Chapter 2: Planning the Technical

Report Writing

“If You Fail to Plan, You Are Planning to Fail”

Benjamin Franklin

08 November 2023
 CHAPTER objectives

At the end of this chapter you will

1. Understand types of Technical Studies and

Elements of writing strategy

2. Understand the importance of directing your

technical writing to specific individuals or groups

3. Understand how to select appropriate readers

4. Realize all required work steps to write
technical report.

5. Understand the checklist for writing strategy

 Introduction

▪MOST SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS

spend their careers on a variety of projects.

▪You may hired as a junior scientist or

engineer, and you can work your way up the
career ladder by going the technical route or
management route.
 Introduction
Many engineers spend between 1/3 and 1/2 of their
work time engaged in technical writing. Examples
include:
• proposals • technical reports
• regulations • progress reports
• manuals • emails
• procedures • memos
• requests
Introduction

Potential
engineering
career paths
 Introduction
▪ The first task to be completed before
starting a report is to determine what
needs to be addressed.
▪ The Planning stage of the writing process
is important because the purpose,
content, and general structure of the
paper is established there.
▪ A large number of students do serious
damage to themselves by skimping on this
stage, or on the related process of
outlining.
 Introduction

▪Technical Reports shall be written so that they reach

your readers.

▪This requires a high level of systematic order, logic

and clarity.

▪These understandability aspects must already be taken

into account, when you plan the necessary work steps.
 Introduction

▪ Typical day
in the life of
an engineer
TYPES OF TECHNICAL STUDIES
 ELEMENTS OF WRITING STRATEGY

1. The readership (the who) of a document

2. The scope (the what) of a document
3. The purpose and objectives (the why) of a
document
Please Read –
• Types of Audiences & Audience Analysis https://www.prismnet.com/~hcexres/textbook/aud.html
• Task analysis

https://www.prismnet.com/~hcexres/textbook/task_analysis.html
 2.1 General overview of all required work steps

The key elements in a simple logical way to approach almost any

project are:
1. Proposing a project - The Idea (when it is part of your job to do so)
2. Gathering background information
3. Planning the project or test
4. Conducting experiments
5. Analyzing data, reaching conclusions, making recommendations,
and

6. reporting your work

 2.1 General overview of all required work steps

Read Chapter Two of

Lutz Hering, Heike Hering (auth.)-How to
Write Technical Reports_ Understandable
Structure, Good Design, Convincing Presentation
 Analysis of Readers

1. Readership is your intended audience.

2. The intention of your report determines readership.
3. The readership selected determines writing level.
4. The level of writing must be such that it is understood and is useful
to all readers.

5. Selection of a circulation list (your readership) should respect

organization hierarchy; include contributors, sponsors, and potential
users of your work/recommendations.
 RULE

Readers are important. Select appropriate ones and write to them.

 Writing to Various Readers
Readership intention and writing levels for various documents
2.2 Accepting and analyzing the task
2.2 Accepting and analyzing the task
2.3 Checking or creating the title
 2.3 Checking or creating the title
❖Use the following work steps to create the title:
▪ write down the task
▪ write down the keywords which characterize the report
▪ combine the keywords to a title
▪ find new titles by varying the usage of these keywords
▪ read possible titles aloud to optimize the speech melody
▪ select the “best” title

▪ After the title has been created, the next step is to design the
structure.
 2.3 Checking or creating the title – Example

▪ Project task : A computer program to be developed, that allows the

selection of the materials of designed parts depending on the stress on
the part, abrasion requirements etc.
▪ Computer Aided Material Selection (CAMS) to describe the purpose of
the program.

▪ keywords
– material selection
– design
– education
– CAMS
– with computer
 2.3 Checking or creating the title- Example

▪ The next step is to combine the keywords to get different titles:

▪ Contribution to computer-aided material selection
▪ Computer-aided material selection in design
▪ Computer-aided material selection in design education
▪ Computer Aided Material Selection = CAMS
▪ CAMS in design education
▪ Help to select materials by the computer
▪ Computer application for material selection
▪ CAMS in design
▪ Design with CAMS
▪ Computer support in design education
▪ Material selection with the computer

Final title: Computer-aided material selection in design education

2.4 The structure as the “backbone” of the
Technical Report
 2.4 The structure as the “backbone” of the
Technical Report

▪ Designing the structure is the main step of planning the Technical

Report writing.

▪Many people do not distinguish properly between the

terms “structure” and “table of contents” (ToC).
▪ Structure: without page numbers, contains the logic, is intermediate
result;

▪ ToC: with page numbers, allows searching, is final result.

 2.4.1 General information about structure
and table of contents

▪ The structure (while writing the Technical Report) or the table of

contents (after finishing the Technical Report) is the “front entrance

door” into your Technical Report.

▪ A good structure is so important for the understandability and

plausibility of texts
 2.4.1 General information about structure
and table of contents
▪ The structure allows you to get a quick overview
▪ to find your way into the contents of the Technical Report,
▪ to get help from your supervisor, and
▪ to evaluate/grade your Technical Report.

▪ The information which forms your Technical Report will only be sorted
into the drawers which are defined by the structure. Thus, creating the
structure is the creative part of the work.
 2.4.2 Rules for the structure

▪ When explaining the term structure, it is also necessary to discuss

levels of document part headings.
2.4.2 Rules for the structure

Example
 2.4.3 Logic and formal design of document
part headings
It is a key requirement of a logical structure that different document part headings on the
same level of hierarchy must be equally important and consistent. Therefore the following
part of a structure is not logical:

it is not logical, to subdivide a higher-level topic in the next lower document hierarchy level
into only one document part heading.

Here is a correct alternative for the bad example above:

2.4.3 Logic and formal design of document
part headings
 Common Format
The full format of a long report can be as follows:
▪ Title page
▪ „Acknowledgements
▪ Summary or Abstract
▪ „Table of Contents
▪ „Introduction/Terms of Reference/Scope
▪ Main Body of the Report
▪ Methodology/ „Procedure
▪ „Results or Findings (the evidence)
▪ Discussion
▪ „Conclusions
▪ „Recommendations
▪ „References/Bibliography
▪ „Appendices
Thank You