Part-I

Technical Report Writing

By: Adamu Beyene (MSc).

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 By the end of this section you should be able to :

Understand the purposes of a report

 Plan a report
 Understand the structure of a report
OBJECTIVES/
 Collect information for your report
Competencies
 Organize your information
 Use an appropriate style of writing
 Present data effectively
 Understand how to layout your
information in an appropriate way 2
  Definition
 The word Report, comes from Reportare, which
means to carry back.
 Description of an event where you are not present.
 A report is a statement of the results of an
investigation or of any matter on which definite
information is required. (Oxford English
Dictionary)
Means of communicating with stakeholder/s

 Reports are a highly structured form of writing

often following conventions that have been laid
down to produce a common format.

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 Structure and convention in written reports
stress the process by which the information was
gathered as much as the information itself.

 A formal communication written for a specific

purpose

 It includes a description of a procedure followed

by collection and analysis of data, significance,
conclusion and then recommendation if required

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Characteristics of Technical Report Writing
1. Technical Writing is Audience Centered
It deals with specific situation
It enables readers to act
It is interactive
It has a definite purpose

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2.
Technical Writing is Professional
Use the Top-Down method
Use Heading
Use Visual Aids
Use plain and objective Language

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 How is Technical Writing Different?
 The information is organized, presented and communicated
in a specific format.
 The writing is concise, clear and accurate.
 The writing takes into account the audience’s needs, biases
and prior understanding.
 The writing presents information to help readers solve a
problem or gain a better understanding of a situation.
 The writing conveys technical, complex, or specialized
information in a way that is easy for a non-technical reader
to understand.

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 There are ten principles of good technical writing:
Technical Accuracy
Usefulness
Conciseness
Completeness
Clearness
Consistency
Correct Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar
A Targeted Audience
 Clear Organization
 Interest.

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  In good technical report writing
 All points should be clear to the intended reader.
 Should be concise with information and arranged
logically under various headings and sub- headings.
 All information should be correct and supported by
proper and enough number of evidences.
 All relevant material should be included in a complete
report. For example data set, maps, appendices,
graphs etc.

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Activity one
 Write at list three types of report that you have
done in the last two years.

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  Types of Reports
During your time at university you may be asked to write
different types of reports.
These can include:
 Laboratory reports,
Technical reports,
Different turn papers
Reports of a internship placement or industrial visit,
Reports of a field trip or field work
 CBTP
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 BSc thesis
Engineering work related reports:
 Prefeasibility study,
Feasibility study,
Technical report,
Financial report,
Design report,
Screening report,
EIA report,
Inspection report,
Progress report,
Terminal report,
Audit report

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 Reports vary in their purpose, but all of them will
require a formal structure and careful planning,
presenting the material in a logical manner using clear
and concise language
 The following section explores each stage in the
development of your report, making
recommendations for structure and technique

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  Stages in report writing
The following stages are involved in writing a report:
 Clarifying your terms of reference
 Planning your work
 Collecting your information
 Organizing and structuring your information
 Writing the first draft
 Checking and re-drafting

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A. Terms of reference (TOR) define the purpose
and structures of a project, committee, meeting,
negotiation, or any similar collection of people who
have agreed to work together to accomplish a shared
goal. ... vision, objectives, scope and deliverables
(i.e. what has to be achieved)

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 The ToR of a report are a guiding statement used to
define the scope of your investigation
 You must be clear from the start what you are being
asked to do
 You will probably have been given an assignment
from your instructor but you may need to discuss this
further to find out the precise subject and purpose of
the report
 Why have you been asked to write it ?

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 Knowing your purpose will help you to
communicate your information more clearly and
will help you to be more selective when collecting
your information

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 B. Planning your report
 Careful planning will help you to write a clear,
concise and effective report, giving adequate time to
each of the developmental stages prior to submission
Consider the report as a whole
Break down the task of writing the report into
various parts.
How much time do you have to write the
report?
How can this be divided up into the various
planning stages?
 Set yourself deadlines for the various stages.
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 Draw up an outline structure for your report and set the
work within a sensible time scale for completion by the
given deadline
 Some of the most time-consuming parts of the process
are collecting and selecting your information, and
checking and revising your report

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 C. Collecting Information
There are a number of questions you need to ask
yourself at this stage :-
 What is the information you need?
 Where do you find it?
 How much do you need?
 How shall you collect it?
 In what order will you arrange it?

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 You may have much of the information you need
already such as results from a lab. experiment or
descriptions of your methods of data collection
 However, there may be other information which is
needed such as background information on other
research studies, or literature surveys
 You may need to carry out some interviews or make a
visit to the university library/site to collect all the
information you need
 Make a list of what information you need.
Make an action plan stating how you are going to
gather this.

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 D. Organizing Information
 One helpful way of organizing your information into
topics is to brainstorm your ideas into a ‘spider
diagram’
 Write the main theme in the centre of a piece of
paper
 Write down all the ideas and keywords related to
your topic starting from the centre and branching
out along lines of connecting ideas
 Each idea can be circled or linked by lines as
appropriate.

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 When you have finished, highlight any related
ideas and then sort topics
 Some ideas will form main headings, and others
will be sub-sections under these headings
 You should then be able to see a pattern
emerging and be able to arrange your main
headings in a logical order (see diagram on the
next page)

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 E. Structuring your report
 We discussed earlier that there are different types of
report such as laboratory reports or reports on an
industrial placement, CBTP, etc

 Always check with the person/organization

commissioning the report (your tutor, your
supervisor) to find out precisely what your report
should include and how it should be presented

 The following common elements can be found in

many different reports: 26
 Title page
 Acknowledgements
 Contents
 List tables
 List of figures
 Abstract or Executive summary
 Introduction
 Methodology
 Results or findings(Discussion)
 Conclusion and recommendations
 References
 Appendices
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Title Page 1: the first cover page includes the
following information in general.
 Title of the project/Report
 Logo (if you have one)
 Writer name and number
 To whom it is submitted
 Date it is written
 Place
 Other necessary information
Title Page 2: the second cover page includes
supervisor name in addition to information listed on
the first cover page.

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Acknowledgements
You should acknowledge any help you have received
in collecting the information for the report. This may
be from librarians, technicians or computer centre
staff, for example.

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Abstract: An Abstract is a brief summary of a report.
It is written for technical readers, and normally
appears as a single paragraph. It is worth pointing-out
that an abstract is a complete entity in itself: it is not
part of the body of your report. Normally the abstract
includes the following key elements:
 Succinct problem statement, 1-2 sentences
 What was done
 How it was done
 Significant results (quantified where possible)
 Conclusion, including brief evaluation and/or
recommendation

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Executive Summary: An executive summary is a brief
overview of the report. It is prepared for non-technical
readers (such as managers). The readers of it usually are
not interested in the technical details, thus generally it is
written in plain language. An executive summary is
similar to an abstract, but is generally longer. An
executive summary generally runs within 2 pages; while
an abstract, in most cases, may be just one paragraph.

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Table of Contents:
 Contains page numbers of the titles and subtitles of
different sections of the report.
 The Table of Contents should be on a separate page. It
helps the reader to find specific information and
indicates how the information has been organised and
what topics are covered.
 The table of contents should also include a list of figures
and a list of tables if any are used in the report.
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Introduction:
 It provides background information about the
report and the project.
 A brief description of the problem, how it was
approached, and what procedure was used to
solve it.
 This should give the context and scope of the
report and should include your terms of reference.
 State your objectives clearly, define the limits of
the report, outline the method of enquiry, give a
brief general background to the subject of the
report and indicate the proposed development.

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A good introduction must have:
 Motivation (i.e., why is it important?)
 General
 Specific
 Background (i.e., what is the history of this issue?)
 Objectives (i.e., what are you trying to accomplish?)
 Scope (i.e., what is the focus of your analysis?)
 Limitations (i.e., what constraints did you face?)
 Content (i.e., what is in the report?)
 Organization (i.e., how the report is organized?)

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Methodology
 In this section you should state how you carried out
your enquiry.
 What form did your enquiry take ?
 Did you carry out interviews or questionnaires, how did
you collect your data ?
 What measurements did you make ?
 How did you choose the subjects for your interviews ?
 Present this information logically and concisely.

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Results or findings
 Present your findings in as simple a way as possible.
 The more complicated the information looks, the
more difficult it will be to interpret.
 There are a number of ways in which results can be
presented.
Here are a few :
 Tables
 Graphs
 Pie charts
 Bar charts
 Diagrams

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Discussion
 This is the section where you can analyse and interpret
 your results drawing from the information which you
have collected, explaining its significance.
 Identify important issues and suggest explanations
 for your findings.
 Outline any problems encountered and try and present
a balanced view.

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Conclusions and recommendations
 This is the section of the report which draws
together the main issues.
 It should be expressed clearly and should not
present any new information.
 You may wish to list your recommendations in
separate section or include them with the
conclusions.

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References
It is important that you give precise details of all the work
by other authors which has been referred to within the
report. Details should include :
 author’s name and initials
 date of publication
 title of the book and paper or journal
 publisher
 place of publication and page numbers
 details of the journal volume in which the article has
appeared. References should be listed in alphabetical
order of the authors' names.

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Appendices
 An appendix contains additional information
related to the report but which is not essential to
the main findings.
 This can be consulted if the reader wishes but the
report should not depend on this.
 You could include details of interview questions,
statistical data, a glossary of terms, or other
information which may be useful for the reader.

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 F. Layout
 Most reports have a progressive numbering
system
 The most common system is the decimal
notation system
 The main sections ( Heading 1) are given single
Arabic numbers -1, 2, 3 and so on
 Sub-sections ( Heading 2) are given a decimal
number - 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so on
 Sub-sections ( heading 3) can be further divided
into - 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3 and so on

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 G. Presentation
The following suggestions will help you to produce
an easily read report:
 Leave wide margins for binding and feedback
comments from your tutor
 Paragraphs should be short and concise
 Headings should be clear - highlighted in bold
or underlined
 All diagrams and illustrations should be labeled
and numbered
 All standard units, measurements and technical
terminology should be listed in a glossary of terms
at the back of your report.

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Writing style
Follow the format of the institution/organization!
Title font size 14 point, and Times new roman type
(bold)
Text font size 12 point, and Times new roman type
Use 1.5 line spacing in text (single & italic for abstract)
Write tables and figures like: Table--- top , Figure--- on
bottom
Write equation and symbols using Ms-Word/don’t copy
paste!
Page number in the bottom of the page – middle. Page
(1) is the Introduction page

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Inaccurate, incomplete, poorly written, excessively long or
structure less reports fail to achieve their purpose.

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 Assignment I
I. Technical Report Writing part
1. Select one report that you have written before and
review per the standard of report writing that you
have seen in the class.
Present the drawback of the report
2. Prepare an ideal report for any engineering
project/CBTP
Do in group of 5 students according to
alphabetical order

Date of Submission:-----------
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 Part-II

Research Methodology

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 Objectives
 To introduce strategies for bridging the gap
between coursework/beginning research and thesis
writing.
 To help you understand the theoretical situation of
the thesis proposal and common elements of such
proposals.
 To introduce practical, theoretical and grammatical
principles of writing effective proposals.
 To provide you with tips for drafting and revising
individual sections of the proposal.

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 Why Research?

The world full of problems!

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Only two options

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What does the community need from us???

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So, what is research?
Systematic way of Solving problem

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 Engineer??

Problem Solver!

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53
 What is proposal?
With the simplest Engineering language:
Proposal is a design/ master plan of a project!
Size, partitions, colors,….every materials to be
used (kind, amount) in the project and the way
you use them, the budget, time, number and types
of resources needed (human, material, time)
should be predetermined in the design
document…. So does proposal in the research
world!

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 Research Proposal Elements
A) Title page to include:

I. Title
 Should be a reflection of the contents of the
document
Fully explanatory when standing alone
Abbreviations should not appear in the title…ex.
Scientific names should be in italics
Should contain 12 to 15 words

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II. Author’s name and affiliation
Preferred order of names- start with 1st, middle
followed by last name.
Full names should be used
 Affiliation should be well illustrated ; example:

A thesis Proposal submitted to the School of Graduate

Studies of Jimma University in Partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in
Water supply and Environmental Engineering

The month/year and place should follow

at the bottom, right edge of the caption
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 B) Declaration
 Should include both the candidate’s and the
supervisor’s declaration and duly signed

Note: Paginate using roman numbers starting with the

declaration page

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 C) Abstract/Excutive summary
 The overall summary of the proposal/ research
 This is a brief statement of the problem, objectives
of the study, target population, sampling technique
and sample size, instruments, data collection, data
processing and analysis, key expected outcomes
 Single spaced, italic, justify alignment, has key
words written alphabetically
 Should not exceed 1000 words

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 D) Table of contents
The chapter titles should be in caps and bold
The subheadings should follow each chapter title
and should be in lower case
Example:

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E) List of Tables: must have name and page no
 Number all equations, tables, and figures
F) List of Figures: must have name and page no
 All tables and figures must have captions.
 All figures must have labeled axes
G) Acronyms: separate by space(1.5-2.0inch)
 Minimize the use of Acronyms
 If Acronyms are necessary, always define them at the first
use
H) Definition of terms: Define terms in the text that
are not common
 All quantities must have units
 Try to avoid footnotes
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 Chapter -1
Introduction
Introduction should include the following:
1.1 Background:
 Should show the understanding and genesis of the
problem
 Talk about the global perspective followed by the
local scenario
 Talk about the target group in the study
 Should be approximately 5 pages (4-6 pages)

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 …Cont’d
 Describe in general the problem/issue that you
seek to research
 Why is it an issue? How is the problem/issue being
developed in brief?
Some pictures are allowed to be mentioned in this
section
Define any key terms, which may be useful for the
reader
 use short sentences!!!!---example: one sentence
more than two lines

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1.2 Statement of the problem
Heart of the Research!! No heart…no life!
Indicate why and how it is a problem
 Must indicate exactly what the problem is and
supported by relevant and updated literature!!
This should be derived from background/from
literature information to illustrate connectivity
Length- Maximum 1 page

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 1.3 Objectives
One general objective which should be in line
with the title
Specific objectives: steps/what you are going to
do to attain general objectives
have to be in line with the variables the candidates
hypothesize to influence the phenomenon being
investigated
Should be related to the general objective
Should not be questions in the questionnaires

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 1.4 Research Questions /hypothesis
They should be in line with the specific objectives
and equal in number
Have to be numbered (1, 2, 3…..) and should be
questions and not statements!
1.5. Justification/Rationale/motivation
Should illustrate why the researcher is conducting
the research and whom it shall benefit
Define the reasons behind the selection of this
research topic

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 1.6 Scope
 Coverage of the study
 The extent of the area or subject matter that something deals
with or to which it is relevant.
 Should cite the focus of the study either geographical area or
target group/ population

1.7 Limitation
 Not a must for a proposal
 Indicate the challenges encountered in the study that may have
limited the study
 Has to be there in the final thesis/project report

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 Note:
Paragraphing should be consistent. Either leave space
or indent between paragraphs
Spacing and indenting should not be used together
 One sentence paragraphs are unacceptable.
Table of contents should be followed by:
List of figures/ tables- Should be labeled as per the
chapters in which they are found e.g. the first figure in
chapter one should be labeled as Figure 1.1
Write name of the table on the top of the table/figure on
bottom
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 Chapter 2
Literature Review
This should include:
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Theoretical review/Conceptual Framework
Review the empirical and theoretical
literature relevant to the problem being
investigated
Indicate what has been done by other
researchers including the methodologies
used and identify gaps

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 Conceptual framework should demonstrate an
understanding of what variable influences what

Cite 3-5 references per key section in the text

Use either APA or Harvard method of citation

Consistency is important in citation__UNIFORM!
2.3 Critique of the existing literature relevant to the
study
2.4 Summary
2.5 Research gaps

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 Chapter 3
Methodology
 Should indicate:

3.1. Research design: Indicate type of research, justify

the choice of type of research by citing authority

3.2. Population; clearly identify the population and

the target population

3.3. Sampling frame; Justify the choice

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 …Cont’d
3.4. Sample and sampling technique- illustrate
understanding of the technique
3.5. Instruments/tools
3.6. Data collection procedure/lab.
Procedures/sampling and handling ur sample
3.7. Pilot test (depends on the instrument being
used)
3.8. Data Processing and analysis

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 Timeline

 Describe in full every detail of the proposed

methodology according to the available time

 This will inform the reader how you are going to

manage your activities against time

 The timeline includes the proposal writing and

thesis writing items

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No Activities Months

1 2 3 4 5

1 Review of Literature

2 Proposal Development

3 Defense +Approval

4 Data coll/lab. Analysis

5 Data Analysis

6 Draft Report

7 Final defense

8 Final Report + Dissemination

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 Budget
 Outline what all the costs of the research will be
No Activities Descriptions Total Remark
price
1 Perdium for researcher 10Dx206B 2060 Site?

2 Perdium data coll. 2Px5Dx124B 1240 Site?

3 Transport 1pX2tripx200Bx2times 800 Site?

4 Taxi 500 Site?

5 Stationary 0 0 office

6 Communication cost ~=300 office

Total 49,000

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No payment for separate for bed &food(to be included under perdium)
No separate payment for contract vehicles
 References
Your bibliography should identify an item (e.g. book,
journal article, thesis,, or internet site) in sufficient
detail so that others may identify it and consult it
For a Book
The details required in order are:
1. Name/s of author/s, editor/s, compiler/s or the institution
2. Year of publication
3. Title of publication and subtitle if any (all titles must be italicized)
4. Series title and individual volume if any
5. Edition, if other than first
6. Publisher
7. Place of publication
8. Page number

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76
In General,

Internet source: retrieved data must be written!

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 Appendix/Annexes
Any further information that you would like to attach
to your main proposal like tools (questionnaries), lab
procedures,….

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 Writing style format
 Why do you buy a bid document???
 Follow the format of the institution/organization! Annex-2
guideline for research
www.ju.edu.et/sites/default/files/Guidelines%20and%20procedures%20for%20research.pdf

 Title font size 14 point, and Times new roman type (bold)
 Text font size 12 point, and Times new roman type
 Use 1.5 line spacing between text(single &italic for abstract)
 Write tables and figures like: Table(-)---top, Figure(-)---on
bottom
 Write equation and symbols using Ms-Word/don’t copy paste!
 Page number in the bottom of the page – middle. Page (1) is the
Introduction page

79
 Things you shouldn’t use
 Using bold or italic style in  Direct copy from the other
the text. references
 Different font type  Un necessary bulletins
 Putting brackets without  I, we,….
real need.
 Shading some of your text.  Using unreliable sources as
references (ex. Wikipedia)
 Colour your text.
 Cut and paste things from  Symbol (&), abbreviation (w/h)
other documents  Use margin: 1.5inL,1U,R,B
 If logo/picture/map, use
correctly

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 Avoid
Broad topic areas which would be unmanageable as
BSc topics
Vague descriptions of research areas
Subject areas where Jimma University, JiT has no
expertise, resources…out of thematic areas
Don’t Selects a problem that is too vast or too vague
to investigate meaningfully
plagiarism!
 Avoid editorial problems…give to ur colleagues for
review

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 …cont’d
Use scientific/research terms
Example:
3.Aim of the research
3.1. General Aim
3.2. Specific Aim
Client
Don’t hesitate knocking the door of ur advisors… they
may not respond to u…but never give up
Incorporate the comments given by advisors and than
show him again

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Tense: future perfect(will be done, will be analyzed,
collected, interviewed)…if you write in past tense ===
copied from completed research!

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 Figures and Tables
• Every figure must have a caption
• All tables must have a title
• Figure/tables are placed after they are mentioned in the text
– All must be mentioned/discussed
– Summarize their data in the text
• Make figures/tables first, and then insert into the text
• Put the figure/table number beside its title, and put this in a
standard location
• Don’t start a sentence with an abbreviation: Figure vs. Fig.

84
 Acknowledgements
• Keep track of those to be acknowledged-keep a
diary so that you don’t forget anyone
• Include: your sponsor, outside sources (companies
or agencies), other departments on campus,
individuals outside of your team who have helped
• Be brief

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 Plagiarism
• Never take the work of others without giving
proper credit
• Never take verbatim sentences/paragraphs from
the literature
• If you feel that you must use verbatim material,
use quotation marks and a reference. Do this
sparingly!
• There are search engines that can find if
verbatim material has been stolen. Professors
fail students who do this. Additional disciplinary
action may follow.

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 References
• Various formats have been developed. Pick one you like
such as the IEEE Transactions format
• Decide on a sequence, such as the order they appear in the
text
• Always give full references such that others may find the
item
Example
[1] A. Student and B. Professor, “Very Important Project,” in
Journal of Irreproducable Research, vol. 13, no. 9, pp. 25-
31, Nov. 2004.
[2] C. Dean, The Book of Earth-Shattering Research, Husky
Press, Storrs, CT, 2005.
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End of the Lecture

For consultation: Var. 7209 88

 Assignment II
II. Research Methodology Part
A. Select one thesis/proposal prepared by former
students and review per the guideline you have
seen in the class
B. Prepare an ideal research proposal per the
format you have seen in the class

Do in group of 5 students according to

alphabetical order

Date of Submission: after one week

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