Introduction:

Technical reports often present complex information to non-specialists.  Their effectiveness depends as much on the quality of the writer’s ideas as on the accuracy of their information.  An effective technical report displays complicated information in ways that make it easy to understand, and – above all – relevant to the reader.

Technical people, managers and executives often need to write high-quality reports to readers who are non-technical. Effective technical writing is now a critical component of clear and concise communication and it takes time and skill to communicate specialist information. Skill in report writing is necessary to reduce the time it takes to write a report that gets results. In this course, you will learn how to incorporate text, data, drawings and charts into your report writing following a few basic rules of communication for a clearer and more effective report.

This course covers detailed aspects of how to compile and write a technical report. The suggestions presented in the course may be employed, whether you are writing a single page report, or a multi-volume research study. Technical reports do, or at least should, have a clear purpose and an identifiable audience. This course will give you a systematic and easy to understand approach to technical reports, and also help you choose the correct graphics, layout, and presentation style. It will help the candidates get their technical information across clearly, concisely, correctly and completely. This course is designed to reinforce the main ideas needed to produce reports which can be read, and used, by a wide audience. This course includes useful tips, tricks and techniques for improving your writing skills. The candidates will learn how to:

• Write more efficiently
• Understand the functions of different kinds of technical reports, especially evaluations and proposals
• Adapt and focus the writing on the needs of the target audience
• Organize material effectively to support explanations and arguments
• Create effective summaries and introductions – and clearly understand the difference between the two
• Improve your style on three levels: paragraph, sentence, word
• Make your reports easier to navigate

Course Objectives:

By the end of this course, delegates will be able to:

• Organize material by purpose and audience
• Define the elements of writing steps and procedures
• Understand the types and purposes of technical reports
• Organize reports and plan the sections and subsections you need
• Fully understand the steps in writing a report
• Write clear and concise formal reports, equipment manuals and other technical documentation
• Understand the principles of clear and concise writing
• Improve the appearance of their technical documents
• Use key words and phrases correctly, precisely and concisely for impact
• Write clear, effective technical documents and reports to get the desired response from readers
• Assess target audience and develop documents for the left results
• Choose the appropriate writing style to communicate effectively to enable the reader take quicker action
• Organize data, logs and journals into readable reports label diagrams, tables, charts and other graphical tools effectively for ease of understanding
• Reduce writing time by organizing the information quickly
• Keep information specific rather than general
• Brainstorm and identify technical problems and solutions
• Collect, organize, analyze and evaluate information
• Edit wordy phrases – using simple words rather than complex ones
• Keep technical terms to a minimum – avoiding jargon, acronyms and abbreviations
• Use examples and illustrations
• Transfer technical information into graphs, flowcharts and tables
• Use good layout to draw attention to key technical information
• Translate technical documents into compelling oral presentations

Who Should Attend?

Engineering Professionals, Project and Design Engineers, Chief Engineers, Senior Engineers, Newly Qualified Engineers, Plant Managers, Project Managers, Quality Managers, Technical Managers, Technical Supervisors,  Technical Operational Staff, Technical Sales Staff,  Research and Development Professionals, Technical Personnel, Maintenance and Supervisory Managers, Maintenance Planning Staff, Technical Managers, Project team members in: manufacturing, process industries, tendering, contracting, marketing, procurement, research & development, utilities and local authorities,  anyone responsible for producing technical reports of any kind

Course Outline:

• What is a technical report?
• Types of technical reports
• What makes reports work?
• The value of good report writing
• Functions of reports
• What makes a report effective?
• Overt messages and hidden messages
• Key principles of functional writing
• Three key factors: objectives, audience, structure
• Time management: a structural approach to writing
• Technical reports you currently write
• Stages in creating a professional technical report

o   The seven stage technical report writing process

o   Adapting your report to your audience

o   The differences between primary & secondary source information

• Use of headings in your technical report
• The layout of a technical report
• The five 'C's of technical communication: clarity, conciseness, concrete, coherence & context
• Ways to make your technical report more effective
• Writing the first draft
• The structure & different parts of a technical report
• Constructing effective paragraphs

o   Four characteristics of effective paragraphs

o   Paragraph structure and sequences

• Bringing sentences under control

o   Sentence length and structure

o   Sentence sequences

o   Bringing your sentences to life

• Words that work

o   Finding and placing key words

o   Developing your style

o   Managing vocabulary, jargon and specialist terminology

o   Attention to detail: typos, spelling, punctuation

• The elements of good style

o   Composition and the writer’s position

o   Bringing your writing to life

o   Formal or informal: judging what’s appropriate

• How to properly reference in a technical report
• Proofreading skills for technical reports
• Correct use of punctuations & abbreviations
• Choosing the right graphics to present information

o   Line GraphsBar Graphs

o   Gantt Charts

o   Pie Charts

o   Tables

o   Flow Charts

• Practical exercises: Writing different parts of a technical report

o   Title Page

o   Introduction

o   Procedures & Findings

o   Conclusion

o   Recommendations

o   Summary

COURSE LOCATIONS