Dr.
D K Abhinav
In Engineering, one of the major forms of
communication is the technical report. This is
the conventional format for reporting the
results of your
research
investigations
and design projects.
At university, reports are read by lecturers and
tutors in order to assess your mastery of the
subjects and your ability to apply your knowledge
to a practical task.
In the workplace, they will be read by managers,
clients, and the construction engineers
responsible for building from your designs.
are designed for quick and easy
communication of information
are designed for selective reading
use sections with numbered headings and
subheadings
use figures and diagrams to convey data.
Make your mind regarding the message you
want to convey
Try to define the likely audience:
▪ Technical audience
▪ Non-technical, e.g., general public
Taking into account the audience’s limitations
and the message you want to convey, choose
an appropriate outline
Title Page
Summary
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Body of the Report
Conclusion
References
Appendices
the title of the report
the authors' names and ID numbers
the course name and number, the
department, and university
the date of submission.
states the topic of the report
outlines your approach to the task if applicable
gives the most important findings of your
research or investigation, or the key aspects of
your design
states the main outcomes or conclusions.
The summary does NOT:
provide general background information
explain why you are doing the research,
investigation or design
refer to later diagrams or references.
1.0 Title of first main section (usually Introduction)
1.1 First subheading
1.2 Second subheading
2.0 Title of second main section
2.1 First subheading
2.2 Second subheading
2.2.1 First division in the subheading
2.2.2 Second division in the
subheading
3.0 Title of third main section
A transition toward the main body of the
document. It should take an uninformed
reader from a level of zero-knowledge to a
level in which the reader is able to
understand the main body of the document.
➢ Motivation (i.e., why is it important?)
▪ General
▪ Specific
➢ Background (i.e., what is the history of this issue?)
➢ Objectives (i.e., what are you trying to
accomplish?)
➢ Scope (i.e., what is the focus of your analysis?)
➢ Limitations (i.e., what constraints did you face?)
➢ Content (i.e., what is in the report?)
➢ Organization (i.e., how the report is organized?)
presents the information from your research,
both real world and theoretical, or your design
organizes information logically under
appropriate headings
conveys information in the most effective way
for communication:
◦ uses figures and tables
◦ can use bulleted or numbered lists
◦ can use formatting to break up large slabs of text
states whether you have achieved your aims
gives a brief summary of the key findings or
information in your report
highlights the major outcomes of your
investigation and their significance.
The conclusions should relate to the aims of
the work:
Aim
The aim of this project is to design a mobile
phone tower.
Conclusions
In this report, a design for a mobile phone
tower has been presented. The key features
of the tower are... It was found that...
The two parts to referencing are:
❖ citations in the text of the report
❖ a list of references in the final section
A citation shows that information comes from
another source.
The reference list gives the details of these
sources. You need to use in-text citations
and provide details in the references section
when:
In-text citation
Corrosion is defined as a 'chemical action which harms the
properties of a metal' (Glendinning 1973, p.12). Because
corrosion reduces the life of the material and protection
procedures are expensive, special corrosion-resistant metals
have been developed, including Monel metals which are
particularly suited to marine applications (Glendinning 1973).
Reference list entry
Glendinning, E.H. 1973 English in mechanical engineering,
Oxford, Oxford University Press.
These contain material that is too detailed to
include in the main report, such as raw data or
detailed drawings. The conventions for
appendices are as follows:
each appendix must be given a number (or letter) and
title;
each appendix must be referred to by number (or letter)
at the relevant point in the text.
Example:
The data obtained are summarised below. The
detailed data are given in Appendix 3.
