prose is accessible and it defines and provides adequate context for concepts college-level students may find unfamiliar. There are multiple instances of the text directing you to a hyperlink to another resource that explains the concept in more depth. However, the text does not model the level of clarity necessary for technical communication. There are various sections that are underdeveloped and need more graphics and examples.

Consistency rating: 3

Due to the sheer number of contributing authors, it is hard to create a consistent framework for the chapters. They each seem to be designed by the separate contributors in ways that make sense to them and are not uniform to the book. In terms of terminology, the text is consistent.

Modularity rating: 3

This text is broken up into sections and subsections, that can be assigned at different points within a course. As the organization of the chapters is chaotic, I believe most instructors would have to move sections around as assign them individually instead of starting at chapter 1 and working through the textbook.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 1

The organization of chapters is confusing. Why are citations in between Proposals and Progress Reports? Chapters refer to students learning of concepts found later in the textbook.

Interface rating: 2

Not all sections are set up the same, which makes it harder to navigate and find information. In some versions of the text, you can't see the graphics. You cannot search the text using normal search indicators "AND," "NOT," etc. this makes searching this text much more difficult than some others. Why are there so many blank pages in the PDF, if someone was to print the text they would waste about 1/4 of the pages.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

There weren't any noticeable grammatical errors. The sentence structure is varied, however, there were some long, wordy, confusing sentences. The tone is very casual and not professional.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

There is no culturally insensitive or offensive language in the text, however, the text is not inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in its examples or images.

Reviewed by Mary Larsen, Instructor, Pittsburg State University on 5/14/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook highlights important components of technical writing, including various forms of technical writing in the workplace and also approaches to audience analysis, graphics, and ethics within the writing of these documents. This text also includes information about resumes and employment, which is very applicable to technical writing and provides readers with a dual layer of content.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content within this text is accurate and mostly error-free. The content is based off of multiple authors rather than one single-viewpoint, which provides additional insights into topics versus only one limited view. Content is cited and derived from David McMurrey, who has experience and a plethora of knowledge in all aspects of technical writing.

The text is relevant to writing in the workplace as it covers aspects of "netiquette," which is something technical writers will encounter more and more as workplace functions are moved more to online formats. The formats covered are also frequently used forms of communication in the workplace, such as email, letters, memos, proposals etc. This provides a large scope of relevant documents that readers could encounter when writing in the workplace.

This text is written in plain language and easy to read. Content is sectioned off pretty well for easier readability and there were few, if any, areas of jargon or overly technical language. Tips are provided in various sections that assist readers in actually applying the content.

Consistency rating: 5

How text and visuals are presented and the sense of organization of various chapters and sections are all consistently presented within.

Modularity rating: 4

Subheadings are used within for easier readability; however, content is text-heavy at times. Content jumps around some, but is otherwise organized into a logical progression of points (such as discussing audience and types of documents in the beginning and saving design and employment content for later in the text).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization follows a logical progression of ideas and concepts that would be presented within a technical writing course. The Table of Contents includes easily recognized sections and page numbers and each new section is noted at the top of the page. At times the images presented conflict with the text and spacing on pages, but is otherwise easy to attribute to the content pertaining to the image.

Interface rating: 5

Some of the images / videos are pixelated. The textbook includes links to videos and images that further touch upon the concepts of a chapter, which is very helpful and engaging. Images link to direct PDF files for easier access of a document. Seems to be some unnecessary space left on pages or between section changes.

Text is mostly free of grammatical errors, although a few minor grammar mistakes were present. For example, "insure" is used instead of "ensure" in Section 3.7.

Chapter 13 of the text is "Communication Across Cultures," which lends to its response to cultural sensitivity. The text seems to keep in mind readers of various races and backgrounds and uses relevant pop culture references that are inclusive. If anything, the textbook could incorporate aspects of gender in relation to technical writing in the workplace.

This textbook covers most all of the content I currently use in my own technical / professional writing courses and I am considering adopting this textbook in future courses that I teach.

Reviewed by Bjorn Smars, Career Instructor, University of Oregon on 7/2/20

As far as I can tell, this textbook does not include an index or glossary. However, each chapter is broken into separate sections with descriptive titles and headings, so navigating to specific concepts and ideas is not difficult without the use of an index. My only complaint about this text, at least in regards to its comprehensiveness, is that many of the sections or pages are underdeveloped or do not contain sufficient explanation and/or examples to illustrate important concepts. For example, the chapter on communicating across cultures provides useful tips that students can use to think critically about cross-cultural communication, but these suggestions are limited in that they are designed to apply broadly to most situations in which cross-cultural communication occurs and therefore do not offer clear guidelines or practical strategies for students to learn about and identify a particular culture's communication norms.

As far as I can tell, the information presented in this text is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. The purpose of this textbook is to serve as an introduction to technical writing, and as such is designed to provide students with practical strategies for engaging in effective technical communication.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, most of the content in this textbook is written in such a way that it can be applied practically and broadly to a variety of situations in which students may find the need to engage in technical writing and/or communication. The focus is more on providing practical strategies and helping students develop critical thinking skills than it is about using a particular software.

The prose is clear and accessible to college-level readers, and unfamiliar concepts are either defined in-text by the textbook's authors or via hyperlink to another source. For example, in chapter "13.2 Understanding Cultural Context," the authors provide a link to a YouTube video that explains the differences between high-context and low-context cultures in more depth.

The textbook uses consistent terminology and frameworks throughout.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, the organization of the textbook is easy to navigate and understand. Each chapter is broken into separate sections with descriptive titles and headings. My only complaint is that there is some inconsistency between the lengths of each chapter's subsections. Some sections are very short (150-300 words max) while others are much longer, ranging in the 2,000-3,000 word range. That said, each section is clearly labeled, and the headings are highly descriptive.

See previous comment.

Each chapter's subsection has navigational arrows that allow the reader to move on to the next section easily, and the table of contents is easily accessible on every page. However, locating the table of contents may not be intuitive for some students, and some students may not know how to navigate through each chapter's subsections.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, this text could provide more examples to help students better understand cultural differences in terms of communication. More examples that are relevant to students attending one of Oregon's many colleges or universities would help to illustrate these cultural differences and provide students with a practical, real-world strategies for engaging with their peers, professors, and other folks from other cultures and/or regions.

Overall, I found this textbook very useful, though I had to supplement much of the information either with links to other sources or with material I developed personally. It's a useful and accessible introduction to technical writing for most undergraduate students, but it is not a comprehensive document and therefore may require the instructor to provide additional information or resources.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Aydelott, Part-Time Instructor, Lane Community College on 6/26/20

This text covers almost every topic that I would cover in a Technical Writing Class for generalized studies. A class geared toward a specific aspect of the field - engineering or a medical field, for example - would need to add material. This text... read more

The information is accurate, the citation guide up-to-date, and most material is relevant to any aspect of the field.

The content is almost all up-to-date. I would suggest adding a section on conference calls in the chapter on Professional Communications. That format has its own specific netiquette rules, ethics, and audience considerations. And conference calls, in a variety of formats, are increasingly essential to the working life.

Clear, common sense prose. The beginning of each chapter should probably be titled "Overview" or something similar, perhaps with a brief outline, for more clarity.

The book's structure changes with each format. I suggest that the instructor designate a preferred version for the class. Within the text, however, it becomes fairly easy to navigate through the material.

This text would be easy to assign in appropriate chunks for the students.

The text has a logical order, but I would assign the last chapters first since I usually begin with employment application materials and then cultural awareness almost immediately afterwards.

Interface is fairly straightforward and clear. Some of the videos, particularly in the beginning, are a bit referential to a specific course rather than to the topic in general.

Grammar has no problem. I wish, though, that a general chapter on grammar was included for the students.

I really appreciated the chapter on Communicating Across Cultures, but I wish it had been included earlier in the book. Perhaps a reference to Cultural Literacy within the chapter on Audience.

I'm confused about why the Open Textbook Library lists the book with only one author instead of the seven listed in the book itself.

Reviewed by Christopher Schott, Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Missouri - St. Louis on 4/23/20

This book really does cover a great deal of ground. However, I found the pacing and the organization of the section to be a little sporadic, especially if the book were to be read linearly by students. This may not be a serious concern as, especially in a digital format, the book can be navigated easily from topic to topic. Many chapters are short (some are quite detailed, though), which can be a real asset, but the lack of technical writing theory might be a concern for instructors looking to balance practice with understanding approach. While the book does cover a great of texts that are useful for students studying engineering and computer science, it may provide fewer examples and cover less in terms of students looking for technical communication instruction in medical fields, journals, legal fields. Another issue, when it comes to comprehensiveness, is the lacking of exercises and assignments. For my own teaching, this is not an issue (I try to craft assignments that fit the culture of my students' academic programs), but I could see it limiting the use of this book for other professors who would like corresponding assignments and readings.

As a reader, this book seems unbiased to me. That said, there are some prescriptive outlooks on crafting documents that may lead a reader to believe there is a one-size-fits-all way to compose a text. For example, there is a recommendation that emails are limited to three paragraphs, which is a very narrow view of that genre (shouldn't it depend on the rhetorical context, audience, etc.?). Overall, the content in the book appears accurate, even if a little prescriptive at times. However, this can be remedied through instruction from the professor.

The information that is presented in this book is very similar (and in some cases, exactly the same) as the information I've been teaching for the ten years I've been teaching technical communication. Some concepts in this course, such as audience, purpose, tone, precision--these will forever be touchstones of any professional writing course, technical writing is no exception. I very much am happy to see a chapter on information literacy, which is honestly and unfortunately absent from a surprising amount of existing (and expensive) technical writing textbooks. Some of the information does seem to not work (some links, for example), which may hurt longevity, but the authors do note this might be a possibility when using the book.

This book is clear. As a technical communication text, I would hope it would be and I was happy to see the authors not utilize jargon, instead stick to very explicitly presented ideas, sentence structure, and offering simple language that will appeal to readers, make them feel smart, all while retaining the level of academic rigor a text like this needs.

The chapters in this book are all formatted relatively the same. This offers readers a consistent and predictive reading experience (which, in itself, is a valuable technical communication skill). Each chapter starts with a very useful introduction, leading nicely into the rest of the chapter. There are, at times, inconsistencies in how thoroughly topics are treated and covered, but that is to be expected with many textbooks.

This text seems to be designed for purposeful fragmentation in a course. By this, I mean that the text does not have to be read linearly to be useful for students. In fact, and this is something the authors may have had in mind when writing, but most textbooks are not read and interacted with linearly anyway. Chapters are skipped, brought back, and revisited. I think this is just fine and, in many ways, provides a more fruitful reading experience.

Along with the previous idea of Modularity, I do not think the text is perfectly organized. One could argue that a textbook should move from more simple to more complex concepts. However, I disagree and do not think this needs to be the case. Instead, while the chapters here might seem a bit out of order in terms of their "difficulty," to do seem to be ordered nicely in terms of some theoretical understanding (though, very little) into more genre-based writing. Because the text can function in ways that benefit the class, this is not an issue.

The book is incredibly easy to navigate and use. Some links are broken, which can be frustrating, but it doesn't distract from the usefulness of the book overall.

I did not notice any grammar and mechanical errors in the text.

Despite an opening comment in the Introduction that claims students will learn to write "in such a way that even Grandad can understand," a which is a bit insulting to grandpas everywhere (it's ageist), the book seems to be culturally respectful and appropriate. I am a big fan of the cultural sensitivity section in the book, which I think is very carefully and thoughtfully presented to readers. There are topics that can be included that were not. In technical communication, it's important to remember that standards are always changing in business and this will undoubtedly shift the way professionals communicate, interact, and write. For example, a section on language inclusivity would be useful.

I'm grateful for this book. The authors have really put together a text that is useful in terms of what it can do in different kinds of technical communication classroom. I've seen many different kinds of technical writing courses and they are all taught differently. It seems this book has the unique ability to fit many different kinds of teaching styles, learning environments, and student abilities--and the book's design and functionality allows for professors to be very malleable in their pedagogy.

Reviewed by Brian Ballentine, Professor, West Virginia University on 4/20/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

The book is being reviewed the book in the web PDF format. At least one other reviewer has noted that there are inconsistency issues across various formats in which the book is offered. The web PDF format functions as expected in Acrobat reader with the sidebar thumbnails and toc providing hyperlinks to specific pages and sections. This format does not have a much-needed index or glossary. The book does not have the same comprehensive content that a student would find in one of the large, mainstream, and admittedly costly technical communication texts by authors like Markel and Selber, Lannon and Gurak, or Anderson. There isn't enough or any coverage on important topics like instruction sets, technical procedures or definitions, user experience testing (including testing instruction sets and other technical documentation), and oral presentations. Documents like instruction sets are mentioned but only in passing. E.g., "Examples are one of the most powerful ways to connect with audiences, particularly in instructions" (2.3). There is content on preparing PPT slides but no content on giving a presentation.

The content does not cite original sources. Each chapter and even sub-section has author attributions for the book itself but rarely does it reference external sources. This becomes particularly obvious for writing instructors in parts of the book like chapter 14 that contend with genre, genre analysis, and genre systems but with no references to the writing scholars we attribute to genre studies (Miller, Bawarshi, Russell). This is not to say that the content is automatically inaccurate but one of the points the authors themselves make about the need to cite sources is the importance of using those sources to build confidence in the audience.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 1

The book opens with content on texting and email but then largely abandons digital communication platforms. Again, in larger technical communication textbooks instructors would expect to find chapters dedicated to "blogs, wikis, and web pages" and "social media" platforms as in offerings by Lannon and Gurak. A more contemporary text would no doubt include online collaborative tools and meeting platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams. The recommendation here would be to create a separate chapter or chapters dedicated to technology platforms with the idea that it would be easier to update in the future.

Clarity rating: 2

The writing is more conversational than professional. The book does not model the level of clarity needed for technical writers. E.g., section 9.2 on "Presentation of Information" begins with a longer paragraph that attempts to summarize the space shuttle Challenger disaster as an example of why clear communication is important. The textbook authors write: "Possibly the engineers were just poor writers; possibly they did not consider their audience; or possibly they did not want to look bad and therefore emphasized all the things that were right with the Challenger. (Incidentally, the O rings had worked fine for several launches.)" Edward Tufte's now famous case study of the Challenger contradicts this summary. The rocket company and its engineers did indeed make a no launch recommendation (their first in 12 years) precisely because they had data showing the O-rings failed in cold temperatures. It is moments like these in the textbook that give me pause.

Consistency rating: 2

The multiple authors on this textbook likely pose challenges for creating consistency across the project. For example, in the chapter dedicated to Proposals, the first section is titled "Some preliminaries" and it offers a narrative overview of proposals and the roles they may play. In the chapter dedicated to "Progress Reports," the first section offers "functions and contents of progress reports" that has just two bullet lists. Students like to become acquainted with a consistent format across a book's chapters so they know where to find answers/resources that they need, regardless of the topic.

The textbook does contain self-referential content but overall the chapters could be used in a modular fashion to supplement other learning materials/readings in a technical writing course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

Even if the textbook was designed to be modular, it is still prepared and presented in a specific order (with linked toc in the PDF version). Concepts of genre and genre analysis are presented as fundamental to understanding the writing process yet they come at the end of the text. Audience analysis comes much earlier (chapter 2) but not before texts, emails, and netiquette. Proposals are in chapter 3 but information literacy, including instruction on how to begin research for a proposal isn't until chapter 4. Organizing a textbook toc must be incredibly challenging but there are many models out there that overcome some of these organizational challenges.

Interface rating: 3

The PDF version of the textbook works as expected in terms of the links in the toc and the thumbnails visible in Acrobat. It can be challenging to orient yourself in the text especially because there are many pages with minimal content. The PDF version has 242 pages but I would recommend to students that they only print selectively as many pages are blank.

Despite having many authors (and some open source content), the book does not have an abundance of grammatical errors. As mentioned before, the more casual tone of the textbook does not help with modeling technical and professional communication. There are grammatical issues (or perhaps more stylistic issues) that could be edited. E.g., the book uses the opening phrase, "In other words..." ten times throughout the book. Overall, though, the book scores high in the grammatical category.

Chapter 13 is dedicated to "Communicating Across Cultures" and offers students an overview of "culture" as a term as well as some important guidance on global communication. The book does break some of its own advice in these sections with references to authors with no attribution. E.g., "Geert Hofstede views culture as consisting of mental programs, calling it softwares of the mind, meaning each person 'carries within him or herself patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting which were learned throughout their lifetime.'” This chapter could make more specific references to technical communication and globalization. A longer paragraph in 13.4 on intercultural communication uses sheep as an example when there are so many ways to talk about the importance of good technical writing in support of technical products and services when they go global.

I would like to thank all of the authors as well as David McMurrey for their efforts in writing and editing this open source textbook. I will likely use chapters or sections to supplement other course materials in an effort to save students money on textbook costs. It may be possible to pair chapters from this textbook with one of the smaller "handbooks" on technical communication out there. While the ratings here aren't overly high, the standard of comparison was challenging. I am looking for options to supplant one of the large, mainstream technical communication textbooks and that is a high bar.

Reviewed by Lars Soderlund, Associate Professor of English, Western Oregon University on 3/7/19

The book has a strong balance of topics. In addition to the mix of genres that it discusses, the book is also effective in its coverage of different aspects of writing such as audience, context, ethics, etc. read more

The book contains no inaccuracies as far as I could tell, nor any political or social bias.

The book is relevant in a way that seems sustainable. It is not at the cutting edge of technical writing technologies or software, but it is the sort of book that would have (and probably has) helped students a decade ago and will still be useful in another decade owing to its coverage of general topics and its emphasis on writing fundamentals.

The book is extremely easy to read, and should not hold any students back.

The book's format changes occasionally, probably owing to the various authors involved, but it is not especially noticable and does not affect the book in a negative way.

The book seems to have been designed for modular use, and indeed that is how I plan to use it in my future classes. The way that the book starts with a quick reference guide to genres and then moves into the big-picture writing theory is evidence that the writers want the book to be immediately useful.

The book's organization seems maximally effective for teachers and students. As I mentioned above, the book starts by covering genres with relative swiftness, then it digs into essential writing topics, and then it covers larger genres in more detail. It ends with a section on "Thinking About Writing" that is pretty clearly designed for more advanced readers, and I think that's an effective choice.

The book was extremely easy to navigate and to use.

The book is very well-written and contains no grammatical errors.

The book is fairly dry, and so I did not notice cultural issues that might be of note.

The book is very good, and I look forward to using it.

But I do want to say that although above the book got 5-stars across the board, I'm not sure if I would give it a perfect review if I were to rate it. Basically, I find that students seem to flourish when a class (and a textbook) regularly comes back to explicitly stated themes, and the book didn't necessarily have those. They were there (audience, genre, etc.), but they weren't really up-played in a way that students will definitely get.

Still, again, this is a very strong book and I plan to redesign my future Technical Writing class with it.

Reviewed by Kathryn Northcut, Professor, Missouri University of Science and Technology on 1/13/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 1 see less

The book is offered in various formats, and they aren't parallel. The organization of chapters in the web-native version defies logic. The expandable table is tricky to get used to because the hyperlink from the Chapter title goes to the chapter but the arrow on the right shows the subsections. It's hard to remember where you are as you navigate. I did not locate a glossary or index, and the book is not fully searchable in the web-native version because all sections can't be expanded onto one screen.

Content Accuracy rating: 1

Almost none of the content has references to original sources, and far too little theory is made explicit. Too much of the writing is chatty and conversational to provide a model of technical writing for university students.

The first section includes both platforms and genres. However, currently relevant platforms like Twitter are excluded from this section. Mixing platforms and genres seems odd logically. Later chapters jump between concepts and genres with no obvious logic to the order.

The style is accessible but not professional. The writing attempts to be engaging but is not rich enough in evidence, references, or good, contemporary examples for university students.

Consistency rating: 1

Unfortunately, the book consistently raises questions about whether these authors/editors have worked in technical contexts recently. Their advice seems to be off-base, including comparing omitting a conclusion to slamming down a phone on a caller. In fact, much professional writing starts with an abstract, executive summary, or cover sheet that obviates the need for a conclusion. The worst thing we can do in much scientific and technical discourse is build suspense and save the point, answer, or recommendations to the end. The way this book is designed and written does not seem to engage the exigencies of technical writing as I'm familiar with them. Other textbooks, whether consistent or not, provide better examples of practices from many industries to help prepare students from writing after college. This textbook focuses not just on the college experience, but on the Central Oregon Community College experience to the exclusion of other contexts.

Modularity rating: 2

The text does not contain modules that stand independently, despite appearing at the outset to be designed that way. Many phrases such as "as seen in the last section," make it difficult for students to follow what's happening. The videos address students in a single section writing a specific assignment and the content of the videos is not transferable to other contexts. The videos I viewed would not work in my courses, ever. Further, the textbook refers constantly to watered-down assignments that I would not assign. In my courses, students DO write a full proposal, not just an academic topic proposal. No one in industry writes topic proposals, so I would not teach that genre in my technical writing course. In fact, this textbook constantly focuses on the specific introductory assignments and methods at Central Oregon Community College, so a more ambitious, advanced curriculum would directly contradict the information in the textbook. If you wanted to teach your students to write proposals, you would be better off with online examples of successful proposals and top-of-the-head commentary than this textbook.

The organization of the textbook appears to be clear and clean, but gets difficult to manage once specific questions are asked, such as, "how should I assign readings to prepare my students for specific assignments?" One of my specializations is teaching proposals. This book doesn't handle proposal writing in a way that fits what I know of proposal writing outside of essay topic proposals used in composition courses. Why is information on Citations and Plagiarism after the chapter on proposals? Professional and academic proposals are robust documents which cite sources, so that background information would be useful earlier. Despite the textbook attempting to be modular, numbering chapters does suggest that there is a logic to the order. Non-numbered TOC might be a solution to this problem. In this book, short chapters are split up into tiny subparts, and navigation between them is tricky in the web-native version. Other Technical Writing/Communication textbooks, from Burnett's 2005 Technical Communication 5th Ed., to the current editions of Markel (and Selber) and Lannon (and Gurak) are superior in terms of internal logic, as is the Engineering Communication Manual (House et al) if the authors/editors need better examples of structure.

Interface rating: 1

I found the design appealing initially. Using it was confusing and there are many incompatibilities between the various versions available. The students would have difficulty locating the correct version of the textbook unless a PDF were provided to them by the instructor, and the PDF is problematic in terms of design and omission of content. In the web-native version, the sections are all very short and navigating to the next section requires clicking back and re-finding your place every time. Not having a "next section" button or arrow almost ensures that students will not complete the readings because they will think, incorrectly, that they are done with the (very short) chapter. The PDF version has many blank pages, making navigation cumbersome. The PDF document is much thinner than the large number of pages suggests. If a student were to print the PDF, much paper would be completely wasted and blank.

The conversational tone isn't ideal for educating students who will need to do technical writing in industry, but there are few overt typographic and spelling errors. The ones that exist are obvious and instructors can correct them if they use those chapters. Sometimes the authors refer to specific genres (like reports, in section 5.1) in a way that would confuse students (because writers cite sources in proposals, memos, and presentations, not just reports), and those errors should be addressed lest the students be misled about the conventions of the genres. Further, references to "your paper" and "paper" demonstrate lack of focus on rhetorical concepts of audience and purpose that should drive every technical communicator in every task. Most of our work is electronic/digital/online, so references to paper may not be incorrect, but they are largely archaic. When the authors refer to student assignments, they might call them "assignments," not "papers." The writing in section 5.2 needs editing. Overuse of "it" and "there" and back-referencing through pronouns ensures that students will have difficulty parsing the information. Further, students are seeing a poor example of a strong technical writing style because the sentences are written in a vague style that would lead to comprehension and translation errors. Further, the authors state that plagiarism is institution-specific, but that's only true in our academic bubble. In fact, plagiarism is an important IP (intellectual property) concern globally, so reference to international publication and copyright standards would be far more useful to students, who are students for 4 years or so, but professionals for up to 40 years.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

Ideally, the authors would employ a plain style to avoid usability problems for non-American-dialect users. In the section (2.1 types of audiences) about audience, an opportunity is missed by not getting into user profiles and usability theory. Contrary to what is stated, technicians do not always lack sophisticated theoretical knowledge. It is not true that executives are always the audience for whom our students will or should write. The lack of robust user-based terminology is a problem with this book. I wonder if any of the authors are currently active in the technical communication community or have worked in nonacademic technical environments on communication design tasks. If they have, I would implore them to use better industry examples and the jargon of writers in technical professions. The authors should also focus on plain language in this book, and exemplify it in their prose. Karen Schriver's work is a good starting point.

I recommend this book (only) to instructors at Central Oregon Community College, where it perhaps serves a useful, important purpose. Its structure and content is unsuitable for majors in professional fields including engineering and science, and therefore is not a good choice for instructors teaching at most institutions where the course is offered. The emphasis on MLA style demonstrates the limited appeal of the textbook (to English majors). To be clear, MLA is not used in a single industrial or professional context I am aware of, outside English departments and literature-oriented professions. No mention is made of IEEE, which is the largest professional society in the world and which publishes professional ethics and authorial style guides that many professionals will encounter. It's great to include APA, but that social-science emphasis should be balanced with another professional style such as ASME or IEEE. The authors may have heard this, because they mention ASME in section 5.1, but they give no examples of what ASME looks like in practice. I worry that this textbook potentially does a disservice to the technical communication field as well as to open-access materials, which should be of high quality and represent best practices based on an awareness of the range of communication tasks working professional undertake. David McMurrey's work was far more technical and usable in its time; I'm sad to conclude that this textbook does not build productively on his legacy.

Reviewed by Jennifer Wilde, Adjunct instructor, Columbia Gorge Community College on 12/18/18

The text does many things very well, but it is too uneven to be truly comprehensive. It will work best as an introduction to technical communication and business writing. It is less helpful, I think, to students going into health care fields and the social sciences. Chapters are brief and pragmatic, with no discussion of theory, no instruction on clarity or sentence structure, and little discussion of diction and style. The index is helpful; there is no glossary, but this does not seem to be an omission as there is little jargon used throughout the book. Some of the chapters are extremely brief and rudimentary, while others are detailed and nuanced. An example of the former is the section headed "Types of audiences", and an example of the latter is the section on ethics of technical writing. One of the earliest chapters is about texting. There are useful chapters dedicated to resumes, incident reports, proposals, and several other genres - and there is an interesting, though perhaps not as practical, discussion of genres in writing. Like most other technical writing resources, this book has nothing to say about case reports, medical or nursing notes, letters to the editor or position papers for professional and trade journals, all of which are pertinent to the daily work of many professionals in human services or advocacy. Another issue with the book is the lack of writing exercises and assignments. There are some areas with a "Try This" section, but not very many of them, and the assignments lack an assessment component.

The book seems unbiased, although some advice feels a little arbitrary, such as the recommendation to limit emails to three paragraphs. I do not find any errors of content. There is a technical error in the middle of the book, where the author refers to a graph about voting in Australia; that graph does not exist on the page but there is this editorial comment that was no doubt not intended for publication: [“How to vote…” – this image is on a blog that is CC-licensed but I don’t think the author used the image with permission. Is it possible to find a sub?] Who is who? Which Australian are we voting for?

Much of the advice will be appropriate forever: know your audience, know your purpose in writing, be respectful, be specific and clear rather than general and vague. The sections about how to present information visually are helpful: contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are given the unfortunate acronym CRAP (so no doubt the reader will never forget it!) I also appreciate the chapter on information literacy, which includes information on scholarly, professional and general publications. This includes trade journals, something that WR 121 classes tend not to mention but are important for technical writing students. Of course, there is some information about PowerPoint that is likely already past its best-buy date, but the authors discuss that and point the reader towards existing and upcoming technologies other than PowerPoint. I was able to see the video on the writing situation but not all of the other links worked. The authors include a caveat that not all links will work, so that seems fair, but a comprehensive resource would not rely on links to external sources with all their potential foibles.

The authors resist the temptation to use jargon, and they stick to simple sentence structures for the most part. In that sense, they exemplify the sort of simple, crisp (if unexciting) prose that technical communication strives for. There is abundant use of the colon to introduce lists, and the authors use bullet points frequently.

The book is highly consistent. Each chapter starts with a brief introduction to what comes in the sections included in the chapter. That means that the first segment of each chapter is extremely short, followed by more detailed segments. What is not consistent is the amount of time spent on various elements of technical writing, which, as mentioned in the section on comprehensiveness, varies quite a bit.

Chapters could be read out of order, and instructors can certain assign some sections and not others. I would be most inclined to use the chapters on ethical issues, research, and proposals. I think that's OK, but the book is almost too modular. Chapters do not relate to one another and the order in which they appear feels arbitrary. There is some redundancy - for example, the issue of audience is addressed repeatedly without adding anything new on the subject. I generally prefer a text in which each chapter leads logically to the material in the next chapter and adds to the student's understanding of technical writing, but there are advantages to a source like this, too.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book is highly modular and the chapters do not flow into one another. I'm not sure why the chapters are ordered this way. I would tend to put some basic information about what constitutes technical writing at the beginning, followed by some guidance around doing research and writing ethically, followed by chapters on different types of technical writing: texts, emails, case reports, letters, resumes, proposals, recipes, instruction manuals, position papers, abstracts, encounter notes from a visit or interview, letters to the editor, mini-biographies and autobiographies ("about the author"), annotations. I would include an appendix about conventions: when to use a colon, how to convey numbers, the rules of capitalization, and the like.

The navigation was extremely simple and easy to use. The charts and images that are used are minimal but every one is highly useful and easy to see. Some links are broken.

I am prone to noticing grammatical and punctuation errors, but nothing jumped out at me in this textbook.

There is an ageist comment about "so easy that Grandpa could understand it" in the early pages defining technical vs academic writing. There is a very thoughtful section on cultural sensitivity. The authors use an interesting example of cultural differences, using a world map to illustrate the different meanings of the color red in different countries. However, it seems like a serious omission to leave out a discussion of inclusive language. Things in that field are always changing, but the authors could provide information about where to find the most up-to-date recommendations on inclusive language, such as the acceptability of "they" as a singular personal pronoun for gender nonbinary people, and what language is appropriate to describe ethnic groups etc.

The book is quite well written and useful, but not comprehensive. I would love to see this text updated with more sections. Chapters on lab/case reports, medical/interview notes, abstracts, introductions, mini-biographies, position papers and letters to the editor would enhance this text and broaden its appeal to new audiences, especially social science/health care students. I would love to see sections on effective sentences, collaborative writing, inclusive language, and grammatical conventions. Finally, an effective text on this topic should include assignments along with discussion of how to assess the assignments.

Reviewed by Cynthia Kimball Davis, Chair of the Integrative & Interdisciplinary Studies (IES) Department, Southern Utah University on 8/2/18

Comprehensiveness - Appears to offer all of the standard technical writing topics with an excellent easy bulleted table of contents. It also contains an excellent index and glossary. read more

Comprehensiveness - Appears to offer all of the standard technical writing topics with an excellent easy bulleted table of contents. It also contains an excellent index and glossary.

Content Accuracy - Appears to provide accurate content.

Relevance Longevity - Information appears to fit the relevant longevity category with the exception of the Professional Communication chapter; however, that would be an easy update.

Clarity - Information is presented in a simple and clear format.

Consistency - Information was not found to be incongruent in any way.

Modularity - The text is laid out in chapters with clear and simple sub-headings underneath each one.

Organization Structure Flow - The flow of the text is easy to follow.

Interface - The images could be more ascetically pleasing to the eye. In come cases, it appears that a high school student made them. Investing in a graphic designer might make the graphics more ascetically appealing. Furthermore, breaking the text apart with colorful questions and answers, activities, quotes, etc., is suggested.

Grammatical Errors - There were no grammatical errors found.

Cultural Relevance - The text appears to be culturally sensitive of all races, nationalities and ethnicities.

A text I definitely want to consider for my Technical Writing course. :)

Reviewed by Adam Karnes, Adjunct Instructor, Linn-Benton Community College on 6/19/18

The book covers the typical range of topics for a technical writing guide. At times, the balance feels off. A significant amount of the length is dedicated to topics usually covered in other classes (including research, citations, outlining). I would have preferred to have more info about the modes typical to technical writing, but what the book has is useful. Also, while the book has examples, I would appreciate even more examples. The book has a dropdown menu with a table of contents and a search feature in the reader.

The book is accurate. I did not observe inaccuracies.

On the whole, the book is relevant and should remain so for several years without the need for updates.

One important consideration regarding relevancy is the thematic dominance of references to Oregon. While the frequent mention of things related to the Pacific Northwest does not limit the readability of the text, this reoccurring theme makes the book more relevant for readers from this area than from others.

The book is clear and written with appropriate vocabulary for the typical student of technical writing. The body of the text goes into an adequate depth in the explanation of key concepts. Crucial terms are adequately explained. Examples are frequently included, although even more examples would be a welcome addition. The book lacks a glossary, which would also be a helpful addition.

The text is adequately consistent from beginning to end, but at times the sections feel disconnected. In this respect, the text works well as a modular book with distinct sections. The various parts do seem separate, however. The crossover between chapters could be stronger. This is probably the case due to chapters being derived from other sources. The differences do not render the text unreadable, just lack cohesive than the average textbook.

This text excels as a modular work. The sections are distinct and could be read independently. Teachers can easily pick and choose between sections without assigning the entire text.

The order in which the book’s contents are presented is somewhat arbitrary. (The section on resumes, for example, comes at the end—in many technical writing texts, this would come at toward the beginning.) Still, the ordering of the text is not confusing.

Navigating the text can be slow, with lots of scrolling and clicking through. Some of the sections are particularly long, and can be tiresome to scroll through. However, the table of contents is accurate and helpful. The book also has a search feature.

The text has no grammatical errors. The overall quality of editing is high.

The text is geared towards an American culture. However, the text discusses at length the importance of audience awareness and cultural differences in writing, particularly applications that span multiple cultures.

The greatest value this book offers is the ease with which teachers can select limited portions to assign to students based on the class objectives. This could easily replace a standard technical writing textbook in many courses, particularly if other texts further supplemented the class.

Reviewed by Susan Engel, Instructor, St. Cloud Technical and Community College on 6/19/18

Although an index/glossary is not provided, the Table of Contents organizes the material and allows for readers to see the breadth of areas and subjects within the Technical Writing textbook. Topics common to technical writing courses are explored in this text and include an important section (4.6) on evaluating sources as well as sections on plagiarism and the importance of citing sources. Topics that could perhaps be added to the text include social media (LinkedIn in Chapter 12: Employment Materials, for example) and technical writing for web pages or using online technologies.

Overall, the content appears accurate, error-free, and generally unbiased. Figure 13 in Chapter 11.4, however, doesn’t offer a resume sample for the exercise and simply states “Text of fake resume here”.

Content appears to be mostly relevant and offers up-to-date information on information literacy and other important technical writing concepts. Some of the content could be further updated, however. For example, chapter 12 discusses the idea of the cover letter being potentially outdated but then proceeds to offer guidance on writing one. This and other sections could offer updates, particularly regarding electronic and online documents.

The text is accessible and concise in delivery. Further clarification is offered through examples/samples in the sections on emails, memos, outlines, cover letters, technical reports, and others. Examples could be given in sections on proposals, progress reports, and other sections to offer further clarity.

The text offers consistency through the organization of the chapters and sections. Some chapters have features that others do not have, however. For example, Chapters 11 and 13 are structured with interactive activities not found in other chapters. The “activity” and “try this” in these chapters would be helpful in other chapters, too.

Chapters and sub-units within this text are clearly labeled. Although some overlap is offered, overall chapters and sections can be used individually in a course.

The organization is clear, user-friendly, and easily navigable using all-cap chapter headings and numbers and lower case section headings and numbers.

This text is offered in various formats which likely will help eliminate interface issues with certain sections. The section on resumes and cover letters, for example, might offer display differences depending on the format.

Grammatical errors were not detected.

Much of the text appeared to be neutral, and sections were dedicated to discussing cultural sensitivity within workplace writing. With that said, additional work on representation could be added within the examples. Also, ideas for inclusivity through accessibility in design of workplace documents might be added, too, as well as an updated discussion on gender in written communications beyond using Mr. or Ms. in the sections on email, cover letters, and audience.

This text is well organized with topics appropriate to technical writing, and I will consider using it in technical writing and workplace writing courses for first- and second-year students.

Reviewed by Erica Stone, English Instructor, Technical Writing, University of Missouri Kansas City on 6/19/18

The textbook is comprehensive; however, it seems to cover both technical writing and professional or workplace writing. It is absolutely appropriate for a comprehensive service course, but the authors should consider another title. Perhaps... read more

There are a few minor typos and notes from a previous editor in the document and a few leftover editing notes. Regarding bias, the entire text does seem to be written for a particular course. While it is generalized, it does refer to particular assignments and contexts, sometimes without an example given.

The content is up to date; however, it may require revision as technologies evolve and change. For example, the texting section may need to be updated within the next year to account for newer texting apps and conventions.

The entire textbook is clear and accessible. In some places, it is conversational; however, I find that quality increases its accessibility and approachability, which is necessary for a technical writing service course.

The framework and organization of the textbook is consistent and easy to follow.

The modularity is helpful, and the text is well-organized.

All of the topics are presented in a logical and clear fashion.

All of the available interfaces work well.

I did not see any grammatical errors during my review. I did, however, see a few leftover notes from the editor.

The text is culturally appropriate and all example are relevant and inclusive.

In some places, the example links do not work. When there is time, the editors and/or authors should review the book to check for errors and broken links.

As mentioned in my first comment, the textbook could benefit from separating technical writing and professional writing as they are separate disciplines.

Reviewed by Michael Nern, Associate Professor, Emeritus, Ohio University Zanesville on 2/1/18

The book does not contain an index or a glossary. The book's primarily focuses on the proposal but also covers other traditional technical writing assignments such as the cover letter and resume. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The book does not contain an index or a glossary.

The book's primarily focuses on the proposal but also covers other traditional technical writing assignments such as the cover letter and resume.

The content is accurate. I would not call the book error free.

The book contains relevant content that could be updated with relative ease.

The book's prose is not tightly edited, but the prose is accessible.

The book's content is consistent.

The text is well-organized for assigning smaller sections of reading at different points within a course.

The book's organization is solid and clear.

The text does not have interfacing issues.

The book needs a careful and close editing by one person.

I found the short chapter on ethics to be presented almost as an afterthought and believe it would be of little help to students.

I would use the book as a resource but not as a textbook for students. I might assign certain sections for reading but would more than likely use information from the book to add to already existing lectures and discussions, of course, giving credit to the authors.

In general, I believe both the Web and open source materials provide enough material to work with that textbooks in writing courses are unnecessary.

Reviewed by Jennifer Dareneau, Assistant Teaching Professor, The Pennsylvania State University- Berks on 2/1/18

Based on the Table of Contents, all subject areas mentioned there were covered adequately. However, there are several mentions of the technical report being the main document produced at the end of the term (which is true) and mentions of several prefatory documents needed for benchmarking along the way. Only a couple of those mentioned documents are detailed or explained in the book.

There are a few minor typos and notes from a previous editor in the document, including a question about permission to use a chart. Content itself seemed accurate.

Content is up to date. With the inclusion of sections on MLA and APA citation style as well as the job application chapters, it would need to be updated in about 5 years to reflect changes to those areas.

Clarity of language and expression of concepts is well done. Language is easy to understand but remains at a college student's level. Special terms are explained and defined.

For the most part, the book is internally consistent. There are some inconsistent elements- some chapters include links to samples, but not all; there is a link to one video only; some chapters include an activity prompt, but others do not.

Modularity is well done. Each larger unit is broken into smaller, easily understood and relevant sub units.

Organization is simple and logical.

I did not experience any navigation problems. Some images had an editor's note next to them, or were quickly covered by a small icon in the top right. The chapters on graphics had some photos that did not connect well to technical writing, and I suspect students in a class would struggle to understand the rhetorical significance of them (particularly the sections with Obama and the girls gymnastics team).

I noticed only one or two minor typos. There were some fragments and sentences beginning with And or But, which I hope were stylistic choices.

There were no culturally insensitive examples or remarks.

Reviewed by Ethan Jordan, Lecturer, Bowling Green State University on 2/1/18

The book covers a broad range of technical communication genres, and it covers everything I would hope to cover in my upcoming course. read more

The book covers a broad range of technical communication genres, and it covers everything I would hope to cover in my upcoming course.

Due to the objective nature of most technical writing, this book certainly follows suit and contains little in terms of bias or subjectivity. The document genres covered fit with standards in the field, and I have found very few errors.

I agree that this book will remain relevant over time. Certainly, notions of "netiquette" and online forms might change, but the essential tech comm genres covered will remain an essential component of workplace literacies, and as such, this book should remain relevant and be easy to update as needed.

The textbook is written in a voice that is straightforward and no-nonsense for students. It isn't the most scintillating reading, but a book on technical writing clearly doesn't need to be! The voice of the text is one that I feel students would appreciate - let's get to the point!

I don't see any major inconsistencies. The text works to reinforce technical communication concepts both in its subject matter and in the style of the text itself. Clarity and intelligibility are essentials, and the text appears to work within those frameworks.

I appreciate the way the sections aren't overly extended or complicated - the individual components make up the larger whole and could easily be reconfigured to suit the needs of instructors. I feel like this is less of a textbook to read in order, but a set of modules for instructors to customize.

The overall structure of the piece makes sense, and I found myself following the process outlined within the overall book structure. It also is able to be modified quite easily if needed, so that's a plus.

Some of the graphics are a bit low-res, but nothing that would inhibit meaning... it's well presented overall.

Very few that I can see!

I see no issues here - it's quite objective overall.

I'm really happy I found this one! It will be a huge help in my upcoming course, and I'm excited to use this as a supplement to my in-class discussions!

Reviewed by Elizabeth McClure, Lecturer, University of Maryland, College Park on 2/1/18

This text includes several sections that I would expect to see in a technical writing textbook: job search materials, reports, proposals, using graphics, professional communications, and audience analysis. It also includes a couple of sections I wouldn't necessarily expect, but that would be very useful in any professional writing class: discussions of the ethics involved in report writing, information literacy, and document design. However, there was no section related to manuals or instructions, which is a large gap.

In terms of usability in relation to comprehensiveness, the table of contents is nicely detailed, but no index appears so locating overlaps of information among and between chapters would not be as simple or straightforward as it could be.

In general, the information in the text is accurate, although some areas and issues would benefit from more nuanced or complex discussion. For example, in the section on job materials, professional advice varies widely related to the design of resumes, but this text does not discuss any of the variety of advice.

One minor note: There are several sentence-level errors (i.e., subject-verb agreement) that don't compromise communication but are occasionally jarring.

The content generally seems up-to-date, and the chapter organization and breakdown appear to lend themselves to easy updating.

Clarity rating: 3

The text’s language is clear and accessible. Sufficient background information is presented to give context for new concepts.

Other structures that would enhance clarity are not consistently present, however. For example, not all chapters provide examples to illustrate concepts or discussion/reflection questions to encourage students to apply concepts to other situations. Additionally, most chapters have no graphic material – pull-out text boxes, illustrations, summary lists, etc. – that would offer a different presentation method for readers.

This text is consistent in its approach, terminology, and framework.

This text is divided into sections in such a way that individual sections could easily be assigned out of order and at different points in a course. There are few, if any, instances in the text that refer to earlier material in a way that would make non-consecutive reading unworkable or unwieldy. In general, sections are relatively short and are organized under useful headings. Few subheadings are used within the text itself, although chapters are broken down into sections, each of which is labeled on the page and in the table of contents with a heading. These headings should make finding relevant sections in the text fairly easy.

The topics in this text progress clearly enough to avoid confusion, but less clearly than they could. For example, starting with Audience Analysis rather than with a variety of workplace communication genres (text, email, memos, etc.) would be more rhetorically sensible. The progression from Proposals to Information Literacy (research) to Citations to Progress Reports makes sense in that it follows the progression one might follow in a particular workplace project. However, while the order of chapters follows the process of writing a workplace document (proposal, research, progress report, technical report), it doesn’t necessarily follow the order of writing skills. For example, research is usually an integral part of developing a writing topic rather than something that happens at a single defined point mid-way through a project; likewise, a discussion of ethics should happen before a technical report is underway, perhaps in relation to an analysis of audience or to a discussion of the rhetorical situations present in professional writing generally. Because these chapters can be read out of order, the problem isn’t serious, but the chapter order doesn’t make as much use of logical development as it could.

In general, the text’s interface is user-friendly. There are a couple of places, however, notably in the chapter on design, where graphics don’t appear above the caption.

The text is overall clean but there are a handful of grammatical errors.

The text is inoffensive. Its examples aren’t culturally specific – examples don’t refer to particular groups at all, so diversity does not seem to be at issue.

Reviewed by Pam Orel, Senior Lecturer , University of Maryland College Park on 2/1/18

This is a very compact book, with easily managed lessons in basic concepts that are a quick and easy read for most students in the sciences and technology fields (STEM). Where it summarizes the key details, it does so with general clarity and the links to other, more detailed resources appear to be effective, although one or two are dated. It is not designed as a comprehensive or exhaustive resource on technical writing and avoids a heavily academic tone.

The book’s advice, while brief, is extremely solid, backed up by authoritative evidence, and easy to follow. Students would appreciate the very good detail in the table of contents as well as the ease of navigating from section to section as needed. Charts, where used, easily help students find the key differences in concepts, which is something that more detailed, less approachable textbooks tend to overlook.

In general I don’t teach with a textbook, so my comments should be taken in the context of someone who uses texts more as a resource than a work that guides the entirety of our semester’s journey as writers. This is a very relevant work for busy writers who need to grasp the essentials quickly, and get leads on how to find more detail as needed. It is particularly good at using graphics to shape ideas which is a factor in more and more writing courses. If I had to point to one area where it might need updating, it might be in allowing more space for instructions, presentations and video content, as these are emerging as valuable tools and I am not seeing a lot in the text. It appears to focus a lot on the preparation of reports and print materials, but is a good basic resource in those areas.

Very clear, with short, effective paragraphs and guides to other resources clearly labeled as such. As noted earlier, graphics are well supported in the version that I reviewed. It should be noted that different formats might have issues relating to page presentation, as I have noticed that in other primarily online references I have seen.

It can be inconsistent in terms of the amount of space given to, say, some issues over others. However, in general the issues which are not treated in great detail are those for which often there are other, key resources focusing on general principles involved that are attached. Also, in some instance (plagiarism is one example) there are a wealth of other resources available in most higher education communities.

The sections in the book are effectively broken into segments which are short but emphasize key points in about a page or so. This is one of the areas where it might be most attractive to students who rely on it as a reference rather than a week-to-week resource. Teachers who wish to use, say, one or two segments while not using others would find this a very helpful resource.

This is an area of strength for this publication, as it shapes very well around ideas for most proposal writers as well as the ethics of the field as we know it today. Ethical concepts are generally brief, but clear as to impact on the STEM fields. It would be stronger with a little more emphasis on presentations and video, as noted, which are important as digital communications tools for STEM majors.

The online interface I used was generally very easy; with both arrows and a table of contents, writers can easily move to where they need to get their information. It is noteworthy that it does not have questions in the back of each section, so it’s not designed for, say, test development or study for exams. But most technical writing courses don’t focus on exams (there may be quizzes on concepts) so that is not a significant barrier.

I was not able to find any significant errors in grammar.

This could be stronger in its approach to culture across the STEM communities, which is not a small issue in a global economy. However, one challenge with that is attempting to keep it current -- culture, like everything else in science and technology, changes very rapidly.

I have taught from a range of different resources, which change from year to year as it’s important to keep a course relevant in the rapidly evolving STEM fields. I have had trouble finding resources, particularly open source ones, that are approachable but convey the key concepts in an easy to access format. Students in my classes use a text as needed, rather than as the foundation of an entire course. This has worked very well in that role in this semester, and I am hoping to keep it on my list of resources moving forward.

Reviewed by Amanda Izenstark, Professor, Reference & Instructional Design Librarian, University of Rhode Island on 2/1/18

This text covers numerous facets related to technical writing, including basic business correspondence and determining how best to reach the audience for the particular type of technical writing being done. The authors cover related and integral elements that help writers produce better documents, including using outlines and graphics as well as information literacy skills that writers should have. While there is no index or glossary, the table of contents clearly displays the content of the text. It’s worth noting that the table of contents on the Open Textbook Library website does not include the two final sections of the book, which cover “Design and Readability of Publications” and “Employment Materials.”

The book is accurate, and even in sections where elements might change - such as screenshots in the Information Literacy chapter - they are general enough that even if the interface changes, the instructions will be relatively similar.

The topics in the book are not likely to become dated immediately. Some of the basic material related to communication and being concise will be consistently useful. While some of the linked material may change over time, that isn’t the fault of the authors. When I reviewed this text, the links tested were still working and relevant.

The text is written at a level accessible for college-level students, and perhaps some high school students. The materials are logically arranged and easy to understand.

As some of the material includes elements remixed from other open texts, there are some differences in the language and layout of chapters. For example, some of the elements of chapter 12 related to cover letters and resumes use color, and have more modern examples than those in chapter 1, which focuses on online etiquette.

Many of the chapters will do well on their own. I plan to adopt this for my information literacy and writing course, and anticipate re-arranging sections to fit the course structure.

This may be a result of my background as a teacher of information literacy first, but it might make more sense to start with the sections on information literacy and citations, then progress to audience analysis and outlines. It seems the chapter on “Professional Communication” might fit better toward the end. Otherwise the flow and structure are generally logical.

The online version of the book is hosted on the Pressbooks platform, which is intuitive to use, but long sections require significant scrolling. The PDF version of the book works as expected, with functioning links in both the table of contents and the text.

There are no grammatical errors in the text, which is what one would expect from a writing textbook.

As appropriate, the book highlights cultural issues to consider when writing for an audience. Examples don’t highlight a variety of backgrounds, but neither are they so pervasive that it’s a problem.

Given the appropriately broad coverage of this text, I can envision it being useful to students after they leave my course and have jobs in their chosen fields.

Reviewed by Jim Crawford, Adjunct English Instructor, Germanna Community College on 2/1/18

I examined this textbook as a resource for a 100-level Technical Writing class. In this context, questions of comprehensiveness arose almost immediately. The authors offer no discussion of theory, despite a claim on page 1 that theory underlies technical writing. There was no mention of the writing process, a confusing oversight on two fronts. First, the omission raised questions about course level. Did the textbook assume students already understood writing as a process? That would put this text higher than entry-level; writing as a process is usually taught in 100-level English. Or, by omitting the writing process, does the textbook defy modern writing pedagogy and emphasize the products of technical writing over the process?

There was also no mention of the rhetorical situation: the amalgamation of purpose, stance and tone, genre, media, and, of course, audience. The text offers a separate chapter on analyzing the audience, but no holistic examination of the roles that purpose, stance and tone, genre, and media play in reaching the audience.

Omitting a discussion of the rhetorical situation elicits more questions about course level and students’ prerequisite knowledge. Does the text assume students understood the interaction of purpose, stance, and genre in a writing project? The textbook mentions purpose, almost in passing - the purpose of a memo, for instance, or a report. Stance - how the writer feels about the topic versus how she expresses it through her tone - was not addressed at all. Given that technical communicators may be asked to write about things they don’t care about or may disagree with (e.g., an environmentalist writing a press release on new oil exploration), a discussion of stance and tone is important.

Lacking an essential discussion of theory and concept, the textbook covers a limited range of genres, another writerly term that is not mentioned. The first chapter reviews types of correspondence, starting with, oddly enough, texting. Next, comes e-mail, then an interjection about netiquette, followed by brief discussions of memoranda and letters. Later chapters describe proposals and progress reports. A recent revision added a chapter on employment-related documents, such as résumés.

While this is an adequate list of technical genres, the choices seemed limited and specific. Why the focus on progress reports? A broader chapter covering incident or recommendation reports seems more thorough. Other key genres are missing entirely. Instructions get no mention, although giving directions and documenting procedures are common workplace tasks. Presentations are another key genre for technical communication that is overlooked in the textbook.

Among the genres that are discussed, accuracy falters due to a handful of random, undocumented prescriptions. On page 12, for example, the authors declare,” a good e-mail should get to the point and conclude in three small paragraphs or less.” Really? According to who? In my 30 years of experience in the technical workforce, I have read, and written, countless e-mails longer than three short paragraphs. While I agree that students should keep e-mails short and direct, especially when corresponding with the instructor, there is nothing inherently wrong about a longer e-mail message. Some arguments cannot be made in three short paragraphs. Are the authors saying that longer arguments are better suited for a memorandum or a letter? If so, that indicates a need to discuss the conventions of genre. If the authors are recommending the abbreviated length as a best practice for emerging technical communicators, they should say so. If the authors proclaim the three-paragraph limit as their personal preference, they should say that, too. However, they must also inform students that they may occasionally need to write, and read, longer e-mails in the workaday world.

A similar prescription occurs on page 36, with the decree that “an average between 15 and 25 words per sentence is about right. Sentences over 30 words are to be mistrusted.” Again, I wondered, “Says who?” Had the authors cited evidence — a study finding that sentences over 25 words are ignored by readers, for instance — the claim might be more compelling. Lacking documentation, it’s puzzling at how five additional words can separate an effective sentence from an untrustworthy one.

Furthermore, while conciseness is an essential feature of technical and professional writing, establishing an arbitrary sentence length may encourage students to emphasize conciseness at the expense of clarity and accuracy. It would be more effective to educate students on the relationship between clarity, conciseness, and accuracy, and teach them to use the shortest, clearest, most direct language needed to effectively address the audience and accomplish the purpose of the text. But this relationship is impossible to discuss with this text, since overarching concepts and conventions are never introduced.

The digital nature of the textbook assures easy editing and the potential for long-term relevance. In fact, between July 2017, when I downloaded a PDF copy for review, and October 2017, when I began writing the review, the authors added chapter 11 on design and readability, and chapter 12 on writing employment materials. They also expanded chapter 10, adding information about successful report design.

As with comprehensiveness and accuracy, clarity is marred by odd omissions. Page 12 advises that “professional communications require attention to the specific writing context” but there is no explanation of what context is. Again, a question about prerequisite knowledge arises. Can the authors assume that students understand what context is, and how it impacts a writing product?

Another missed opportunity occurs on page 16, where the authors admonish “culture and even gender can play a part in how people communicate.” While this is undoubtedly true, two questions arise. First, can instructors assume that students will recognize this intricate interaction? Second, can instructors assume that students will tailor their writing to navigate the interaction and improve communication? Lacking examples, explanations, or a declaration of prerequisite knowledge, the answer to both questions is “no.”

Clarity is further diminished by Inconsistencies within the text. Chapter 8, “Creating and Integrating Graphics,” recommends “including identifying detail in the graphics” (128), yet does ignores its own advice. The sample bar chart on page 123, depicting types of produce grown in Sisters, Oregon, has axis titles, but the y-axis, entitled “Percentage produced in 2015,” has no scale. The chart shows that potatoes are the most plentiful crop. Its bar towers over that of carrots, the closest competitor, by about two-thirds. But, without a scale, the value for potatoes could be 30 percent, or 3 percent, compared to carrots at 10 percent or 1 percent.

A pie chart on page 122 shows a similar dearth of detail. The chart is entitled, simply, “Success with Vegetables Grown.” Potatoes account for 60 percent of vegetables grown; carrots for 23 percent. But percent of what? The pie chart doesn’t say. Is it percent of all total crops grown? Is it percent of crop yield, compared to crops planted? Students are left guessing, and, from this, may learn to create charts that inspire their own guesswork. More subtle inconsistency arises in the textbook’s formatting. Chapter 1, on correspondence, uses at least three different formats for bullet points. Pages 12-13 list characteristics of e-mail with bullets featuring a bolded opening phrase. Pages 15-16, on netiquette, uses headings, along with simply, un-bolded bullet points. Meanwhile, page 24 presents a list of correspondence types with no bullets at all; the different types are simply bolded. These inconsistencies model poor document design for students. This is especially problematic given the text’s emphasis on longer documents, such as the progress reports, which require consistent formatting throughout.

Formatting inconsistencies notwithstanding, the text is well-marked for modularity. Clear, consistent headings and sub-headings are used throughout. Students should have no trouble identifying a reading assignment such as “chapter 9, sections 9.1 through 9.3.”

Alas, the headings and sub-headings demarcate a haphazard arrangement of content. Topics are not grouped according to theory (should there be any) and practice, strategies and genres, or from easiest material to more challenging. The chapters appear randomly, with an early chapter often referring to material that has not been introduced yet. Chapter 1, on correspondence, advises, “careful consideration should be given to the audience...” (9), but the chapter on audience analysis follows 14 pages later.

Considering the recent addition of chapters on design and employment documents, it appears that chapters are organized in the order that they’re added. New chapters are simply tacked on at the end. While such labor-saving is understandable, it may be worth the effort to reorganize the textbook by introducing overarching concepts, such as audience, research methods, and ethics at the beginning, with specific writing strategies (e.g. outlining) and genres to follow.

This review was prepared from a print-out of a PDF file generated on the textbook’s Web site. Although the charts and graphics conveyed when printed, the videos, understandably, did not. It would have been helpful to include URLs for the videos, so that students preferring a paper-based text could find and watch the videos while reading.

The interface for the Web version of the book is clear, simple, and unobtrusive. [Home] and [Table of Contents] buttons are fixed on the right-hand side, allowing students to easily jump among sections. Gray “forward” and “backward” arrows, on the right and left, respectively, make it easy to flip pages. A “search” box, almost invisible in the upper, right-hand corner, offers quick full-text searching. A search for “audience” returned a list, itemized by clickable links to specific sections containing the term. Traditional search conventions, such as double-quotes to find phrases, work as expected. However, more sophisticated search operators, such as “AND,” “OR,” “NOT,” and “NEAR” do not work, though this is not a major shortcoming.

There were no noticeable grammatical errors, though there were occasional long, wordy, confusing sentences. The sentence describing crop yields in Sisters, Oregon was a staggering four lines long, strung together with “and” between three independent clauses (121).

Generally, the text is inoffensive. There was, however, one off-putting cliché: the notion that older people are slow to grasp technical concepts. The book’s Introduction advises, “…plan to write in such a way that even Grandad can understand!” (3). While this was surely a throwaway attempt at levity, the cliché may be discouraging to older students, while cultivating the bias of younger ones.

Reviewed by Linda Stewart, Instructor, Portland Community College on 6/20/17

The text covers proposals and progress reports in depth with links to examples of other types of technical writing including resumes and instructions (but no discussion of these forms in depth). The text does not cover multi-cultural audience in any depth and does not consider disabled audiences (including visually impaired audiences). The text does not include an index or glossary.

The book is accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

The text begins with the most common kinds of professional communication, including texts and e-mails, which demonstrates an understanding of current workplace needs. This section may need updating since technology brings changes to workplace communications. The section on research rightly emphasizes electronic sources, and this too, may need updating as library databases and other electronic sources may change. Other sections, like the ones on audience and ethics, will not need updating.

Students would enjoy the bulleted lists and simple, readable prose. The authors provide some excellent, labeled figures and graphics so that students can comprehend the main ideas quickly. The authors do a good job of defining terms, but students will need to read the text to discover the important terms; no sidebars or lists are used to call attention to specialized vocabulary.

The formatting and tone are consistent with good use of numbered sub-topics and bulleted lists in each chapter. The sources provided as links are not consistent with the formatting of the main text. For instance, the link to examples (titled "Online Technical Writing: Contents") uses yellow background and blue lettering, and does not include any explanatory text. This linked resource is not formatted as professionally as the main text. The terminology is internally consistent.

The text is well organized and clearly divided into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course.

Problems with organization: Since the topic of "ethics" is one that applies to all forms of technical writing, it seems out of place as "Chapter 9." It also seems that "Outlines" might be addressed sooner since those could apply to writing proposals as well as progress reports. Finally, it seems odd to separate the chapters on graphics and document design (they are chapters 8 and 10 with the ethics chapter in between them.

The overall organization progresses logically from shorter forms of technical writing to longer, more complex ones.

The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems or problems with display.

The authors observe standard conventions of grammar.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive. The authors could do more to include a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds as part of their discussion of "audience"

The text does an especially good job of explaining how to write proposals and reports in a clear, step-by-step manner.

Reviewed by Carol Jacobson, Instructor, Century College on 6/20/17

The text covers all areas that are part of the technical writing curriculum. There is a detailed Table of Contents that lays out the subjects that are covered. There is no index or glossary. read more

The text covers all areas that are part of the technical writing curriculum. There is a detailed Table of Contents that lays out the subjects that are covered. There is no index or glossary.

Content is accurate and error-free.

Content is current for the technical market. It covers current topics and concerns, but also includes all the traditional topics expected for Technical Writing courses.

The text gives full explanation of the content.

The text was consistent with its terms.

The text is divided into multiple sections that are each on a different topic or focus so these sections could be easily assigned at different point for a course.

The topics of the text are ordered in a logical way, beginning with topics that should be covered first in a Technical Writing course.

Some of the images are blurry and hard to see. The 2 videos are designed by an instructor for a specific course and reference specific assignments for that course so these are not good choices for this textbook that is meant to be a general source for any Technical Writing course.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

The text is presented in a neutral way with no offensive or insensitive words or examples.

The format of the content is very text heavy in paragraph structure, which is odd for a Technical Writing book because a general rule in Technical Writing is to use shorter, concise paragraphs with more lists, bullets, and tables for easy reading and referencing of the information. In addition, the text needs more real-life example that demonstrate the points being made in each section.

Reviewed by Shannon Kelley, English Faculty, Chemeketa Community College on 6/20/17

The text covers a good amount of information related to technical writing; some of the sections are more in depth than others. Many sections would benefit from further inquiry to assist students with more complex issues in the field of technical writing and communications. While all of the topics are relevant, it sticks to the basics of each topic without exploring innovations and trends in the field. The topics covered are appropriate for a low-level, introductory course in technical writing.

The book is accurate and unbiased. It is a straight-forward text that introduces the basics of technical writing in a clear, error-free format. Each chapter provides references and is accurately cited. The examples are neutral and helpful.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The content is relevant, but not exhaustive. The text does not cover new trends in the field. Many technical writing students, particularly in community college courses, are entering a variety of fields. While this text provides the basics of technical writing, it does not help with a variety of concerns students may face in their chosen fields.

The text is arranged in way that will allow for necessary updates moving forward. The text seamlessly incorporates modalities, like video links, that prove helpful as examples. More of these new modalities are desirable as writing and reading moves to the Internet. There are places in the text that could benefit from utilizing new, innovative examples.

The text is written clearly and concisely. Each chapter is divided into sections. The section and chapter headings create parallelism that helps its overall clarity. The table of contents is clear and easy to use. There is not a lot of technical jargon present; the lack of technical writing terminology is one reason the book reads like introductory material.

The text is consistent in its layout. It is easy to use and access. The structural framework of the text is effective for online reading.

The text is not self-referential, but it does reference information only relevant to COCC. The text is divided in a way that feels manageable for students. The downside is the text borders on being too modular. The sections felt purposefully shortened and many chapters left me wanting more information. For instance, visual rhetoric and page layout were lumped together with audience. And in terms of this topic, topics like those deserve their own exploration.

The text works itself through the basics, from small workplace writing tasks like emails and memos, up through more complex writing like proposals and reports. Thought was given to the order of the text and it is logical and predictable.

There were no interface issues as I reviewed the text. i downloaded it as a PDF and also read some parts online.

The text contains no grammatical errors. It was edited well. The grammar is basic and reads at an introductory level reading.

The text remains neutral and uses voice or cartoon like figures in some of the videos. I would have liked to see more examples throughout the text. Visuals and page layout are important features of a lot of technical writing and this text doesn't take advantage of opportunities to incorporate a variety of examples. There are opportunities throughout the book that allow for incorporation of examples from fields of nursing, human services, engineering, computer science, and education.

It should be noted that I am reviewing this text for a 200 level course. At Chemeketa Community College students enter technical writing after completing two-three levels of prerequisite writing courses. Technical writing is the highest level of writing students receive before they enter their professional fields or transfer to four-year universities. The book is well written, clear, useful, and comprehensive for an introductory course, but not for a higher level technical writing course. Much of the focus felt repetitive and covered skills students in technical writing should already possess. There were missed opportunities to expand some of the more relevant topics, like the importance of visual rhetoric in page layout; solicited and unsolicited proposals; and, analytical report writing like feasibility studies.

Reviewed by Daniel Hocutt, Web Manager & Adjunct Professor, University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies on 4/11/17

The text does not include an index or glossary, but does provide a comprehensive table of contents. The text introduces itself as an introductory text to technical writing (or communication), and provides a definition of technical communication that is limited to the types, content, and coverage of texts created. A more comprehensive text would address some of the responsibilities of technical writing as it relates to the technical writer herself: team building and collaboration, intermediary across multiple departments and divisions; and negotiator of meaning in workplace cultures. Also missing from the text are generous examples of document types generated by technical writers, like websites, brochures and flyers, and other types of written communication. The text's focus on report writing seems limiting, and its approach to technical writer as largely autonomous does not accurately reflect the complexity of technical writing workplaces.

The content is up-to-date and appears to be thoroughly accurate. Its authors clearly understand and practice technical communication, and its integration of external tools and links are current, complete, and appropriate to the content of the text itself. Chapters in the text address real-world examples and seek to connect communication techniques to workplace and technical contexts. Of particular importance is the text's approach to communication as audience focused and customized; this reflects theoretical accuracy and currency in technical and professional writing and, more broadly, in rhetoric and communications.

The applicability of this question to a text on technical communication is somewhat misplaced; technical writing handbooks must follow technical advances that will necessarily render older technologies less relevant. For example, the section on texting would not have appeared in earlier editions of this text, while the section on memoranda feels somewhat dated in paper-less or paper-reduced workplaces. As a result, the content will regularly have to be updated as modes and media of communication and writing evolve. This is a problem of all technical writing texts, but it's particularly acute as it relates to an online text, which will likely be expected to be current, relevant, and inclusive of the latest trends in technology and writing.

The text is remarkably approachable to its intended audience, those entering into the field of technical writing or those who will, by virtue of their technical positions, be required to compose technical artifacts. Its prose is clear and specific, and it follows the guidelines for writing technical prose that it presents to reader: clear, concise, and effective.

The field of technical and professional communication tends to use terms somewhat synonymously, so the conflation of certain terms in the text is not unusual in the field. For example, “writing” and “communication” are often used largely synonymously in the field, and that practice is also followed throughout this text. The same is true of “business” and “professional” as it relates to writing and communication. An introductory text should seek to better follow consistency while explaining the issues that exist in the field.

The text is quite modular, to the point that certain parts of it might be combined to keep from creating extremely short chapters or sections. This is especially true of several introductory sections. In general, segments are only a few paragraphs in length, with modules easily excerpted for re-use or revised usage. I could definitely see the potential of a teacher taking certain sections and incorporating them into class notes or as a customized resource. But I also see the value of using the entirety of the text as a stand-alone text; I believe the text’s structure enables both uses with little revision or customization necessary.

The text’s organization is not as clear or logical as I would expect. Given that modules or sections can be reordered on demand, this is not a significant drawback. However, I found the default order of modules confusing, shifting between more general, theoretical approaches (like audience analysis and information literacy) and more specific practical approaches (like proposals and progress reports) without a clear rationale for shifting from one to the other. A more logical structure might be to address the general theory in an opening section that includes examples for illustration, then to include a second section to address specific genres and types of technical writing. The structure is not off-putting, but as someone who might consider teaching from this text, I question the rationale behind the logic but am given little explanation.

The text’s interface is clean and clear. Serif fonts are a little unusual in web documents, but the type style used is quite readable online. Table formats don’t always fit on the page, and this requires left/right scrolling to access some of the columns. The text includes few images; most are linked to accessible PDF versions, which are full-screen and easy to read. Embedded videos appear to function as expected; the interface could benefit from a column-width inline viewer that would keep the video window from being narrower than the text columns. This is likely a result of making the interface mobile responsive, and represents what is often a necessary compromise.

Like its prose, the grammar appears to be clean and normalized to American standard English. The tone can be academic, but that is to be expected from a text used in an introductory classroom. I found no grammatical errors.

I did not encounter ethnicity- or gender-specific language in the text. The examples provided represent a number of different document types and genres, generally focused on the professional workplace or the academic environment. However, no text will free itself completely from ideology; I might like to have seen the text more directly address this issue as it relates to business writing. The text could do more to explore cultural contexts in which technical documents are planned, prepared, and consumed, especially given increasing internationalization of workforces. This may reflect an issue with the field — we tend to classify international communication differently from general technical communication — but a section on writing in the global community and for cross-cultural audiences might be useful.

I did not expect to find an open textbook as useful or well-constructed as this is. While its cover and design are unassuming — which, for a text on technical writing, might be a drawback — its content is erudite and targeted to its primary audience and purpose. I would consider using this text in an introductory technical writing class, with the addition of several notable sections identified elsewhere in this review.

Reviewed by Ruth Perkins, Adjunct instructor, Chemeketa Community College on 4/11/17

The text clearly focuses on research and report writing in a business context. These are appropriately and adequately covered. The table of contents is detailed and accessible on each page with a link to each section. The chapters lead students through the steps of producing a formal report including research, proposals, citation, and progress reports. There is a useful section on information literacy and conducting research beyond the first items in a Google search.

The importance of keeping readers in mind is stressed throughout. In addition to a link to an audience worksheet, there is a clear explanation of how reports might be used by different readers.

Chapter 10 includes a link to a wide variety of examples of technical writing.

Missing are sections on topics often included in technical writing: instructions, procedures, descriptions and definitions. These could be easily fit into the overall structure of the text although obviously other sources of information would need to be found.

The principles of professional communication are accurately presented. The authors make the useful point in several places that a business, agency, journal etc. will likely have its own preferences for professional communications but that some aspects, such as avoiding plagiarism, doing proper research, are consistent.

The content is up-to-date since there are not apt to be quick changes to the principles of technical writing nor to the precepts of e-mail, texting etc. and their place in business. Any changes could be quickly made.

There are links that are specific to or have comments that are specific to COCC that instructors will probably want to point out and substitute their institution’s or their class policy. Examples are the links in 1.3 and 6.2.

The book is clearly written in an informal, conversational tone that should appeal to students. The terminology is basic without down-writing. Any specialized terms are defined.

The link in 8.4 to visuals that need revision is probably not useful for most classes. Figures 1 and 2 are very specialized.

The text is consistently organized. There are clear signals that link each section to the main section. The emphasis is on professional communication throughout so chapters are linked through that context.

In section 4.1 there is inconsistency in terminology where “academic” and “scholarly” are used interchangeably.

The book is clearly arranged into chapters with clear titles and headings. The table of contents is linked to each section for quick finding. The pages have ample white space and large readable type.

The book is clearly organized around the perspective of researching and writing a final report. The chapters can easily be rearranged according to an instructor’s preference since the table of contents is linked to each section.

However, the book is arranged in a logical progression through the different aspects of research and writing the formal report.

The book is posted in 4 different formats which makes it readily accessible to students. There is an important missing link in 9.2. This link in 4.3 is no longer valid: The Research Cycle derived from A Cycle of Revolving Research by UC Libraries, CC: BY-NC-SA 3.0 Otherwise there are no issues.

There are grammatical errors in section 9 as well as confusing switches in point of view.

Grammar errors: 9 “Writers . . . she” 9.3 “. . .your employer to pursue and action” and “the groups’ goal”

Point of view First, chapters 1-8 and 10 are written in second person. Chapter 9 is written partly in second person, partly in third person. While some references to “the writer” are logical, it inconsistently directly addresses readers or talks about writers in general.

Second, there is inconsistency in an attempt to be gender neutral in the third person. In 9 “she” and “he” are used interchangeably. 9.3 uses “her/himself,” “s/he,” and “his/her.”

The examples in the text and references to writers are neutral. There is nothing to identify a particular culture, race or ethnicity.

The book doesn't completely fit the course in technical writing that I teach but I would consider using if it did. However, I do have some problems with Chapter 9, ethics in technical writing, that I would like to see addressed. These are in addition to the grammatical issues.

In 9.1 General Principles, the authors give examples of ethical dilemmas that range from trivial to life and death. These do more to complicate the subject than clarify it. Part of this is due to the phrasing about the friend’s haircut, “This lie, though minor, preserves . . .” What is “though” doing in this sentence? It signals a contrast which isn’t there.

More of a concern though is the phrasing of the third choice of saving lives. The person might “risk [her life] to save her children” but to save the stranger, she would have to “choose to die.” Risk and certainty are not equal choices.

The second paragraph concludes that “If you would . . . lose your job. . . the action is probably unethical” oversimplifies -- one can lose a job for being ethical as well.

Section 9.2 includes the Challenger disaster as an example of unethical writing. The missing link is vital here since there are definitely different accounts of the underlying causes beyond the O rings. The authors speculate about possible motives of the engineers with no source information to support their conjectures. They make statements about the priority of information in the engineers' report which imply that they are in a position to make that judgment.

I suggest deleting or re-writing this section of the book.

Reviewed by Corrine Holke-Farnam, Instructor, University of Northern Iowa on 2/8/17

The text provides an adequate overview of the field for beginners in technical writing. read more

The text provides an adequate overview of the field for beginners in technical writing.

The content is accurate and straight forward.

The text is up-to-date and covers the range of topics addressed in introductory technical and professional writing courses.

The information is presented effectively in clear, concise language. Provides accurate definitions and many links to examples for easy understanding.

I found no internal inconsistencies.

Text is user-friendly. Effective use of white space. Employ small chunks of text, bullet point lists, and hyperlinks.

Many technical writing textbooks begin with audience analysis. Hamlin, Rubio, and DeSiva begin with common types of professional communication like email and memo format; doing so provides an effective context for beginning writers. The chapters of the book could be easily reorganized to fit user needs and/or preferences.

The text is free of interface issues. Navigation between and within chapters is smooth. Website links opened easily.

Technical Writing contains no grammatical errors.

The text revolves around professional communication. Does not contain offensive or insensitive material or links.

This text seems like a good fit for students in my Technical Writing for Electrical Engineering Technologists course. Practical information, concise presentation.

Reviewed by Jennifer Barton, Advanced Instructor, Virginia Tech on 2/8/17

The book appears to be written for a course designed around a specific major project that asks students to write a proposal for a technical report and then to research and write the report itself. Those sections are adequate, but I would like to... read more

In particular, I would like information on writing instructions and technical descriptions, as well as the finer points of correspondence writing, like strategies for persuasion, or handling negative news, or emphasizing reader benefits. I would also like to see information on team writing—a must for the modern workplace. The book would also benefit from a section on presentations and a broader section on document design. The current section on design is specific only to reports and is really about organization, not design.

The content is accurate. The book sticks to the basic writing principles which don’t change much over time. I especially appreciate the repeated emphasis on audience and that while particular elements are expected for particular genres, organization and approach can and should be modified to suit the writer’s purpose and the needs of the audience.

The core principles aren’t likely to go out of date any time soon. The limited scope and lack of discussion about the design expectations of the modern audience does make the book feel dated.

Although the concept of linking to examples and additional information is an excellent use of this medium, the choice of links could be improved. For example, many of the linked reports are nearly twenty years old, and while they may demonstrate many of the writing principles that stay constant over time, they do not demonstrate contemporary expectations for design, and the topics are so dated as to make them seem irrelevant to most students.

The authors do an excellent job of adhering to plain language principles. The style is clear, simple, and direct. It reads like the authors are speaking directly to the audience.

As mentioned previously, the book reads as though it were designed for a very specific class. It shifts quite a bit between universal advice about writing for a professional audience and specific advice about writing for an instructor. That’s confusing and limits the book’s applicability.

The book is divided into logical sections that would make it easy to customize for a course if not for the problem previously cited of its being designed around a specific course’s project.

Follows a familiar and standard organization for workplace writing textbooks, beginning with basic correspondence and working towards longer and more complex reports.

Some easily correctable issues here: Many widowed headings (which the text advises to avoid). Figures and tables are not always labeled correctly.

The visual weight of “Chapter Attribution Information,” which is currently the same as chapter titles, should be reduced. In some chapters, that information is repeated before every section, which adds visual clutter.

There are additional problems in the pdf version that make it the pdf only partially usable: Text boxes tend to exceed the width of the page and cannot therefore be read. Everything is rendered as plain text, which means that table formatting is screwy and all images (including images of example documents) are missing. Citations get embedded directly into the text.

Grammar looks fine.

Deals very little with cultural issues, which is surprising given the global ventures of many companies and the increasingly diverse workforce in the US.

The book has the potential to be quite good, but I don't think it’s yet ready to compete with the for-profit options. I look forward to seeing subsequent editions.

1. Professional Communications
2. Audience Analysis
3. Proposals
4. Information Literacy
5. Citations and Plagiarism
6. Progress Reports
7. Outlines
8. Creating and Integrating Graphics
9. Ethics in Technical Writing
10. Technical Reports: Components and Design
11. Basic Design and Readability in Publications
12. Employment Materials
13. Communicating across Cultures
14. Thinking about Writing

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This open textbook offers students of technical writing an introduction to the processes and products involved in professional, workplace, and technical writing. The text is broken up into sections reflecting key components of researching, developing, and producing a technical report. Readers will also learn about other professional communication, designing documents, and creating and integrating graphics. Written especially for an academic setting, this book provides readers with guidance on information literacy and documenting sources. This book was collected, adapted, and edited from multiple openly licensed sources.

About the Contributors

Annemarie Hamlin is an Associate Professor of English at Central Oregon Community College.

Chris Rubio is an Assistant Professor at Central Oregon Community College in Bend, OR.

Contribute to this Page

Technical Report Writing for Engineers: A Comprehensive Guide

As an engineer, if you are looking at technical report writing for engineers? And learn how to write effective technical reports? If yes, then this article is for you.

After completing our comprehensive guide, you can improve your communication skills and stand out in your industry with our expert tips. It will meet your needs too.

Technical report writing is an essentials skill for engineers to communicates their finding, design, and recommendation to clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders. However, despite its importance, many engineers have difficulty writing effective technical reports. This is a critical issue because poorly written technical reports can results in misunderstanding, errors, and delays that can have serious consequences for project and organization.

Fortunately, research has shown that with the right training and supports, engineers can significantly improves their technical writing skill and produces high-quality report that meet the need of their audience.

As an engineer, you know that technical report are a crucial part of your jobs. They provides a detailed account of your finding, recommendation, and conclusion based on your researches and analysis. However, technical reports writing is not always easy, especially for those who are not familiar with the formats and styles. In this article, we will provides you with a comprehensive guides on technical reports writing for engineers, including tips, best practices, and common mistake to avoid.

Understanding Technical Report Writing
Types of Technical Reports
Preparing for Technical Report Writing
Structure of Technical Reports
Writing a Technical Report
Editing and Revising Technical Reports
Mistakes to Avoid in Technical Report Writing

1. Understanding Technical Report Writing

Technical report writing is a specialized form of writing that is used to communicate technical information to a specific audience. Technical reports are typically used to document research findings, provide recommendations, and make conclusions based on data analysis. These reports are often used in engineering, science, and other technical fields.

1. What is an engineering report?

An engineering report is a documents that presents technical information related to an engineering projects, researches, or analysis. The report typically includes a description of the problem or objective, the methodology used to conduct the analysis, the result and conclusion, and recommendation for further action.

2. Why write an engineering report?

There are several reasons why someone may need to write an engineering report. One common reason is to communicate technical information to stakeholders such as clients, colleagues, regulatory agencies, or the public. The reports will provides a comprehensive understanding of the problems and the proposed solutions, helping to build consensus and support for the projects.

Additionally, an engineering report can serves as a record of the work done and the result obtained, which can be used for future references or to support claim or decision. It can also helps to identify area for improvements or further researches.

Overall, an engineering report is an essential tool for engineers to effectively communicate technical information and findings related to their work.

Also read: Technical Writing vs Business Writing: Understanding the Nuances for Professional Growth

2. Types of Technical Reports:

Feasibility reports, progress reports, design reports, research reports, inspection reports, evaluation reports.

These reports assess the feasibility of a project or a proposed solution. They evaluate the technical, economic , and social viability of the proposed solution and provides recommendations on whether to proceed with the project.

These reports provide updates on the promotion of a project. They outline the accomplishments, challenges, and remaining tasks of the project and provide recommendations for addressing any issues.

These reports document the design process of a product or system. They outlined the design criteria, constraint, and specification, as well as the rationale for design decision.

These reports presents the finding of a research study. They outline the research questions, methodology, data analyse, and conclusion.

These reports document the findings of an inspection of a product, system, or facility. They identify any defects, hazards, or non-compliance with standards and provide recommendations for corrective action.

These reports assess the effectiveness of a program, project, or policy. They evaluate the objective, outcome, and impact of the programs, projects, or policy and provides recommendation for improvements.

3. Preparing for Technical Report Writing:

Before you start writing your technical report, it’s important to gather and organize all the necessary information. This includes identify the purpose of the reports, the audience, and the scope of the reports. You should also consider the formats, structures, and styles of the reports. Some tips for preparing for technical report writing includes:

Identify the purpose of the report
Determine the audience
Determine the scope of the report
Consider the format, structure, and style of the report
Gather all necessary information
Organize your ideas and information

Identify the purpose of the reports: Before you start writing your technical reports, you need to identify its purposes. Are you writing a feasibility reports, progress reports, design reports, research reports, inspection reports, or evaluation reports? Understanding the purpose of the reports will helps you to focus your writing and ensure that you includes all necessary information.

Determine the audience: It is essential to consider the intended audience of your technical report. Who will be reading your report? Who will read your report? What is their technical knowledge and skill level? Tailor your writing style and language to your intended audience to ensure that your report is easily understood.

Determines the scope of the reports: Determine the scope of your reports by identifying the boundaries of the topics or problems that you will be addressing. This will helps you narrow down the focus of your reports and ensure that you stay on track.

Consider the format, structure, and style of the report: Technical reports should be well-structured and formatted. Consider using headings, subheadings, and lists to organize your ideas and information. Ensure that your report follows the required format and style guidelines.

Gather all necessary information: Collect all necessary information related to your topic, including data, research, and supporting documentation. Ensures that you have all the necessary information before you start writing your reports.

Organize your idea and information: Organize your idea and information in a logical and coherent manners. Ensure that your reports flows well and that your ideas are presented in a clear and concise manners.

4. Structure of Technical Reports:

Table of contents
Abstract or executive summary

Introduction

Background and literature review

Methodology

Results and findings
Discussion and analysis
Conclusion and recommendations
References or bibliography

Appendices (optional)

Technical report are formal documents that follows a standard structure to ensure that they are well-organized, informative, and easy to understand. The following sections are typically included in the technical report:

The title page includes the title of the reports, the name(s) of the author(s), the date, and any other relevant information, such as the name of the organization or project.

The tables of contents lists the main sections of the reports and their page numbers. It helps the reader to navigate through the report quickly and easily.

Abstract or Executive summary

An abstract or executive summary provide a brief overview of the reports, including the purpose, scope, methodology, and key finding. It is typically one to two paragraph in length and is often included on a separate pages.

The introduction provides background information on the topic of the report, explains the purpose and scope of the report, and outlines the main objectives or research questions.

Background and Literature Review

The background and literature review section provides an overview of the existing knowledge and research related to the topic of the report. It helps to establish the context and significance of the report.

The methodology section describe the method used to collect and analyze data, conduct experiment, or carry out research. It include information on sample size, data collections technique, and statistical analysis method.

Results and Findings

The results and findings section presents the data and research findings in a clear and concise manner. It may includes table, graph and other visual aids to helps illustrate the data.

Discussion and Analysis

The discussion and analysis section interprets the results and findings in light of the research questions and objectives. It may also compare the results to previous research or industry standards.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The conclusion and recommendation section summarize the main finding and conclusion of the reports and provide recommendation for future researches or action.

References and Bibliography

The references and bibliography section lists all the sources cited in the report. It should be formatted according to the required citation style, such as APA or MLA.

Appendices may be included to provides additional information that is not included in the main body of the reports, such as technical drawing, calculation, or survey questionnaires.

By following this standardized structure, technical reports can effectively communicate complex information to a range of stakeholders and decision-makers.

5. Writing Technical Report:

Technical reports are formal documents that require clear and concise writing to effectively communicate complex information to the intended audience. Some tips for writing a technical report include:

Use clear and concise language
Avoid jargon and technical terms
Use headings and subheadings
Use relevant data and visuals to support your findings
Include a conclusion that summarizes your findings and recommendations

Use clear and concise languages: Avoid using unnecessary technical jargon or complex terminologies that may be difficult for the audience to understand. Use always clear and concise language to convey the message.

Avoid jargon and technical term that the audience may not understand: If you need to use technical term, provides clear definition or explanation to ensure that the audience can understand the meaning.

Use headings and subheadings: Use descriptive headings and subheadings to organize the content of the report into meaningful sections. This make it easier for the readers to navigate the reports and find relevant information.

Use relevant data and visual to support your finding: Use table, chart, graph, and other visual aids to presents your data in a clear and concise manners. This helps the reader to quickly understand and interpret the information.

Include a conclusion that summarizes your findings and recommendations: Summarize the main findings of your report and provide recommendations for future action or research. This help the readers to understand the significance of the reports and its implication.

6. Editing and Revising Technical Reports:

Editing and revising are important steps in the technical report writing process. Please review your report for clarity, accuracy, and consistency. You should also check for spellings and grammar error and ensure that your reports meets the required format and style guidelines. Some tips for editing and revising technical reports include:

Review your report for clarity, accuracy, and consistency.
Check for spellings and grammar error.
Ensure that your report meets the required format and style guidelines.
Get feedback from colleagues or experts in your field.
Revise your report accordingly based on the feedback received.

Review your reports for clarity, accuracy, and consistency: Read through your reports carefully to ensure that your ideas are presented in a logical and coherent manners. Ensure that your report is accurate and consistent throughout.

Check for spelling and grammar error: Use a spell checkers and proofread your reports thoroughly to eliminate any spellings or grammar error that could distract from the content.

Ensure that your reports meets the required format and style guidelines: Follow the guidelines provided by your organizations or professors to ensure that your reports is formatted and styled appropriately.

Get feedback from colleague or expert in your field: Share your reports with colleague or expert in your field to get feedback on its content, structures, and clarity.

Revise your report accordingly based on the feedback received: Use the feedback received to revise your report, making changes where necessary to improve its clarity, accuracy, and overall effectiveness.

7. Common Mistakes to Avoid in Technical Reports Writing:

In technical reports writing, there are common mistake that engineer often make that can impact the overall quality of the reports. Some of these mistakes includes:

Failing to identify the purpose and audience of the report.
Use technical jargon or acronym that are not understand by the intended audience.
Include irrelevant information that does not support the purpose of the report.
Neglect to cite sources or provide references for information used in the report.
Failed to proofread and edit the reports for error in grammar, spellings, and formatting.

Failing to identify the purpose and audience of the report: Before beginning to write a technical report, it’s important to identify the purpose of the report and the intended audience. This will helps ensure that the reports is written in a way that effectively communicate the information to the audience.

Using technical jargon or acronym that are not understand by the intended audience: Technical term and acronym can be confusing for reader who are not familiar with the terminology. It’s important to use clear and concise languages that can be easily understand by the intended audience.

Includes irrelevant information that does not supports the purpose of the reports: The information presented in a technical reports should be directly relevants to the purpose of the reports. Including irrelevant information can detract from the overall effectiveness of the report.

Neglecting to cite sources or provide references for information used in the report: Technical reports often requires the use of data and information from external source. It’s important to provides proper citation and reference for this information to give credit to the original sources and avoid plagiarism.

Failing to proofread and edit the report for errors in grammar, spelling, and formatting: Technical reports should be well-written and error-free to effectively communicate the intended message. Neglecting to proofread and edit the reports can result in error that can impact the overall quality and effectiveness of the reports.

By avoiding these common mistakes, engineers can ensure that their technical reports are effective, well-written, and accurately convey the intended message to the audience.

Conclusion

Technical report writing is a crucial skill for engineers, and with the help of our expert tips and comprehensive guide, you can improve your technical report writing skills and stand out in your industry. Remember to keeps your audience in mind, use clear and concise languages, and always review and edit your reports before submitting it. By following the tips and best practices in this guide, you can write effective technical reports that communicate your findings, recommendations, and conclusions to a specific audience. With these skills, you can excel in your fields and make a significant impacts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of the technical reports?

The purpose of a technical reports is to communicates technical information or data to a specific audience in a clear and concise manners.

What is the structure of the technical report?

The structure of a technical report typically includes a title page, table of contents, abstract or executive summary, introduction, background or literature review, methodology, results and findings, discussion and analysis, conclusion and recommendations, references or bibliography, and appendices (optional).

How do I determine the audience for my technical report?

To determine the audience for your technical reports, consider who will be reading the reports and what their level of technical knowledge is. Tailor your language and style to best communicate with this audience.

What are some common types of technical reports?

Common types of technical reports includes feasibility report, progress report, design report, research report, inspection report, and evaluations report.

How can I avoid common mistakes in technical report writing?

To avoid common mistakes in technical report writing, be sure to clearly identify the purpose and audience of the report, avoid technical jargon that is not understood by the intended audience, include relevant information and data, properly cite sources, and thoroughly proofread and edit the report.

How important is the revision and editing process in technical report writing?

The revision and editing process is critical in technical report writing to ensure clarity, accuracy, and consistency in the report. It is important to review and review the report multiple times to ensure it meets the required format and style guidelines and effectively communicates the intended message.

What are some tips for presenting technical reports to an audience?

When presenting a technical reports to an audience, use clear and concise languages, incorporate visuals to support your finding, and be prepared to answer questions and provides additional information as needed.

2 thoughts on “Technical Report Writing for Engineers: A Comprehensive Guide”

Pingback: What is Technical Writing in Criminology? Learn Right Now - Technical Rede - Learn Techniques of Writing
Pingback: What are some examples of technical writing in creative writing? - Technical Rede - Learn Techniques of Writing

Introduction

The purpose of a technical report is to completely and clearly describe technical work, why it was done, results obtained and implications of those results. Following the guidelines provided in this document should lead to a well-written technical report that allows the reader to quickly understand what has been accomplished, regardless of the summative or formative nature of the work, and establishes the credibility of the work. The report also provides sufficient detail for the reader to appreciate how the results were collected and possibly recreate the results although the level of detail provided depends heavily on the report’s audience and any proprietary nature of the work. Although this document provides guidance for good lab report writing, chronicling work performed for a laboratory assignment as is done for the familiar academic lab report is not the same as producing a report on technical work. For example, technical reports commonly cite sources and include a bibliography often not expected in an academic lab report. However, these guidelines can be used in total to support formal technical report writing or referred to selectively depending on the type of report and level of formality required.

The key to a well-written report is organization. A report that is divided into several sections, occurring in a logical sequence, makes it easy for the reader to quickly obtain an overview of the contents as well as locate specific information. This document provides guidelines for producing a well-written technical report. The next section details what information to provide for the reader in each section of a report. That is followed by a description of how someone in the related technical industry, the likely reader of technical reports, typically peruses a report. This provides important context for recommended organization and content. Additionally, this document presents a list of questions authors should ask of themselves prior to final submission.

Share This Book

Assignment Design

The most updated lab writing instructional modules are available: engineeringlabwriting.org

Learning Objectives

Although all engineering instructors “know how to write”, they may struggle with assigning writing projects to students. Well-designed writing assignments lead directly to student learning. Traci Gardner from National Council of Teachers of English identifies three goals for a writing assignment:

Define the writing task.
Explore the expectations.
Provide supporting materials and activities.

In the context of lab report writing, engineering instructors need to address the following to students as explicitly as possible when preparing lab report assignment:

The audience (Specific people like instructors? engineers? peers? public?).
The pedagogical purpose of the lab report (Why is the assignment given?).
The “fictitious” professional purpose of the lab report (Why is the assignment given?).
Specific requirements (if there are any).
Checklists or Presentation Expectations (format, submission, deadline, etc.).
Assessment rubrics (or any type of grading guidelines): The details of assessment rubric design and development are introduced in the Lab Report Assessment Rubric Module Assessment Rubric Design .
Acceptable sample reports with or without addressing the standard conventions of finished and edited texts.
Unacceptable sample reports with or without addressing the standard conventions of finished and edited texts.
List of recommended reading resources.
Other resources to assist students’ writing process.

Sample 1: Lab Report (as a Technical Report) Writing Assignment

Overview: You (the writer of the report), a 2nd year engineering student, are assigned to write a technical report (the genre) to convey engineering and technical information, including the lab background, process, data, analysis results, and conclusion (the purpose of the report), to the instructor, the TA, and the peers (the audience of the report).
Lab Report Audience: Assume you are submitting the lab report as a technical report to a peer in class. Therefore, your audience is familiar with the lab materials; however, you need to explain the engineering and technical information as precisely as possible. The executive summary of your report should be able to be read by a professional audience such as industry partners, or other professors in the program.
Purpose of Lab Report: You are assigned to write a technical report on how your analytical analysis can be verified with the experimental results of the lab. Your report should include effective presentations of the lab data and thoughtful discussion based on the inspection, measurement, and test results. This lab requires conducting research with secondary sources (outside references available on the net and/or the library).
Required Lab Report Writing Style and Format: The technical reports are typically written using third-person perspective and past tense, and in many situations, an active voice provides better clarity and succinctness. One of the unique features of “technical reports” is a clear and easily accessible format. Technical reports need to be divided into sections that allow different readers to access different levels of information. Technical reports mostly consist of executive summary, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and reference sections. Use the Metric System of units for this lab report.
Lab Report Submission: Please submit your completed lab report to the course website by the due date listed above. This allows you to have enough time to conduct data analysis and research with the secondary sources (references) as well as the primary sources (experimental data).

Sample 2: Lab Report (as a Research Paper) Writing Assignment

Assume you are an engineering intern working at the product design group of a company in the automotive industry, which may be similar to ABC Motors, City. Your boss, Ms. Boss, assigned you to conduct research on the mechanical properties and hardness of the materials used in a future project. Note that she is not asking you to pick the best material. All of these materials will be used for future vehicles because there are many parts and components. She will eventually share your report’s technical information with other engineers and/or people in the organization. For the project, three different material types such as 1018, 1045, and 4140 steels are considered. This means that you are assigned to write a lab report as a research paper primarily based on the testing results from the lab. This lab will provide you with the opportunities of reviewing knowledge on the mechanical properties and strengthening mechanisms of engineering materials (textbook chapters 6 and 7), conducting additional uniaxial tensile tests as well as hardness tests, conducting a comparative analysis with the obtained experimental data, and discussing the analysis with the outside sources or references in order to advance your knowledge.

In this experimental research paper, you can conduct a comparative study to compare three different steel samples in many different ways (e.g. 1018 vs 1045 to see the effect of carbon contents). In order to write a good research paper, you need to have good research questions to discuss. Your engineering team and organization might have the following questions:

Any technical questions from your own.
What would the effect of the carbon and/or alloying element contents have on the mechanical properties (strengths, ductility, etc) of the samples?
Does the fracture look ductile, brittle, or moderately ductile for each coupon?
Which sample does have the highest yield strength and/or UTS, ductility, toughness, hardness, etc. values? Why?
What are the average hardness and standard deviation values of each coupon? Is there a visible deviation in the measurement? What are the possible sources of errors?
Textbook page 179 shows the relationship between the tensile strength and the hardness values in HB for most steels. Is this formula accurate?

In order to write a good report or earn high scores, you do not need to answer all of these questions and/or come up with difficult-to-answer questions. A good lab report possesses well-defined questions and well-developed answers supported by both your experimental data (primary sources) and further research results using the internet or reference books (secondary sources). A good report has a well-defined introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introduction section, write about what you want to discover in the report. The objectives provide guidance on what you are going to say to your audience (your boss and engineering team in this case) throughout the report. In the body section, you summarize the experimental methods so the audience can confirm your testing was sound. You present the experimental data clearly and discuss them to follow your objectives. In the conclusion section, you need to summarize the main points of the lab along with a very brief restatement of the objectives and lab procedure.

Please submit your completed lab report in PDF on the course website by the due.

Sample 3: Lab Report (Memorandum or Letter as a Format) Writing Assignment:

Prepare a technical memorandum for your submission. The content of most memoranda to the technical audience can be organized into four main parts: heading, introduction, body (methods, results, discussion), conclusions, and closing. Depending on the intent and length of the memo, each part can be as short as a single phrase or as long as several paragraphs. Most memos are less than two pages. The following elements should be included

Letter/Memo Heading – TO: (readers’ names and job titles), FROM: (your name and job title), DATE: (complete and current date), SUBJECT: (subject of the lab).
Introduction – Objective and overview. Within the first two sentences, the purpose of the letter or memo is clearly stated. Provides background context for the discussion and educates the reader so they can understand the discussion.
Body – Methods, data presentation/analysis/interpretation. Include a brief description of the methodology, relevant findings, interpretation of data, and other significant items, including a brief explanation of significant errors.
Conclusions and Recommendations – Should recapitulate results and conclusions and recommend future work or action.
Courteous Closing (Includes your contact information).
References – Should be of sufficient quantity and quality, and cited properly within the text. Bibliographic information is included as a footnote.

Additional information to the written text is often required. Typical attachments include:

All figures and tables discussed in text, but self-explanatory.
Numbered and properly titled, contain units, and axis labels.
Referenced (if information not created by author).
Appropriate to communicate effectively.
Attachment 2* – Test Set-up: clear and self-explanatory, photos, sketches…
Attachment 3* – Data: self-explanatory data sheet; proper symbols and units.
Attachment 4* – Calculations: clear and self-explanatory, sources cited.
Additional attachments as required

Submit the lab report to your TA by the due.

Sample 4: A technical memo as a lab report (a technical memorandum) writing assignment

Structural Materials Supply, Inc.

3201 Campus Dr.

Klamath Falls, OR 97601

To:              Materials Testing Consultants

From:          MJ Johnson, Ph.D., P.E.

Date: June 24, 2022

Subject:        Creep deflection of bookshelves

Structural Materials Supply, Inc. is developing a line of bookshelves for use by prominent commercial office suppliers. Creep of bookshelves is a well-recognized problem across the industry. While we recognize that elastic deflections can be significant for heavily loaded shelves, we would like your help estimating the creep behavior of the Douglas-Fir beams we intend to use. Please help us determine a mathematical model of creep that can be used to predict long-term creep deflections so that we can further refine our product to meet long-term performance goals.

Specifically, we would like you to load a 1×6 Douglas Fir beam with enough weight to observe creep deflections. Please collect deflection versus time data, fit with an appropriate trendline, and predict long-term creep deflection at 100 years. Provide a description of creep behavior and let us know if we should be concerned about it in our products.

Please present your response in the form of a technical memorandum employing the IMRADC format. Submit this memo as a pdf along with a copy of the Excel file you developed to analyze the data.  Thank you in advance for your attention to detail and professional work.

school Campus Bookshelves
menu_book Bookshelves
perm_media Learning Objects
login Login
how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
hub Instructor Commons

Margin Size

Download Page (PDF)
Download Full Book (PDF)
Periodic Table
Physics Constants
Scientific Calculator
Reference & Cite
Tools expand_more
Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical and Report Writing

Last updated
Save as PDF
Page ID 179209

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)

\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)

\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)

\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)

Bay College

Learning Objectives

What is Technical Writing? [1]

The Meaning of “Technical”

Academic Writing Versus Technical Writing

Workplace Writing

Really Technical Writing

Study of books, articles, reports, websites related to the product
Product specifications: what the product is supposed to do, how it is designed
Interviews with subject matter experts: the product specialists, developers, engineers
Product meetings during the development cycle
Live demonstrations of the product
Familiarization with similar, competing products
Experimenting with working models of the product
Most importantly, subject matter experts’ review of technical writers’ work for technical accuracy and completeness

Considerations of Technical Documents

There are key components of what makes a document strong. Therefore, writers keep these items in mind while constructing technical documents.

The Importance of Audience

Formatting and Language

Cultural Communication

Figure 2 The Cultural Iceberg

Technical writers have a responsibility to their readers and to their employers to follow ethics when writing reports.

Daniel G. Riordan (2005), in Technical Report Writing Today, cites Dombrowski to define three threads of ethics:

In addition, Riordan (2005) references the “code of ethics of the Society for Technical Writers, and cites five of the code’s tenants:

My commitment to professional excellence and ethical behaviors means that I will …

Use language and visuals with precision.
Prefer simple direct expression of ideas.
Satisfy the audience’s need for information, not my own need for self-expression.
Hold myself responsible for how well my audience understands my message.
Report the work of colleagues, knowing that a communication problem may have more than one solution (Riordan, 2005, pp. 15-16) .

Hall, E. T. & Hall, M. R. (1990). Understanding Cultural Differences. Yardmouth: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Riordan, D. G. (2005). Technical Report Writing Today. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Visuals & Readability

Labels and Callouts

Guidelines for Creating Labels and Callouts

Determine the number of items to identify in the image (Gurak 308).
Estimate how much explanation each item requires to determine if labels or callouts are more appropriate (Gurak 308).
create a consistent visual style (Gurak 308)
use the same terms on the label or callout as in the text (Rude 116)
in general, all parts mentioned in the text should have a label or callout, and all parts with a label or callout should be mentioned in the text. (Rude 116)
Use a standard font and size for readability (Rude 116)
Align the labels and callouts for a neater appearance (Rude 116)
If callouts are used, place the explanatory text in a key next to the graphic.

Labels can take different forms (Gurak 304 – 306):

They may be placed directly on the graphic (whereby they become part of the graphic).
They may be placed around the graphic and use lines to point to the relevant element in the graphic.
Online, labels can be links or hotspots whereby more information about the element is displayed on mouse rollover.

This is an example of l abels placed directly on the graphic.

Figure 3 Map of the West Side Central Park, NYC between 102nd and 110th Streets.

Here, the labels are placed around the graphic.

Figure 4 Parts of a flower.

Figure 5 Labels as hotspots.

Figure 6. How to understand and use the Nutrition Facts Label.

Coded callouts are in numerical sequence; the explanation for each number appears below the graphic. The example above shows part of the explanation of Number 1 explanation only.

Writing Style for Captions

Captions for graphics include the title and any explanatory material, immediately under the graphic.
Words such as Figure, Illustration, and Table should be in bold type.
The caption should be italicized.
Treat tables and figures the same.

Five Specific Style Rules

Use interpretive captions whenever possible. I nterpretive captions provide both a title and explanatory information, usually expressed in a complete sentence, to help readers understand the central point(s) that the writer wants to convey. A graphic and its caption should be clear and understandable without requiring readers to search for clarifying information in the text:
Figure 4. Cabin-Temperature Control System. Constant cabin temperature control is maintained by the system’s modulated cabin sensor.
This interpretive caption gives the title and then tells the reader the principle message – that the check valve provides near-zero risk. And, it states how the check valve provides near-zero risk (Franklin 39).
Figure 23. Check Valve . The risk of bad air entering the changer is near zero because the check valve permits air flow in one direction only.
This interpretive caption gives the title of the figure and emphasizes that the cabin has a constant temperature – a benefit provided by the feature described in the figure. The caption states clearly what the writer wants the reader to learn from the drawing (Franklin 39).
Avoid using short, often ambiguous, titles to replace interpretive captions. In the past, styles for technical and scientific documents used only short, simple title captions for visuals. These were often superfluous, providing no real information other than the obvious to the reader, i.e. – A Horse. Titles that are so short and cryptic that they sound telegraphic are not useful. Such captions are only useful when the graphics are self-explanatory, and require no interpretation (Franklin 40).
Number figures and tables sequentially throughout the document, and place the number before the caption. If an important figure or table is presented twice, treat it as two separate visuals and number each. Figure and table numbers should be whole numbers (Franklin 40).
Captions may appear below or above a visual, but consistency throughout a document is critical. Arguments support both options; choose one, warrant your choice, and be consistent.
Put the caption above the visual for better visibility when captions are used with slides and other project visual aids. Captions placed at the bottom may be blocked by the heads of those seated in front (Franklin 99).

Figure 7. Placement of footnote, source note and caption.

Source: Rude, p. 115, modified.

The Writing Process [6]

This is writing and compiling a first draft of the document. Sometimes, the writer worries more about getting ideas down more than guaranteeing every punctuation or grammar choice is correct.

For additional information on the writing process, visit The Writing Center website for the University of Texas: University of Texas Writing Center & The Writing Process .

[3] Image of Textbook. Authored by : Dominik Wagner. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/eoAvCb . License : CC BY: Attribution

[4] Image of Text with Watch. Authored by : Stephen Wu. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/tZ1LP . License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

[5] Norbert Elliot’s “Labels, Callouts, Captions and Notes” CC-BY Saylor, edited by Amber Kinonen , edits included in italics

[6] The Writing Process CC-BY Amber Kinonen

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical and Report Writing by Bay College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Technical Writing
Technical Writing One In-Class Exercises
Português – Brasil

Technical Writing One: In-class exercises

This section contains the in-class exercises for Technical Writing One. We designed this section to accompany the in-class portion of Technical Writing One. If you stumbled on this section and are not currently taking the in-class portion of Technical Writing One, this section might be rather challenging to understand.

These exercises will also be far more meaningful if you've completed the pre-class work .

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License , and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License . For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies . Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Last updated 2020-04-02 UTC.

Mastering Technical Report Writing Skills

The task of technical report writing is quite frequent in disciplines like engineering. The students in the discipline of engineering have to go through complex calculations on a regular basis, and hence certain framework has to be followed while drafting the associated assignments. The technical report writing skills would help the students in displaying the technical data in a much organized and appealing manner before the audience. The discipline of engineering is quite overwhelming, and the associated students have to face a lot of challenges to complete the course.

The task of technical report writing is also quite challenging since it requires the student to have better hold over the technical knowledge over a particular topic. The approach of the technical report should be very precise and clear in manner. The major challenge in technical report writing is the effective exhibition of the numerical and technical data before the audience in a comprehensible form. A lot of students have approached us enquiring about the appropriate way to draft a technical report. The article would provide our readers with some effective guidelines to master the skills for technical report writing.

Format of technical report writing There is no general format for drafting an academic, technical report, and hence the format followed by various universities would be different. Though just following a generic foundational format would bring an organized outlook to the technical report writing. We have mentioned down some of the elements to be included in the technical report and the best approaches to deliver it.

Provide an Abstract / Executive Summary It is the prominent points and arguments used in the technical report writing that should be included in the abstract section of the technical report. The section is meant for the readers who don’t have time to go through the whole technical report. Hence this section should be an overall summary of the whole report, which includes the points also from the introduction and conclusion. The most appropriate volume for an executive summary is around 350 – 400 words. The abstract section should be diligently written by the author since it provides a primary but overall impression to the audience.

Must include the table of contents Many readers may not have the time to go through the whole technical report, and thus the table of contents would come handy in such instances to jump to the more relevant sections. The table of contents gives a whole idea of what is comprised of the whole technical report. As per the academic conventions, the table of contents would be considered more relevant if there are included second level and third level sub-headings. The students are not required to draft the table of contents manually, since the feature for it is already present in the Reference option of the MS Word.

List of Tables and Figures The section is similar to that of the table of contents , though it lists down the tables and figures included in the technical report. The figures could be easily traced by referring to the page number provided in the list of tables and figures. The same format of drafting the table of contents should be followed in this section.

Acknowledgement You should address the people and other materials which have helped you in drafting the assigned task of writing a technical report. You should appreciate the contribution made by your colleagues and tutors while drafting the acknowledgement section. It is considered the grave breach of etiquette if the acknowledgement section is not included in the academic paper. There are certain universities that consider the paper as a plagiarized one if it fails to provide proper acknowledgement.

Catchy Introduction It is by reading the introduction section of the paper that the audience would determine whether to stick throughout the whole presented technical report or not. The significance of conducting this study should be specified by the writer in this section. There are certain focal points to be covered while drafting the introduction section of the technical report. They are listed down in the below section of this report. Let us have a detailed look over it.

Avoid the discussion over the aspect which does not require the mention in the former section of the presented paper. Try to introduce only the crucial section of the report to the audience in this section.
In the introduction section of the technical report, there should be a separate section for the technical background.
The elementary and crucial concepts followed while conducting the experiment should be mentioned separately if the section of the technical background is not included in the report.
The introduction should be drafted by considering the preferences and qualifications of the audience. If the audience majorly consists of the academicians, then you should draft the introduction in a very authentic and pedantic tone.
Introduce every theory to the audience and don’t make the presumption that every concept is known to them.

Provide the details of experiments conducted under the study It is by conducting various multifaceted experiments that a particular observation is made in the technical discipline. Hence the technical report consists of various experiments, and the details regarding it should be specifically mentioned under the subheading of Experimental Details. While drafting this section, the student is recommended to follow the below-mentioned focus points.

Briefly list down the set of equipment you have used to conduct the experiments related to the assigned technical report task.
The atmosphere and surroundings were chosen to conduct the experiment should be specified accurately. The use of graphical representations would provide authenticity to this section.
Express the defined set of parameters for the test and expected result from it.
Have you changed the set of parameters while conducting the experiment? The best way of drafting this section is in tabular form since it consists of a lot of numerical data.

The students should understand that there is no scope for generic writing as it is done in other forms of report writings. Every discussion should be precise and should be based on the experiment conducted. It is a major reason that the students find the task of technical report writing a very challenging and daunting task.

The proper discussion of the conducted experiments The soul of the technical report lies in the experiments conducted by the writer arrives at certain observations. It is by conducting a very detailed and precise evaluation of the observations made in the experiments that the evaluator assigns the final marks to the submission. We highly recommend our readers to include every small detail of the experiment in this section. The below section of this report would provide the focus points to be followed to draft an effective and accurate discussion of experiments.

The experiment should provide realistic outcomes, and the values should be repeatable.
The combination of both the tabular forms and descriptive writing should be used while writing the discussion over the experiments.
All the minute details and requirements to conduct the experiment should be mentioned by the writer in this section.

Systematically list down the results you have obtained from experiments. By this phase, you would have conducted all the experiments required for this technical task, and the result of them has to be declared in a separate section. It is based on this section of the technical report that the whole conclusive arguments are based upon. The part is the most crucial section of the technical report, and it is by checking the results in it that the evaluator assigns final marks on the assignment. Hence a student should draft this section with utmost diligence. The inclusion of graphical representation and tabular forms would add high value to the whole technical report paper.

Final results and core observation made out of it The outcome resembles the core theme of the conducted technical report. It is for this observation that the whole experiments and analysis were conducted in the report. The writer is expected to mention down again the procedures and approached taken that have been delivered with the present observation. There are certain things to be considered while presenting the outcome in the technical report. They are: –

The best form of representing the outcome is by the use of graphical representations and tabular forms.
The elementary theories and concepts used to calculate and analyze the data should be mentioned in the following sections.
The inclusion of raw data should not be done in this section, and only refined, and final observation should be mentioned.
The raw data should be included in the appendix of the report so that the audience could verify the arguments and calculations made by the writer.

Giving the conclusion and relevant recommendations The conclusion generally resembles a precise note of the basic arguments and observations made in the whole report. Don’t make the mistake of stating new information or opinion in this section, and every context should be related to the previously discussed content. Based on the conclusion made in the report, the writer is also compelled to provide valid recommendations to the readers. The recommendations should strongly reflect the experimental details that you have discussed earlier. The focal tips for drafting a good conclusion section are: –

Don’t limit the conclusion section to bullet points. The section should be in the form of precise paragraphs.
The section should discuss all the observations made in the report. Discussing abstract opinions and concepts in this section would attract high penalties from the evaluator.
The section should be utilized by the writer to convey the challenges and restriction faced while conducting the task,
The relevance and scope of the methodologies used in the report to arrive at the final verdict should be discussed. This would be helpful for scholars who want to further explore the topic.

The discussion provided in the above section of this report would help you in mastering the skills for technical report writing. We guarantee that you would score distinction in the final evaluation if all the guidelines are diligently followed. The only part we have intentionally left in this report is the referencing of the sources. Since various universities assign different referencing format for their technical report writing assignments, it is very hard to mention all of them in a single report. To know more about various referencing formats and tips to easily implement, go to our official website, totalassignmenthelp.com.

Note: – The student is not required to provide a reference for every theory or formula used in the technical reports. Just make the reference to the sources that are unknown and new to the audience.

Need help with your technical report writing assignment? Drafting a technical report is a big challenge in itself since the writer requires good knowledge over various theories and formulae to calculate and analyze the data. The technical report could not be drafted by just beating around the bush and discussing some abstract ideas. Every line and statement in it reflects preciseness and accuracy. Hence the student is required to sustain high diligence and conduct detailed research to draft relevant technical report writing.

Because of the demand for high effort in drafting this task, students find it very hard to complete it on time. In such an instance we recommend you choose one of the best academic help services in the world, totalassignmenthelp.com. The long journey of the company in providing quality assignments throughout the world, ensure the delivery of quality solutions that would score high marks in the final evaluation. The exclusive features provided by the company to its clients make it a perfect option for international students.

Instant refund policy in case of dissatisfaction
Attractive scheme of high discounts
Round the clock technical support
Multiple reworks and revisions.
Referral codes

We hope that this article on technical report writing was quite helpful for you. Thank You.

Total Assignment Help Incase, you are looking for an opportunity to work from home and earn big money. TotalAssignmenthelp Affiliate program is the best choice for you.

Do visit : https://www.totalassignmenthelp.com/affiliate-program for more details

Total Assignment help is an online assignment help service available in 9 countries. Our local operations span across Australia, US, UK, South east Asia and the Middle East. With extensive experience in academic writing, Total assignment help has a strong track record delivering quality writing at a nominal price that meet the unique needs of students in our local markets.

We have specialized network of highly trained writers, who can provide best possible assignment help solution for all your needs. Next time you are looking for assignment help, make sure to give us a try.

Looking for Assignment Help from Top Experts ?

Get the best Assignment Help from leading experts from the field of academics with assured onetime, 100% plagiarism free and top Quality delivery.

Thomas Smith

Refer To Argumentative Essay Examples To Write An Impeccable Argumentative Essay

Write Essays By Using Essay Planning Tips And Techniques

Learn How To Cite An Interview In Chicago Style With Examples

Comments are closed.

CH 1 Exercises: Analyzing Technical Writing

Exercise 1 (group).

Locate some examples of what you consider to be technical writing. These may include correspondence, journal articles, lab reports, web pages, or advertisements. In small groups with other classmates, discuss how the documents reflect the characteristics of technical writing. After your group has analyzed the document(s), present your findings to the class to explain how it meets the characteristics of a technical document.

Exercise 2 (individual)

Locate an instruction manual for a product you own (if you can’t locate the original print edition that came with the product, you may be able to find it on the manufacturer’s website or other sites devoted to manuals). Analyze it and compare it to what you’ve learned so far about technical writing:

What do you notice? Is the language clear?
Is the document organized to be logical and easy to navigate?
Could there be improvement?
Write up a brief ( two-to-three paragraph ) description of your analysis.

Home » Research Report – Example, Writing Guide and Types

Research Report – Example, Writing Guide and Types

Table of Contents

Research Report

Definition:

Research Report is a written document that presents the results of a research project or study, including the research question, methodology, results, and conclusions, in a clear and objective manner.

The purpose of a research report is to communicate the findings of the research to the intended audience, which could be other researchers, stakeholders, or the general public.

Components of Research Report

Components of Research Report are as follows:

Introduction

The introduction sets the stage for the research report and provides a brief overview of the research question or problem being investigated. It should include a clear statement of the purpose of the study and its significance or relevance to the field of research. It may also provide background information or a literature review to help contextualize the research.

Literature Review

The literature review provides a critical analysis and synthesis of the existing research and scholarship relevant to the research question or problem. It should identify the gaps, inconsistencies, and contradictions in the literature and show how the current study addresses these issues. The literature review also establishes the theoretical framework or conceptual model that guides the research.

Methodology

The methodology section describes the research design, methods, and procedures used to collect and analyze data. It should include information on the sample or participants, data collection instruments, data collection procedures, and data analysis techniques. The methodology should be clear and detailed enough to allow other researchers to replicate the study.

The results section presents the findings of the study in a clear and objective manner. It should provide a detailed description of the data and statistics used to answer the research question or test the hypothesis. Tables, graphs, and figures may be included to help visualize the data and illustrate the key findings.

The discussion section interprets the results of the study and explains their significance or relevance to the research question or problem. It should also compare the current findings with those of previous studies and identify the implications for future research or practice. The discussion should be based on the results presented in the previous section and should avoid speculation or unfounded conclusions.

The conclusion summarizes the key findings of the study and restates the main argument or thesis presented in the introduction. It should also provide a brief overview of the contributions of the study to the field of research and the implications for practice or policy.

The references section lists all the sources cited in the research report, following a specific citation style, such as APA or MLA.

The appendices section includes any additional material, such as data tables, figures, or instruments used in the study, that could not be included in the main text due to space limitations.

Types of Research Report

Types of Research Report are as follows:

Thesis is a type of research report. A thesis is a long-form research document that presents the findings and conclusions of an original research study conducted by a student as part of a graduate or postgraduate program. It is typically written by a student pursuing a higher degree, such as a Master’s or Doctoral degree, although it can also be written by researchers or scholars in other fields.

Research Paper

Research paper is a type of research report. A research paper is a document that presents the results of a research study or investigation. Research papers can be written in a variety of fields, including science, social science, humanities, and business. They typically follow a standard format that includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion sections.

Technical Report

A technical report is a detailed report that provides information about a specific technical or scientific problem or project. Technical reports are often used in engineering, science, and other technical fields to document research and development work.

Progress Report

A progress report provides an update on the progress of a research project or program over a specific period of time. Progress reports are typically used to communicate the status of a project to stakeholders, funders, or project managers.

Feasibility Report

A feasibility report assesses the feasibility of a proposed project or plan, providing an analysis of the potential risks, benefits, and costs associated with the project. Feasibility reports are often used in business, engineering, and other fields to determine the viability of a project before it is undertaken.

Field Report

A field report documents observations and findings from fieldwork, which is research conducted in the natural environment or setting. Field reports are often used in anthropology, ecology, and other social and natural sciences.

Experimental Report

An experimental report documents the results of a scientific experiment, including the hypothesis, methods, results, and conclusions. Experimental reports are often used in biology, chemistry, and other sciences to communicate the results of laboratory experiments.

Case Study Report

A case study report provides an in-depth analysis of a specific case or situation, often used in psychology, social work, and other fields to document and understand complex cases or phenomena.

Literature Review Report

A literature review report synthesizes and summarizes existing research on a specific topic, providing an overview of the current state of knowledge on the subject. Literature review reports are often used in social sciences, education, and other fields to identify gaps in the literature and guide future research.

Research Report Example

Following is a Research Report Example sample for Students:

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Academic Performance among High School Students

This study aims to investigate the relationship between social media use and academic performance among high school students. The study utilized a quantitative research design, which involved a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 200 high school students. The findings indicate that there is a negative correlation between social media use and academic performance, suggesting that excessive social media use can lead to poor academic performance among high school students. The results of this study have important implications for educators, parents, and policymakers, as they highlight the need for strategies that can help students balance their social media use and academic responsibilities.

Introduction:

Social media has become an integral part of the lives of high school students. With the widespread use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, students can connect with friends, share photos and videos, and engage in discussions on a range of topics. While social media offers many benefits, concerns have been raised about its impact on academic performance. Many studies have found a negative correlation between social media use and academic performance among high school students (Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Paul, Baker, & Cochran, 2012).

Given the growing importance of social media in the lives of high school students, it is important to investigate its impact on academic performance. This study aims to address this gap by examining the relationship between social media use and academic performance among high school students.

Methodology:

The study utilized a quantitative research design, which involved a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 200 high school students. The questionnaire was developed based on previous studies and was designed to measure the frequency and duration of social media use, as well as academic performance.

The participants were selected using a convenience sampling technique, and the survey questionnaire was distributed in the classroom during regular school hours. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.

The findings indicate that the majority of high school students use social media platforms on a daily basis, with Facebook being the most popular platform. The results also show a negative correlation between social media use and academic performance, suggesting that excessive social media use can lead to poor academic performance among high school students.

Discussion:

The results of this study have important implications for educators, parents, and policymakers. The negative correlation between social media use and academic performance suggests that strategies should be put in place to help students balance their social media use and academic responsibilities. For example, educators could incorporate social media into their teaching strategies to engage students and enhance learning. Parents could limit their children’s social media use and encourage them to prioritize their academic responsibilities. Policymakers could develop guidelines and policies to regulate social media use among high school students.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, this study provides evidence of the negative impact of social media on academic performance among high school students. The findings highlight the need for strategies that can help students balance their social media use and academic responsibilities. Further research is needed to explore the specific mechanisms by which social media use affects academic performance and to develop effective strategies for addressing this issue.

Limitations:

One limitation of this study is the use of convenience sampling, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other populations. Future studies should use random sampling techniques to increase the representativeness of the sample. Another limitation is the use of self-reported measures, which may be subject to social desirability bias. Future studies could use objective measures of social media use and academic performance, such as tracking software and school records.

Implications:

The findings of this study have important implications for educators, parents, and policymakers. Educators could incorporate social media into their teaching strategies to engage students and enhance learning. For example, teachers could use social media platforms to share relevant educational resources and facilitate online discussions. Parents could limit their children’s social media use and encourage them to prioritize their academic responsibilities. They could also engage in open communication with their children to understand their social media use and its impact on their academic performance. Policymakers could develop guidelines and policies to regulate social media use among high school students. For example, schools could implement social media policies that restrict access during class time and encourage responsible use.

References:

Kirschner, P. A., & Karpinski, A. C. (2010). Facebook® and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1237-1245.
Paul, J. A., Baker, H. M., & Cochran, J. D. (2012). Effect of online social networking on student academic performance. Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology, 8(1), 1-19.
Pantic, I. (2014). Online social networking and mental health. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(10), 652-657.
Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., & Cheever, N. A. (2013). Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948-958.

Note*: Above mention, Example is just a sample for the students’ guide. Do not directly copy and paste as your College or University assignment. Kindly do some research and Write your own.

Applications of Research Report

Research reports have many applications, including:

Communicating research findings: The primary application of a research report is to communicate the results of a study to other researchers, stakeholders, or the general public. The report serves as a way to share new knowledge, insights, and discoveries with others in the field.
Informing policy and practice : Research reports can inform policy and practice by providing evidence-based recommendations for decision-makers. For example, a research report on the effectiveness of a new drug could inform regulatory agencies in their decision-making process.
Supporting further research: Research reports can provide a foundation for further research in a particular area. Other researchers may use the findings and methodology of a report to develop new research questions or to build on existing research.
Evaluating programs and interventions : Research reports can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and interventions in achieving their intended outcomes. For example, a research report on a new educational program could provide evidence of its impact on student performance.
Demonstrating impact : Research reports can be used to demonstrate the impact of research funding or to evaluate the success of research projects. By presenting the findings and outcomes of a study, research reports can show the value of research to funders and stakeholders.
Enhancing professional development : Research reports can be used to enhance professional development by providing a source of information and learning for researchers and practitioners in a particular field. For example, a research report on a new teaching methodology could provide insights and ideas for educators to incorporate into their own practice.

How to write Research Report

Here are some steps you can follow to write a research report:

Identify the research question: The first step in writing a research report is to identify your research question. This will help you focus your research and organize your findings.
Conduct research : Once you have identified your research question, you will need to conduct research to gather relevant data and information. This can involve conducting experiments, reviewing literature, or analyzing data.
Organize your findings: Once you have gathered all of your data, you will need to organize your findings in a way that is clear and understandable. This can involve creating tables, graphs, or charts to illustrate your results.
Write the report: Once you have organized your findings, you can begin writing the report. Start with an introduction that provides background information and explains the purpose of your research. Next, provide a detailed description of your research methods and findings. Finally, summarize your results and draw conclusions based on your findings.
Proofread and edit: After you have written your report, be sure to proofread and edit it carefully. Check for grammar and spelling errors, and make sure that your report is well-organized and easy to read.
Include a reference list: Be sure to include a list of references that you used in your research. This will give credit to your sources and allow readers to further explore the topic if they choose.
Format your report: Finally, format your report according to the guidelines provided by your instructor or organization. This may include formatting requirements for headings, margins, fonts, and spacing.

Purpose of Research Report

The purpose of a research report is to communicate the results of a research study to a specific audience, such as peers in the same field, stakeholders, or the general public. The report provides a detailed description of the research methods, findings, and conclusions.

Some common purposes of a research report include:

Sharing knowledge: A research report allows researchers to share their findings and knowledge with others in their field. This helps to advance the field and improve the understanding of a particular topic.
Identifying trends: A research report can identify trends and patterns in data, which can help guide future research and inform decision-making.
Addressing problems: A research report can provide insights into problems or issues and suggest solutions or recommendations for addressing them.
Evaluating programs or interventions : A research report can evaluate the effectiveness of programs or interventions, which can inform decision-making about whether to continue, modify, or discontinue them.
Meeting regulatory requirements: In some fields, research reports are required to meet regulatory requirements, such as in the case of drug trials or environmental impact studies.

When to Write Research Report

A research report should be written after completing the research study. This includes collecting data, analyzing the results, and drawing conclusions based on the findings. Once the research is complete, the report should be written in a timely manner while the information is still fresh in the researcher’s mind.

In academic settings, research reports are often required as part of coursework or as part of a thesis or dissertation. In this case, the report should be written according to the guidelines provided by the instructor or institution.

In other settings, such as in industry or government, research reports may be required to inform decision-making or to comply with regulatory requirements. In these cases, the report should be written as soon as possible after the research is completed in order to inform decision-making in a timely manner.

Overall, the timing of when to write a research report depends on the purpose of the research, the expectations of the audience, and any regulatory requirements that need to be met. However, it is important to complete the report in a timely manner while the information is still fresh in the researcher’s mind.

Characteristics of Research Report

There are several characteristics of a research report that distinguish it from other types of writing. These characteristics include:

Objective: A research report should be written in an objective and unbiased manner. It should present the facts and findings of the research study without any personal opinions or biases.
Systematic: A research report should be written in a systematic manner. It should follow a clear and logical structure, and the information should be presented in a way that is easy to understand and follow.
Detailed: A research report should be detailed and comprehensive. It should provide a thorough description of the research methods, results, and conclusions.
Accurate : A research report should be accurate and based on sound research methods. The findings and conclusions should be supported by data and evidence.
Organized: A research report should be well-organized. It should include headings and subheadings to help the reader navigate the report and understand the main points.
Clear and concise: A research report should be written in clear and concise language. The information should be presented in a way that is easy to understand, and unnecessary jargon should be avoided.
Citations and references: A research report should include citations and references to support the findings and conclusions. This helps to give credit to other researchers and to provide readers with the opportunity to further explore the topic.

Advantages of Research Report

Research reports have several advantages, including:

Communicating research findings: Research reports allow researchers to communicate their findings to a wider audience, including other researchers, stakeholders, and the general public. This helps to disseminate knowledge and advance the understanding of a particular topic.
Providing evidence for decision-making : Research reports can provide evidence to inform decision-making, such as in the case of policy-making, program planning, or product development. The findings and conclusions can help guide decisions and improve outcomes.
Supporting further research: Research reports can provide a foundation for further research on a particular topic. Other researchers can build on the findings and conclusions of the report, which can lead to further discoveries and advancements in the field.
Demonstrating expertise: Research reports can demonstrate the expertise of the researchers and their ability to conduct rigorous and high-quality research. This can be important for securing funding, promotions, and other professional opportunities.
Meeting regulatory requirements: In some fields, research reports are required to meet regulatory requirements, such as in the case of drug trials or environmental impact studies. Producing a high-quality research report can help ensure compliance with these requirements.

Limitations of Research Report

Despite their advantages, research reports also have some limitations, including:

Time-consuming: Conducting research and writing a report can be a time-consuming process, particularly for large-scale studies. This can limit the frequency and speed of producing research reports.
Expensive: Conducting research and producing a report can be expensive, particularly for studies that require specialized equipment, personnel, or data. This can limit the scope and feasibility of some research studies.
Limited generalizability: Research studies often focus on a specific population or context, which can limit the generalizability of the findings to other populations or contexts.
Potential bias : Researchers may have biases or conflicts of interest that can influence the findings and conclusions of the research study. Additionally, participants may also have biases or may not be representative of the larger population, which can limit the validity and reliability of the findings.
Accessibility: Research reports may be written in technical or academic language, which can limit their accessibility to a wider audience. Additionally, some research may be behind paywalls or require specialized access, which can limit the ability of others to read and use the findings.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

Data Collection – Methods Types and Examples

Delimitations in Research – Types, Examples and...

Research Process – Steps, Examples and Tips

Research Design – Types, Methods and Examples

Institutional Review Board – Application Sample...

Evaluating Research – Process, Examples and...

COMMENTS

PDF A guide to technical report writing
5.ensure your writing is accurate, concise and straightforward. 6.include diagrams with the right labels in the right place for your reader. 7.make sure your summary gives the whole picture in brief. 8.check the report for technical errors, typing errors and inconsistency. 9.consider design as well as content.
Guide to Technical Report Writing
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
PDF A Guide to Writing Formal Technical Reports
A Guide to Writing Formal Technical Reports: Content, Style, Format. Adapted by Robin L. Potter (2021) from the original document by University of Victoria (n.d.). Engineering Work Term Report Guide: A Guide to Content, Style and Format Requirements for University of Victoria Engineering Students Writing Co-op Work Term Reports.
Simple Ways to Write a Technical Report (with Pictures)
5. Round out the report with a conclusion that bookends your introduction. In a technical report, your introduction should raise the "big" questions and your conclusion should provide your answers. If, for instance, you listed several specific questions in your intro, answer them specifically in the conclusion.
Technical reports
A resource to writing technical reports in Engineering. The main purpose of an Engineering technical report is to present a solution to a problem in order to prompt action. Technical reports provide a record of your developing expertise and are a legal record of your work and decision making.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical and Report Writing
The academic writer's purpose may be to write an assignment, a story, a letter, etc.. These works may or may not have a reader. However, technical writing always has a definite purpose and will always have a reader. ... Daniel G. Riordan (2005), in Technical Report Writing Today, cites Dombrowski to define three threads of ethics:
7.4 Technical Reports
7.4 Technical Reports. Longer technical reports can take on many different forms (and names), but most, such as recommendation and evaluation reports, do essentially the same thing: they provide a careful study of a situation or problem, and often recommend what should be done to improve that situation or problem.
The Formal Technical Report
With practice, the technical report writer learns which details to include. The formal technical report contains a complete, concise, and well-organized description of the work performed and the results obtained. Any given report may contain all of the sections described in these guidelines or a subset, depending upon the report requirements.
PDF A guide to writing technical reports
To generate an automatic TOC, you need to apply heading styles (found under the Home tab) to format appropriate text in the body of the report as a heading. Apply Heading 1 style to each main section (chapter) in the report, and a Heading 2 or 3. style to the various sub-sections within the report. To add the TOC, go to References tab>Table of ...
Technical Writing
This open textbook offers students of technical writing an introduction to the processes and products involved in professional, workplace, and technical writing. The text is broken up into sections reflecting key components of researching, developing, and producing a technical report. Readers will also learn about other professional communication, designing documents, and creating and ...
Technical Report Writing for Engineers: A Comprehensive Guide
Technical report writing is a crucial skill for engineers, and with the help of our expert tips and comprehensive guide, you can improve your technical report writing skills and stand out in your industry. Remember to keeps your audience in mind, use clear and concise languages, and always review and edit your reports before submitting it.
Introduction
The purpose of a technical report is to completely and clearly describe technical work, why it was done, results obtained and implications of those results. ... Although this document provides guidance for good lab report writing, chronicling work performed for a laboratory assignment as is done for the familiar academic lab report is not the ...
PDF Guide for Writing Technical Reports
Provide a complete description, for example set of assembly and detail drawings with bills of materials. Provide a precise description or specification of bought out components or subsystems, including the supplier, catalogue number and main dimensions or main performance parameters (for example 3 kW induction motor).
Assignment Design
Sample 1: Lab Report (as a Technical Report) Writing Assignment. Overview: You (the writer of the report), a 2nd year engineering student, are assigned to write a technical report (the genre) to convey engineering and technical information, including the lab background, process, data, analysis results, and conclusion (the purpose of the report), to the instructor, the TA, and the peers (the ...
Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical and Report Writing
Academic Writing Versus Technical Writing . The definite purpose, strict format and use of appropriate language in technical writing define the differences between technical writing and academic writing. The academic writer's purpose may be to write an assignment, a story, a letter, etc.. These works may or may not have a reader.
CH 7: Technical Reports
Field Study Report. Describes one-time events, such as trips, conferences, seminars, as well as reports from offices and industrial plants. 4. Progress Report. Monitors and controls production, sales, shipping, service, or related business process. 5. Technical Report. Communicates processes and products from a technical perspective.
Engineering: Technical report
A sample of a student's Engineering technical report with a teacher's feedback. ... Industrial design assignment; MADA: Visual analysis; Arts. Arts: Reflective writing in Arts ... Business and Economics. BusEco: Reflective essay; BusEco: Essay; BusEco: Writing case studies; BusEco: Report writing; Education. Education: Reflective writing ...
PDF CIT 702-TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING
Technical report writing is an essential skill for many situations requiring formal and effective communication of ideas, information, and knowledge. You will learn how to identify, ... Tutor-Marked Assignments are included at the end of appropriate units of the text. Answers to these questions are to be submitted at appropriate times
Technical Writing One: In-class exercises
Technical Writing One: In-class exercises Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences. This section contains the in-class exercises for Technical Writing One. We designed this section to accompany the in-class portion of Technical Writing One. If you stumbled on this section and are not currently taking ...
Mastering Technical Report Writing Skills
The technical report writing skills would help the students in displaying the technical data in a much organized and appealing manner before the audience. The discipline of engineering is quite overwhelming, and the associated students have to face a lot of challenges to complete the course. The task of technical report writing is also quite ...
CH 1 Exercises: Analyzing Technical Writing
Exercise 1 (group) Locate some examples of what you consider to be technical writing. These may include correspondence, journal articles, lab reports, web pages, or advertisements. In small groups with other classmates, discuss how the documents reflect the characteristics of technical writing. After your group has analyzed the document (s ...
Research Report
Technical Report. A technical report is a detailed report that provides information about a specific technical or scientific problem or project. ... Do not directly copy and paste as your College or University assignment. Kindly do some research and Write your own. ... Time-consuming: Conducting research and writing a report can be a time ...
16 Technical Writing Prompts for Students » JournalBuddies.com
3. Keep Your Writing "Evergreen". It's typically also important to make sure that technical writing is as timeless as possible. Many technical documents are not updated very frequently—and those that are updated tend to only have small edits made (rather than the entire thing being rewritten).

Cookies on our website

Guide to Technical Report Writing

School of Engineering and Informatics (for staff and students)

1 Introduction

How to Write a Technical Report

Technical Report Outline

Planning Your Report

Writing the Main Body of the Report

Adding Components in the Proper Layout

Expert Q&A

About This Article

Reader Success Stories

Did this article help you?

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

Technical reports

What is a technical report?

How do I structure a technical report?

Looking for one-on-one advice?

Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical and Report Writing

What is Technical Writing? [1]

The Meaning of “Technical”

Academic Writing Versus Technical Writing

Workplace Writing

Really Technical Writing

Considerations of Technical Documents

The Importance of Audience

Formatting and Language

Cultural Communication

Visuals & Readability

Labels and Callouts

Guidelines for Creating Labels and Callouts

Writing Style for Captions

Five Specific Style Rules

The Writing Process [6]

Share This Book

Technical Writing

Formats Available

Table of Contents

Ancillary Material

About the Contributors

Contribute to this Page

Technical Report Writing for Engineers: A Comprehensive Guide

1. Understanding Technical Report Writing

1. What is an engineering report?

2. Why write an engineering report?

2. Types of Technical Reports:

3. Preparing for Technical Report Writing:

4. Structure of Technical Reports:

Introduction

Methodology

Appendices (optional)

Table of Contents

Abstract or Executive summary

Background and Literature Review

Results and Findings

Discussion and Analysis

Conclusion and Recommendation

References and Bibliography

5. Writing Technical Report:

6. Editing and Revising Technical Reports:

7. Common Mistakes to Avoid in Technical Reports Writing:

Conclusion

Frequently Asked Questions

2 thoughts on “Technical Report Writing for Engineers: A Comprehensive Guide”

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Introduction

Share This Book

Sample 4: A technical memo as a lab report (a technical memorandum) writing assignment

Margin Size

Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical and Report Writing

What is Technical Writing? [1]

The Meaning of “Technical”

Academic Writing Versus Technical Writing

Workplace Writing

Really Technical Writing

Considerations of Technical Documents

The Importance of Audience

Formatting and Language