Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lab reports are the most frequent kind of document written in engineering and can count for as
much as 25% of a course yet little time or attention is devoted to how to write them well. Worse
yet, each professor wants something a little different. Regardless of variations, however, the goal
of lab reports remains the same: document your findings and communicate their significance.
With that in mind, we can describe the report's format and basic components. Knowing the
pieces and purpose, you can adapt to the particular needs of a course or professor.
A good lab report does more than present data; it demonstrates the writer's comprehension of the
concepts behind the data. Merely recording the expected and observed results is not sufficient;
you should also identify how and why differences occurred, explain how they affected your
experiment, and show your understanding of the principles the experiment was designed to
examine. Bear in mind that a format, however helpful, cannot replace clear thinking and
organized writing. You still need to organize your ideas carefully and express them coherently.
Typical Components
1. The Title Page needs to contain the name of the experiment, the names of lab partners, and the
date. Titles should be straightforward, informative, and less than ten words (i.e. Not "Lab #4" but
"Lab #4: ).
The Abstract summarizes four essential aspects of the report: the purpose of the experiment
(sometimes expressed as the purpose of the report), key findings, significance and major
conclusions. The abstract often also includes a brief reference to theory or methodology. The
information should clearly enable readers to decide whether they need to read your whole report.
The abstract should be one paragraph of 100-200 words (the sample below is 191 words).
Quick Abstract Reference
Must have:
1. Purpose
2. Key result(s)
3. Most significant point of discussion
4. Major conclusion
May include:
1. Brief method
2. Brief theory
Restrictions:
ONE page
200 words MAX.
Sample Abstract
This experiment examined the effect of line orientation and arrowhead angle on a subject's ability
to perceive line length, thereby testing the Müller-Lyer illusion. The Müller-Lyer illusion is the
classic visual illustration of the effect of the surrounding on the perceived length of a line. The
test was to determine the point of subjective equality by having subjects adjust line segments to
equal the length of a standard line. Twenty-three subjects were tested in a repeated measures
design with four different arrowhead angles and four line orientations. Each condition was tested
in six randomized trials. The lines to be adjusted were tipped with outward pointing arrows of
varying degrees of pointedness, whereas the standard lines had inward pointing arrows of the
same degree. Results showed that line lengths were overestimated in all cases. The size of error
increased with decreasing arrowhead angles. For line orientation, overestimation was greatest
when the lines were horizontal. This last is contrary to our expectations. Further, the two factors
functioned independently in their effects on subjects' point of subjective equality. These results
have important implications for human factors design applications such as graphical display
interfaces.
3. The Introduction is more narrowly focussed than the abstract. It states the objective of the
experiment and provides the reader with background to the experiment. State the topic of your
report clearly and concisely, in one or two sentences:
Quick Intro Reference
Must Have:
1. Purpose of the experiment
2. Important background and/or theory
May include:
1. Description of specialized equipment
2. Justification of experiment's importance
Example: The purpose of this experiment was to identify the specific element in a metal powder
sample by determining its crystal structure and atomic radius. These were determined using the
Debye-Sherrer (powder camera) method of X-ray diffraction.
A good introduction also provides whatever background theory, previous research, or formulas
the reader needs to know. Usually, an instructor does not want you to repeat the lab manual, but
to show your own comprehension of the problem. For example, the introduction that followed the
example above might describe the Debye-Sherrer method, and explain that from the diffraction
angles the crystal structure can be found by applying Bragg's law. If the amount of introductory
material seems to be a lot, consider adding subheadings such as: Theoretical Principles or
Background.
• The experiment is already finished. Use the past tense when talking about the
experiment.
• The report, the theory and permanent equipment still exist; therefore, these get the
present tense:
"The purpose of this report is..."
"Bragg's Law for diffraction is ..."
"The scanning electron microscope produces micrographs ...
4. Methods and Materials (or Equipment) can usually be a simple list, but make sure it is
accurate and complete. In some cases, you can simply direct the reader to a lab manual or
standard procedure: "Equipment was set up as in CHE 276 manual."
5. Experimental Procedure describes the process in chronological order. Using clear paragraph
structure, explain all steps in the order they actually happened, not as they were supposed to
happen. If your professor says you can simply state that you followed the procedure in the
manual, be sure you still document occasions when you did not follow that exactly (e.g. "At step
4 we performed four repetitions instead of three, and ignored the data from the second
repetition"). If you've done it right, another researcher should be able to duplicate your
experiment.
6. Results are usually dominated by calculations, tables and figures; however, you still need to
state all significant results explicitly in verbal form, for example:
Graphics need to be clear, easily read, and well labeled (e.g. Figure 1: Input Frequency and
Capacitor Value). An important strategy for making your results effective is to draw the reader's
attention to them with a sentence or two, so the reader has a focus when reading the graph. In
most cases, providing a sample calculation is sufficient in the report. Leave the remainder in an
appendix. Likewise, your raw data can be placed in an appendix. Refer to appendices as
necessary, pointing out trends and identifying special features.
1. Analysis 2. Interpretation
What do the results indicate clearly? What is the significance of the
What have you found? results? What ambiguities exist?
Explain what you know with certainty What questions might we raise? Find
based on your results and draw conclusions: logical explanations for problems in
the data:
unlikely that the water main contamination. The effect of the delay is
sulfide-induced corrosion.
8. Conclusion can be very short in most undergraduate laboratories. Simply state what you know
now for sure, as a result of the lab:
Example: The Debye-Sherrer method identified the sample material as nickel due to the
measured crystal structure (fcc) and atomic radius (approximately 0.124nm).
Notice that, after the material is identified in the example above, the writer provides a
justification. We know it is nickel because of its structure and size. This makes a sound and
sufficient conclusion. Generally, this is enough; however, the conclusion might also be a place to
discuss weaknesses of experimental design, what future work needs to be done to extend your
conclusions, or what the implications of your conclusion are.
Quick Conclusion
Reference
Must do:
1. State what's known
2. Justify statement
Might do:
3. State significance
4. Suggest further research
9. References include your lab manual and any outside reading you have done.
10. Appendices typically include such elements as raw data, calculations, graphs pictures or
tables that have not been included in the report itself. Each kind of item should be contained in a
separate appendix. Make sure you refer to each appendix at least once in your report. For
example, the results section might begin by noting: "Micrographs printed from the Scanning
Electron Microscope are contained in Appendix A."
PROPOSALS
The proposal is one of the most important forms of writing engineers do. Successful
proposals lead to jobs, products and profit. Unsuccessful proposals lead nowhere. This
document presents the basics of proposals:
• The goal
• The audience
• The structure
• The use of research
The Goal
While style and structure of proposals vary, successful proposals require Attitude.
A successful proposal convinces the reader that:
"Convincing" makes many engineers uncomfortable because they think good science
should convince by itself; however, you must still persuade the reader that your science is
good. Convince the reader that you have thought through the problem and have a
workable solution.
The Audience
No one ever paid a consultant to tell him what he already knew. Your audience needs to
know something. You need to explain the problem clearly, and to provide full
background to give context to your solution. Remember the readers need
• to know that you know what you are doing
• to understand your approach
Purpose ÷ The purpose can be described any number of ways. Here are two:
State the problem or need you are prepared to address. Many proposals are
responding to problems that need to be solved. e.g. A part of a product wears out too
soon. How can we make the product work better?
Explain the goal of the proposal. Sometimes a proposal is to develop a new
product or idea. In this case, you are not solving a problem. Still you need to explain
why you want to develop the proposal. (See the sample below for an example of this).
However you describe it, you need to clearly and simply explain what the proposal is for.
The executive summary needs to be aimed at a general audience ÷ typically managers ÷
so this is not the place for technical detail. It is the place, however, for considering the
company and its requirements
Program ÷ At the proposal stage, students will rarely have a fully-worked out solution.
That is expected for research-based projects. (Many proposals in industry will be able to
present a full solution because the proposal is to implement previously developed
technology.) Regardless, the executive summary needs to include a brief statement of
what you think you will do. In one or two sentences state at least one of these:
Qualifications ÷ Briefly state your name, history, purpose, and activities, emphasizing
your capacity to carry out this proposal.
(1) Memory management is a crucial factor 1. The first sentence gives some
in operating system and application context by defining terms. it could
performance. (2) The purpose of this be improved by adding the simple
project is to study of the relative merits of word "computer" to separate this
the best fit and worst fit selection study from something in cognitive
algorithms used in memory management. ergonomics.
(3) the first goal of the project is to produce 2. The project's goals are clearly
a reference table with the test sets and stated in the second, third and
results for software developers using fourth sentences.
algorithms. (4) The second goal is to 3. The value of the project is outlined
develop a very specific set of rules for in sentence five.
when to use each algorithm. (5) the results 4. the limitation or scope of the work
will be valuable to software developers is presented in sentences six and
when choosing between the best fit and seven.
5. the cost is explained in the last
worst fit selection algorithms. (6) while the
sentence. note that the cost is for
first goal can be attained in the ten week
ten weeks regardless of whether the
period, attaining the second goal will
second goal is attained.
depend on the results of the data. (7)
consequently, the second goal may be 6. this summary does not include the
unreachable, or require further research. (8) writer's qualifications, presumably
the cost for the ten week period is $7500. because the writer is a student who
has no experience in this kind of
work.
Introduction
One major problem students have is blurring Executive Summaries and Introductions.
NEVER assume that the reader of the introduction has already read the executive
summary. In other words, the executive summary just repeats
1. State the purpose (make it clear that you are proposing something).
Define the opportunity or problem. Usually, you need to begin by explaining the
situation: what circumstances led to the proposal (e.g. an industrial sponsor's problem)?
Consider the following:
2. Explain useful background. e.g. What engineering principles will guide your
solution? Even if you think your reader knows this information, show the reader that you
understand it too. (Sometimes, background is separated into a separate section. If you do
this, put the background after the overview.)
3. Give a brief overview of the contents of the whole proposal. (For example, in
the introduction to the "structure of the proposal" here, six basic elements are listed.
These are then elaborated in later sections. A similar kind of brief sketch will help a
proposal reader.)
This is what a first draft of an introduction might look like Notice that there are a number
of questions whose answers might help develop really good opening context.
The market for backpacks is huge. Students throughout North America from ages 5-25
carry backpacks to school. [find out sales figures?] Many need to replace their
backpacks each year due to frayed straps or broken zippers. [survey users to discover
complaints about existing backpacks?] Therefore, any company that can produce and
market a product that is cheap and/or high quality will be able to find a market niche.
[analyze what determines cost? materials? place of manufacture? distance to market?]
This proposal will outline a product that will fill the need for a high quality yet affordable
product appropriate for university students.
State explicitly what you propose to do. Some also include a "scope" statement ÷ an
explicit statement of what you will not be doing to help limit the task. Explain your
approach to the problem in detail. Some of the following questions might be useful:
• What are the technical specifications for the proposed piece of work?
• How will current research ÷ such as recent articles on the subject or other
projects of a similar kind ÷ be used to help solve the problem?
• How does your work fit into a larger project?
Included in your program you should have three subsections: objectives, methods, and
evaluation. You do not need to use these sections as subheadings, but you do need to
clearly explain all three aspects of the project.
OBJECTIVES
Software developers will be able to compare the performance trade off of each
algorithm based on the expected memory request set for their application.
Software developers will be able to compare the performance trade off of each
algorithm based on the expected memory request set for their application.
This efficiency will cut the time for testing new applications by 40%.
3.
The first goal of the project is to produce a reference table with the test sets
and results for software developers using algorithms. The second goal is the
development of a very specific set of rules for when to use each algorithm.
While the first goal can be attained in the ten week period, attaining the second
goal will depend on the results of the data.
METHODS
EVALUATION
Building evaluation into a project is an important part of engineering design. You need
to consider how you will evaluate whether the project is successful. How will you
measure whether the project meets its goal? By including a mechanism for evaluation in
your proposal, you indicate that achieving objective is a serious goal. You also provide
the best means for others to learn from your experience. Two types of Formal Evaluation
are common
1. Measuring the product (e.g. test a computer program's performance under various
conditions for versatility, accuracy, speed, etc.)
2. Analyzing the process (e.g. analyze the milestones such as the ability of a
prototype to integrate with other components of a project)
SHORT REPORTS
Business and industry, as well as university, often demand short technical reports. They
may be proposals, progress reports, trip reports, completion reports, investigation reports,
feasibility studies, or evaluation reports. As the names indicate, these reports are diverse
in focus and aim, and differ in structure. However, one goal of all reports is the same: to
communicate to an audience.
Your audience for an academic report is already very well informed. Your professor and
teaching assistants will not usually read your report in order to extract knowledge;
instead, they will look for evidence that you understand the material and ideas your report
presents. Your document, then, should not only convey information clearly and
coherently (such as numbers, facts or equations), but should also, where appropriate,
detail the logical processes you relied upon (such as interpretation, analysis, or
evaluation).
This document describes a general format for a short report, which you can adapt to the
needs of specific assignments. Bear in mind that a format, however helpful, cannot
replace clear thinking and strategic writing. You still need to organize your ideas
carefully and express them coherently. Be precise and concise.
Typical Components
• Title Page
• Abstract or Summary
• Introduction
• Background
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Recommendations
• Attachments
1. Title Page
The essential information here is your name, the title of the project, and the date. Be
aware of any other information your instructor requires. The title of a report can be a
statement of the subject. An effective title is informative but reasonably short.
Ornamental or misleading titles may annoy readers.
2.Abstract or Summary
This section states the report in miniature. It summarizes the whole report in one,
concise paragraph of about 100-200 words. It might be useful to think in terms of writing
one sentence to summarize each of the traditional report divisions: objective, method,
discussion, conclusions. Emphasize the objective (which states the problem) and the
analysis of the results (including recommendations). Avoid the temptation to copy a
whole paragraph from elsewhere in your report and make it do double duty. Since the
abstract condenses and emphasizes the most important elements of the whole report, you
cannot write it until after you have completed the report. Remember, the abstract should
be a precise and specific summary -- give details. A technical document is not a mystery
novel -- give your conclusion right away. Support it later.
This report considers three energy sources and recommends the best one.
(Too general)
This report compares nuclear plants, fossil fuels, and solar generators, in order to
determine which energy source will best meet the nation's needs. The criteria for
comparison were the economic, social, and environmental effects of each
alternative. The study concludes that nuclear energy is the best of these options,
because North America is not self-sufficient in fossil fuels, and solar power is
currently too unreliable for industrial use. Although nuclear plants are potentially
very dangerous, nuclear energy is still the best short-term solution.
(Specific & detailed)
3. Introduction
3.1. Whereas the abstract summarizes the whole report, the introduction of a technical
report identifies the subject, the purpose (or objective), and the plan of development of
the report. The subject is the "what", the purpose is the "why", and the plan is the "how."
Together these acquaint the reader with the problem you are setting out to solve.
3.2. State the subject and purpose as clearly and concisely as possible, usually in one
sentence called the thesis or purpose statement:
This report describes the design of a full-scale prototype shrimp trawl that would
permit a test of the commercial feasibility of electric trawling during daylight.
3.3. Use the introduction to provide the reader with any background information which
the reader will need before you can launch into the body of your paper. You may have to
define the terms used in stating the subject and provide background such as theory or
history of the subject. For example, the purpose statement quoted above might warrant
some explanation of daylight trawling or even of the commercial shrimp industry. Avoid
the tendency to use the introduction merely to fill space with sweeping statements that are
unrelated to the specific purpose of your report ("Throughout the ages, human beings
have looked up at the stars and wondered about [your topic here].").
4. Background
If the introduction requires a large amount of supporting information, such as a review of
literature or a description of a process, then the background material should form its own
section. This section may include a review of previous research, or formulas the reader
needs to understand the problem. In an academic report, it is also the point where you can
show your comprehension of the problem.
5. Discussion
5.1. This section is the most important part of your report. It takes many forms and may
have subheadings of its own. Its basic components are methods, findings (or results), and
evaluation (or analysis). In a progress report, the methods and findings may dominate; a
final report should emphasize evaluation. Most academic assignments should also focus
on your evaluation of the subject.
5.2. Before you begin writing, ask the journalist's questions: who? when? where? what?
why? how? The last three in particular will help you focus analysis. Beyond asking these
simple questions, you also need to make decisions such as: How do you interpret the
data? What is the significance of your findings?
6. Conclusion
What knowledge comes out of the report? As you draw a conclusion, you need to explain
it in terms of the preceding discussion. Some repetition of the most important ideas you
presented there is expected, but you should avoid copying.
7. Recommendations
What actions does the report call for? The recommendations should be clearly connected
to the results of the rest of the report. You may need to make those connections explicit at
this point--your reader should not have to guess at what you mean. This section may also
include plans for how further research should proceed. In professional writing, this
section often comes immediately after the introduction.
8. Attachments
8.1. These will include references and may include appendices. Any research that you
refer to in the report must also appear in a list of references at the end of the work so that
an interested reader can follow up your work. Since the format for references varies
across engineering, consult your instructor, or check a style manual for the field.
8.2. Appendices may include raw data, calculations, graphs, and other quantitative
materials that were part of the research, but would be distracting to the report itself. Refer
to each appendix at the appropriate point (or points) in your report. In industry, a
company profile and profile of the professionals involved in a project might also appear
as appendices.
Case studies
Introduction:
Each of the logical components here consists more of questions than "how-to" because
the goal of this web-page is to help you think through the logic structure of this pattern.
Situation
Even when a client (or professor) defines a situation, engineers need to understand it in
their own terms:
Example: What happens when the Client doesn't tell you everything?
If an engineer responding to the Request for Proposal (RFP) below did not think through
the whole situation, she might end up in big trouble. An RFP asks contractors to bid on a
particular project. Getting the job without understanding the situation can be disastrous.
This RFP describes the government's responsibilities in a research project to test ABS
brakes using an "instrumented car" (a car outfitted with sophisticated measuring
equipment):
An instrumented vehicle, Pontiac 6000 STE, has been developed and will be provided to
the contractor without charge by Transport Canada. A separate contractor has been
engaged to perform hardware modifications to the various systems in the vehicle if they
are required and approved by the scientific authority. Costs associated with any
approved modifications, and the maintenance of the data collection system will be the
responsibility of Transport Canada, unless the contractor has been negligent in the use of
the system.[9]
All of this sounds good at first--someone else is worrying about maintaining the systems
inside a rather expensive vehicle--BUT what about systems outside the vehicle? Such
things as pop-up stop signs and means of altering the slipperiness of the track will be
needed. Since these are outside the car, who pays? If those bidding on this contract do not
state their understanding of the situation clearly, they could win a bid but lose a bundle.
Showing a clear understanding of the situation is the first step to a clear report.
Where it fits: Typically this will fit into the introduction or background sections of a
report.
Problem
Before you can solve a problem you need to know what it is. Defining a problem
clearly is crucial to finding a solution. In defining the problem, you need to explain the
factors that affect the problem. Consider not only what the client says the problem is, but
what the client might not recognize. Here is a statement of a problem,
Original:
Unless the number of consultations can be increased by 15% using the same resources,
the pain clinic is in danger of being shut down.
This problem statement is not complete. In fact, it is the problem as defined by the client,
which is really just the situation. The writer needs to analyze the problem: the problem
here might in part be defined as inefficiency in initial consultations.
Revised:
Sunnybrook's Chronic Pain Clinic loses money on initial consultations and suffers from
long patient waiting times for initial consultations. Unless the number of consultations
can be increased by 15% using the same resources, the pain clinic is in danger of being
shut down. The loss of money and the waiting times are related because two of the four
doctors do not manage to see their patients within the allotted one hour consultation.
This means not only that these doctors are unable to see as many patients as the other
two doctors, but that those they do see have to wait well past their scheduled
appointment. The problem, then, is to eliminate inefficiency in initial consultations
without compromising the level offer.
Part of defining the problem is seeing it in terms of what has been done before. These
questions might help you explain the full background to the problem:
• What are the parameters that have been set for your analysis?
• What is happening in the situation now?
• What are the shortcomings of the current or previous ways of handling the
situation?
• What changes have been made in the situation? or are expected?
These questions might lead to an additional paragraph in our example to clarify and
refine the definition of the problem. Here the writer goes on to consider how one
parameter physicians' financial benefit might affect the current situation.
This example is only part of what goes into a problem definition, but it shows how the
writer can refine his problem definition by limiting the possible parameters for solutions.
Where it fits: Typically, the Problem definition is also the purpose of the report;
therefore, it will follow the situation, or sometimes, precede it. Notice that the problem
and the situation overlap. This is predictable because the problem arises out of the
situation.
Solution
University assignments often expect you to come up with alternatives; hence,you may
need to examine more than one solution. Ultimately, to be effective,any solution must
1. Solve the problem. Obvious, but explain: How does the solution work?
2. Explain how the solution can be derived from the available data. How does it fit
with what we know?
3. Fit clearly into the available research on a topic. What research supports it?
As you might guess, this section could be a huge part of the body of a report.
Evaluation
Before Engineers can implement a solution, it needs to be refined. The first step in
refining any solution is an evaluation. You need to think your way around the solution
just as if it were an object you were walking around. Ask as many questions as possible.
Here are a few:
Where it fits: Typically, the evaluation comes just before the recommendations. Once
you have evaluated several options, then you can make a recommendation. It may also be
incorporated into the recommendations.
What is an outline?
An outline is a blueprint for your final document. It presents the content of your report in
brief, organizing your topics and supporting details in the order you intend to discuss
them.
Poor organization is by far the most common writing problem that we encounter at the
Engineering Writing Centre. An outline is all about organization. If you are afraid
organization means Roman numerals and capital letters, don't panic! Even without such
structures, the outline is a useful tool [1].
It helps you
...by exposing the gaps in your logic and organization early, while you still have time
to fill them.
If your outline gets trashed, don't despair: better the outline than the final draft.
As a summer student with Ford Canada, your first assignment as a member of the electrical
system design team is to look into the 12V battery standard. This standard is being questioned
because every year consumers demand more from the power supply in their cars: powerful air
conditioners, power windows, power locks, sophisticated audio systems, power antennas, plugs
for cellular phones, plugs for notebook computers.
The , and indicate things that the author has done right, wrong, and questions that need to
be addressed arising from that part of the report, most of which deal with the issues of audience,
purpose, organization, and content. Click on these symbols to read the appropriate commentary
on each section of the report.
1. Introduction
2. Principles
2.2 Kirchoff's Voltage Law: The charges travelling around a circuit transfer
energy from one circuit element to another, but do not receive energy themselves.
This means energy is conserved, which shows that the energy released by the
battery is equal to the energy used by the elements the battery powers.
2.3 The relationship between Electrostatic Potential and Kirchoffís Voltage Law
is that the first offers the explanation of stored energy within the circuit, as the
other uses that stored energy and shows how the energy is used by the circuit
elements. The battery releases energy at a potential difference of 12 V and each
element of the automobile is made to use the 12 volts of energy supplied by the
battery. The battery also has an alternator (a charger) which keeps a constant
supply of energy entering the battery (through the positive terminal), thus, the
supplied.
4. Advantages and Disadvantages (of creating a higher voltage standard for car batteries)
4.1 Advantages
power drain.
4.2 Disadvantages
4.2.1 The 12 V standard is widely used; it would take too much time and
effort to change it. Costs, including re-tooling appliances to take
advantages of the new standard, would be too high for the reasons for
changing the voltage standard.
4.2.2 Higher energy use is not environmentally friendly, leading to the
question: are all these portable appliances really necessary?
4.2.3 More equipment used at the same time would lead to more car
accidents. For example, cellular phone use has been reported to lead to
dangerous driving.
5. Recommendations
5.1 The raising of the standard voltage will be deemed unnecessary, largely
because of the costs involved in implementing the new
standard.
1. Purpose
State the purpose of your report at the top of the paper. A clear purpose is the
key to good reports. In order to write a clear purpose statement, determine what
problem you are facing and from that, determine the goal of the report.
In the above example, the purpose statement is derived directly from the
problem statement:
Keep your purpose in mind throughout the paper. Reread it whenever you need
to decide what to include and what to cut.
2. Audience
State your audience at the top of the paper. Although you may not actually
include the statement "the audience for this report is for X, Y, and Z" in the
report, it remains important to acknowledge it in the outline because the audience
dictates the content and organization of any report. The audience statement
serves as a reminder of this important consideration and might change the
appearance of the final version. For example:
If you are writing for an However, if you are writing about the same concept
engineer you might write: for non-engineers, you might be better to write it
this way:
amount of amount of
3. Organization
Deciding where and when to use information is the most important part of the
outlining process. It helps to develop This involves several steps:
A. Useability
B. Cost
3. The above example uses the decimal format, but the alpha-
numeric could also have been used.
4. Content
The most difficult part of writing an outline for another reader is deciding how
much information you want to include. Clearly, you want to be able to show that
you've thought considerably about the problem and your response to the problem,
but have a limited amount of space in which to demonstrate your expertise.
1. Provide adequate indication regarding background
information for the problem at hand:
Given these Advantages and Disadvantages, does the conclusion (recommendation) make
sense?
5.1 The raising of the standard This recommendation follows from the
voltage will be deemed advantages and disadvantages above because:
unnecessary, largely because of 1) Cost of implementing the new standard is an
the costs involved in implementing overbearing concern which outweighs the
the new standard. benefits.
2) The advantages of being able to run more
appliances and run more powerful appliances
have been brought into question because of the
threat it poses to the environment and the
dangers it can present.
The next step is to use your outline to write your final draft.
This document describes the basic format for the business and technical memo.
Most memos are characteristically brief, but they should follow the other
principles of good technical writing as well: know your audience, be clear, and
be accurate.
Typical Components
1. Header
The header is a compact block of information at the top of a memo. Different
offices may prefer different layouts, but in general you should use an
arrangement like the following:
Note: The standard memo does not use a salutation ("Dear Mr.
Prefect:") or a closing ("Sincerely, Arthur P. Dent"). However,
many people do add such lines to e-mail messages.
2. Purpose
Immediately state your reason for writing. Answer the journalist's questions:
who, what, when, where, and why.
Mr. Howard has asked me to arrange a working lunch for all members of the
writing staff, at the main office, sometime before the end of the month.
The purpose of this memo is to request authorization to purchase a sound card and
a modem for the computer in the front office.
This memo confirms the details of your tour of the new processing plant, as we
discussed over the telephone this morning.
3. Summary
The summary should do more than describe the contents of the memo, it should
be a miniature version of the memo. A technical document is not a mystery
novel, so put all your important information up front.
This memo confirms the plans made during the writing staff's working lunch with
Mr. Howard. It describes the proposed changes to the Greenfield Power proposal,
and explains the procedure by which employees may voice their own opinions.
(This passage merely describes the organization of the memo. It does not actually
summarize the contents.)
During last week's working lunch, Mr. Howard asked the the writing staff to
consider two major changes to the Greenfield Power proposal: 1) invite the
governor to write a letter of introduction, 2) transpose sections four and five. Mr.
Howard will hold an open meeting next Friday at 12, in conference room 2, in
order to solicit employee feedback.
(Some readers, satisfied with the summary, might stop reading here. If so, you
have done your job well.)
4. Discussion
Since your memo may be pulled from a file years from now, your discussion
section should include sufficient background information. The background may
include the names and titles of the people involved, or the dates of earlier memos
related to the one you are writing. The rest of the section should expand on and
support all the points you made in your summary. You may employ subheadings
similar to those found in larger technical documents: situation, problem,
solution, evaluation. Label these subsections. You may choose to arrange the
discussion chronologically, from more important to less important, or from the
general to the specific. Whatever rhetorical pattern you choose, you should
follow these general pointers:
• Start with the old information and work carefully towards the
new.
• Give your reader a sense of the big picture before you zero in on
the individual parts.
Observation A. [Details on A...] Observation B. [Details on B...]
Observation C. [Details on C...] Research suggests that factors A, B, and
C combine to create problem Y. [Details on Y...] Therefore, conclusion
X. [Details on X...]
(An unconnected string of details is often hard to follow.)
Problem Y occurs when factors A, B, and C are present. This section
explains why we should avoid problem Y, examines each of the
contributing factors, and explains why I feel that action X should prevent
further instances of problem Y. [Details follow, in the order promised.]
(Advance knowledge of how the details fit together makes them easier to
absorb.)
• Use active verbs.
• Use the pronoun "I" when you are talking about your work.
• Simplify your language. Instead of "somewhere in the proximity
of," write "near". Instead of "at this point in time," write "now." Avoid
puffing up your writing to make yourself appear more important.
5. Action
Unless the purpose of the memo is simply to inform, you should finish with a
clear call for action. Who should do what, and how long do they have to do it?
You may need to include alternatives, in the event that your readers disagree with
you. Be polite when you ask others to do work for you, especially when they are
not under your supervision. You may wish to mention the actions that you plan
to take next, and what your own deadlines are, so your reader can gauge how
important the project is to you. A canned conclusion such as "If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact me at 555-1234" is too vague for a statement
of action.
Organization
The original proposal for the project determines the structure: make use of
original milestones or the timeline. With this in mind, the simplest structure is as
follows:
1. Introduction
2. Work Completed
3. Work Scheduled
4. Problems
But a more comprehensive list of components will give you a clearer structure,
even if you return to the simpler structure for the report itself.
1. Introduction
2. Project Description
3. Progress Summary
4. Problems Encountered
5. Changes in Requirements
6. Overall Assessment of the Project
This document adds: 7. Report Apparatus (titles, references, etc.)
1. Introduction
As always, first indicate the purpose of the report and its intended audience.
Clearly define the time period covered in the report (see also titles). Then,
explain the project's objectives and summarize the major issues. Sometimes the
summary can be a separate section from the introduction [2].
2. Project Description
In very short reports, the introduction might contain this section, but if it is under
its own heading, readers who are familiar with the project can skip it. Someone
unfamiliar with the project, however, needs summarized details such as purpose
and scope of the project, start and completion dates, and names of parties
involved [8]. Often this section can be adapted from a proposal or borrowed from
a previous progress report.
3. Progress Summary
This is the substance of the report (so "summary" may be a misnomer). You want
to discuss work done, work in progress, and work to be done. You might just
use these as subheadings to structure the section. This would be a project-tasks
approach. Other approaches are time-periods or a combined approach.
4. Problems Encountered
As noted in the opening, snags are expected. Don't hide from them; explain what
they are and how they might affect key areas of the job (such as timing, price or
quality). If the problem occurred in the past, you can explain how you overcame
it. This is least serious; in fact, you look good. If the problem is in front of you
(now or in the future), explain how you hope to overcome it, if you can.
5. Changes in Requirements
Here, you record the changes to the project: milestones added, new requirements,
or schedule changes (good or bad). Even if these changes have not affected the
ultimate goal of the project, you need to tell the sponsor how problems have been
accommodated.
PROGRESS REPORT:
Manufacturing Custom Relief Valve Assemblies
XYZ Company
References: Systems of referencing vary widely within engineering disciplines. The University
of Toronto's Language Across the Curriculum program has a convenient "bibliography builder"
for people using the author-date system. The basics of the format can be seen in the reference list
below that contains the references used in producing these pages. See also:
MAJOR COMPONENTS
Explain:
5. Revised Milestones
7. Appendix
8. References
o building a prototype.
The project is on schedule, having met the first two
milestones. A Pb27%Sn alloy has been selected because
of its melting properties [1,2] and because it can easily
The final paragraph be cast in the Teflon mold [2,3]. The design will follow
addresses the crucial point Malloy [1]; however, Malloy used a Pb23%Sn alloy, so
of the report: the progress. we expect our transducer to be more efficient and
The second and third produce less circuit noise [3]. Arrangements have been
sentences clearly address made to cast the prototype in the first week of January.
milestones one and two. Once the casting is complete, the remainder of the
prototype should be finished on schedule by the end of
January when preliminary testing of the whole project is
scheduled to begin.
Ý
Electronic documents should
be...
Better-written technical documents enable people to work
with greater speed, accuracy, and comfort. These qualities
1. short,
are measured by the usability factor.
2. top-heavy,
Sun Microsystems researchers applied several simple
3. scannable,
writing strategies to test web pages, improving the usability
4. navigable, and
of a tourism web site by 127%, and a technical web site
by 149%. (See "Web Usability Studies").
5. straightforward.
Note: These strategies are designed to improve informational web pages, but some non-
technical web sites also have value. The Internet has room for writing that creates
suspense, style, and poetry.
The inverted pyramid writing style puts the important information at the top.
People do judge books by their cover; and they will judge web pages by what
they can see without scrolling.
• If your first few lines satisfy your reader's needs, you will have
done your job well.
• Curious or skeptical readers can keep reading, perhaps following
links deeper into your document.
• Bored or satisfied readers can move on.
Use the inverted pyramid on several levels, whether you are writing a
paragraph, a single page, or a multi-page collection.
• Paragraph
o Begin with the conclusion. (It may be all your visitor
has time to read.)
o Use subsequent sentences to support your conclusion.
o Use bulleted lists and highlighted keywords to break
up long, boring blocks of text.
• Page
o Begin each page (or posting) with a table of contents, or
a detailed abstract.
o The abstract should provide the Coles Notes version of
your page:
Traditional writing genres, such as the five- Electronic Documents Should Be Scannable
paragraph essay, or a short story, are usually
harder to read on a visually-intensive electronic People dislike reading long paragraphs of
media such as the World Wide Web, because electronic text. Technical paragraphs are often
computer users dislike reading long paragraphs. inefficient ways of conveying complex
On average, people read electronic 25% slower information, and electronic text is harder to
like a boring document, unless they see concrete five-paragraph essay or the short story, build
emphasize their most important information Long paragraphs are acceptable in this kind of
with meaningful subheadings, highlighted writing, because the reader is expected to read
keywords, and bulleted lists allow readers to every word, in strict sequential order.
Analysis
Although the paragraph on the left actually contains more information, not all of
it would be of interest to the users who come to this page, and there is nothing
that would particularly attract the attention of those who might be interested.
The revision on the right highlights the most important details; an author can use
hyperlinks to send the reader to related subdocuments or to lower sections of the
same page in order to provide more details.
Non-expert users typically depend more heavily on help files, navigation aids,
and other supporting features. As more ordinary people encounter electronic
media, those elements become more important. As an electronic author, you
should generally help a novice use your document. At the same time, too
much help slows down the experts.
In some ways, hypertext frees readers by letting them pick and choose from
among several paths through a document At the same time, hypertext restricts
readers, because they can follow only the links the author chose to create. As
an electronic author, you should build links using informative text, and avoid
extraneous links.
Take advantage of the fact that linked text stands out, and use it to
highlight the important information you offer. Use the surrounding
words to explain why the reader might want to click on the link.
o For a web page about plagiarism, click here.
(Sloppy writing; the word "here" jumps out, but it means little by
itself.)
Any page on your site may be the only page your reader sees. Make it as useful
as possible.
[ Go Back ]
(This link would mean nothing to a user who didn't come
from the place you want to send them.)
[ Home ]
(There are millions of home pages out there.)
(While most users of the present web site would
probably understand the function of this graphic, to
novices, it may seem like just a pretty picture. [Hint:
click on it.])
[ Engineering Writing Centre Home ]
(Low-tech, but more informative than the graphic. [So:
why does this site use the logo instead? Well... umm...
you see, graphics are cool...])
o Provide navigation alternatives.
Is your document sequential, with a clear
beginning and ending? That may be good, and it may be
bad.
Novice users typically prefer a
sequential document, so they can tell when they
have finished.
Expert users may object to tedious
strings of "Go to next page" links.
A user should be able to change navigation
strategies from moment to moment
The main navigation bar at the top of
this page clearly reflects a hierarchical
arrangement.
The arrow buttons at the top and
bottom indicate the sequential arrangement of
documents in this particular section.
The arrows appear at the top of
the page for those users who want to
click quickly through all the pages, in
order to get an idea of what each page
contains.
The arrows also appear at the
bottom of the page because that's
where sequential readers will end up
when they make their decision about
whether they want to keep reading.
The occasional hyperlink embedded in
the main text indicates a thematic
arrangement among various sections
• Avoid "marketese"
Pompous Straightforward
At this point in time... Now...
Due to the fact that... Because...
It is important to note that... [cut entirely]
From X, it can be seen that Y is the case. X proves Y.