Wolaita Sodo University; Faculty of Social

Science and Humanities; Department of

English Language and Literature

Technical Report Writing Skills

Course Code (CEng 3192)

Compiled By:
Kefyalew Woreta (MA in TEFL)
 Technical Report Writing

What is writing? And why we write for?

What is technical report writing mean?
 Meaning and purpose of Technical Report Writing
• Technical report writing is a formal written document/report which is
written by the researcher detailing the result of the report to conveys
specific information about a technical subject to a specific audience for
a specific purpose in a clear and easily accessible format.
• In other words, 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.
•The technical report serves as a means of communicating the work to
others and possibly providing useful information about that work at
some later date.
• Hence, a well‐written report allows the reader to quickly understand
what has been accomplished.
 Characteristics of Technical Writing
•TR is different from other types of writing. Thus, TR has the
following characteristics:
• Specific to audience:. It is targeted to readers who are looking for
information on a particular topics and audiences.
•Formal: The language is clear and strait forward to the points. The
languages is very direct and strait to the point.
• It is very detailed and informative: Since its purpose is to inform or
persuade a reader about a specific practical matter, TR focuses on
the relevant facts.
• It is very structured: this types of writing has a very obvious
composition that makes it easy for the readers to follow and access
the information they needed.
 Cont…
Therefore, here are some questions the writer should ask
before starting, while writing, and after finishing a report:
• What is the purpose of this report?
• Who will read it?
• Why will they read it?
• What technical level will they understand?
• What background information do they have now?

The answers to these questions indicate the type of

information that should be presented, the amount of detail
required, and the most satisfactory method of presentation.
1. Clarity
Basic Qualities of Technical Writing
• Technical document must convey a single meaning that the reader can
understand.
• Unclear technical writing can be dangerous e.g. unclear instruction on how to
operate machinery.

2. Comprehensiveness: all the information should be provide: its background must

be described and clear description of any process, or method of carrying out a
specific work.
• It should also includes results, conclusions and recommendations

3.Accuracy: your report should be accurate in your writing. It must be free from:
grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, and should have appropriate format
standard . For instance:
• If you mean to write 40,000 don’t write 400,000.

• If you mean to refer to fig 3.1 don’t refer to fig 3.2.

4. Accessibility
It should be easily assessable to the readers to get information easily. To keep this and
to increase accessibility, include:
• headings and lists in the report.
• a table of contents. (depending on the research types).
• list of illustrations glossary and
• appendix/ index are preferred.
5. Conciseness

It must give the audience a clear purpose and object but no extra unnecessary details.
B/c the longer a document is, the more difficult it gets to use it. Even it takes more of
the user's time.

Technical writing can be shortened 10-20 pages by eliminating unnecessary phrases

and choosing short words and sentences.
 Types of Reports: lengths and Structures
1. Short Report

• Business and industries as well as universities

demand a short technical report which is not linger
than 5 to 10 pages.
• However, one goal of all types of report is to
communicate with the intended audience.
 Parts of Short Report
1. Heading: is the first elements of short report in which the writers

provide the full name and addresses of the writer/s and the
institution, date and subject of the report.

2. Introduction: it is the part where the writer discuss the subject,

purpose/ objective, the plan of development of the report. The

subject is the ‘about what’ and the purpose is the ‘why’ and the plan
is’ how’.

• It is also the place where we provide the readers with any

background information which the readers need before we launch

into the main body of the report
 Cont…

3. Main Body: here we are expected to address the

background information about the subject should be
discussed clearly and precisely
4. Conclusions:
• It is the last component where the writer summarize the
focal points of the introduction and main body.
• As we drown a conclusion, repeat some of the important
points presented in different words and expressions
 2. Long Report
Components of Long Reports
1. Letter of Transmittal

• It is a part of long report which is contains a letter to a

person who commissioned the report.

• Under this include headings like date (Feburary 14,2019), to,

from and the subject of the report (report on…),salutation
(Dear Ms. Roza:) and closing greeting (sincerely yours, yours
faithfully etc.).

• You could include a brief explanation of who will read the

report.

• It also consists , why it was written, how it was written, the

Example

February 12,2017

Dr. Tom Sillier

Colorado State University

Fort Collins, CO 80524

Dear Mr. Sillier:

We are submitting to you the report, due December 13, 1996, that you requested. The
report is entitled CSU Performing Arts Center. The purpose of the report is to inform
you of our design decisions for the center. The content of this report concentrates on
the structural and acoustical aspects of the CSU Performing Arts Center. This report
also discusses cable-stayed technology. If you should have any questions concerning
our project and paper please feel free to contact Mike Bridge at 491-5048.

Sincerely,
Mike Bridge
Lead Engineer
 2. Title Page

• Name of the institutions/ organizations you are

working in e.g. School of Mining Engineering
• Title of the report which clearly states the purpose of
the report.
• Full detailed of the author or authors who prepared
the report.
• Name and code of the subject e.g. MINE1740 Mining
Legislation
• Date of submission should be incorporated
respectively.
 3. Table of Contents
• It is the part which depicts the general skeletons of the proposal

plan in a well organized manner with heading and sub-heading.

• It also provide a guide to report's structure, coverage and its

pagination.

• It should be presented in such a ways that the readers quickly

scan the list of headings and sub-headings and locate a particular
contents in the report.

• You should also be sure that the correct page numbers are shown

opposite to the contents.

Example
4. Acknowledgement
• It is a short paragraphs thanking any person or organizations
which gave you help in collecting data or preparing a report. In
other words, scholarly way of saying ‘thank you’ for individuals,
institutions or groups who have relevant contribution on your work.

5. Abstract/summary or Executive summary/

• It is a brief technical summary of the whole report which is usually
not more than 100 to 200 words.
• The informative abstract states the context, aims, problems the
scope and methods, and the major results, conclusion or
recommendation should be incorporated in single paragraph
 6. Abbreviations and/or Glossary

• If abbreviations are used in the main body of

the report, you should list them alphabetically
if they may not be familiar to all readers of the
report.

• If you have used a lot of technical terms, you

should also provide a glossary alphabetically
list of the terms with their explanations of
meanings.
 7. Introduction
• In this section you

should give enough background information to provide the context of the report,
purpose of the report and the scope of the report.

8. Main Body
• The contents of the body depends on the purpose of the report and report types.
• If the report is primary research (based on your own observations and
experiments) you should include:
•Literature review.
•methods (summarize what you did and why) use past simple tense.
• findings or result (discuss what you discover, observed, in the course of the
research).

9. Conclusions

This is the part you could set up the main points of the report.
 Cont..
10.Reference
•It refers detailed lists of materials/books/journals used in the report or
assignment.
•Lists of the authors names must be alphabetically arranged.

• All sources consulted in your report must be properly cited both in-text
and reference citation of the report.

11. Appendices
•It refers to any further materials which is essential for full understanding
of your report and too technical or complex to include in the main body of
the report is called appendices This may be raw data, diagrams, maps,
questionnaire, letters, long complex tables of figures are some examples.
etc.
•They are attached at the end part of the report following the references
 Types of Reports: Based on their purposes
1. Trip Report

• It is a report type in which you are expected to write a report after you traveling

elsewhere for a job. You may be asked to write a report about your activities and

experience you gained from your travel.

• Before you start to travel try to remember a kind of report your company wants so that
you can document essential information while you travel.

• Up on your return write the report in the following format:

1. Heading (date, to, from, and subject).

2. Introduction (back ground about the trip, destination of your travel, what motivated you to

make a trip and your goal).

3. Body (agendas, your observations, seminar attended, findings and difficulties you

encountered).

4. Conclusion (what you accomplished, what you learn, person you meet, benefits you gained

for yourself, colleagues, and your company).

 2. Progress Report
• It inform managers about the status of

your project.
• It can be daily, weekly, monthly or annually.

• Components are:

1.Heading

2. Introduction (name of the project, the time covered, and the purpose of
the project).
3. Work completed ( specify the time, divide the project in to major and
report with appropriate details).
4. Work schedule ( explain the work that will occur on each major task in
the next time).
5. problem ( discuss any special topics that require the readers’ attentions).
3. Primary/ Laboratory Report
• It refers to the actual work someone does in the laboratory
or in the field as experiment or surveys.
In such report include these contents:
1. Introduction
2. Problem and background
3. Objective and scope
4. Significance
5. Review of literature
6. Materials and facilities
7. Theories, methods and procedures
8. Data results and findings
9. Discussions, conclusions and recommendations
10. References
11. Front matters
 4. Feasibility Report
• This types of report studies a

problem or opportunities and then makes a recommendation.

• Such report tells whether the project is feasible or

practical and technology possible.
•This group of similar reports do things like compare
several options against a set of requirement and
recommend one in terms of technical, economical,
social practicability of feasibility and passes judgment
on the worth or the value of things by comparing
certain requirements or criteria.
 Consider the following guide line when you are writing
feasibility reports:

• Headings
• Introduction (objectives, why the study is conducted,
who initiated the study, who required the report and
mention the project team, if any).
• Discussion (present your findings and state the
criteria upon which your recommendation will base).
• Conclusions (state the significant of your findings
and draw conclusions from them).
• Recommendations ( state what do you suggest).
 5. Incidental Report
• If you face a problem in your work environment , you may
sometimes write an incidental report.
• To write such a report the following may help you:
1. Heading
2. Introduction (State purpose of the report and explain where
and when it took place).
3. Discussion ( explain what happened, the seriousness of the
problem, whether it was solved or not).
4. Conclusion ( what do you conclude about the causes of the
problem?)
5. Recommendation (suggest what should be done).
 Application of Technical Writing or Professional
Communications
1. Business Letter Writing
• Business letter is usually written to people
outside the company in a formal language.
• A poorly written letter embarrassed your readers
as a result you might los business to your
company.
• Therefore, before you send it, you need to be sure
that your letter is thoughtfully phrased, well
structured, and has attractive format.
 Parts of Business Letter
1.Sender`s Address (return address)
•The sender's address usually is included in letter head.
•If you are not using letter head, include the sender's address at the top
of the letter one line above the date.
•Do not write the sender's name or title, as it is included in the letter's
closing. Include only the street address, city, and zip code.
2. Date
•The date line is used to indicate the date the letter was written.
•For example: June 11, 2001. Write out the month, day and year two
inches from the top of the page.
•It is important because it makes the receipt to send it back timely and
easier for you to choose up an answer if necessary.
3. Inside Address (receipt address)

•The inside address is the recipient's name and

address you are writing to.
• If you do not have the person's name, do some
research by calling the company or speaking with
employees from the company.
• Include a personal title such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or
Dr. Follow a woman's preference in being
addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms
4. Salutation
• It is a brief greeting that appears before the body of the letter

beginning with the word ‘Dear’ follower by a curiosity title and

receipts last name.

• Use the same name as the inside address, including the

personal title.

• If you do not know the gender of the receipt, omit the title and

replace it with the person’s first name followed by colon Like (

Dear Abera kassa:).

• If you do not the name, consider using the person’s position in

the salutation like (Dear Vice president of the university).

 6. Body
• Leave a blank line between each paragraph.
When writing a business letter, be careful to remember that
conciseness is very important.
• In the first paragraph, consider a friendly opening and stating
the main points.
• In the next paragraph, begin justifying the importance of the
main points.
• In the next few paragraphs, continue justifying with background
information and supporting details. And
•The closing paragraph should restate the purpose of the letter
and some types of action.
7. Complementary Closing
• Your letter should end with an
appropriate closing and comma. The safe option is ; yours faithfully,) when
you do not know the name of a person and began saying ‘dear Sir/ Madam’.

• When you do know their name, close with ‘ Your sincerely’.

•If you are already acquainted with the receipt, it may be appropriate to use
phrases such as ‘best regards, With warmest regards, or ‘kind regards’.

•The closing begins at the same vertical point as your date and one line after
the last body paragraph.

•Capitalize the first word only (for example: Thank you) and leave four lines
between the closing and the sender's name for a signature.

• If a colon follows the salutation, a comma should follow the closing;

otherwise, there is no punctuation after the closing.
 Formatting Your Business Letter
1. Full Block Style

• In full-block format, all parts of the letter are aligned along the left margined.

• It is more common because it is easier to type a letter and gives a

document a neat, and clear look.

2. Modified Block Style

• In this style, the return address, date, complementary close, and signature
are indented to approximately the middle of the page and everything else is
left-aligned.

• This style is often used in informal business letter and personal

correspondence.
 Application Letter
• A cover letter is a document that show a clear indication of a
person’s writing abilities, as well as an opportunity to convey
enthusiasm for the position and organization.
• The cover letter is a chance to highlight the experiences and
skills that you want a potential employer to notice.
• This is also the time to connect a set of experiences and
skills to a position that may not be directly related to what is
on your resume.
• It provides the reader with a sense of your writing style and
your ability to focus.
 2. CV: Writing Tips
Before you write, Outline your skills and abilities as well as your work experience and
extracurricular activities.

Components of CV/:

A, Personal Information
•Name, address, telephone, e-mail address, web site address. All your contact information
should be written at the top of your CV.

B. Education Background
•Your most recent educational information is listed first.

•Include your degree (A.S., B.S., B.A., etc.),

•Add your grade point average (GPA) if it is ≥ 3.0.

•Mention academic honors received if any.

C. Work Experience
•Briefly give the employer an overview of your work that has taught you important skills.

•Use action words to describe your job responsibility.

•Include your work experience in reverse chronological order

 Under Work Experience Include:
• Title of position.
• Name of organization.
• Location of work (town, state)
• Dates of employment.
• Describe your work responsibilities with emphasis on specific
skills and achievements.
• Key or special skills or competencies.
• Leadership experience in volunteer organizations.
• Participation
 D. References
• References before you give their names to a potential employer.

• Do not include your reference information on your resume. You may note at the bottom of your
resume: "References furnished on request.“

CV Checkup
• Run a spell check on your computer before anyone sees your resume.

• Get a friend (an English major would do nicely) to do a grammar review.

• Ask another friend to proofread.

Design/ layout: Use white or off-white paper.

Print on one side of the paper.

• Use a font size of 12 to 14 points.

• Do not use line or borders

• Leave large margins all the way around the resume

• Choose one typeface and stick to it.

• Avoid italics, script, and underlined words.

• Do not use horizontal or vertical lines, graphics, or shading.

• Do not fold or staple your resume.

 Uniformity and Consistency
• Be consistent in the use of italics, capital letters, bullets, bold

face, and underlining.

• For example, if a period is at the end of one job's dates, a

period should be at the end of all jobs' dates; if one degree is

in boldface, all degrees should be in boldface.

No Error

• No spelling errors.

• No grammar, syntax, or punctuation errors.

• No factual errors.
 Cont…
Emphasize on:

• Target the CV to job advertisement.

• Highlight the key skills that match the job.

• Highlight key qualifications for the job.

• Highlight your strengths - place most of your focus here.

 Memo Writing

• The literal meaning of the word memorandum is a note

to assist the memory.
• Memos are internal means of communication for
exchanging information relating to day-to-day functions
within the organizations.
• So, memorandum or memos are an internal short note
or letter in which information exchanged among
superiors and subordinates or same positions of
employees in the organizational structure.
 Types of Memos
• There are four types of memos you might have to write, each with its own organizational

format: information, problem-solving, persuasion, and internal memo proposal.

Information Memo

• used to deliver or request information or assistance

• first paragraph provides main idea

• second paragraph expands on the details

• third paragraph outlines the action required

Problem-solving Memo

• suggests a specific action to improve a situation

• first paragraph states the problem

• second paragraph analyzes the problem

• third paragraph makes a recommendation

• when making a recommendation, include not only the positive details but also the
 Persuasion Memo
• send to encourage the reader to undertake an action he or she doesn't have to take

• first paragraph begins with an agreeable point

• second paragraph introduces the idea

• third paragraph states benefits to the reader

• fourth paragraph outlines the action required

• fifth paragraph ends with a call to action

• Internal Memo Proposal

• used to convey suggestions to senior management

• first paragraph states reason for writing

• second paragraph outlines present situation and states writer's proposal

• third paragraph describes advantage(s)

• fourth paragraph mentions and diffuses disadvantage(s)

• fifth paragraph ends with a call to action

 Advantages of office memo
• The main advantages of memos are discussed below:

• Time saving: We can see that may organizations use printed memo. As it is usually printed, it takes

less time to draft it.

• Less formality: No formality is necessary in drafting a memo, usually inside address, salutation and

complimentary closing is omitted in it.

• Maintenance good relationship: It can help to maintain the good relationship among the boss and

subordinates, because the bossing attitude is absent here.

• Low cost: The cost of communication through a memo is less than those of others.

• References: Memo is a written document. So, it can be used for future references.

• Inform the decisions and actions: The main objective of memo is to inform the decisions and

actions. For this purpose, it should be written by the higher authority.

• Request the decisions and actions: The objective of memo is to request the decisions and actions.

For this objective, it may be drafted by the sub-ordinate.

• Provide information: Another important objective of the memo is to provide information form one

level to another within the business.

 Parts of Memo
• All memos
consist of two sections: the heading and the body.
The heading indicates who is writing to whom, when, and why. The
heading should include the following parts:
1. To
• lists the names of everyone who will receive the memo
• includes the first and last name and titles or departments of the
recipients.
•if it is not possible to fit all the names in the To: area, use the phrase "
See distribution list" at the end of the memo add the word "
Distribution" and then list the names of the people who will receive a
copy of the memo
 Cont…
2. From
•lists the name of the writer(s) in the same way as the name(s) of the
recipient(s)
• there is no complimentary close or signature line, but authors initial
their names on the From: line
3. Date
•lists the month, date, and year the memo was written
• do not use abbreviations
• avoid using numbers for months and days

4. Re: or Subject
• indicates the main subject of the letter
• should be as specific and concise as possible
 Cont…
5. Cc or c
• lists those
readers who should have a copy of the memo for their information or
reference but are not expected to carry out the same action as the
recipients listed in the To: line

•"cc" can also be placed at the end of the memo below the distribution list
(if used)

6. Body
•The body of the memo conveys the message and generally consists of 4
parts:

1. Introduction
•states the general problem or main idea
 Cont…
3. Argument
• explains importance or relevance of facts.
•summarizes the main idea, suggests or requests action.
•memos do not have a complimentary.

4. Conclusion
• summarizes the main idea, suggests or requests action.
• memos do not have a complimentary close or signature line.
• memos end with a call to action.
 Citation Style
1. References/Citations
• They are used to acknowledge, record or document the
source of each piece of information in your paper
obtained from other researchers and writers.
• If you fail to document information that is not your own,
you have committed plagiarism, a form of stealing.
• There are three common styles of citation used in
different country but it is advisable to stick to only one
of the following in writing report.
 APA Style Citations
(American Psychological Association)
• Reference Citation

. Author Last name followed by Year of Publication, Title

of the document, Publisher Location: Publisher.
• Sample Citation:

Welch, K.E. (1999). Electric rhetoric: Classical rhetoric,

oralism, and a new literacy. Cambridge: MIT Press.ces.
 2. In-Text Parenthetical References in APA Style
• Parenthetical references should be included immediately after the
quotation marks used in direct quotations or immediately after the use
of the source, even if this means including the parenthetical reference
in the middle of the sentence.

• Parenthetical Citation:

(Author Last Name, Year of Publication)Example:(Smith, 1988) stated

his opinion…

• Attribution in text:

Author Last Name (Year of Publication) has argued this point. Example:
Smith (1988) has argued this point…

NB: Page numbers are not required in APA in-text citation.

 2. MLA Style Citation.
(Modern Languages Association)
• MLA citation style requires that credit must be given to
sources in the text of an essay with parenthetical
references.
Reference Citation from One Author
• Format:
• Author Last, First Name. Title. Location of Publisher:
Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.
• Sample Citation:
• Welch Kathleen. Electric Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric,
Oralism, and a New Literacy. Cambridge: MIT, 1999. Print.
 From Two Books
• Format:

Author Last, First, and First Last. Title. Location of Publisher:

Publisher, Year of Pub. Print.
• Sample Citation:

Lunsford, and Andrea. Singular Texts/ Plural Authors:

Perspectives on Collaborative Writing. Carbondale: Southern
Illinois UP, 1990. Print.
 Book: Multiple Authors

• Format:

Author Last, First, Author First Last et al . Title.

Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year of Pub. Print.
• [Note: If a source has more than three authors, only
the first author should be listed, with the Latin phrase
“et al.” (meaning “and others”) following their name.]
• Sample Citation:

Gray, Joseph R., et al. How Brown Johnson and Kirk

Got It Wrong. Chicago: Ellsworth, 2005. Print.
 Electronic Book
• Format:

Author Last, First. Title. Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year

of Pub. Electronic Publisher. Web. Date of Access.
• Sample Citation:

Welch, Kathleen E. Electric Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric,

Oralism, and a New Literacy. Cambridge: MIT, 1999. net
Library. Web. 21 Oct. 2004.
 Journal Article: in Print
•Format:
•Author Last, First. "Title." Journal Name, Volume Number.
Issue Number (Year of Pub): inclusive page numbers. Print.
•[Note: If the issue number is not available, add the month
or season of publication in parentheses with the year. See
samples under “Journal Article: Multiple Authors.”]
•Sample Citation:
Haraway, Donna J. "A Game of Cat's Cradle: Science
Studies, Feminist Theory, Cultural Studies." Configurations
2.1 (1994): 59-71. Print.
 In-Text Parenthetical References in MLA Style
 MLA citation style requires that writers cite a source within
the text of their essay at the end of the sentence in which
the source is used.
 The parenthetical reference should be inserted after the
last quotation mark but before the period at the end of the
sentence.
• General Form: (Author Last Name Page #)
• Example: (Smith 42).
 Chicago Style
• There are two basic systems of reference in Chicago
Style. These are:
• the Author-Date System and
• the Notes and Bibliography System.
• The Notes and Bibliography System is the most common
Chicago usage.
 A. Author-Date System
• In this system, you will include an in-text citation (also called
a parenthetical reference) in the text as well as an entry in
the reference list.
• An in-text citation consists of the author’s name, the year of
publication, and any specific page reference, enclosed in
parentheses.
1. As Novak and Gowan point out (1984: 12), children find
concept maps useful for learning.
 Cont’d
• The entry in the Reference List provides the full
bibliographic information for the work cited in the text.
• The main difference between an entry in a reference list is
the placement of the date.
Eg. Novak, Joseph D., and D. Bob Gowin. 1984. Learning How
to Learn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 Journal Articles

Last name, First name. “Article Title.”Journal Title volume

#, no. # (date): page range.
Eg. Flint, Jean-Jacques, and J. Lolcama. “Buried Ancestral
Drainage between Lakes Erie and Ontario.” Geological
Society of America Bulletin 97, no. 1 (1986): 75-84.
Thank You!!