Preparing a technical report may seem straightforward. A researcher has completed their work on a particular subject and needs to summarize the work for others to review and comment on. The writer might be looking for affirmation of their work. They may be looking for support for their conclusions. They may also need additional funding and support to take their research to the next level. If the research has concluded, they may want to find a company to develop a product and introduce the concept to the marketplace.
Technical reports fulfill many objectives, and it becomes important to understand who the audience is, what your objectives are, and what you hope to gain by writing the technical report. This post will address some of these questions and help readers prepare better technical reports that satisfy whatever objectives you may have.
What is a Technical Report?
In short, a technical report is a document prepared by a researcher or a group of researchers describing the research, the test process, and the results of those tests. Based on the results, the researcher will prepare conclusions and suggest the next step in the process to continue the research or to take the data from the lab to the prototype stage. The report is submitted to the sponsor for review and comment.
Technical reports vary in levels of detail and the amount of information they contain. For example, they may cover the procedures, design criteria, history of the project/research, illustrations and images, and the test result data. The report will also include conclusions and recommendations for further research or prototyping.
What Is a Technical Report Template?
Using a technical report template brings consistency to your reports. Your customers/clients/stakeholders will appreciate the details in your report and the sections or layout of your report. Using a template also saves time for the writer. The titles and sections, and index are already in place. The template will also include your companies name, address, and general contact information on each page. The numbering system is also included.
While some of these items may seem trivial, imagine many report writers working in isolation. The reports will all be different without a common format and appear unprofessional to readers who view reports from the same company.
The technical report template should contain the following general outline:
- Title page
- Introduction
- Executive Summary
- Details of the Experiment
- Analysis of the Result and Discussion
- Body of the Report
- Conclusions
- Recommendations
- References
- Acknowledgments
- Appendices
We will cover each of these sections later in this document. In addition, each page should be numbered, dated, and include the title of the report either at the top or bottom of the page in the margins.
Technical Report Templates & Examples
How Can a Technical Report Example Help You?
Technical reports can help technical writers in a variety of ways, which leads to impressing clients and sponsors of your work.
If your report is sloppy, difficult to read and follow, readers may conclude that the research was sloppy and disorganized. A professional appearance matters, especially with sponsors in addition to top-notch research delivering spectacular results.
Adhering to the following attributes can help you gain support for your report’s conclusions and recommendations.
- Common format and style – for reports prepared by your company ensures that there is a consistent look and feel to the report that is professional and well written, without spelling and grammatical mistakes.
- Requires organization and presentation – readers expect to see a brief introduction and then the executive summary. Many will not go beyond this point. They want the summary upfront with the key conclusions. The rest of the document should support everything in summary.
- Adds structure to the document – every document follows a common structure. Readers and clients know what to expect and what comes next. It is well organized.
- Focus on messaging for executives and users – the executive summary is no longer than one page and focused on decision-makers, while the remainder of the report supports the summary, the conclusions, and the recommendations needed by the users of the data.
- Acknowledge associates and contributors – gains credibility and support for the project and future projects you may work on.
- Include references which your work depends on – support your work and add further credibility to the results.
Essential Elements of a Technical Report Template
The following are the essential elements of every technical report template:
- Title page – or cover page includes the title of your report, the date, the name of the institution, and project name or number if applicable.
- Introduction – describe the main purpose of the document, broad objectives or aims of the project/document, and how this report fits into the overall project if the report is a mid-project report or part of a larger activity.
- Executive Summary – is an important part of the technical report. Many busy executives will only read this section. It should conclude the major results, conclusions, and recommendations for the document or project. The summary should be no longer than one page in length.
- Details of the Experiment – or perhaps the technical details concerning a new technology design proposal. Every detail should be covered concerning the equipment needed for the experiment. If it is a design proposal, all of the components needed to prototype the technology, including any that must be developed, should be described and itemized.
- Analysis of the Result and Discussion – experiments yield a variety of results, some expected and some unexpected. The results should be explained where possible. If the work did not involve an experiment, this section could be excluded.
- Body of the Report – is the section that many people will be interested in and spend the most time on. Add appropriate subheadings describing the work activity, the technical components, the experimental process, the results, and any anomalies that may have appeared. Provide as many details as needed to adequately describe all elements of the experiment or the technical proposal. Break it down into subheadings that make it easier for the reader to understand and comprehend.
- Conclusions – the body of the report should flow into the conclusion section of the report. Your points should be supported by direct results obtained during the experiment. If the experiment did not cover a specific area, then no conclusion can be summarized. This may be an opportunity to propose an additional experimental activity to verify areas that were not explored in your initial work.
- Recommendations – include the next steps that need to be taken to further the experiments, to move to the prototyping stage, or to forgo further work because the experiments did not support the outcome you anticipated.
- References – list all references to materials, texts, scientific papers used in your research. If you quoted text from another writer, it should be listed to avoid being accused of plagiarism. You acknowledge that the content came from a source other than your own.
- Acknowledgments – include everyone that assisted in preparing the report, from the lab assistants to the folks that proofread your reports. This is your opportunity to recognize the efforts of those people who assisted in this activity.
- Appendices – may include additional data that help establish the conclusions and recommendations in your report.
How to Write a Technical Report?
Preparing to write a technical report can be a little daunting unless you have collected all of the data you need and have kept excellent notes about the processes and steps used during the experimental and design phase of your project. These notes will come in very handy when you are preparing the body of the report.
Keep an ongoing list of references and people you worked with during the work activity. These folks should also receive an honorable mention in the acknowledgment section of the report.
The first step before writing a technical report is to collect all of the data that may be useful during the preparation of the draft report. Follow the template outline and add subheadings as needed to improve the flow of the document and make reading easier.
Under the main headings and subtitles, create a point-form list of the topics you want to cover in each. Once this step is completed, you should have a basic outline of what you want to cover in the report. You may even jot down the points you want to make in the executive summary, the conclusions, and the recommendations section of the report. All of your data and narrative in the body of the report should support the conclusions and recommendations.
You cannot conclude and make recommendations if the data and the narrative do not support them.
The next step is to begin writing the draft. Expand each of the points you added earlier into proper grammatical sentences, drawing on the base data from your experiments and design steps. Always take the reader into account, focus on preparing a professional document that brings the reader to the same conclusions and recommendations you have reached.
Add drawings, graphs, and tables as needed to support your work. These may come under intense scrutiny. Ensure they are accurate and display the data in the best possible fashion. Graphs should be clearly labeled, indicating what is illustrated, the variables, and the form of the chart – pie, bar graphs, etc.
Add diagrams that are easy to understand and support the narrative in your document. The diagram should follow the text explaining the concepts illustrated in the diagram.
Add tables as needed to summarize your data and precede them with the appropriate narrative referencing the table information.
All tables, diagrams, and graphs should be numbered for easy reference in the narrative and also in the index of your report.
Tips for Writing Your Technical Report
The writer of a technical report must always consider the readers of the report and how they can make it easy for them to read, understand, and assimilate the information. Anything you can do in this regard makes your report more successful and increases the opportunities to achieve the goals and objectives you have for the report, e.g., additional funding, further development, prototyping, etc.
The following tips should be considered when preparing a technical report:
- Use one font for the report and use either bold or underlining to emphasize points you want to draw the reader to. Try not to overuse, since it loses its effectiveness if too many items are highlighted in bold or underlined
- Use headings and subheadings to break up the report and make it easier to read. Long paragraphs are difficult to absorb, and readers often lose the train of thought. Using headings can help maintain the reader’s thought process and keep them focused on the subject.
- Avoid plagiarism; write everything in your own words if you must use someone else’s concepts and ideas, including on-page citations or in the reference section of the report. Failure to mention citations significantly reduces your credibility and the results published in your technical document.
- If you pull information from the internet, cross-check it and confirm authenticity. Not everything found on the internet is accurate and supported by scientific studies.
- Always proofread your document for both grammatical and spelling mistakes.
- During your proofreading activity, there may be points you want to re-write or points that need to be added to the document
- The general rule of thumb for an executive summary section is to keep it to one page in length. Some documents suggest no more than 300 words.
- Note that the executive summary is written for a different audience. It should be concise and clearly state the major goals, conclusions, and recommendations of your report. Many executives will not take the time to read the entire report.
Mistakes to Avoid When Writing your Technical Report
Aside from checking for spelling and grammatical mistakes, there are several other areas that writers should be careful of when they are preparing technical reports.
- Avoid Using Common Phrases and Clichés – overuse of common phrases tends to annoy readers and reduce the originality of your report. Focus on simple, straightforward sentences to keep your report easy to comprehend and understand.
- Find the Correct Balance of Data – providing too much data can overwhelm and confuse readers. Stick to the data that is pertinent to the subject and supports your conclusions and recommendations.
- Avoid Using Non-Technical Material and Content – especially if it is not related and appears as filler for your report. Stick to the main content and results of your work.
- Avoid Computer Program Listings – keep these listings out of the main report. An option is to include the listing in an appendix or make a reference to the programs used in your work.
- Avoid Long Complex Math Equations – these may be difficult to understand. Place these equations in an appendix and refer to the appendix in your main report.
- Discussing the Challenge of Creating the Report – aside from appearing unprofessional, it is not relevant to the report. Stick to the facts and data that support your report. Knowledgeable people will understand the difficulty and challenge of preparing the report based on the report itself.
FAQs
Several frequently asked questions by writers of technical reports follow:
What is the main purpose of a technical report?
The main purpose of a technical report is to summarize and convey the details about a technical project, the conclusions, and recommendations for a technical project. The next steps (More research, prototyping, product development, etc.) should be summarized and reported to the sponsor of the project.
How do you write an introduction to a technical report?
Summarize the main objectives of the report to help the reader understand the purpose of the document and what they should expect from the report. Discuss the flow of the report and draw attention to any special elements that you do not want the reader to miss.
What is the basic structure of the technical report?
The basic structure of a technical report contains the following elements(Add subtitles as appropriate for the content of your document):
- Title page
- Introduction
- Executive Summary
- Details of the Experiment
- Analysis of the Result and Discussion
- Body of the Report
- Conclusions
- Recommendations
- References
- Acknowledgments
- Appendices
What are the types of technical reports?
Technical reports are used in many different venues to achieve various objectives. While reporting on scientific experiments are common, the following are also considered technical reports:
- Technical Instruction Manuals
- Technical Proposals
- Experiment or Research Reports
- Posters and Visual Communication
- Technical Descriptions
- Product Recalls
- White Paper Discussion Papers
- Technical End User Instructions
Key Points
Technical writing is quickly becoming a valuable skill that can have a huge impact on the success or failure of technical projects. A well-written document aimed at a specific audience will be tailored to that audience with the appropriate amount of documentation to enable understanding and agreement with the recommendations and conclusions.
There are many different types of technical reports; however, all should have an introduction and an executive summary for those readers short on time or who need a summary and are unwilling to dive into the details of the project.
Use a technical report template to ensure consistency and a common style across your company. Use subtitles to break up the data to make it easier to read. Avoid long, complex paragraphs. Deliver a professional document with an introduction and executive summary. Check and double-check for spelling and grammatical errors.
Leave out extraneous information that does not contribute to the message conveyed in your report. Use appendices to include large amounts of data, mathematical formulas, and other information that is important to the project but does not need to be in the main report.
Focus your content on the main client or stakeholder. These are the people who will make decisions about further work, next steps, etc., based on the content in your report.
