A report is a publication giving a formal or official record, of the activities of a committee or corporate body or of some special investigation or proceedings of a government body or parastatal. The report which generally depends on research often involves pulling data with a computer program or calling many different people, building models or prototypes or conducting focus groups and surveys, or even planning and conducting experiments.
The report can give information only (information reports) such as sales reports, quarterly reports, etc. Reports can provide information plus analysis (analytical reports) such as annual reports, audit reports, make-good or payback reports, etc. Reports can provide information plus a recommendation (recommendation reports) such as feasibility reports, justification reports, problem-solving reports, progress and interim reports, closure reports, technical reports, research and development reports, weather reports, intelligence reports, Bathymetric survey reports, production report, and report literature (this may include technical notes, memoranda, preprints, conference proceedings and papers, research development reports as well as formal reports).
In engineering, technical report writing is one of the major forms of communication. It is commonly used to show the results of research, investigations, and design projects. Reports are required in the university by lecturers, tutors, and supervisors to assess student’s mastery of subjects and ability to apply knowledge to a project task. They are also required in the workplace by managers, clients, and the construction engineers who are responsible for building from the designs. Thus, an engineer requires this basic knowledge for excellence in the studies or in one’s career.
Steps in Report Writing
Report writing can be done in five basic steps viz:
1. Define the problem.
2. Gather the necessary data and information.
3. Analysis of data and information.
4. Organize the information.
5. Write the report.
Features of a Good Report
A good report should have the following features:
1. It should quickly and easily communicate information.
2. It should be designed for selective reading.
3. It should be prepared with sections made of numbered headings and subheadings.
4. It should use figures and diagrams to convey data.
Criteria for a Good Report
The following criteria are typical for a good report:
1. The problem to solve should be real, important enough to be worth solving, and narrow but challenging.
2. The audience for the report should be real and able to implement the recommended action.
3. The data, evidence, and facts should be sufficient to document the severity of the problem, be sufficient to prove that the recommendation will solve the problem, be available to you, and comprehensible to you.
Basic Structure of a Technical Report
The structure of the report varies according to the body providing the report. However, an engineering report should contain:
1. Title page: This should show a clear and understandable title for the report.
2. Summary/Abstract/Executive summary: This provides a brief overview of the substance of the report and should not be more than 1 page. The summary states the topic of the report, outlines your approach to the task if applicable, gives the most important findings of your research or investigations, or the key aspects of your design, and states the main outcomes or conclusions.
3. Table of contents: This sets out the sections and subsections of the report and their corresponding page numbers.
4. Introduction: This provides the background of the information needed for the rest of the report to be understood. It is usually ½ to ¾ of a page length. The introduction includes the background to the topic of your report to set your work in its broad context, a clear statement of the purposes of the report, usually to present the results of your research investigations or design, a clear statement of the aims of the project, a technical background necessary to understand the report e.g. theory or assumptions and a brief outline of the structure of the report if appropriate.
5. Body of the report: The body gives in detail the outcomes of the study/investigation/design that is intended for the readers of the report. It is usually made up of numbered headings and sub-headings.
6. Conclusions: Based on the introduction and body/content of the report, a conclusion is drawn from the output of the report. It indicates if the aims of the research were achieved or not and comments if there is a need for the research work to be continued. The keywords in the conclusion should be highlighted in the summary.
7. References: Authors whose works were referenced in the introduction/body of the report should be provided in a separate list.
8. Appendices: This section contains pieces of information that will not be quite relevant to the main body of the report. Things like maps, photographs, and charts, among others such as statistical data of the company, or brochures and catalogues are contained here. Each item should be numbered and labelled.
References
Chidolue, C.A. (2014). Writing Technical Reports. Lecture notes on Technical Report Writing.
Obioha, I.K. (2008). Research and Report Writing. 1st edition. Providence Press. 75 Obiagu Road, Enugu, Nigeria.
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