Technical Report Writing

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Elements of a Technical Report

Cover page Title page Abstract Dedication Acknowledgements Table of contents List of tables List of figures List of symbols Glossary of terminologies Central Chapters

Roman page numbers (i, ii, iii, iv, v)

References Annexure Appendix A .. A1, A2, Appendix B ...B1, B2,

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Elements of a Technical Report

Introduction User requirements Literature study Functional analysis and simulation Design requirements/technical specification/assumptions Concepts Concept evaluation The detail depends on the project type Detail design Test and evaluation Interpretation of results Conclusion

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Table of contents
All pages must be numbered All chapters must be numbered 1.. All sub-paragraphs must be numbered 1.1 1.1.1 etc. Table of contents must guide the reader to each paragraph at a specific page Must list all annexures
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

List of Tables/Figures
List all the tables in numerical order All tables must be numbered with a relevant caption of the table Example: Table 3.1: Forces measured in cross beams Can be automatically generated by Word

List all figures in numerical order All figures must be numbered with a relevant caption for the figure Example: Figure 3.1: Bending moment diagram of cross beam Can be automatically generated by Word

Each and every sketch, figure and table must be referred to in the text
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

List of Symbols
List of all symbols used must be compiled to explain them to the reader Example: : Yield point of material

The following order must be used :

Firstly all the Roman letters (in alphabetical order) Then all the Greek symbols (in the order of the Greek alphabet) Finally, the symbols that begin with numbers, in numerical order All the ordinary symbols are listed first, followed by the superscripts and then the subscripts
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Central Chapters
The most important thing of a report is the fact that YOU must guide your reader through the report in a precise and organized manner. A report is like a story: it must have a beginning, a middle and an end, but the middle is the actual story. The introduction must not be too long, and the central chapters must not be overpowered by the appendices. The conclusions should follow from the central chapters in a justifiable manner. In other words, the central chapters must present a systematic argument that leads to the conclusions. A disorganized report is a nightmare to read and to evaluate
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Introduction and Background

Introduce your reader to the problem at hand as described in the report The following usually appear in the introduction Background (where did the work originate from) Problem statement Purpose of the investigation (objective statement) Method (very, very brief), scope and/or limitations Be concise without being blunt
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

User Requirements
Explain the problem as received from the user either in Words Specification The scope/boundaries/extent of the project Make use of sketches to explain the text

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Literature Survey - Design

Survey the literature available (ALL) to get better understanding of the problem If more comprehensive background is required than can conveniently be given in the introduction. This background will include information of which the reader is probably not aware and which is required to understand the report, to justify the investigation and to follow arguments and mathematical models or expositions. It is totally undesirable to rewrite major portions of textbooks, or to give detailed derivations of equations. Show only a summary of the current state of the art. Do not pad your report but include what is necessary to help the reader understand the problem Tables etc. from catalogues can be included in the annexure
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Literature - Project
This section describes the context within which the research is being done. This includes the background to the research (what has already been done by others or is in progress in other research) and motivation for doing the research (i.e. explaining why it is worth doing, and what contribution it will make). It is very important to integrate the information from different sources, and not to discuss it source by source. A good approach is to identify a number of issues in literature that relate to the proposed research, and then consider what each being done. This includes the source has contributed to each issue.

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Referencing
Referencing is necessary to: provide support for factual statements/claims made in an academic document, avoid plagiarism, enable the reader to verify quotations and/or information, and enable the reader to follow up and read more fully the cited authors arguments. You do not need to reference if you consider the information to be general knowledge If the same information appears in several sources (at least 5) without any reference If you think that the information is something that your reader will know in any case If you think that your reader will easily be able to find the information in a general information source

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Functional Analysis and Simulation

Engineers do functional analysis on new systems to map functions to physical components, thereby ensuring that each function has an acknowledged owner, to ensure that all necessary tasks are listed and that no unnecessary tasks are requested. This list becomes the basis for the work breakdown structure. Compile a functional analysis of the problem at hand to gain a better understanding of the design needs to achieve the goals Make sure that all the functions of various systems and subsystems are defined Make use of the information obtained from the functional analysis and the user requirements to compile a set of design parameters

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Functional Analysis and Simulation

Icarus, and many flight wanna-bes after him, tried to understand how to fly by analyzing the physical components that birds used to fly: Legs, Eyes, Brain, and Wings. Using this paradigm man was not able to fly. The Wright brothers, in contrast, identified the following functions for the flight problem: Takeoff and land, Sense position and velocity, Navigate, Produce horizontal thrust, and Produce vertical lift. Once it was understood that thrust and lift were two functions, two physical components could be assigned to them. By using a propeller to produce thrust and wings to produce lift, manned flight was possible

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Design Requirements
Design requirements preferably in table format Technical specification preferably in table format List all assumptions This is necessary for the reader of the report to follow all the arguments in the report and the calculations.
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Concepts
Indicate that all relevant aspects have been taken into consideration, for example by providing a functional analysis. Indicate that all reasonable concepts were considered. Describe the concepts in terms of function and layout. MAKE USE OF SIMPLE BUT CLEAR SKETCHES TO EXPLAIN YOUR CONCEPTS
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Concept evaluation
Provide a well-motivated elimination and selection of concepts. Explain the parameters for the evaluation of the concepts Parameters must conform to the design requirements and/or system specification Compile the weighing factors Explain the weighing factors chosen to prevent any misunderstanding Do the final choice by making use of the appropriate technique Describe the selected concep
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Detail Design
Do ALL the relevant calculations Sort the order of the report that things follow logically. Explain all the calculations with SKETCHES Show the reader the following Where you are busy within the design Details of the component with which you are busy Make use of images from CAD or sketches that show the layout of the system Label components on the sketch so that you can refer to the component you are analysing Include force diagrams with each calculation. Include descriptions of the forces or a layout so that it is clear what the origin of a force is. If you use forces that were calculated earlier, refer back to the paragraph where it was calculated. List the materials used in the design State all assumptions

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Detail Design
All equations must be numbered for further reference (Harvard) Where equations etc. are used; reference the source according to accepted method Harvard Refer to section on Referencing Do not only type equations and then answer this is wrong. The values used must be shown
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Detail Design
Before specifying a material make sure about cost and availability ANSI and AISI steels are generally not available in SA, mostly EN steels for shafts and gears, and mild steel or 300W for plates For the availability of the more common steels, http://www.macsteel.co.za (Look under Business Units; Special Steels) For the availability of aluminium http://www.afsa.org.za/ Stainless steel http://www.sassda.co.za Plastics: http://epp.quadrantplastics.com/ http://www.maizey.co.za/ This goes for any component
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Detail Design
The detail design must include the following: Manufacturing analysis Maintenance analysis Any special tooling for manufacturing and maintenance Cost analysis http://www.macsteel.co.za and go to Pricelists for steel prices Make sure that your design conforms to all the relevant aspects as taught in the various design courses If there is a large number of repetitive calculations or computer printouts it can be included as annexure DO NOT HESITATE TO MAKE USE OF SKETCHES OR PRINTS FROM THE SOLID MODELS TO EXPLAIN YOUR WORK
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Test and Evaluation

Explain all the relevant testing techniques used and/or available Explain all the test equipment Make use of sketches or photographs Explain design of experimental setup Provide complete test protocol and how it was implemented and monitored

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Interpretation of Results
Gather all data Be precise in recording your data Never adjust data to suit your calculations Present the data in a clear and understandable manner Big sets of data can be included in an annexure

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Conclusions (and Recommendations)

Write a final conclusion for your report summarizing the following Purpose of the work Clarify to what extent the purpose (final design) was achieved Discuss the implications of the findings and indicate the contributions made by the report Provide suggestions for further work, if appropriate.
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

References
Make use of the Harvard method for referencing throughout your report Make sure that all the documents used are referenced even catalogues and web pages Remember when referencing a web page that the last date accessed must be shown No references may be included in the list of references to which you have not referred in the report, and vice versa.
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

References
Useful links for referencing Referencing in Academic Documents http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/40/753/referencing_2009.pdf Harvard Referencing http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/44/2846/Appendix%2011.pdf Harvard Style - References/Bibliography http://www.library.uq.edu.au/training/citation/harvard_6.pdf Plagiarism and how to how to reference UP Plagiarism website http://web.up.ac.za/default.asp?ipkCategoryID=12412&subid=12 412&ip (There are a lot of useful information under Resources)

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Annexure
Include all the excess information not included in report in annexure Prevent the reader from paging to various pages to read the report The reader should be able to read the report without always referring to the Appendices Typical information to be included in annexure Detail calculations Material data sheets Catalogues Test reports Test data Unless you refer to an Annexure in the report it is meaningless. If you put your detailed calculations in an Appendix, give a summary of the calculation in the report and refer to the Appendix in the report. Put each detail calculation in a different Appendix. (It makes referencing easier).
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Handy Links
Guide for Writing Technical Reports (Dept of Mechanical Engineering, Univ. of Stellenbosch) http://mecheng.sun.ac.za/images/docs_general /skryfgids_4.0e.pdf Guidelines for Writing Technical Reports and Papers (Department of Chemical Engineering, UP) http://www.ais.up.ac.za/ebit/guides/CHEMENG _techreports.pdf
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering