UNIT ONE: INTRODUCTION

Unit Objectives / Aims:

• Introduce technical report writing (TRW)
• Communication and Writing
• Definition of TRW
• Characteristics of TRW
• Purpose and Audience of TRW
• Stages involved in TRW
 1.1 Introduction

As Skilled Future Professional, you need to be:

• Perfect in the “Writing Skill” and in “English”,
• Acquainted with different types of documents,
Different types of documents produced for:
Communication are termed as Genres,
Different genres have specific characters like:
• Layout,
• Content,
• Format,
• Style, etc
 1.1 Introduction, cont’d

As Future Professionals / Engineers you are

• Expected to be Multi-literate,
Multi-literates Professionals / Engineers are those who:
• Have to possess ample knowledge,
• In various aspects/areas,
• Such as, the knowledge of:
1. Content,
2. Context,
3. English language,
4. Genre, and
5. Writing process.
 1.1 Introduction, cont’d

TRW as a genre of written communication

requires the ability to:
Organize information, and
Craft information for various tasks for:
1.Education  teaching & learning:
•thesis, proposals,
•books, magazines,
•articles, lab reports.
 1.1 Introduction, cont’d

2. For Day-to-day Technical Activities:

•Reports, letters, and memos,
•E-mails, notes and surveys,
•Bench-marking and quality control
3. Technical writers are required to be skillful to
produce documents dealing with:
•Instructions, manuals
•Processes, machines
•Procedures, patents
 1.1 introduction

Communication is part & parcel of human life.

• Communication can be done in different ways,
• One of these means of comn. is writing,
• Writing is a life long activity and requires skills.
Producing different types of comn. requires:
• Analyzing the information type to be conveyed,
• Making it suitable to those who need to know.
• The methods needed to transmit it, and
• The basics & details of the subject in question.
 1.2 Definition of TRW

Technical Report Writing is defined as:

1. A type of comn. that requires having knowledge
of a technical subject and how to transmit to those
that need to know it is termed as technical writing.
2. Technical writing conveys:
• Specific information,
• About a technical subject
• To a specific audience,
• For a specific purpose.
 1.3 Technical Vs Creative Writing
No. Technical Writing Creative Writing
1. Factual Fictional and imaginative
2. Informative, instructional, or Entertaining, provocative, and
persuasive captivating
3. Clear, precise, straightforward, Artistic, figurative, symbolic,
no room for misinterpretations ambiguous, even vague
4. Follows accepted standards Can break the rules,
5. Objective Subjective
6. Uses specialized vocabulary Uses a general vocabulary
depend- ending on the topic as understood by a general audience
well as on the familiarity of the narrowed somewhat by age group or
target audience with the topic interest.
 1.4 Characteristics of TRW
• Objectivity: an impartial and unemotional weighing of the
evidence, sometimes called the scientific point of view.
• Defined Audience: Because so many reports, documents and
memoranda are designed for small groups within a company
or scientific organization, writers must tailor documents to
meet the needs of these readers.
• Specific Formats: Technical reports, business letters, and
memoranda use their own formats.  
• Technical Vocabulary: Because technical writers deal with
specialized subject matter, their writing is characterized by
numbers, scientific symbols, specialized vocabulary of
acronyms-abbreviations made into words, such as NASA, for
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
 End of Unit

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