What is Technical Writing

(really)?
• Simply technical writing
conveys specific information
about a technical subject to a
specific audience for a
specific purpose.
AHU • Many engineers spend
Mining Engineering Department between 1/3 and 1/2 of their
work time engaged in
Introductory Engineering technical writing. Eg.
‫ﻣدﺧل ﻟﻠﮭﻧدﺳﺔ‬ Proposals, progress reports,
technical reports … etc
Prof. Dr Hani M. Alnawafleh Dr Hani Alnawafleh 2

Types of Technical Where to find materials to write

Reports/Communication the report?
Examples are: Examples are:
• Annual Report 1. Documents related to the project / work currently being
• Books done
• Computer Hardware Guides 2. Google, Bing, Yahoo
• Magazines 3. Journals
• Newsletters 4. Scirus.com
• Organizational Manuals 5. Youtube.com, Metacafe.com etc.
• Scholarly Articles/Journals 6. Reference, bibliography – Bibme.com
• Software Guides 7. Free Ebooks – Hongkiat.com - 20-best-websites-to-
download-free-e-books. OPPapers.com – Research
• Technical Reports
Papers and Essays

Dr Hani Alnawafleh 3 Dr Hani Alnawafleh 4

Characteristics of Effective
Report Purpose
Technical Writing
The four C’s: • Explain problem or issue studied
• Clarity - it is easily understood by your intended • Discuss research method
audience
• Describe data collected
• Comprehensiveness - all of the necessary
information is present • Describe research findings
• Conciseness - it is clear without excess • Explain implications
verbiage
• Correctness - it is grammatical and follows
conventions

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 Report Format and
Report Planning
Organization
• Before writing, consider:
– Why you are writing • Reports generally include these sections in
this order:
– What you hope to achieve
– Title Page
– Who you are writing for
– Body of the Report
• Introduction / Background Information
These considerations will determine your
• Procedure / Methodology
report’s content, organization, textual • Presentation of Data / Discussion of Results
and visual design • Conclusion

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Report Format and Organization: Report Format and Organization:

1. Introduction / Background 2. Procedure / Methodology
– Explains the research problem and its context • Explains how data was gathered/generated
• Outlines the objectives of the experiment • Explains how data was analyzed
• Identifies background information
• Explains importance of the problem (Why does it
matter? Why is more information needed?)
• Explains reason(s) and goal(s) for study

You want your reader to fully understand the

significance of your research

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Report Format and Organization Report Format and Organization

3. Discussion of Discussion of Results/Presentation
Results/Presentation of Data of Data
• Visually and textually represents research findings • Assesses and comments on research results
• Includes:
– Visual representation of results: – Explanation for Results
• Graphs, tables, diagrams, charts • Comments on unexpected results, offering hypothesis
for them
– Explanatory text:
– Comparison to literature
• Text points out the most significant portions of • Does your research confirm previous studies? Deviate
research findings from them?
• Indicates key trends or relationships – Explanation for how info can be applied in
• Highlights expected and/or unexpected findings broader context

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Report Format and Organization:
4. Conclusion / Summary
Language and Vocabulary
• Discusses: • Reports should be easily accessible
– How general principle was supported by the – Be straightforward and concise
findings – Use simple terms, not jargon and technical terms
– What was learned and what remains to be – Keep sentences short and simple (20 words
learned through research max)
– Weaknesses/shortcomings vs. strength of study – Be specific and not general
– Possible applications of study (how it can be
used)
– Recommendations

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Visual Design Source Documentation

• A report’s visual design can make or break its • Cite sources whenever you are quoting,
communication success paraphrasing, or summarizing work that is not
your own
• Visual Design includes: – Quoting directly is discouraged
– Use of graphs and other graphics • Sources include:
– Use of white space – Books
– Journal, magazine, or newspaper articles
– Interviews
– Conference Proceedings
– Lectures

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Plagiarism Finishing Touches

• Never take the work of others without giving proper • Proofread carefully
credit • Check Spelling
• Never take verbatim sentences/paragraphs from • Check Grammar
the literature • Minimize the use of Acronyms
• If you feel that you must use verbatim material, use • If Acronyms are necessary, always define them at
quotation marks and a reference. the first use
• There are search engines that can find if verbatim • Number all equations, tables, and figures
material has been stolen
• All tables and figures must have captions.
• All figures must have labeled axes
• All quantities must have units
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