Technical Report Writing & Presentation Skill (BS 3)

BS Botany 3rd Semester

Technical Report Writing

 

Ø Introduction

                                   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

Ø  Structure

                                   A technical report should contain the following sections;

Section	Details
Title page	Must include the title of the report. Reports for assessment, where the word length has been specified, will often also require the summary word count and the main text word count
Summary	A summary of the whole report including important features, results and conclusions
Contents	Numbers and lists all section and subsection headings with page numbers
Introduction	States the objectives of the report and comments on the way the topic of the report is to be treated. Leads straight into the report itself. Must not be a copy of the introduction in a lab handout.
The sections which make up the body of the report	Divided into numbered and headed sections. These sections separate the different main ideas in a logical order
Conclusions	A short, logical summing up of the theme(s) developed in the main text
References	Details of published sources of material referred to or quoted in the text (including any lecture notes and URL addresses of any websites used.
Bibliography	Other published sources of material, including websites, not referred to in the text but useful for background or further reading.
Acknowledgements	List of people who helped you research or prepare the report, including your proofreaders
Appendices (if appropriate)	Any further material which is essential for full understanding of your report (e.g. large scale diagrams, computer code, raw data, specifications) but not required by a casual reader

Ø Presentation

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

Script	The report must be printed single sided on white A4 paper. Hand written or dot-matrix printed reports are not acceptable.
Margins	All four margins must be at least 2.54 cm
Page numbers	Do not number the title, summary or contents pages. Number all other pages consecutively starting at 1
Binding	A single staple in the top left corner or 3 staples spaced down the left hand margin. For longer reports (e.g. year 3 project report) binders may be used.

Ø Planning the report

                                   Different textbooks contain advices about the writing processes and how to begin. Here is a checklist of the main stages;

• Collect your information. Sources include laboratory handouts, lecture notes, 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
  
  
  

Ø Writing the first draft

                                  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.

Write the Conclusion next, followed by the Introduction. Do not write the Summary at this stage.

Ø Revising the first draft

                                  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.

• 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.

Ø Diagrams, graphs and tables

                                  It is often the case that technical information is most concisely and clearly conveyed by means other than words.  Suppose you want to describe plant features and development stages a diagrammatic presentation rather using words would do better. Here are some simple guidelines;

Diagrams	Keep them simple. Draw them specifically for the report. Put small diagrams after the text reference and as close as possible to it. Think about where to place large diagrams.
Graphs	For detailed guidance on graph plotting, see the 'guide to laboratory report writing'
Tables	Is a table the best way to present your information? Consider graphs, bar charts or pie charts. Dependent tables (small) can be placed within the text, even as part of a sentence. Independent tables (larger) are separated from the text with table numbers and captions. Position them as close as possible to the text reference. Complicated tables should go in an appendix.

Ø  The report layout

                                            The appearance of a report is no less important than its content. An attractive, clearly organized 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.

Ø Headings

                                   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;

 

Ø   References to diagrams, graphs and tables

• In the main text you must always refer to any diagram, graph or table which you use.
• Label diagrams and graphs ;
  
  
  

Ø Originality and plagiarism

                                   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. 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.

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.

 

 

 

 

Ø Finalising the report and proofreading

                                  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.

 

Ø 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.

 

Ø Proofreading

 

                                  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.

 

 

Thank You