Technical Report Writing

Report writing is often viewed as a tedious and difficult task. This leads to badly written documents that fail to communicate – result, confusion, mistakes and additional costs. This course approaches report writing in a more effective and efficient way. By using examples from actual reports and undertaking proven learning exercises, participants will understand key elements of a good report. They will learn how to produce clear, unambiguous and concise reports that will increase the value and professionalism of their reports.

On completion of the course, participants have a greater understanding of how to:>/p>

• Communicate effectively to the reader
• Structure specific technical reports
• Write to enhance the professionalism of the writer
• Write technically in plain simple English
• Use software aids for more effective writing

Communications

• Considering your reader
• Costs of poorly written documents

Plain English - Software Help

• Understanding spelling and grammar checkers
• Readability, controlling the sentence length
• Preferring the shorter word where possible

Reports in General - Formal Reports

• The general structure, logical and other structures
• Writing abstracts or summaries
• Conclusions and Recommendations
• Compiling bibliographies, best approach

Specific Reports for:

• Short (internal) reports
• Project Progress (taking minutes) and Close Out
• BS4811, investigative reports
• Test Reports - EN45001
• Incident Reports, others as necessary

Instructions and Procedures

• Giving instructions,
• Warnings
• Avoiding idioms, conflict and ambiguity
• Presenting information, using diagrams
• BS/EN 82079 – writing instructions

Letters, e-mails and social media

• Specific dangers with emails – and possible solutions
• Protecting your confidential information
• Getting your e-mails read, Netiquette
• Problems with social media

Writing for Effect

• Using effective, unambiguous words
• Readable and simple sentences
• Persuasive and clear paragraphs
• Grammar, spelling and punctuation

The course is an effective and proven mix of presentation, discussion, exercises and case studies. The training day is flexible driven by what the participants want as we go along. Further, the comprehensive Course Manual that each participant takes away with them is packed with reference material that is usable for a long time after the course.

This course will provide participants with real opportunities to enhance their career, giving them not only confidence in their written skills but also their abilities to express themselves. They will gain the confidence to write effectively, avoiding boredom and distractions that lead to writing badly.

The course will benefit personnel from undergraduate level right through to an experienced technician or engineer. It is suitable for practically all of the disciplines within the engineering and associated industries.

No specific pre-course activities are required