A Guide for

Technical
Writing
What makes a good technical report?
 What makes a good technical report?
● 10 laws of good report writing
○ 1. Produce the report for your reader(s)

○ 2. Keep the report as short as possible and directly to the point

○ 3. Organize information for the convenience of the reader

○ 4. Include accurate references

○ 5. Ensure your writing is accurate, concise and straightforward

 What makes a good technical report?
○ 6. Include diagrams with the right labels in the right place for your reader

○ 7. Make sure your summary gives the whole picture in brief

○ 8. Check the report for technical errors, typing errors and inconsistency

○ 9. Consider design as well as content

○ 10. Produce the report for your reader(s)

01. Objectives

Set the objectives for your report before you start writing.
Note them down and check that you are keeping to them, even
during the last stages of production.
Your objectives should identify:
– who you’re producing the report for
– why you’re producing the report
– what information you’re covering
01. Objectives

What happens without clear objectives?

If you don’t take time to clarify your objectives, writing the report will be
more difficult.
 01. Objectives

Who are you producing the report for?

If you want your report to make an impact, you need to consider your reader.
Knowing your reader should determine your approach, the technical content and style of your writing.
 01. Objectives

Ask yourself:
– What does the reader already know about the subject?
– What do you need to tell the reader?
– Why does a particular reader need this particular report?
– What is the desired response from the reader?
– How can you bridge the gap between what the reader knows already and what they need to know, in
order to produce the desired response?
– What level of formality is appropriate? (e.g. a short emailed report to a colleague will be less
formal than a report for a managing director of another company)
 02. Format

Once the objectives have been established, start organising the information
available. As you find material, put it into one of three categories:
1. important information that is relevant to the objectives
2. borderline information which might be useful to some readers or support more
important material
3. information which may be interesting to you, but is not relevant to the objectives
 02. Format

• Sections and subsections:

• Divide information and place it under headings
that are as specific as possible.
• This space on the page makes your report easier to
read. Also, readers can identify and refer to sections
which are relevant to their interests.
02. Format
There are some widely accepted section headings you can use:
– Title page
– Acknowledgements
– Summary
– Table of Contents
– Introduction/Terms of Reference/Scope
– Procedure
– Findings
– Conclusions
– Recommendations
– References/Bibliography (APA 7th ed.)
– Appendices
02. Format
Headings should match the numbering in importance, so a main heading
should have a major notation (as shown below):
1. MAIN HEADING
1.1 Lesser Heading
1.1.1 Small heading
2. MAIN HEADING
2.1 lesser heading
2.1.1 small heading
2.1.2 small heading
03. Writing
 03. Writing
A well-written report is easier to read, makes your
meaning clear and builds the reader’s confidence in what
you are saying.
3.1 Spelling (When you’ve completed a section of the report, check it for spelling
errors.)
3.2 Punctuation (Check your use of punctuation, such as commas, as it can
transform the meaning of sentences and avoid ambiguity)
3.3 Sentences (Short sentences provide a clear, easy-to-read style for factual
information.)
 03. Writing

3.4 Paragraphs (Paragraphs should unify content, but also be used to make the
document more readable. Several paragraphs on a page with resulting spaces
encourage reading, while a long block of text is off-putting.)
3.5 Formality (Reports are formal documents, but that doesn’t mean you have to
use overly complex words or grammar. Use simple words that you’d use in everyday
conversation to get your meaning across, e.g. ‘send’ rather than ‘dispatch’ and ‘finish’
rather than ‘draw to a conclusion’. If you choose more complex language, readers
could be unnecessarily distracted by it.)
3.6 Use of diagrams such as tables, figures, etc. (make it look attractive)
Format
1. Cover page
2. Table of content
3. Cover letter
4. Executive summary
5. Proposal and Solutions
6. Market analysis and marketing plan
7. Financial proposal and graph
8. Testimonials
Cover page
Table of content
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cN-JX6HP7c
Cover letter
Your goal when writing your technical proposal is to
catch your reader’s attention and trust. Remember that
you want them to believe in you and eventually invest in
you. Therefore, it is very important to leave a good
impression on them.

Here is what your cover letter has to include:

Cover letter
Write the header:

Include your name and contact information. This includes your phone number, email
address, physical address, and the address of your employer if available.

Address the actual person:

Make sure you address the person who is going to read your cover letter. Do your
search to know the name of the right person. You can find that through the
company’s website, or simply by calling the company and asking for the person’s
name
 Cover letter
Grab their attention:

Make sure to grab the reader’s attention so that they want to read more about your
content. You can always start with a quote or with statistics depending on your topic.
Once you give the reader a reason to wanting to read more, the more chances you have
of them trusting in you. You can also talk about how you came in contact with this
specific organization.

Talk about your background and credentials:

Your credentials and background information has to be mentioned in the second

paragraph. Give the reader a reason to believe in you and think that you are the best
person for this deal. Talk about your skills and experiences and how can that contribute
to the success of the company.
 Cover letter
Show them that you are interested!

This is your third paragraph. You are talking about your interest. Explain to them that you
are going to track the process of your proposal. You will call, or even ask to schedule an
interview to gain more information on the company.

End of letter:

Express your gratitude to the reader and the company. Express how grateful you are for
the organization to go through your proposal and for considering you for the deal.
Cover
letter
Executive summary
Your executive summary must be concise and to the point. It should tell the
reader who you are, the purpose of your technical proposal, its potential
benefits to your customers, and how it will change the current market.

You may consider the following structure when constructing your executive
summary:
 Executive summary
● The first paragraph should introduce you, your potential tool ,
device or service, and the technical proposal you wish to inform
your reader about.

● The next paragraph should highlight the important points, such

as how your tool, device or service will fill a specific need or
demand and how it will perform better than the existing
competition in the market.

● The purpose of your executive summary is to be “persuasive .”

You want to persuade your audience of the importance of your
proposed tool, device business or service and keep them
interested and engaged enough to continue reading your
complete proposal.
 Proposal and solutions

This aspect looks at your tool, device or service and how it will help the
company or market. This is like a SWOT analysis, but you are only writing
about the gap in the market and then the solution.

You are looking to write around 300 words for this section, so you will need
to sum up what is missing from the market and then provide the solution
in the form of your tool, device or service, explaining why and how it will
help. Before you can write this, you will need to do some market
research into your area and be able to answer questions about why it is
needed.
Proposal and solutions
Market analysis
Includes:
• Who are my potential customers?
• What are my customers’ buying habits?
• How large is my target market?
• How much are customers willing to pay for my
product?
• Who are my main competitors?
• What are my competitors’ strengths and weaknesses?
Market analysis
These are some major benefits of
conducting a market analysis:
-1. Risk reduction: (Knowing your market can reduce risks in
your business, since you’ll have an understanding of major market
trends, the main players in your industry, and what it takes to be
successful, all of which will inform your business decisions. To help
you further protect your business, you can also conduct a SWOT
analysis, which identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats for your business.)
Market analysis
These are some major benefits of
conducting a market analysis:
2. Targeted products or services: You are in a much
better position to serve your customers when you have a
firm grasp on what they are looking for from you. When
you know who your customers are, you can use that
information to tailor your business’s offerings to your
customers’ needs.
Market analysis
These are some major benefits of
conducting a market analysis:
3. Emerging trends: Staying ahead in business is
often about being the first to spot a new
opportunity or trend, and using a marketing
analysis to stay on top of industry trends is a
great way to position yourself to take advantage
of this information.
Market analysis
These are some major benefits of
conducting a market analysis:
4. Revenue projections: A market forecast is a key
component of most marketing analyses, as it projects the
future numbers, characteristics and trends in your target
market. This gives you an idea of the profits you can
expect, allowing you to adjust your business plan and
budget accordingly.
Market analysis
These are some major benefits of
conducting a market analysis:
5. Evaluation benchmarks: A market analysis provides
benchmarks or key performance indicators (KPIs) against
which you can judge your company and how well you
are doing compared to others in your industry
Market analysis
These are some major benefits of conducting a
market analysis:
6. Context for past mistakes: Marketing analytics can explain
your business’s past mistakes. For example, in-depth analytics
can explain what impacted the sale of a specific product, or
why a certain metric performed the way it did. This can help
you avoid making those mistakes again or experiencing similar
mistakes, because you’ll be able to analyze and describe what
went wrong and why.
Market analysis
These are some major benefits of conducting a
market analysis:
7. Marketing optimization: This is where an annual
marketing analysis comes in handy – regular analysis can
inform your ongoing marketing efforts and show you which
aspects of your marketing need work, and which are
performing well in comparison to the other companies in your
industry.
Market analysis
What are the drawbacks of running a marketing analysis?

• Market analysis can be expensive.

• Market analysis can be time-consuming.
• Market analysis can require extra staff.
Market analysis
How to conduct a market analysis
1. Determine your purpose (Start by deciding whether your purpose is internal –
like improving your cash flow or business operations – or external, like seeking a
business loan. Your purpose will dictate the type and amount of research you will
do)
2. Research the state of the industry (Map a detailed outline of the current state of
your industry. Include where the industry seems to be heading, using metrics such as
size, trends and projected growth, with plenty of data to support your findings)
Market analysis
How to conduct a market analysis
3. Identify your target customer.
Not everyone in the world will be your customer, and it would be a waste
of time to try to get everyone interested in your product. Instead, use a
target market analysis to decide who is most likely to want your product
and focus your efforts there. You want to understand your market size, who
your customers are, where they come from, and what might influence their
buying decisions. To do so, look at factors such as: age, gender, location,
occupation, education, needs, interests, etc.
Market analysis
How to conduct a market analysis
4. Understand your competition.
To be successful, you need a good understanding of your competitors, what
they do differently than you, and their strengths, weaknesses and
advantages in the market. Start by listing all your main competitors, then go
through that list and conduct a SWOT analysis of each competitor. What
does that business have that you don’t?
What would lead a customer to choose that business over yours?
Put yourself in the customer’s shoes.
Market analysis
How to conduct a market analysis
5. Gather additional data.
When conducting marketing analyses, information is
your friend – you can never have too much data. It is
important that the data you use is credible and factual,
so be cautious of where you get your numbers.
Market analysis
How to conduct a market analysis
6. Analyze your data.
After you collect all the information you can and
verify that it is accurate, you need to analyze the data
to make it useful to you
Market analysis
How to conduct a market analysis
7. Put your analysis to work.
Once you’ve created a market analysis,
it’s time to actually make it work for you.
Market analysis
Marketing plan
Marketing plan
Financial proposal and
graphs

Word file (7)

Testimonials
Testimonials are one of the most important tools a
company can use to show potential customers
how valuable their products and services are.
Testimonials are a short statement that
describes how a product or service worked for a
customer.
Testimonials
How to write a testimonial:
You want your testimonials to tell a story about
your product and business. You should consider
what kind of feelings you want your potential
customers to have about your product, what
challenges your customers overcame and what
value they found in using your services or
products
Testimonials
1. Determine what story you want to tell:
You want your testimonials to tell a story about your product
and business. You should consider what kind of feelings you
want your potential customers to have about your product,
what challenges your customers overcame and what value
they found in using your services or products.
2. Ask specific questions:
You want to guide your customers to give you the kind of
information you will include in the testimonial. Build your
questions around the story you are telling about your
business and products. Your questions should be specific
and open-ended so you can get as much information as
possible.
Testimonials
3. Keep it short and conversational:
Your testimonial should only be two or three paragraphs, at
most. They should be written in your customer's tone so that
your testimonial doesn't seem overly formal or technical.
Testimonials are accessible, easy to understand the content
that connects with potential customers.
4. Use the customer's name and include pictures, if possible:
You want to use your customer's name for the testimonial to
feel genuine. Associating your customer's name with the
testimonial will help your future customers to put a name to
the story the testimonial is telling you.
.
Testimonials

Pictures are an important part of storytelling and your

customers will respond to them, whether it is before and after
images or a company logo. If you can, include an image to
demonstrate the value of your services or products.
.
 Types of Testimonials
 Quote testimonial: This testimonial uses words directly from a
satisfied customer and is the most common kind.
 Peer testimonial: This testimonial shows your customer as
someone similar to your future customers and usually includes a
portrait.
 Social testimonial: This is an organic testimonial, where your
customer offers to share their experience with your company on
social media.
 Video testimonial: This testimonial is when you record your
customer talking about your product. It's eye-catching, authentic
and engaging.
 Interview testimonial: This testimonial uses a question-and-answer
format on video or in print where you ask your customers about
their experience with your company.
 Influencer testimonial: This testimonial is when celebrities or
 Types of Testimonials
Examples
Here are some examples of testimonials:
Quote testimonial
"We were looking for an affordable marketing company and
Silver Tongue Media more than delivered. They manage our
blog and social media accounts and produce our brochures. We
saw an immediate increase in our social media presence and
our followers doubled in a month and our garage business has
increased 50% in two months! They took the time to understand
who we are as a company and gave us a few amazing
marketing plans to choose from. We wholeheartedly
recommend Silver Tongue to everyone we know."
- Julian Buchanan, CEO Smooth Ride Automotive Repair
 Types of Testimonials
Social testimonial
"If you are looking for a rare book, you need to check out
Parchment Bound Books on Main Street. I was looking for a
first edition for my dad's birthday and I had almost given up. I
went in just to see what they had and they were the friendliest
people! They helped me find the perfect book for him and even
offered a layaway. They have a huge selection of new, used and
collectible books and their cappuccinos are to die for."
-Alex White
 Types of Testimonials
Influencer testimonial
"Hello, everyone! I'm Bella Rodriguez and today's post is
sponsored by Bold and Beautiful Cosmetics. This is a vegan
cosmetics brand owned and operated by a woman of color!
They sent me three lip colors and I'm going to show them off to
you. This first one is a cherry red and it's everything I've ever
wanted in a red lip. Look how smoothly it goes on! And the
coverage is perfect. I love this color too much to take it off. I'll
swatch it on my arm with the other two, so you can see the
other colors."
Testimonials

How to Write a Testimonial (With Examples) | Indeed.com

Project
Group work (4 students)
2000 word limit
(LMS files)