Often the technical report will be one of the longest types of writing they will have to do. Technical reports are often needed in every career and every business. The steps to writing a technical report is knowing the topic, the audience, the purpose and the type of technical report that is needed. Most technical reports will have graphics and/or charts. Some technical reports are more designed as an overview of employees or specific types of information needed.
Writing Technical report is not a typical assignment in college or university, but still the professor can ask to write it. It is more common for engineering class, where it works as a major form of communication. It is a kind of conventional format for reporting the results of student's research, design projects or investigation. The tutor or lecturer can ask student to write technical report in order to assess his mastery of the subject and his ability to apply the obtained knowledge to a practical task. A good student should develop an ability to write a clear and concise report, in order to be successful in the university and in his future career.
A typical technical report has the following structure, which includes theory, method, results, and discussion of results, conclusion and references. A full format of a long report can consist more sections: title page, acknowledgements, summary, table of contents, introduction, procedure, findings, conclusions, recommendations, references and appendices. Most reports will not have all these sections, but it is always useful to keep them in mind while writing and arranging the information. These sections create a framework of the report, but in preparing the material it is easier to start with findings.
It is very easy to recognize a good technical report. Its title should be informative and precise, its format and layout should be well organized, its binding should be easy to handle. The style of a good report is concise, accurate and contains headings. Diagrams are to be used in order to present non-verbal materials, including graphs and tables.
There are no strict rules of report writing, as it should be always adapted to the needs of its audience. The writing should be concise, accurate and unobtrusive. Spelling is also important in the report. When the report is completed, the writer should check it for spelling and typing errors. The writer should also pay special attention to the punctuation, choice of words and sentences. The style of writing should be formal. The writer of report should avoid giving too much data, the same as non-technical material, long mathematical proofs and program listing, stock phrases and clichés.
There are four main features of reports. Firstly, they are written for quick and easy communication of information. Secondly, they include figures and diagrams to convey the data. Thirdly, they are designed for selective reading and fourthly, they use sections with numbered headings and subheadings.
