Engineering Technical Reports
Structure of the report
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Figures and tables
- Problem and solution discussion
- Conclusion and future work
How to write it
Your overarching goal is clarity. Don't be long-winded, don't use thick jargon, explain things as clearly and simply as possible. Use diagrams whenever you can to help with explanations.
- Consider your audience: Your audience determines what kind of information you focus on and how advanced the writing can be. Who is your audience?
- Grammar is important: You know this, so just make sure you check yourself.
- Accuracy and completeness: You must be careful to be accurate and specific in this report. Do NOT exaggerate or use vague language. Don't claim capabilities that aren't complete, and don't undersell things that do work.
- Explaining things clearly is hard: Don't expect this to be easy! You need to find a way to communicate dense technical information to your reader in a way that helps them understand! Don't try to impress them with how tough it is to understand, try to impress them with how well you explain it! If you expect your reader to need a bottle of ibuprofen handy before they start, you're doing it wrong. Spend extra time simplifying and clarifying your explanations, but don't make them juvenile. They should be focused, directly and clearly worded, and sequenced properly to help your readers build up their understanding.