Technical report writing

Engr. Prof. Kelvin Datonye Henry Bob-Manuel

FNSE
REPORT ON POST GRADUATE WORK EXPERIENCE

Presentation 
1. INTRODUCTION

2. PART A

3. PART B
 Sections of Preliminary Pages

i. Front cover
ii. Title page
iii. Acknowledgments
iv. Declaration
v. Certification
vi. Dedication
vii. Table of Contents
viii. List of Figures
ix. List of Tables
x. Nomenclature, Glossary of Terms, Abbreviations or List of
Symbols
 INTRODUCTION
 

PERSONAL DETAILS

SURNAME
OTHER NAMES
DATE OF BIRTH
STATE OF ORIGIN
NATIONALITY
MARITAL STATUS
SEX
TELEPHONE No.
EMAIL ADDRESS
  
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION ATTENDED WITH DATES

UNIVERSITY

SECONDARY SCHOOLS/COLLEGES

PRIMARY SCHOOL

OTHERS

QUALFICATIONS OBTAINED WITH DATES

 PART A
SUMMARY OF POST-GRADUATE WORK EXPERIENCE

1. EMPLOYER

POSITION HELD

PERIOD

JOB DESCRIPTION

2. EMPLOYER

POSITION HELD

PERIOD

JOB DESCRIPTION
ETC.
 PART B
Note : NSE requires two design or project work
Title of the Design work or project
Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. Methodology (Materials and Methods)

• Theoretical Analysis and design methodology

3. Results and Discussion – Design or project analysis

• Illustrations: figures and tables
• Description of figures and tables
• Discussion on Design or project execution
4. Conclusions & Recommendation
• Conclusion
• Challenges and Recommendations
5. Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME)

References (List of References)

Appendices
• Appendix 1 Computer program listing and results (if any)
• Appendix 2 Any other very relevant information
• Appendix 3. Large design drawing
 Example of Layout of a title page
 
•  
•  
•  

REPORT ON POST-GRADUATION WORK EXPERIENCE

 
 
 
 
 
 
Name of candidate
B. Tech. (---------- Engrg.) Name of University
 
 
 
Submitted to the Nigerian Society of Engineers in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for registration as corporate member

Date
 
 
 Example of a declaration
 

 
DECLARATION
 
I declare that this report is my unaided work and it was not copied or
written in collaboration with any other person.
 
 
Signed
--------------------------------
(Name of candidate/ no.)
 
 
 Example of certification
 

CERTIFICATION

I certify that this report is an independent work carried out by (name of

candidates) for registration as corporate member of the Nigerian society of

Engineers (NSE)

Signed: --------------------

Name ---------------------

Position in the Company/ organisation -----------

NSE Registration No. --------------

COREN Registration No. --------------

Date -----------------
 Dedication

A candidate has the option to dedicate his/her report either to God,

parents, guardians, family member, friends or loved ones in a short
statement.
 
Example of Table of Contents
 Executive Summary

Summary (Extended or Executive Summary)

Extended summary is different from abstract or

synopsis and should not be interchanged. It presents
major features of report of an investigation with
essential details of the findings for readers who want
to be reminded of what they have already read. Hence
summaries are usually placed at the end of reports
while abstracts are at the beginning. An executive
summary is sometimes used for the benefit of chief
executives of companies or institutions who do not
have enough time to read a whole report but want to
know details of its content.
 Generally a Executive Summary gives:

• information about the research or design work,

• the approach adopted,
• main results or achievements,
• the conclusions or significance of the research or
project work.

.
 
 Guidelines on writing a Summary

• Summarise the significant facts of the research or design

• Clearly state the main problems and solution adopted.
• State the main results, conclusions and observations.
• Avoid inserting equations and references.
• Adopt given format and use specified number of words or
pages.
• Give recommendation (if necessary).

.
 Introduction
The pattern of writing an Introduction for a document differs greatly because the manner it is

written and particular focus made will depend on the type of document and the readership.

Introduction is one section that particularly needs to be tailored to suit specific readership.

For instance, an Introduction in a thesis or design work will be different from one in either a

book for general readership or reports for funding bodies. In a book or report, a page or two

may be adequate while for a thesis several pages and sections may be required. Introduction

is usually the first chapter in theses and other technical reports which may not be the case in

books.

Generally in the Introduction for general technical report, you should state the

•background of the design work or project,

•aims (objectives),

•the state-of-the-art, and similar product work or product in the market

•significance and scope of the work,

•definition of the problem

 
The following guidelines should be adopted:
• State the aim and background of the design or project.
• Be focused to introduce the subject and aim for clarity to
awaken the interest of readers/examiners rather than bore them
with unnecessary details.
• Discuss the significance and the state-of-the-art in the field .
• Define the problem and give basic facts about its origin and
significance.
• State how your approach and scope will differ from the work of
other engineers that have done similar work.
• Ensure a logical flow of the text.
 Methodology (materials and methods)
 

In a post graduate experience report, design methodology is

paramount and may form a chapter that describes related
theory, materials and method for the product, equipment, etc.
being developed.
 Guidelines on Methodology analysis
 The following guidelines should be adopted in theoretical analysis
for a design work:

• State the background of the theory or model you intend to use.

• Make reference to authors that have used the theory or model in

similar design work.
• State the modification if you intend to modify an established
theory and justify it.
• State detailed computational techniques used in the solution of
mathematical models.

• State the assumptions made in solution of a theory, starting with

the following statement:
(e.g. “The following assumptions are made in the solution”)  
 Example of a method of expressing an equation

For a reversible process in a closed system the

First law of Thermodynamics is expressed as:

dE  dQ  Pdv (2.1)
Note that the equation is given a number with that of the chapter.
In the above equation, “2” is the chapter’s number while “1” is the
number of the equation.
 
In writing equations, ensure that a Microsoft equation editor is
used.
 
Phrases that can be used to introduce an equation include:
---- expressed as:
---- given by or given by the expression:
---- written as:
---- as follows:
---- expression of the form:
 Results and Discussion

• Results and Discussion sections in reports are very significant in

technical writing because examiners and reviewers painstakingly peruse
these sections before authenticating the validity of a research or report.
If results are discussed in discussion section, the subheading “Results
and Discussion” or “Discussion of Results” is more appropriate especially
in report of post graduate experience.

• An important strategy for presenting effective discussion is by drawing

the attention of the reader to the graphs or tables being discussed. Place
emphasis on the reliability of the results and state if there are any
ambiguities in the procedure that gave uncertainty to your findings.

• Explain the possible sources if there are wide discrepancies when results
are compared with previously obtained ones and state any limitation in
the procedure that were not anticipated in advance
 The following guidelines should be adopted in the presentation of results:

• Present only relevant results that would support your arguments in a

simple array of facts and it should be
• comprehensive and coherent, and strictly related to the investigation.
• Do not be tempted to present repetitive results but if you need to do so
due to their importance, place them in appendix. report any
unacceptable results after the experiment has been repeated once or
twice to find the sources of the errors. This will be of importance to
other investigators.
• Figures and tables should be self-explanatory to illustrate the points
being made.
• A table should not contain too many columns and rows of data.
• Give an appropriate title or caption to the figures and tables.
 Guidelines on design and presentation of figures
•You can use well-designed graphs to show several trends and relationships
but do not present graphs with many curves. It is better to create two graphs
instead of presenting an overcrowded one

•Make each line or curve in a graph distinguishable from the others. Excel
software creates symbols that distinguish one line or curve from another.

•Label the x and y-axes of a graph with short description and units (using
System International if appropriate).

•Use scales that are consistent with the data obtained.

•Legend for a graph should be informative with the necessary symbols and be
placed in or outside the figure as may be required.

•The caption must be written under the figure.

•Don’t use the words “Graph 1” or “Plate 1” instead of “Figure 1”.

•The reference of reproduced illustration must be cited and the source

indicated at the end of its caption.
 Example of line graph for thesis and project reports
 

60.0 0.4
55.0
AFR-D only
50.0
  45.0 0.3
AFR-NG+D
AFR-NG+RME
40.0 AFR-NG+DME.
EFF-D only

Thermal Efficiency
35.0
Air-Fuel ratio EFF-NG+D
  30.0
25.0
0.2
EFF.-NG+DME.
EFF.ND+RME
  20.0
15.0 0.1
  10.0
5.0
0.0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

bmep /MPa

Fig : 4.1. Variations of increasing brake mean effective pressure

with air-fuel ratio and brake thermal efficiency at 1000 r/min.
 
(Figures for thesis or similar documents must include the chapter number,
e.g. Fig. 4.1 where ‘4’ is the chapter number and ‘1’, figure number)
 Guidelines on Writing Conclusions

• The Conclusion should be fairly brief without further explanation or

discussion and be specific to the investigation.

• It should point out the importance, significance and validity of the research
findings.

• A numbered or bullet-pointed list can be used if appropriate, starting with

the main Conclusions and followed by other supporting ones.

• General statements should be avoided.

 
Conclusion may contain the following sections:
– Statements to place the Conclusions in context.
– An overall conclusion of the investigation.
– Specific conclusions that are stated from observations from results.
 Recommendations  

• Recommendation is an action to be taken in future as a result of findings in an

investigation, e.g. a design improvement and elimination of errors. It is
sometimes combined with the conclusions into a section entitled
“Conclusions and Recommendations”
 
• Various types of Recommendations include:
• Design improvement.
• New procedure and technique for the design work.
• Suggestions for methods of eliminating errors.
•  
Recommendations are best given as a numbered list. You should avoid making
recommendations that are not related to the research. State main
recommendations first and follow with less important ones. When making
suggestions for future work, clearly state the specific area of investigation you are
proposing and ensure that it is feasible. Research usually opens up new avenues
for further studies.
 References

References 

List of References (or References) is a list of all publications and communications that are

either cited or quoted directly in a text and listed at the end of a report. It is a preferred

system of documenting citations in undergraduate and postgraduate theses, journal articles,

conference papers and other scientific and technical reports.

Bibliography

Bibliography is a list of all publications and communications that authors have consulted

during a research or while preparing theses, books and other documents but not cited in the

text. In technical reports, it is rarely used but in some books, it is used alone or with List of

References. A publication should not be listed in References and Bibliography if both are used.

Bibliography is also placed at the end of a report or book when it is used.

 
 Author-date (Harvard) system
 
References
Albar, A., (2001) Modelling of Bucket Wheel Dredge System for Offshore Sand and Tin
Mining. PhD dissertation. Civil Engineering Department, Texas A & M University, Station,
Texas, 275 p.

Dieperrink, F.J.H. and Donkers, J.M. (1978) Offshore Tin Dredging for Indonesia, Trans. Inst.
Min. Metals. 87, pp 39-46.

Dunlap, W. A. (Civil Engineering Dept. Texas A & M University, Texas}, pers. comm. by letter
dated May 3, 2000.

Miedema, S. A. (1987) Calculation of the Cutting Forces when Cutting Water Saturated
Sand (in Dutch). PhD dissertation, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, 307 pp.

Miedema, S.A. (1996) Modelling and Simulation of the Dynamic Behaviour of Pump/Pipe
System. Proc. of the Western Dredging Association,17th Tech. Conf. and 29th Annual
Texas A & M Dredging Seminar, New Orleans, USA. pp 75-83. 

Turner, T. M., Randall, R. E., DeJong, P.S. and DwiBarto, B.L.(1997) New Concept in Tin
Mining. Discussion List [Online].Available from email:
tinmining@mailbase.texas.ac [Accessed: 3 March 1998]. 

Wilson, K. C., Addie, G. R., Sellgren, A. and Clift, R. (1997) Slurry Trans. Using Centrifugal
Pumps, J. Ocean Engineering, 29 (14), pp 1751-1767.
 Author-number (Vancouver) system
 
References
1. Miedema, S. A. (1987) Calculation of the Cutting Forces when Cutting Water Saturated Sand (in
Dutch), PhD dissertation, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, 307 p.

2. Wilson, K.C., Addie, G.R., Sellgren, A. and Clift, R. Slurry (1997) Transport Using Centrifugal Pumps. J.
Ocean Engineering 29 (14): 1751-1767.

3 lbar, A. (2001) Modelling of Bucket Wheel Dredge System for Offshore Sand andTin Mining, PhD
dissertation, Civil Engineering Department Texas A & M University, Station Texas 275 p.

4. Miedema, S.A. (1996) Modelling and Simulation of the Dynamic Behaviour of Pump/Pipe System.
Proc. of the Western Dredging Association, 17th Tech. Conf. and 29th Annual Texas A&M Dredging
Seminar, New Orleans, USA, pp.75-83.

5. Dieperrink, F.J.H. and Donkers, J.M. (1978) Offshore Tin Dredging for Indonesia, Trans. Inst. Min.
Metals. 87: 39-46.

6. Dunlap, W.A. (2000) Civil Engineering Dept. Texas A&M University, Texas, pers. comm. by letter dated
May 3.

7. Turner, T.M., Randall, R.E., DeJong, P.S. and DwiBarto, B.L. (1997) New Concept in Tin Mining.
Discussion List [Online]
Available: email: tinmining@mailbase.texas.ac [Accessed: 3 Ma rch 1998].