Outline

Components of a

Report

What is a technical report intended for?

What is a technical report intended for?

A report is intended to convey information to the reader. As a consequence, reports are structured in order to address the needs of the reader and to achieve the purpose of the report.

Structure of a report

Structure of a report

All technical reports have the same basic structure. Each one starts and ends with similar sections, but the middle sections will vary depending on the type of report. Sections may be omitted depending on the report length and requirements. The structure of a report has a large influence on its readability. Some reports, such as laboratory reports have a rigid, well-defined structure. Some will depend on the subject matter.

The basic structure of a report

Front Matter

Text

Back Matter

The basic structure of a report

• Title page• Summary (also known as an Abstract)• Contents page Front Matter• List of figures and tables

• Introduction• Middle sections – (depend on the type of report) Text• Conclusions

• Recommendations• References or Bibliography Back Matter• Appendices (if necessary)

FRONT MATTER

1. Title Page

The title page gives: the title of the report the author’s name and affiliation who the report is intended for the date

In creating the title of a report, the author should:

1. selects words that distinguish the report from any other on the same general topic.2. use a distinctive subtitle for clarity. Information about the period covered by the report (for example, month, quarter, or year).

Technical Report Writing

byJeremy Gordon

School of EngineeringJames Cook University

ForEG1000

March 2002

the title of the report

the author’s name and affiliation

who the report is intended for

Date

2. Summary or Abstract

• A good summary is a self-contained overview of the substance of the report.

• The main purpose of a summary is to orientate the reader so that he/she knows how elements of the report fit into “the big picture” as they read it.

• The summary is normally placed on a separate page immediately after the contents page.

• It should be concise 100 – 200 words.• It provides an “in a nut shell” description without

providing underlying details

A summary should contain:• a brief statement of what the report is about. If the report is

about the results of an investigation or project then the summary should clearly state the objectives of the investigation or project.

• a logical account of the information contained in the report• a summary of the main conclusions.

If the report is about an experimental investigation, forinstance, the summary would typically contain:

§ the aims and specific objectives of the experiment§ an overview of how you performed the investigation§ the results you got§ the main conclusions and implications.

Consider for instance the following report abstract and discover:What is this report intended for?What are the conclusions?

3. Contents page

• The contents page should set out the sections and subsections of the report, and their corresponding page numbers.§ Place page numbers on the right hand side of the page

§ Number sections using the decimal point numbering system§ All pages preceding the Introduction are conventionally numbered using lower-case Roman numerals.

§ Indentation on the left margin shows the hierarchy of sections.

Table of Contents

List of Figures iiGlossary of Terms iii

1.0 Introduction 1

2.0 Title of second main section 2.1 First sub-heading 5 2.2 Second sub-heading 2.2.1 Sub-heading 7 2.2.2 Another sub-heading 9 2.3 Third sub-heading 21

3.0 Title of third main section 22

4.0 Conclusion 25

5.0 References 27 Appendices Appendix 1 Title of the first appendix 30 Appendix 2 Title of the second appendix 32

4. List of Figures and Tables

• A figure is any drawing, photograph, graph, or chart that is used to explain and support the technical information in the text.

• The figure number and title will appear below the image.

• Refer to a figure or table within the text, and place them close to their mention.

TEXT

1. Introduction

• The introduction describes the background to your work. The purpose of the introduction is to outline the topic and to put it in context.

• The Introduction prepares the reader to the main body of the report.

• This section focuses on the

• background of the subject,

• purpose, and

• scope (indicates the extent and limits of the investigation).

2. Middle Sections of the Text (body of the report)

• These will be specific to the type of report and the information contained.

• This section is usually the longest part of the report. The material must be presented logically. The type of headings you use to organize the information in the body of your report will depend on the purpose of the report you are preparing.

• The body section expands and develops the material in a logical and coherent manner, reflecting the structure outlined in the Introduction.

• It contains a description of the findings and a discussion of them. It should also relate the findings to any theory of relevance.

• The body of a report will also probably contain supporting evidence such as tables, graphs or figures. Only include those that are essential for reader understanding, the rest can be placed in an appendix that is referred to in the text; for example,

Appendix C contains the YoY predicted growth in shareholder accounts for the company.

3. Conclusions

• No new information is presented• Conclusions - deductions made from the findings and results• Concluding Remarks (optional) - opinions are included in addition to

findings and conclusions.• Each conclusion should be proved by the findings in your report, and

be as precise as possible.• A conclusion should convey some information of use to the reader.

Consider the following phrase: “This was a useful experiment as it taught me a lot about the subject.

The only errors were due to human error.” This would be a poor conclusion. What can the reader use here ? The reader would like to know what reliance can be placed on the

results. Precisely how accurate are the experimental results? What do the results imply?

BACK MATTER

1. Reference List or Bibliography

• A reference list contains a list of published material that is directly referred to in the body of the report.

• The general format is: Author, (date), title, publication, page number. The title of a book is shown in italics. In the case of a journal

article, the name of the journal is shown in italics. Example• Stroustrup, B. (1991) The C++ Programming Language, Second

Edition, Addison-Wesley,Reading, Massachusetts, pp 225-253• Soedel, W. and Foley, V. (1979) Ancient Catapults. Scientific

American. Vol 240, pp150-160

2. Recommendations*

A section called recommendations is often included in reports that are the result of tests and experiments, field trials, specific design problems, and feasibility studies.

The author may recommend additional areas of study and suggest a course of action, such as pursuing an alternate design approach.

*May be an optional element

Anything that cannot be left out of a report, but is too large for the main part of the report and would serve to distract or interrupt the flow belongs in the appendixes. Examples include:

• Large tables of data• Flowcharts• Mathematical analysis• Large illustrations

• Detailed explanations and descriptions of test techniques and apparatus

• Technical drawings

*May be an optional element

3. Appendixes*

On Wednesday 7/8/2013:

A Quiz will be held on the “Handbook on Report Format”. Please make sure to have a copy of the handbook to study from.

Thank youMs. Rana El-Gohary