CHA PTE R

,'
I I

I
~3 Technical Reports

OBJECTIVES INTRODUCTION
You should study this We see many examples of reporting in daily life. A nurse at h
chapter to know reports to the doctor in the inpatient ward about the cond· t_ e hospit,1
• the importance, objectives,
.
patient. A supernsor, 1t1on Of 111
at the end of the day, reports to th eacn
and characteristics of reports the progress of the work carried out in his/her supervisioneS~a?ager
~ • the different categories of the manager of a bank sends a periodic report to the head 1Illilar1y,
reports
the state of deposits, advances, overdraft limits, etc., during th:ffi~_
• various formats in which on
reports can be presented
Another manager posted in a remote rural area reports to thperiod.
• prewriting steps followed for office about the difficulties faced in sanctioning loans to far e head
. fi k
publish1ng . d . . rners A
preparing reports rm een on intro uc1ng a new senes of paperbacks i~
• how to structure a report the market has to ask its marketing research team for a report to
• the different types of reports current reader preference. The managing director of a hank woi:
• how to draft, edit, and :
to get a report on the efficacy of the measures introduced by the bank
proofread the report to promote efficiency in the branch offices.
From time to time, the Government sets up committees and
commissions to report on various issues of social, political, and
economic importance. There are various Parliamentary committees,
such as Committee on Human Resources, Committee on Agriculture,
Committee on Industry, Committee on Science and Technology,
Committee on Environment and Forests, and so on, which are
set
up to discuss, analyse, and report on various matters pertaining to

I respective Ministries. Such committees meet from time to time,

out a detailed plan to conduct surveys and collect data from various
the
work

I sources, and finally submit their findin~

n The word 'report' is

derived from the Latin
repor tare-' to bring back~
and recommendations in the form of a
technical report.
Reports are a part of our lives-
Over a period of time, it
starting from school progress repo~
has evolved to mean that • • n anu
the gathered information through news reports on te1evisio
.i
is unbiased and evidence- radio to the many kinds of repo rts wefourare
liii based. required to submit in the course O •
work. But what is a report.~ Areport i
5
 ....
-•• •-•• ,
...
.
• ••••• ,,
••
•• •
~

••
TtCHMCAt MPOftTS as
usually a piece off:
in fo rm at io n an d/ actual Writing, bas...~~ on CVid
I ,ry a pie ce
h • or ana{tNI· of a particttla, cncc~ Ct)ntaining <lrgitnittd
J ~•s
su 8 sed tee n1ca1/business/prof4 1ona1 cornrn
~ ;s_~tir,g, ~a ;r,g ess topic. ft is a major furm of
ts ide ~'"" A
l~~l"''',ontai~ non a
certain
I
fac
' ~, or suggcs~.•ons usefuunl1<for on • ·at,
pen.on transmits
f~ ,e, ,,,a t10 report. t can als o be th anoth er pcrntJn through :i
/~0e~ ;nfor c description of
le~~toP1'· -- ~ ~ , an event or a condition.
Importance of Re po
~111,r .
. rts
r~ at all ibif reports
ity. A re po rt ts a ba sic tnanagem cnt tool used • d . . .
rtn • •
i,e t'll'> ns ex tre m ely im p ea s,? n-m ak in g. Hence,
Ii 111 ,esr~ as 1ega
al
1 1t 1s
organizations th or tan t fo r all or ga nizati m
e
~l~t,el.lS ,activities, ga ge d in dif fer en t :~ :p c~ al lc ily '4dor lar~-scaJ r
~~ots:!~and your departments. lh ::r~e executives can en es an c by dilfereo
Jl''~ef11P'°,..tworf<are
these ac ti • . op
the y ha ve t ;o r ke ef a personal watch over all
;o .e s. Hence, 1r decisions on the reports
lpeienee ~gh rePorts• . f ~om ~h e eads of various de art o ase therts • •fi
t~ th'° ich th ey . P me nts. Repo .bear a lot of s1gru cance
ns 1n wh arise and to the organizations they are submitted
, / th to the organ1. zat1o. . of the •
st give an idea t writing to the
b0 1h following h will duals. im po rtance of reports and repor
tO· ~ ations and th
e indivi
rgaJllZ gible product if .
0
• A rep or t is the on ly tan
ina ;e . a pro jes Szo na l Al l the efforts of engin.eers,
academicians, an d rese archers culm in reports that convey to ot ers the efficiency
h
. th . i·g n
d,; th which ey ca. .
rried ou t their ass ments.
"... u and priob,em , so,,vzn . tn . • •ons. Based on th e
ab le de cis ton -m ak t"n u
• Re,norts en o
dis cu sse d or th o t10 _organzzatt rs
T en ted , an aly sis ns rendered, administrato
information pres 1 ' . e sug ge S
make im po rta nt de. cis ions and so ve serious problems.
an . . • terial If
c
e au tho rtt tes tn planninu new ventures and tn ev aluating men anfcd ma •
• Repo . • rts he lp th o 't n pa th
op en a ne w br an ch in a nearby localitv ..,,1 ca 1 n or e same
ruza•tto1n wa nts to h'
an orgaJI af t go·ing through the feasibility report prepared fcor t 1s purpose. ·
more. enecifnvthe y er • • an d capabill'tie · s of a person, 1t
to ass ess the qu ali tt·e s
Similarly, e .orgaruzat1on wants m su bm itted by the supervisor of
h the annu al a~ ses sm en t for to
can do so by go m g throug a ne wl y int ro du ce d ma chine or product by listening
aluate
that person. It can also ev ed for this purpose.
pr ep ar
or reading th e re po rt ma tio n dissemination within an
d outside the
nt me an s of inf or
• Reports are an importa or ts, su ch as ins pe cti on reports, inventory reports,
e routine rep
organiza.tion. M an y of th ati on across and outside the orga
nization.
tra ns m it in fo rm ess of
or annual reports ,
gr ow th, pro gre ss, or suc ces s ofan organization. The succ
e ofthe gh its
• Reports serve as a measur qu ali ty an d qu an tity of information flown throu
s on th e focusing on
any organization depend itt en rep or ts. For instance, an organization
or al or wr s
personnel in the form of tim e to tim e to pro vid e information on the progres
ports from can
research can bring ou t re e its wo rth to pro sp ec tiv e clients. Also, a manager
to prov reports
being made, which serve rtm en t is ma kin g by going through monthly
er de pa
measure the progress his/h . . . .
e pr oj ec ts. us kin ds preserve
on the status of all th itory of inf or ma tio n. Or ga ruz at1 on s ofvario
• Reports serve as a valuable drepvaoslue for a long time so that they can refer ~o these reporentst
reports of importance an VIous assessm
1 an ac ad em ic institution can. refer to .the prefc
when""--• necclcd . i:- ce.
"'" '-d
ro r cxamp e,
so me co mm itte e in ord er to improve its per orman
rq>orts it had received fro
m
rt ca n giv e the rec ipi en t an idea about whether ~he
• ~ rewal . s in th
in/tin . A repo er he/she had conducted an
m-
ed log ica lly an d wh eth
p~ ed
Wri1er had th :: h t and
depth study of the topic.
 N
0
rts not only help organizations b
TECHNICAL coMMtJNICATI
O ·"
wri,_er.
. ,, . the
Rep • e"al llt a}
h the ab.illty to organize,
286 tain skth, tn . kills, sue as llate so
• Reports dev~lo/ c:; develop certain s , and
help the _wr1t~th greater accuracy•
...-,un1cate
com,,·
rts . 1 Sorne unportant purposes ofrepo
Objectives of Repo rt are written vary wide y. ) rts are to
for which rePo s k ( roject report
The purposes ord of accomplished wor P ortllaboratory report)
• Present a rec riment (primary research re~fi ations (a report on the details of
• Record an expeh fi dings or technical spec1 c a new
d researc n
• :=:~t) h dules timetables, and mileston)es (a status report on a long-term Plan)
• Document sc e ' ( . ection report (
• Document current status an_ insp . for future reference a report on policie
clarify complex information s and
• Record and
procedures) b r of people (annual report)
• Present information to a lar_ge num e . ular topic (a report describing the worki
• Present organized informat1~n ~n a part1c ng of
• • ofan organ1zat1on) .d red in solving certain
. d'1V1s1ons
various • problems (recom
• Recommend actions that can be cons1 e lllen~
datory report)

CHARACTERISTICS OF A REPORT . .
, In this section we will study the important character1st1cs that all repons
In a business report, the must have.
purpose can be to inform,
persuade, motivate, or
express feelings-or a Precision
combination of these. Precision gives unity and coherence to the report and makes it a valuable
document. Effective reports must clearly reflect their purpose. The purpose
should direct the investigation, analysis, and recommendations. The purpose determines the
format, content, sequence, and word usage in the report. Hence, first the objective should be
defined clearly, considering the expected response from the audience.
Factual details
~e r:port should be very detailed and factual. It should meet the audience's expectation. The
sci~n!ific acc~rac~ of facts is very essential to a good report. Since reports invariably lead to
decision-making, inaccurate facts may lead to disastrous decisions.

Relevance
The facts presented in a report sh0 uld b n1 •
that everv fact includ d . h e not O Yaccurate but also relevant. While it is essential
-, e in a report as a bearing on the central purpose, it is equally essentl'al to
see that no relevant infor- ti .
ofrelevant facts renders itfl}-a on isl exc1ude~. ~rrelevant facts make a report confusing; exclusion
incomp ete and is likely to mislead
Reader-orientation
A good report is al d
theperso t.. J . ways re_a er oriented. While drafi • . . . •d
o n1s1 who ts (are) going to read it A tmg a report, ti ts necessary to keep tn ,mn
ne meant for technical experts. • report meant for the layperson will be different frolll
I TECHNICAL REPORTS 287
Objectivity of
If recornrnend r~commendations
must he . at1ons are mad
a lo ical irnpartial and ob·e e ~t the end of a report, they
m g conclusion t . 1 ctive. They should come as
Ust not reveal any se~-:::estigation and analysis. They
Sim ereS t on the part of the writer.
Pie and unamb/
A good rep . . guous language
It . ort ts Written ins·1
b is a docurnent 0 f _mple, unambiguous language.
e free f ram v . practical utility; hence it should
arious £arms Of poetic embelli'
sueh as figures Of shment
grammatically speech. It should be clear, brief, and
accurate.
t who am I to give it to?' Clarity A • absolutely clear. Clarity
good rep ort is
·sdone, btJ depends on
ort' · proper arrangement of rracts. Report writers
1¢P should mak h .
their findings, and finally make necessary e t eu purpose clear, define their sources,
state ;,,to short paragra phs with headings dre~ommendations. They should divide their
an ·
• ble signpost
insert other suita ·
reroort larity. s to achieve
,
lV

greater c •
·ty A report should be brie£ Brevity should b
»ie;d •t be at the cost of comple teness S . not e achieved at the cost of clarity. Nor
sho 1 that it calls for a detail d a·
om~times the problem being investigated is of such
irnportance . . rt . th ki ed ftbscussion of facts. Then this discussion should not be
in a repo 1s e n o revity one recommends for a precis. Include everythi ng
evaded•Brevity .
. ;t·hrant and yet be bnef.
stgntJ"'
of
GraJlllllatic~ accuracy Th~ grammatical accuracy of language of a good report is
fundamental un~~rta nce. It 15 one of the basic requisites of a good report as of any other
piece of compos1t1on. Remem ber that faulty co~struction of sentences makes th~ meaning vague
and ambiguous.

Special format
The technical report uses a rather involved format including cover, title page, table of contents,
to
list of illustrations, letter of transmi ttal, and appendices. These have to be prepared according
aset standard, which will be present ed later in this chapter.

Illustrations
Most technical reports contain illustrations, which may be tables, graphs, maps, drawings,
charts, or photographs.

Homogeneity .
A report should deal with one main topic. All the sections of the report should focus on
that
topic.

Documentation .
T~L-. d 1 documented by acknowledging sources
~cal ~ports acquire more value when a equate y
af'in£0 nnation in an appropr iate style.

l
 •~
.."'~
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•••
281 ltCHNfCAl COMMUNICATION •'

A good report is
Irrelevant facts make a
report confusfng; exclusion • Precise $Ind brief • Reader-orient d
of relevant facts renders ft • Fac:ru11l • Ob·~cctivc and eh
Incomplete and Is llkely to • {Jmimhi1'ruo11, ~nd ~cc11r~te • Dctai Jed and d 0 fl1og, 0
mfsfead. Ottt01
• Rr1tvant cnttd'011k~

CATEGORIES OF REPORTS
011 thr bmd~ of purpose, frequency, mode of reporting, length, approach, and
report~ can be classified as follows: tatgtt ¾Ql
• Informative, analytical (purpose) • Long, s~ort (length) '
• Periodic, speciaJ (frequency) : For?1_al, 1nforrna1 (a
• Oral, written (mode of Ind1v1dual, group (t~roach)
presentation) get attdj~ 11
•l~I

lnformatfve reports focus

Informative Reports
on documenting new An informative report, as the name suggests, entails provisi
Information; analytical and facts pertaining to the problem. For instance, it could ~n of alldctaili
reports assess Information attempts to trace the growth of Company X in the automob~ a_report t~
fn order to propose a
course of action. a report of this kind, the presentation of all details that led te 1~dus1ry,~
of Company X should be listed in a chronological order. 0 t egrowtn
In a report of this kind, the introduction is followed by a
of information or facts and a conclusion thereafter, where Jre~entation
The main purpose of an are collated in brief as a recap of earlier sections. Recommen~ e_ details
informational report is to . 1n
not anse . th'1s type of report . at1ons do
present the information in
an objective, factual, and The main purpose of an informational report is to prese
organized manner. information in an objective, factual, and organized manner. Su nt ~he
• order, and good presentation
data, appropriate • sty1e are important pportinl).D
writing an informational report. in

Analytical Reports
An analytical report is also known as an interpretative or investigative report. An analytic~
report analyses the facts, draws conclusions, and makes recommendations. For instance, areport
presenting production figures for a particular period is informative. But if it analyses the causes
of lower production in that period, it becomes analytical, interpretative, or investigative.
An analytical report comprises stages in which there is a proper identification ofthe problem,
analysis, and subsequent interpretation. Recommendations or suggestions are then incorporatea
in the report, depending upon what is required by the report writer. Thus, in a problem-solving
method, the steps observed are as follows:
• Drafting problem statement • Drawing conclusion(s) and making
• Evolving criteria recommendations
• Suggesting alternatives and
evaluation
Periodic and Special Reports
0
Periodic reports are either informational or analytical in their purpose. As they are P~P::u:JII
presented at regular, prescribed intervals in the usual routine of business, they are c e
 'Jhey may be submitted annuaij
orfs. Y, senii. . ann n n -__
•-..""WCAL AEP<>frrs 289
rtfeve !l da ily. h Ua lh,
erallY sue reports cont . n a /) <}llan:e IY, rnonth} .
of . a1 re sta t r 6
Ge!l ed fo rrn ~e Y, Or ghtly, weekly,
layout of a prescrib 'W ith ou t an ern ~n t of fact . tni
rt
n repo annua1 s in d .
ifl ~e kinds, inspec.tio s, op1ni
or rccorn CtatJ, in surnrnarizcd r. , or
.11(Jous ca n b rep or ts a ~n ac orm
v,...M tirnes the routme
reports n. sal es re"" rncndation. P-roan
an orga niz . e ana1 }'tica 1' rv fts con,, o- ~s reports of
·ou s divi sions in b . or Jn tcr
on su tt ann al Pretati'tc r:, unde r thi s carPanvry.
f v9.f1 het authoriti . . h ey assess ati th d lll •ro r ~ l --t>
o b·g es,.t e at d giveuth as. scssrncnr repo p c, when the heads
we (io ak ns a an
ts to t e certain decisio of their employees to
1
1 Ctr rceornrnenda ..~ts
are related to a ·s·ing e u.ons s.o a5 to enable their
st1P:1J"cial reports b nch , a report on th occasion O s1tuati .
JI" r
.ng a new ra e un r report on thc crcasibili 0 f
h" d th e recent fire 1·n "d es•t among staff.ltlon. A
rticular branch , or a reportyt on
e111
oP auses be in Ct ent 1
s n a fac tory spaecPa
the c
·th non-recurrent problem s. are ial
reports. Special reports deal
wt

oral and Written Reports

ports can be or al or w.ritten depend·ing upo h presentation Wh ..
0 d" sem in n t e mode of
~e International en you rc101n
you meet your officer and. report about the
duty after atten m g an ar. This type f ar~
liberations of the. sem in 0 reporting
de .
and easy t comes under oral. reporting.
port 1s sim ple o present. It may communicate an impression or an
An oral reW hi l al w 'tt
. e or reports are useful' n en reports are always preferred as they enjoy
observation.
the oral ones. Table 13 •1 compares oral and written reports.
several advantages over

TABLE 13.1 Oral and wr

itten reports
- -
Written reports
~ral reports t possible
possible • Immediate feedback is no
• Immediate feedback is anent records of the
permanent records of the • Contribute to the perm
• Do not add to the organization
ation/facts can be denied
organization as the inform • Audience can ponder ov
er these reports and
to com prehend quickly as and
• Au dience need s understand at its own pace
when these are presented cise as the writer will be
d • Are more accurate and pre
with irrelevant facts an careful in putting down the
facts in writing
• May be encumbered
, stored, and retrieved
overlook important ones • Can be edited, reviewed
ain and again ue
• Have more professional val - - - - - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ·
• Cannot be referred to ag
lue
• Have less professional va

and
l th degree of formathlity, 15 ·
or t Reports f pe ara nc e, eng , a
Long an d Sh O
ap
•fied based on .length . W he n e~e
1s not
d on the frequ en cy Th • t cture
Reports are classified base po
rts are c1ass
h are pr
i
ec ise an d concise. ~ll' s ro_ d d by the
and short re format is pallrovib e_ s with
Purpose. As is evident, lo ngrts are suitable as t ey 11 Sometimes the rep u y eg1n may
definite purpose ' sh or t repo . format as we • A 5h t ort us er the format
d let ter rep orts. or H '
~ 1s not on 1 •on owev
cry elabo.rate and the focus. 1ude memo an . d th en cone usi •
orgarti• zation. Short reports inc • ~ rmat1on an I h got elaborate d ctu
stru re
an • troduction followed by the in
lll
° ~ t t as
. rgan ized an d analyse •
I •
tis
' f rn ph as is on th e or ~a
n.
-, depending on th e situatio a ~ot o:Moreover, it is proper y o
½r,,

ari In contrast, lo ng re
ports place
rmation.
d consists of abundant info
 .290 TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

usually produced after detailed research and data collection. These can be furthe
r classified
informative, analytical, and recommendatory reports. Long reports also have a lot of
illustratio:
to support the discussion.

Formal and Informal Reports

The nature and format decide if the report is formal or informal. A formal .repor
t is the result of
proper survey and investigation and is presented in a prescribed format. It ts prepa
red as per the
requirement of the organization. The language is also very formal. The formal
reports have all
the elements of reports and follow the laid down rules of writing reports. ~e ~ength
may vary
from a few pages to large volume. These reports include annual reports, auditors
reports, pollcy
reports, interpretive reports, etc.
An informal report is usually transmitted from person to person. It can vary from a few
lines to
several pages. Sometimes an informal report may include raw data that can be used
at the time of
need. It is generally targeted at a few people. The memo report is an example of an
informal report.
Individual and Group Reports
When a report is classified based on the target audience, it is classified as indiv
idual and group
report. A report presents the information in an organized manner in the most
usable form to
the set of people. It may describe the series of event to the concerned peopl
e. For example, it
may present the government expenditure of the entire year to all the citize
ns of the nation.
Another report on the admission pattern in the engineering college can be prese
nted to aspiring
engineers and their parents. These two are the examples of group report.
However, some reports are of concern only to an individual and are not mean
t for the general
reader. These include the attendance report of an employee or an individual'
s progress report.
These reports are of more interest to the top authority than anyone else. These
reports are called
individual reports. The format and design of these two reports may not vary
much, but for the
individual report the formalities can be dispensed with, and a personal touch can
be added.
In an organization the marketing head sends a group report showing next
year's projections
to all the other functional (line) heads, and the production line head sends
an individual MIS
report to another head of the organization. Thus, in the first case, one indiv
idual is sending his/
her report to a group of individuals, whereas in the second case an individual is sendi
ng a report
ro only one individual.

:oRMATS
 2f4 TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

PREWRITING
Before actually beginning to draft a report, various tasks need t~ be unde~taken, Which
referred to as the prelimin11ry .rteps to writing a report. The effectiveness with which 00 tllayb~
out the tasks involved in these steps decides the efl_"ectiveness of the tec~nical re~ort\~a7,ies
the planning stage is the most crucial one. En~ugh trme should be spent in colle:t1ng Ill.ate ~ct,
synchronizing details and ensuring that nothing has been left out. If the planning is d t1~
on .
a detailed manner there are very few chances of errors creeping in at t e nal stage I c Ifl
. • • h f i
'

planning.for a repo~t is as important as the process if writing itse!f. The various steps in;ol~~a~
report planning are as follows: 1ll

• V nderstanding the purpose and scope • Organizing the material

• Analysing the audience • Making an outline
• Investigating the sources of information

Purpose and Scope

Purpose refers to the objective of the study, while scope refers t~ the depth or extent of cover
Assume that vou as the senior engineer of an organization, have been asked by your dep~rt-age,
. th ~ • d fc
the recently constructed fiyover did not re~e1ve e ant1c1pate eedhack frorn th
r ' --1..1.uent
head to study why
users. You are also required to sugge~t some measures to mo~ ~e ~~e. Unless you ~e clearWi;
the objectives ofthe task your report involves, for example, 1den~g the causes ofdissatisfacti
( a )

and (b) suggesting remedial measures, you will not be able to proceed in the right direction. It is:
purpose ofthe report that enables you to decide the amount ofdata to be collected, the data collectio
method to be used, the quality and quantity of information to be included in the report, and thn
methodology to be adopted in analysing the situation and arriving at a solution. e
Further, it is essential to understand the nature of the report-informative or analytical. In an
informative report, one may stress factors contributing to collation of information at the time of
stating the purpose. However, in an analytical report the writer would need to prepare a problem
statement, the analysis ofwhich becomes the thrust area of the report. Depending on the type of
report to be written, there is bound to be a difference in the definition of the problem and purpose.

Audience
The audience for a technical report-or any piece of writing for that matter-is the intended
or potential reader. For most technical writers, this is the most important consideration in
planning, writing, and reviewing a document. One 'adapts' his/her writing to meet the needs,
interests, and background of the readers. Lack of audience analysis and adaptation is one of
~ the root causes of most of the shortcomings of professional, technical
'Adapt'your writing to meet documents-particularly while writing instructions, where inadequacies
the needs, interests, and surface most glaringly. .
>ackground of the readers one of t e rst t 1ngs to o while analys1ng
h f i h " d · an au 1ence 1s to 1 entify
d ' • · ' d

1iho wIll be reading your . (

rr/ting. its type or types-it is rarely just one type). In general, the audience can
be categorized into three types: experts, executives, non-specialists.
a n d

. . Experts are the people who know the theory and the product inside
out. They designed 1t, they tested it, and they know everything about it. Often, they have
advanced degrees and operate in academic settings, or in research and development areas of the
government and business departments. More often, the communication challenge faced bytbe
expert is communicating to the technician and the executive in simpler terms.
..··••··.•••-•...... -
•
,
·· ••'
•• ••

/ uti'V es are the people w

d • • at
ho make bus1n
te rs th
.
ess, econo rn1c .
, adrni •
TECHNICAL REPO
RTS

governmental,
295

m at the e½perts and techn· ~•strative, legal, it is a new

C
£t jitical ec1s1ons h h
6 o n
d pot, they d ec1·d e_ w et er to produce d market it If . _•c•ans work with. If logy, they
9,11 ac
th er th e ci ty sh ou ld irnplern ~n cu tiv es ·rn rt rs a new power
techno
pfO~ whe e~t it. Exe ay som•eti mes have as little technical
ledg e ab ou t th e subject as non -specialist
Jeci kn s.
VI e e least technical
. owledge o f all •1he non- speci·ali st readers are least
pe ci al ists ha ve th
1'11° on-s e ex ne rts ~..
h at th -· r cue sa1r1 ng, and also ha~ th · Th · t ·interest
/./l understand w b :1_... e 1east reas on t try °
. ly to practical as the technici ans,, ut 1n d:.ua-1erent wae. 1h e
. e1
new product
Jike as w an a Y. ey want to us e th
be sk s; th ey th to know
rtlaY 0111 lish thei
r ta
. . t to understand
~ po w er te chnology enough
to acc P fc in
u ne
the upcoming nton election o th ey may 1u
w . be curi.ous
r ~r al ag ai ns t it r, st
whether to ~octeteoh at te r an d
Want to le ar n ab . •
pr ac tic al reason.
ec ifi e rue m ou t It, bu t fo r no sp ecific
'
about a sP ce in . the
po rt an t to an alyse the audien te rm s o f th e ch aractenstics explained in
It is im • ns
t10 •
following sec d . . con-
n ow le d ge , ex perience O ne o f th e most important
B 1cgtound-k kn ow ledge , exp,eranen i· cetrai rung
or tr • · ng we can expect in our readers. F r.
or
h o w m u ch ai ru
~ si s 1·ust 011ide to us.in'g a software d t.th at runs under Micr?so1t
ce1,.~ ag in e yo u ar e w ri ti n g a o pro uc
If some are likely
,,f1'1ple im ~
h
n yo u ex pe ct yo ur readers ou t W in do w s?
'
u c ca to know ab h
Windows. H o w m
eXa ,J.J ...

ou t W in d o w s should Vi u provi.d e that inform afton.~ Ifyou say ~o, t en you rund n
ow little ab ' Jo ba ck gr ou
ed with O product. Ifyou say yes to adding
to knrisk o f customers g et ti n g frus.trat Y ur d ad d to th
f th
e
the an t o
.on on w·ind ows, you incrbease• yo1ur wor . k ef fo rt ge co un
e pa ti o n -p ar t o f
to this q u es
informao nd thus to th e co t) O . V Io us Y, th er e 1s no easy answer d s th at bac"" 1,n-.-
5J .oun
d
t (a . . s • t o f th d. ne e
a segmen e au 1ence
documen
ay m vo lv e JU St h o w big o r small
the answer m
ctations
information. ne ed to kn ow th e audience's expe
report, we icrowave
re st s W hile_ plan~ing a g a m an ua l on how to use a new m
Needs an d in te
ag 1ne you are wri tin
ar e under contract
to
o r ex am pl e, un Im ag in e yo u
from the report. F er s going to expect to
find in it?
ta te association-wha
t do
e yo ur re ad tio na l re al es
oven-what ar o n global warmin
g for a na ad about?
write a back gr ou nd re p o rt
rt an t, w ha t do they not want to re
impo
out, and, equally o f our readers mig
ht have an
they want to read ab s ch ar ac te ri st ic s f
h ic ch ar ac te ri stics The variou t- fo r ex am pl e, age groups, type o
Other demograp r d o cu m en
de si gn an d w riting style o f ou d so on.
inBuence on th e
e, ge nd er , po li tical preferences, an ct or s: ~ixed audience ty
pes
o f re si de nc re e ot he r fa
residence, area by at least th
e an al ys is ca n g et complicated ce , an d unknown audien
ces
Audienc ithin an au di en
ide variability w for more than on
e
for one document, w A report can be of te n m ea nt
xperts and
M ix ed audience be se en by te ch nical pe•ople) (e H
r example , it may ( ence, one
1~ Write to the lowest d i ce .
r1
r 0
in is tr at iv e pe op le. executivesd. t can
au en · ) adm umen
·c1ans as well as that al l th e au di en ce s o f•the oc · 1 fc th e
o m in at o r te e h ru l th t·o ns so io n stri ct y or
~d en . al e sec 1 each seh d. ct d ct•ion
LL~,youare m u st w n te rw ise one can write ea in gs an se
en d up w ith a d t h em . 0 th e '
st ed in it, an d th en use to st ay out
~ to unde rsta n ould be intere ce about where to go and what
u s . d.
~ ,t e d io ho w h
~ ~ke thing that will audiencetiw on s to al er t t e au ien
introduc into
~ th emajority o f th e re po rt . E ve n th ou gh the au.dience fits d
t of in . an audi ence .. . groun f.
--to::: If1~ u do no l, it y in a w id e va ri ability 1n 1ts back·
t le ve b il be o
>Di,~ t 0Wes
en t o f
·d v a n·a
e e m ay e lo w es t co m mon denominator
~ that segm W 1 rv th
e catego. J' ·f we wnte to
er • th
'-W h a tt o do ? on ly on
This is a toug o
h n e -t
 --·

296 :rECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

dious book-like thing that Will

readers, we are likely to end up with a cumbersome, te 1 we lose that se turn ~
· · • . · that lowe st 1eve ' gtnent 0'£
t h e maJonty of readers. But if we do not wnte to . j of readers and sacrifice the .of ollt
readers. What to do? Most writers go for. the. maJO~ ty t'on in appendices or 1·n tlltnorih.
ry inrorma 1 sert ,,
J
t h at needs more help. Others put supp ementa cross,
references to beginners'book$. 'bl h
ort comprehens1 e to t e non-s .
Using the following guidelines, you can make a rep Pec1alist
reader: d to understand the report
• Add infonnation required by readers in order
• Omit information your readers do not nee
• Add examples to help readers understand
• Change the level ofyour examples .
. . f 0 ur information
• Change the organization _Y°
• Use more or different graphics .
• t t information
• Add cross-references to impor an
't do not know who all will be the .readers of the·
t h e wn ers . .
Unknown audience At times . . . b tter fcor the writers to ant1c1pate a hostile audience tr
• h a situation it is e . . and
reports. Even i~ sue . t•fi' ble as possible with adequate supporting details. lhey rn
try t o_ make their reports as JUS i a . . I . Ust
. f' t'fication or evidence in the most conv1nc1ng manner. n addition th
organize the points o JUS 1 .
. d tone in d1scuss1ng
• reports.
• o f t h e1r
. the topic ' ey
need to adopt a neutral an d un b iase

Sources of Information
To accomplish the objectives of a report, we require fa~ts _and ideas. We may_ find them in
company records, reports, bulletins, pamphlets? a~d per1od1cals; we may use ~brary sources
to look for information; we may observe some_ 1nc1dent_ and collect the :acts or ideas: we may
conduct personal interviews with people to get 1nformat1on; or we may circulate questionnaires
to get data for our report.
Investigating the sources of information is a kind of research. It must be done right in the
beginning. The extent of investigation will, of course, depend on the length and importance of
the report.
The two types of data that one can collect are primary and secondary data. Primary data
are what a researcher gathers for the particular problem being addressed in the report. The
important means of collecting primary data for a report are
• Personal observation
• Personal interviews or telephone interviews and experimental data
• Surveys (preparing and circulating questionnaires)

Secondary data are data gathered for some purpose other than the problem at hand. Common
sources of secondary data are
• Internal records
• Published material such as directories, guides, statistical data government publications
• Databases such as bibliographic and numeric databases '
• Censuses

• Syndicated sources (information services provided by research organizations)

m} Please refer to the Onli R C • .
ne esource entre for details on primary and secondary data collect1on-
 TECHNICAL REPORTS 297
organizing the Material
ic pu
Depending upo. n the top ' rpose '.and audience, we ca .
for our rep ort 1n eith er of the foll 0
Wing: n organize the material/data collected
d f
• The or er o occurrence
• 1he order of importance
• A com bin atio n of orders

order ofoccurrence
Order of occurrence is oth erw is e kn own as h , ts
d • h
in t e seq uen ce of th . c. rono,ogica/ order. Here ' the data or even
are presente • .
Fi exa mp1e, the hist ory e1rf occurrence. in tim e-n one of the parts are uniquely
importa nt. or 0 a transactto n or th e procedure for manufacturing or
•
installing equ ipm ent .

order ofimportance
.
When the ma tter /dat a collected for th t is not of uniform value, we may have todiorga d
nize
tion in des cen din g o r d i
ere por
the info rma all th d
n ng order of.importance. G ener y, e escen ·ng or er
asceal
of imp orta nce is vali d for info rm ti
for the most
repo1:',_a~ the reader is interested in looking
im orta nt info rma tion first. Fo r~ te needs are more
. P ....
t th fu+.iuue d ) ple, feasibility reports (in which immedia
1mportan an nee s or a feedb ack report on a conference recently attended.

Combination oforders
bination of
rts involving a double assignment. A com
This ord er is par ticu larl y useful in repo a
nce and ord er of des cen ding imp ortance is fairly common. Examples are
order of occ urre on a problem
the recommended changes, and a report
report on the app rais al of a situ atio n and
and the sug ges ted solu tion . completeness,
arri ve at the cor rec t ord er, exa min e the data as a whole, consider them for
To blem at hand,
r rela tion ship to the pur pos e of inve stigation, their total significance to the pro
thei
er.
and the n org ani ze in an app rop riat e ord

Interpreting Information d the wa! ~he

ings can be presented: It must be p:esente
Once the dat a are org ani zed , the find
the rea der wan ts onl y in the form of topic ~nd su~top1cs, mere organ1z1ng
reader wan ts. If are
of 1t, some. more· efforts
·n b uffi · t bu t 1·f the reader wants the application h Id
the data wi e s c1en , a is a sole mental activity, the followmg
pomts s ou
required. Alt hou gh inte rpr etin g the dat
be kep t in min d: • Onl y analyse comparable data
• Pre sen t the fact s as the y are • Be conscious of unreliable data
• Do not giv e you r con clu sion s t ways of
rpr et onl y the ava ilab le da t\ bl fj the interpretation. There are differen
• Inte t calculation should be explained
Be aware of the stat isti cal tool~ a~at ad e Eorven the smalles
. . . d ant1tat1hve ata.
deali.ng Wit h qua lita tive an qu
mp re
. r. r the readers.
ens1ve 1•0
d
to make the con ten t eas y an co

r f the rep ort prior to commencing work on the

Making an Outline
It is ext rem ely imp ort ant to dev elo p r ~; :ec~i ed out onl y after completion of
the outline.

rtpon. The formatting of the report s o

 f lntroducfion
I ,,troduc ,
od l nthe
f on

11f~rn!:h sufficient
1h fu
e nc f
and to to? of an in troducr
Ttc1111rcAu9o1rrs 309

the r b provide a smooth ion is to

l ers w'concerndingprob lem p o lern to th e read , sound openin Put th e whole re •
;d ·al an , fu • h the re er s an d po rt in perspective
re'' ·on sy rn1s ts the i g for it. It p b.
~8 ,tigat1 to an ea
es to f an d pr ob } ad ers W ith
su
ge
ffi . r at tcnf . Agood. th e su 1cct or
res ents
t'e1dtnes1o ~ ofther ern t ead th c1ent Ill . ion cr . introduction must
1ec, r,en n report. It h , o 1als . em an ateco
to r1aJ COnc
~iflpre th e s ou Jd ea sy n, nrng the investi tio •
cO ~ -- ~ ~
:/ giv e th ga n
y plunge int eode prehension of th e rest of the
~ ~ ': '.,
d t "1 e rea de rs a
~ view f the oreth a1 s. In oth general vie
here a broa ' general o ra th er W ord s th . w of the report beti~re
6
d po rt, on is a
VI
resente . er than a spec:c. ' e introalducti •cal sec on
in cl ud es th c u1 c an d an
P A.n introdu ctio n e iollowin .
: ytt one, can be
g In fo rm ati on
rt C . .
)Jac1cgr0und o f the repo ond1tion s/ events • •
D et ai l s of p i . . giving ri
discussed her .
e. eVIous in~esttg ations and stusedietos the project o~ survey need to be
al
ca n
significant a.me gap. so be mduded if there is
purpose and scope . Tu
e ha kg d ill
c roun w logically 1 d
. h ed th e ] rpose of the report •1f th e
investigator as receivbe clearlyerms _of Reference theyeacantobetherpu
the objectiv.es have to · spec1fi d•1he purp' ose stat p esented verbatim. Otherwise
rie s of th e w or k. Stati· ng wh·e h • ement de sm·b es the objective as well
as bo un da issues will be cover~d and which issues will not be
im po rt an t . h IC
covered is especially in t e case of com le 1 .
ity h h . p x, engthy investigations
au th or
Authorization The w o as assig ned to do the project/conduct th e survey should
. d I th words ' the re c1. p1. ent,s name and d . .
be mennone . n o er . esignatton should be men
tioned.
eories in I d
Basic principles or th vo ve The im portant t eories and principles used
h for
ld be outlined.
analysing the data shou
er in g da ta Th h d ed or the sources consulted for collecting the data
Methods o fgath e met o s us
should be mentioned.
eth odology) Th hOdO1
n (b rie f ou tline of m ogy
ping the solutio e met
General plan in deveisloshould be outlined.
adopted in the analys ction may
an iza tio n of va rio us sections) The Introdu
e repo~ (o_rg serve as significant guidep
osts
Gen~ral st r u ~ e o f th s an d pr oc ed ur es , wh ich
ch as obJect1ve
contain subheadings su ovide
for the readers. pl an ati on of th e ge ne ral plan of the report will pr
n with an ex o be ended with the disc
ussion of
Ending the Introductio of th e re po rt. It ca n als
the next section wo~d prese~t. the results
. A brief
a logical transition to d th en th e ne xt se ction
ther data; an the first part
the procedures used to ga n conclusions may also provide a logical trans1t1on to
mai
outline of the results or
ion of the report.
of the Discussion sect
• s the
es t pa rt of th e report, contain
Discussion . th len gt hi •
dat1ons, as
section ' e the conclusion and recommen
t lllscu551on should leai:I The d1scuss1
e ders through the
'-tilea
. •
information that . sur:
on
~~ ts an d in ter pr
ed
eta tio n of the information. Her
analysed and. interprete
e,
d. The
s sis , g ' nt
Mlt reasoning proces well as the analyd d ta are pres.e t da ' ta to inclu ' de 1n the text and less
. a d' M •
!l ie :: ~ todresh ach information an"d between pert1nen legate to the appen ix. ean1ngs,
.
.._Iha usions an ow w ri te r must de,c1 eation to omit or re
" tthey are sound. ._e
:n"'lnortant uuorrn
 oMMUNICATION
310 TECHNICAL c h der Comparisons are made, facts are
1 to t e rea •
d f: cts are rnade c ear 1h solution of a problem may be given .
With
eva1
llate<1
ideas, an al o·onships are drawn. T:e bles charts and other media for presen
t·an CJcpla?\, a.~q
s1g d t re
• nmcan a d t ges a ' '
t ges and disa van a • ·at may be includ ed (the
•
vanou Ing fi •tar
0 f 1'ts a van a . rive maten . . 1
s types of ill gure to~
d Other illustra l) Emph asis s on the . Ustr
resu ts and their inte at1on8 l Q . s a.fl
d ta are use • 1
a d are discussed in . Chapter .
• h gh the same reason ing process that the rpretation t.1'nat
can be use d he readers t rou d
discussion should_ lea t d show them that they are soun • autho •~fl
r llsed t:
h the condus1ons an uld b consid ered to show how the data prove
reac oth
Opposing conten tions sho e
hat the reader agrees wit .h t
a concep 'un1ess it . . et'W
is generaU ise, \e
.ter should not assume t t of facts should be used, as these are most easily y accePte,J
wn ...r. ard statem en s
.
S1m , straighnorw
ple
f he rob em are treated in the d.iscuss.ion sectio • M
n. a1or sub· Underst{\,_,J."
1
Different aspects O t dp P . ts may be arranged to suit the subjec . . 'J ~ect h "\J"·
.d the rea er. o1n t and reader eadino
are used to gu1 e • ()s

Conclusion
'Tell your audience what The conclusion is that section of the report where all the essential o·
you are going to tell them. d
Tell it to them. And then deve1ope in the discussion .are broug
.
ht together.
b . h d. .
P 1nts
tell them what you have The function of this section is to ring t e iscussion to a close
told them!' . al to the readers gracefully that they have reached the end I «lnd
to sign
-Hilaire Be/Joe refers to the logical inferences dra~n , t h e JU
. d
gements formed on
· t 'l1.
-;i
_,ee~JCZ-•,..,,,o.-=-==--
-a, basis of analysis of data presented in the report, or the findings f e
. . . o ~e
invest1.gat1on . This section has the following characteristi
. cs:
• Uses decreasing order of importance . .
• Can be narrative (in paragraphs) or tabular (in points)
• Uses narrative type when there are few conclusions
• Uses tabular form when there are more conclusions
• Both narrative and tabular forms are acceptable but the latter is
better for quick
comprehension.
• Contains only opinions and never suggests future actions to be taken
by the reader
• Does not introduce any new idea not previously introd uced into the report
Conclusions are the result of reasoned analysis and judge ment of the
data in the report
and serve as a basis for recommendations growing out of the study. They
may be summary or
analytical in nature. Thus, the conclusion section is a recapitulation of
the significant points
developed in the discussion section. Concluding statem ents are suppo rted
by the facts in the
discussion section.
An example of tabular type of conclusion is the following, taken from a consumer-prefe
rence
Surv~y made by Swift & Company for the mould ed pulp egg carton
versus the regular se[-
locking egg carton:
1
• The moulded pulp carton is decidedly preferred, both by those having used it (77 per
cent of them) aocl
those who have not used it (68 per cent of them).
2. Protection is th • • I
, epnnc,pa reason of preference for the moulded pulp carton.
3. Hard to open' and , 't ,
th h can see eggs are the principal reasons for disliking the moulded pulp carton, 91·ven b~
ose w o have used it.
4. 15 per cent of those t .
preferring the re ul pre erring th e moulded pulp carton had opening troubles-69 0f those
9 ar type found the pulp carton per cent
5 45 difficult to open
• per cent of those preferrin th . •
74 per cent of those pr i . 9 e moulded pulp carton liked to look at eggs . n,pared to
before buying, co whY
e erring the regular type. 'Want to see size' and 'colour' were gjven as reasons •
TY.PES o·F R:E:PORTS
1

There are many differe nt types of reports . The basic format and elements remain the s
they vary in terms of the purpos e and extent of formality. We will discuss some comm:e
in this section . tyJ

Introd uctory .reports

As the name suggest s, these report introdu ce some topics but do not delve deep into anyaspec
They just skim the surface of the issue, to give the audienc e a prelimi nary feel of it. Therefon
these are short reports and do not need subsect ions and subdivi sions. The contents are briefan(
to the point.
 ess reports
oro9fi reports giv. ula r upd
TECHNtCAL REPORTS 313
r e reg
i

r11,ese d set deadliates ab out the

the expect e or
JJJ
f de1ari it sp nes and then dProgress1•on of
tites
s port. In ~ • cas e o . ticul .
' ec16es the reasonescribe h WoarkPar d ar ongoing project. It
the re work • or instance in th £ s t e
. h the date of writing
e of a con or it and the sup one till the
cas
po 1\g the track of the prog~es8 • Perogr structi0 n project aP0 rt that can be provided to
1 r al
keeP be very 1orm in case of th ess report£
can help in
den ts' thesis wo k e report on th orrnat can vary~ progress report
It cllfl of stu ject undertaken.
case _ tua tions it has a pro f
progre ss and if t~ progress of the bu :~ theorP'.'° can be informal
ill
a to be fill d e report is through ema •ng it
51 orm il th
5ome e out• to c supervisor. In

incident reports
e reports look more like an arti.cle th
Thes •h a·
accident wit ou t 1storting th e f:acts t O
an a report • It .ts used to d •b
an y important to maintain a a person wh O cou1d not esc n e an event or
. ,,er ·r h
• •
ccuracy and truthfuln Th Wt ness t e scene. It
. ft rrnation 1s impodrtant. In general, the event ess. e order'dof presentation of
1s v

in o I . 1 . i ent are presented

s constituting th e 1nc
• chrono og1ca or er.
10

feasibility reports
sta t·
While undertaking a new proJiect or ring an establishm~nt, th_e possibi .
lity of launching it
esse d . Th e pro s and con s of it and th
sho uld be ass st
. e co , gains, glitches sho Th
uld be thoroughly
ort stu dies the pro blem ki . .
studied. The rep , Opportun11v and pla £or ta ng action. e conclusion
n s
the y indicate wh eth h ":' .
are very important as g considered is feasible, not feasible,
feasib le and hen ce d" tl h elr t de P:~Ject bein
o
r par tially
' tree Y e ps ecis1on-ma . king

Marketing reports
~ua sive in nat ure _an~ beg in wit h ma rketing objectives, stating the available
These reports are per feasibility report in terms of style, length
, and
of act lon , and goa ls. It 1s sim ilar to
resources, plan nching the
is rep ort is pre par ed by the ma rke ting department while promoting or lau
content. Th ails about
wh ile ass essing the effe ctivene ss of existing strategies. It contains the det
product or domestic, or
ntation , tar get ing , and pos itio nin g. A market report can be about the global,
segme lar product vis-
al ma rke t. It wo uld also inc lud e the customers' perspective about a particu
reg ion
e rep ort sho uld also inc lud e the effe ctiveness of the promotional, pricing,
a-vis competition. Th
and distribution strategies.
.
Laboratory test reports .ments conducted in the labo ratory. The observanon,
1h . b ared h utmost accuracy and
wit
ent the various exp en
ese reports docum t
. e prep
se reports. muS
calculation, and results sections of the .
owing sections. • Results
precision. These reports have the foll
• Aim • Conclusion
• Discussion
• Theory
• Inference
• Apparatus • Possible sources of errors
• Procedure s • Precautions
• Observation
• Calculations
 Project reports
A proiect can be defined as a sequenc
J e of unique, co mp lex , an d co nn ec ted
act
goal or pu rp os e an d th at mu st be c~
mpleted by a speci•fic tim . • h. b ivities havi•ng on
to specification. A t th e en d of a proJec e, wi t m a udget ~nd accordine
t th e pe rso n or th e tea m wh o ha s acc
a rep or t explaining th e details. Fo r ins • • omplished 1't . g
ul
tance, as a pa rt Of t h er r cu rn c um Writes
an d professional courses ma y un de rta . , stu de nts of tech .
ke so ~e pr oj ec ts O f t heo re tic
. al .
or practical nature underlIllca
the guidance of professors. W hi le so
me pr oje cts m ay las t fo r a se ~e ste
completed in fifteen days or on e mo ~, so ~e others may he
nt h. Bu t on ly wh en th ey su bm it th
project is considered as complete. A er r project reports the·
stu de nt ca rry in g ou t a pr oj ec t on
use of In ter ne t on ca mp us ' ma y co th e topic 'Effecti;
nd uc t a su rv ey am on g th e us er s
interpret, and analyse th e da ta colle of In ter ne t on campus,
cted an d su gg es t so m e me as ur es
effective use of In ter ne t on campus to improve upon the
. W he n he /sh e pr ep ar es th e pr oj
choose appropriate elements an d wr ite ec t report, he/she will
th e re po rt. Su ch re po rts generally
certificate, acknowledgements, co nt include the title page,
en ts, ab str ac t, th e main body co
sections, appendices, references, glossa ns ist in g of three or four
ry, etc .