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Formal Report Writing

Formal Report Writing. Dr. N. S. Harding Chemical Engineering 477 January 13-14, 2014.

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Formal Report Writing

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  1. Formal Report Writing Dr. N. S. Harding Chemical Engineering 477 January 13-14, 2014

  2. “The fundamental purpose of scientific discourse is not the mere presentation of information and thought but rather it’s actual communication. It does not matter how pleased an author might be to have converted all the right data into sentences and paragraphs; it matters only whether a large majority of the reading audience accurately perceives what the author had in mind.” --George Gopen and Judith Swan The Science of Scientific Writing

  3. Technical Writers Practice: • Planning • Clarity • Brevity • Simplicity • Word Choice • Committing to writing as a process

  4. Planning: Before You Begin • Identify your audience and their expectations • Know your purpose • Know your material • Understand the writing task at hand • Organize your thoughts and material • Budget adequate time to write, review, and edit

  5. Clarity and Brevity • Avoid jargon • Define the unfamiliar • If you abbreviate or use acronyms, the first time spell them out and put abbreviation in parentheses • Never use two words when one will do • Most important first • Remove redundancy

  6. Simplicity • Avoid needless words • Avoid ambiguity – order the words in your sentence carefully • Don’t overuse pronouns – especially “it” and “this” • Choose words whose meanings are clear

  7. Major Report Sections • Transmittal Letter • Title Page • Front Material (Table of Contents, List of Illustrations) • Executive Summary • Introduction (Objective) and Background • Experimental Procedure/Methods • Results and Discussion • Conclusions and Recommendations • Back Material (Acknowledgments, References, Appendix)

  8. Transmittal Letter • LAST section written • Date • To Whom? • Subject – Succinct description of project • 1 paragraph on what was asked and how it was done • 1 paragraph on conclusions and recommendations • Signatures Chem. Eng. 477 - 2014

  9. Title Page • Descriptive title • To Whom? • From Whom? • Date

  10. Front Material • For these short (formal) reports it is optional • If you include, then the Title Page is “i” • Use roman numerals up to Executive Summary which would be “1”

  11. Executive Summary • 2nd to last section written • 1 page maximum • Use key bullet points (conclusions/recommendations) • Summarizes: • Objective, what was done • How it was done • What were the results • What are the conclusions • What are the recommendations • IF figure/table, must have different number, e.g. ES1

  12. Body of Report • Use a header and footer; one of which has the page number. • No smaller than 11 pt type • Double-spaced; not less than 1.5 spacing • Use headings and sub-headings • Refer to figures/tables before showing • Be consistent

  13. Paragraphs/Text • Each paragraph organized around key sentence • Key sentence should be 1st or 2nd sentence • Rest of paragraph supports/discusses key sentence • Key sentences can be used as outline for the report • 3rd person is preferred in technical writing • Be consistent in verb tense usage • Completed items in past tense • Discussion/analyses/recommendations – present • Almost nothing in future tense

  14. Figures • Captions are below figure • Label axes correctly with units • Use common scales for multiple figures, sig. figs. • Pay attention to symbols, colors, etc. • Make the figures clear and clean • Be consistent

  15. Tables • Titles are above table • Align columns • Don’t forget units (column headings) • Significant figures!!! • “*” or call outs are directly beneath table • Be consistent

  16. Equations (Reactions) • Numbered consecutively on right side: (#) • Identify all variables first time used • Same size font as text or may go to 10 pt. • Capital “E” when referring to specific equation

  17. Results/Discussion Section(s) • Data analysis • Good:Includesall results so one can duplicate or make a decision based on data • Better: Summarizesdata into figures/tables so one can quickly make a decision based on data • Best: Synthesizesthe data to show: • In-depth analysis • Significance of results • Context and meaning • Credible recommendation(s) Want reader to think, feel, or do something differently because they read the report!

  18. Back Material • Acknowledgments (optional – should include MIKE!) • References – required • Appendix – required (Separate Subsections) • Detailed derivations of theory • Raw and reduced data • Sample calculations • Statistical analysis • Other supporting documentation • Note: Equations, figures, tables are numbered, A1, etc.

  19. Writing Is A Process • Good writing doesn’t happen overnight. It requires planning, drafting, rereading, revising, and editing. • Learning and improvement require self-review, peer-review, subject-matter feedback, and practice. • There are NO shortcuts; practice makes perfect!!

  20. Bottom Line • From your report, the reader should know who, what, when, where, why and how and be able to completely duplicate your experiment and get essentially your results and conclusions within your calculated confidence level!! • Note: There is no good writing, only good re-writing! • Suggestion: Finish the report and sleep on it – then next day review one last time. • QUESTIONS?

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