Writing (MIT)

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MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

REPORT WRITING FOR 2.671

For our purposes, reports may be divided into three general categories

Short Technical Memos: Reports of this type are little more than a summary of what was done

and what was concluded. A short memo typically runs only one to two pages and is directed atsomeone who wants only the highlights without the details. A short memo is sometimes called

anExecutive Summary because top executives generally want only the salient conclusions ofyour work.

Technical Memos: A memo of this type typically runs five to ten pages. It is intended to

convey your work in fuller form, so that the reader knows why the study was performed, how it

was done, what the results were and what was concluded. However, a technical memo does notsupply fully the details of procedure and theory. Its focus is on the results and their implications.

Full Technical Report: A technical report includes a full description of all aspects of theexperiments. Theory and procedure are described well enough that another professional would

understand how to repeat the measurements or calculations, even though step-by-step details arenot given. A technical report is typically ten pages or longer.

ELEMENTS OF A SHORT TECHNICAL MEMO

Generally, these executive summaries include only

ADDRESS: To: From: and Subject:, stated clearly. These form a heading.

SUMMARY: State the objectives clearly, state the procedure briefly, and summarize the resultsconcisely. Avoid any equations, sketches of equipment, etc. You may attach one or tow figures

showing your results, if needed. This section should be one to tot pages at most.

RECOMMENDATIONS OR CONCLUSIONS: If it is needed, include a final short section ofone to two paragraphs stating your conclusions or recommendations as concisely as possible.

ELEMENTS OF A TECHNICAL MEMO

A typical technical memo might contain the following sections

ADDRESS: To: From: and Subject: State this information clearly and simply. The addresssection forms the primary heading for your report.


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SUMMARY Begin with a one to two paragraph (1/2 page) summary of what was done and in

particular, of what was concluded. This summary should describe the question that the memoaddresses and the answer to that question. The summary should not be as concise as the abstract

which proceeds a technical report.

INTRODUCTION OR PROCEDURE: Describe the problem, the approach taken, theoreticaldetails, and/or the experimental method. Theory and procedures should be described only

briefly, superficially if necessary. Include sketches of equipment, if needed. This section willtypically be one to two pages long.

RESULTS: Describe the results of the experiment in as much detail as needed for clarity.

Dont include raw data, data reductions, or uncertainty calculations here such details should gointo appendices. Discuss major error sources, the agreement of theory with experiment, and/or

important curve fits. Include any important graphs here as well. The length of the results sectionvaries, but is typically one to two pages plus figures.

RECOMMENDATIONS: When needed, close with a short section (one to two paragraphs)which states your recommendations or conclusions clearly and concisely.

APPENDICES: Appendices are not dumping grounds for garbage data or anything else yourreader would never want to look at. An appendix contains information that an interested reader

might need but which would interrupt the flow of the main text. Use appendices for derivations,for long tables of data, and for background information that readers do not need to understand

your major points.

ELEMENTS OF A TECHNICAL REPORT

A technical report includes more sections than a memo. The sections each serve a single

specific purpose. The first section is an ABSTRACT, and is immensely helpful to your reader.It stands alone on a separate page and must be understandable without reference to outside

graphs, tables, etc. One paragraph only. State problem, methods, results. Be precise andquantitative about your results, but dont introduce symbols or equations.

The rational or justification for the project should go in the INTRODUCTION. The

introduction should have a brief discussion of the real world dimensions of your problemtheactual motivation behind your project. Then it should present the main technical issues involved

in your project. Finally, the introduction should end with a general description of the report thatfollowsa sort of road map to orient the reader. Each of these parts can be a separate

paragraph.

The THEORY or analytical model should be discussed clearly and specifically. Explaintheoretical sources of error. If you refer to other work, be sure to cite it (references) correctly

(see sections on general principles and mechanics). Also make sure your number equationsclearly. Basic equations go in the text; derivations go in an appendix. If you use an appendix,

refer to it in the text so your reader knows it is there. Use separate appendices for separate


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purposes (appendix A, appendix B, etc.). Note: Theory section may also follow the results

section depending upon the type of report your are writing. If in doubt, consult with yourinstructor.

DESIGN and APPARATUS may be condensed into one section of the report. Although

you want your reader to be able to reproduce what you have done, this does not mean going intoevery minute detail. Give the pertinent details. Give the overall picture before you start

describing subsystems. When you describe measurement systems, explain sources ofexperimental error.

Software should be described briefly, so the reader understands the basic algorithm.

However, you should not give the program or code.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES are presented in chronological order (apparatus isusually described in spatial order). Again, give an overview before going into the details. Do

not attempt to write a set of instructions for the reader. Dont use the imperative mood of the

verb.

RESULTS should follow procedure. Here you will undoubtedly refer the reader to

various figures. Dont throw raw data at the reader. Data tables showing raw numerical resultscan go in an appendix. Figures that are part of the text may show data points; you can draw a

curve through tem, but explain to your reader what you are doing. Use error bars where needed(you may need different error bars for different parts of a graph).

DISCUSSION of results will compare theoretical and experimental results, as well as

important problems encountered in the project.

CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS for further work may be condensedinto one section. Here you summarize what you have learned and explain the implications of

your work for the real world problem.

APPENDICES are not dumping grounds for garbage data or anything else your readerwould never want to look at. An appendix contains information that an interested reader might

need, but which would interrupt the flow of the main text. Use them for derivations, for datatables, and for background information that readers do not need to understand your major points.

Appendices my also go at the end of a technical report.

Figures go in the text and should be placed as close as possible to the point where theyare mentioned. It is probably easiest to use a separate page for a figure rather than trying to fit it

onto a page of written text. Make sure that figure pages have adequate margins (at least one-and-a-quarter inch all around), including captions and axis labels. Make sure the figure has a

complete and specific title to go with its number. A title like Case One is useless. The title(which might be as long as a brief paragraph) should make the figure understandable by itself;

the reader should not have to refer to the text to get the general point. For more information onfigures, see the sections on General Principles, Mechanics and Graphs below. Use

appropriate scales and make the choice consciously: Linear, log-log, or semi-log.


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For a long report a table of contents with headings and sub-headings will again be animmense help to your reader. Be sure to use plenty of both. Use one of the standard numbering

systems for your headings and sub-headings (1, 1.1, 1.2; 2, 2.1, 2.2 etc.)

Your title should be chosen carefully. Make it as complete and specific as possible, butavoid unnecessary words.

TECHNICAL-REPORT-FORMAT SUMMARY

TITLE PAGE. Title must be informative, contain key words and reveal the topic of thereport; page includes title, author, project supervisor, group members, place, data.

ABSTRACT (about 150 words). A brief statement of the point of the study, what was

done, how it was done, and results. Do not include general background here.

TABLE OF CONTENTS. If report is ten pages or more, list all headings and sub-headings with their page numbers. Dont list the table of contents itself.

INTRODUCTION. State context and background of study, state of the art, why the study

needs to be done, what the problem is, purpose of present investigation, outline or overallapproach.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS. Develop governing equations and state assumptions.

Detailed algebra goes in appendix. A separate theory section is placed after introduction if theanalytic model is the main object of the report. If the theory is of minor significance, it may be

absorbed into one of the other sections as appropriate.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE. Apparatus: describe, usually with an illustration andwords to explain the illustration. Methods: describe what was done so another professional

could duplicate the process.

RESULTS. Present results, usually with a graph(s). Explain the graphs in prose.Detailed data go in Appendix. Estimate uncertainty and describe major sources of error.

DISCUSSION. Compare results with theoretical expectations. Account for anything

unexpected in results.

CONCLUSIONS. Summarize the results in light of the original problem, assess thestudy in terms of the purpose stated in the introduction.

RECOMMENDATIONS. If applicable, present recommendations for further work.

APPENDICES. Give details of data reduction, uncertainty analysis, or other calculations

here, if they are needed in the report at all.


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REFERENCES. If needed, for unfamiliar empirical constants, theoretical analyseswhose results are included, detailed descriptions of equipment and procedure.

GENERAL ISSUES IN REPORT WRITING

In deciding what to include and what goes where, you will have many judgement calls.There are no cut-and-dried formulas for making these decisions: you have to think carefully

about the purpose of your report and who is reading it. By all means ask your technicalinstructors for advice if you are not sure how to proceed.

Notes on the Writing Process. In a real sense you are writing your final report from the

first day of the lab. As you are doing your experimental work, you should be thinking about howthe final report will lookits major sections, its major points, what goes in and what doesnt.

Before you actually start writing, summarize your ideas in a writing plan, which outlines

(however roughly) your key points, key ideas, key figures. Have your technical instructorreview that writing plan briefly if you have any major questions about it.

Set aside a couple of hours spread over a number of days to generate a rough draft. Dontcensor yourself as you write: just keep writing. Most people find it easiest to begin with the

apparatus and procedure sections, and then the results. The abstract and introduction andconclusion are often written last, after you have a better sense of what youre trying to say in the

body of the report. Others wish to write the introduction first as a guide to their analysis andexperiments.

Do NOT turn in this draft, unless you want to court disaster. Edit if first for organization

and content, then for style and mechanics (simple language, clearly stated transitions, reasonableparagraph structure, grammar, punctuation). If you have any trouble editing yourself, take your

report to the Writing Center (14N-317; calling for appointment first, at x3-3090, can save time).The Writing Center can also help with earlier stages of report writing.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Organization and clarity of reasoning are the most important aspects of any report.2. Present the whole before the parts, in both paragraphs and whole sections of the

report. Describe the essence, function, purpose of a device, process or concept beforegoing into details about the parts.

3. Summarize at the end of each section which is long and involves several approachesor procedures.

4. Emphasize important information by putting it first and eliminating superfluousdetails and words.


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5. Use headings, spacing and visual aids fully.6. Without weakening technical content, use as much plain, simple English as possible.

MECHANICS

1. Use headings and sub-headings. Double space before headings.2. Number and give an informative title to all figures (graphs, drawings, schematic

diagrams, block diagrams, photos). Place the figure number and title at the bottom ofthe illustration. Refer to the figure in the text (see Figure 1), and place the figure on

the page following the reference to it. If the figure fits lengthwise on the page, turn itcounter-clockwise, so the top of the figure is at the binding side of the paper.

3. Tables have the same requirements, except that their numbers and titles occur at thetop of the table.

4. Appendices must be titled and referred to in the text, not just listed in the table ofcontents.

5. Number equations in parentheses on the right side of the page. When referring in thetext to the equation, do not use the parentheses. Put the explanations of the symbolsin a list following the equation, if there are more than three definitions.

GRAPHS

1. Label both axes clearly.2. Choose linear, semi-log, or log-log coordinates as appropriate. Do notplot the

logarithm of a variable on linear coordinates 0 use real logarithmic axes.

3. Choose numerical scales to include significant minimum and maximum values suchas zero, one, or 100%. Tic marks may be placed at intervals of 1, 2, or 5 digits or

linear axes. On logarithmic axes, tics are generally placed at , 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, etc. Not every tic mark need have a numerical label, but major intervals should

definitely be labeled.

4. When plotting data points, choose an appropriate symbol: circle, triangle, square,half-darkened square, etc. Do notplot points as dots (.). The uncertainty of a

measurement should be represented using error bars or by choosing a symbol whosesize is commensurate with the range of uncertainty.

5. Curves based on a theoretical or least-squares equation should be drawn as lineswithout showing the calculatedpoints. Measured data may, of course, be shown onthe same graph with theory. Curves being fitted to experimental data do not need to


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pass through each data point (like a dot-to-dot cartoon). However, when a fitted

curve lies outside the uncertainty range of a measurement, a discrepancy is indicated.

6. Do not use colors; instead use shapes to indicate differences.7.

Leave good margins (1.25 inch on binding edge; 1-1.25 in. elsewhere).

8. Make the title informative, something more than Height vs. Time, for example.REFERENCES

References should be listed at the end of the paper and referred to by number in the text.For example:

1. Bridgman, P.W., Studies in Large Plastic Flow and Fracture, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1952.

2. Eirich, F.R., ed.,Rheology: Theory and Applications, Vol. I, New York: AcademicPress, 1956.

3. Sperry, R.W. The Eye and the Brain, Scientific American, (November 1959): 48-52.

4. Zander, John D., Computer Surveillance of Medicaid Claims in Tennessee,Masters Thesis, Vanderbilt University, 1973.

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