How to Write Good Reports Handout

How to Write a Good Professional Reports and Technical Papers

Types of Reports and their Structure

A report can be of different types.

Regular, occasional, periodic, ad-hoc

Technical, scientific, legal, social, political, news, etc.

Research results, news, investigative, test results A report can be either one page or hundreds of pages long.

Before setting-off with a report-writing exercise, make sure that you have something worth writing

about. (except for examinations and certain job-related assignments)

Questions to answer before developing a structure of a report:

For whom is the report ? What is the readers frame of mind and what is his level of awareness ? How conversant are the readers with the language ?

What is the target length of the report ?

How is the report to be produced ? (handwritten, computer)

How will the diagrams be drawn ? How to produce the tables ?

A good way to start writing a report, is to prepare its list of contents.

Main sections of a report

Introduction (Explain what you are going to say in the report)

Body of the report (Say what you have to say)

Summary and Conclusions (Explain what you have said in the report !!)

Problems Areas

Should there be a Summary or and Executive Summary, and if so, where to place it ?

A technical paper must have a Summary. The relevant Institution usually insists on it.

Reports longer than about ten pages should have a Summary.

The summary must be at the beginning of the report.

How long should the Introduction or Background be, and what should it contain ?

Typically 10% of the planned length of the report.

Write why you have to do this report, who asked you to do it, what the preceding events were, what your sources of information were.

Write how the rest of the report is organised (for long reports only). The Body of the report may be divided into several Chapters or Sections.

What should the Conclusions include ?

Repeat the conclusions reached in the body of the report. Do not worry about repeating them.

Itemise the conclusions as far as possible. Should there be a List of Contents ?

Yes, if the report is longer than about ten pages.

of 18

CONTENTS

Page No.

Executive Summary

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 National Paper Company Ltd. 1

1.2 Forms and Quantities of Energy Used 1 2 ANALYSIS OF HISTORIC ENERGY USE 5 3 ELECTRICITY DEMAND MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION 8

3.1 Factory Electricity Supply System 8

3.2 Estimation of Demand and Power Factor 10

3.3 Measurements of Factory Demand Profile 11

3.4 Factory Load Factor and Demand Management Options 12

3.5 Status of Existing Capacitor Banks 13

3.5.1 Capacitor Bank at Boiler House 13

3.5.2 Capacitor Bank at Paper Mill 15

3.6 Potential for Power Factor Correction 16

3.6.1 Maximum Potential 16

3.6.2 Relocation of Capacitors from the Pulp Mill Bank 17

3.6.3 Power Factor Correction of the Pump House Loads 18

3.7 Demand Management and the Time-of-Day Tariff Option 19

3.7.1 Analysis of Peak-time Energy Use 20

3.7.2 Previous Experience with Time-of-Day Tariff 21

3.7.3 Estimated Savings with Tome-of-Day Tariff 22

3.8 Compressed-air System 23

3.9 Lighting 24

3.10 Performance of the Water Pump 25

of 18

4. THERMAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION 29

4.1 Introduction 29

4.2 Initial Observations 30

4.3 Estimation of Boiler Efficiency 30

4.3.1 Stack Loss 30

4.3.2 Blowdown Loss 30

4.4 Efficiency Improvement 33

4.4.1 Reduction of Blowdown Loss 33

4.4.2 Pre-heating of Combustion Air 33

4.5 Preliminary Evaluation of a Cogeneration Option 34

5. CONCLUSIONS 36

ANNEX 1- List of Equipment 39

ANNEX 2- The Study Team 40

LIST OF FIGURES

Page No. Figure 1- Schematic Diagram of the Manufacturing of the Factory 2 Figure 2- Historic Variation of Specific Energy Consumption 5 Figure 3- Specific Electricity Consumption Compared with Actuals 6 Figure 4- Specific Oil Consumption Compared with Actuals 7 Figure 5- Electrical Distribution System in the Factory 9 Figure6- Apparent Power and Power Factor Profiles 11 Figure 7- Performance of the Water Pump at Chandrika Wewa 26 Figure 8- Steam Distribution Flow Diagram 28

of 18

The Language of a Technical Report

Tense

All technical reports are written in the past tense, except when it is required to refer to an event in

the future.

Passive voice should be used as far as possible.

eg: 1. Current measurements were taken at each terminal, as shown in

Table 5.2.

2. Figure 10.2 shows the cost variations, which will be discussed at

the meeting next week.

Grammar

Sentences must be grammatically correct. (The reader loses confidence when he spots errors in a

report)

Sentences should be complete, with at least a subject and a verb.

Vocabulary

Technical reports should use the simplest possible terms and phrases.

Avoid using old English. (such as viz., vide, under mentioned, hereunder, undersigned, as per)

Keep the readers vocabulary in mind (elevator Vs lift, exhaust Vs muffler)

Tone

Use a friendly tone.(eg. You are hereby requested to send the data within one week from the date

of this letter, can be replaced with Kindly send the information within a week from today).

Totally avoid offensive terms and phrases. Avoid slang (non standard terms, such as guy, fellow,

quit, buck, huge).

Avoid phrases which will make the reader uncomfortable (eg. at the back of his mind, in the thick

of it).

of 18

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Define acronyms and abbreviations

All acronyms and abbreviations must be defined when they appear in the report for the

first time. In technical reports written for a known technical readership, abbreviations of

technical units need not be defined.

Very common abbreviations need not be defined (such as UK, USA, am, pm)

Always use uppercase for user-defined acronyms

The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) recently established a Telecommunication

Regulatory Authority (TRC).

The may be exceptions, but am, pm, emf, are always used in lowercase.

Use of the full stop

The use of full stop after each letter in an abbreviation, is a practice of the past. It is now

common to use BBC, emf, GOSL or even MoD (to refer to the Ministry of Defence)

Plural of an Abbreviation and the apostrophe

A common Sri Lankan mistake is to refer to an Electrical Engineer as EE and to use

EEE to refer to the plural Electrical Engineers. The correct form is EEs.

The form EEs in also incorrect in the plural. EEs means belonging to (one) Electrical

Engineer.

Wrong: CDs for sale

Abbreviations of Technical Units of Measurements

There are fixed rules about these. (see attached extract from a publication by the

Institution of Electrical Engineers, USA)

Users cannot change the rules about the use of uppercase and lowercase in technical

abbreviations. (kw, j, hz are incorrect. kW, J, Hz are correct)

There is no plural form for abbreviations of technical units. Even if the sentence means

the unit in plural, the abbreviation is the same.

eg. The length of the dam is 569 m.

of 18

Structuring Sentences

Sentences in technical reports should be short and meaningful.

A bad example

A conventional fossil-fired furnace is fed continuously and the heat energy in the furnace is

controlled by regulating the fuel feed and the combustion air whereas a nuclear reactor

contains as much fuel as is sufficient to operate a large power plant for some months.

(sentence too long, no punctuation marks)

Punctuation marks should be used. (most technical writers ignore punctuation marks,

thereby the reader)

A bad example

Approximate power transfer capacity trends for different line voltages based on power

transfer being proportional to the square of the line voltage are given in Table 24.3 and Fig.

24.3 for transmission voltages up to 500 kV.

(sentence too long, no punctuation marks)

Cautious use of the article a and the

General rules in technical reports:

Use a when identifying an object or an even for the first time. Thereafter, use the.

eg. A meeting was held to discuss a new marketing strategy. Ten persons attended the

meeting, which ended without even discussing the subject of marketing.

In most situations, the is not required before names of institutions/companies and plurals.

eg. The contract was awarded to the State Engineering Corporation (SEC). The SEC has

significant experience in the construction sector. The Ffunds for this project have been

approved by the Parliament.

However, use a and the liberally, even if it appears that there are too many of them.

eg. The temperature of the feedstock should be maintained at the lowest possible level to

ensure the best possible product quality.

Use a comma at conjunctions (when two sentences are joined with and, because)

particularly when the sentence is long

eg. The modem, compact disk drive and the power supply require replacement, and the cost

will be Rs. 11,000.

In technical reports, avoid starting a sentence with And or But.

of 18

Punctuation, Typing and Formats

Engineers generally use less punctuation marks, particularly commas, than other writers, but

this should not be the case.

Full Stop

At the end of a sentence. Do we use a stop after abbreviations such as Mr., Mrs., Dr., Rd.,

or not ?

The common use now is to avoid a stop, but there is nothing wrong in using one.

Therefore, be consistent.

Comma

Use commas liberally, but not too many, either.

eg. Out of these isotopes U235

is most unstable. (Is a comma needed somewhere within ?)

Always use a comma when a sentence begins with Therefore, However, Nevertheless,

Thus, Hence.

eg. Funds have been released. Therefore, please install the communication equipment.

Use a comma when the conjunctive is used within a sentence.

eg. The funds released, however, are inadequate to complete the construction of the

telephone exchange.

eg. Legal documents, of course, are notorious for their lack of commas.

Commas in enumeration (making a list of items)

The last comma before the and in the list is omitted.

eg: Students measured the voltage, current, frequency and power factor of each

generator.

However, there are exceptions.

eg. The investigation team was divided into three groups, namely, Perera and Silva, John

and Peter, and Jayawardena and Gunawardena.

It is more convenient to the reader if a list is prepared, in the style,

The investigation team was divided into three groups as follows:-

(a) Perera and Silva

(b) John and Peter

(c) Jayawardena and Gunawardena

Enumeration of adjectives

eg. smart, pleasant appearance

eg. Several instances of severe, short, cyclic voltage fluctuations were recorded.

Other specific uses of comma

eg. Measuring instruments such as voltmeters, ammeters and data loggers can be

provided, and, if required, a technical assistant can be sent to support you.

of 18

Semicolon

This is used less often than the full stop and the comma. In technical reports, the use of

semicolon is rear.

Colon

Somewhat stronger than the semicolon.

eg. There were six engineers in the Company: two electrical, three mechanical and one civil.

In such cases, a dash would serve the same purpose as the colon.

Other Punctuation Marks

Question mark (?), exclamation mark (!), single quote ('), double quote (")

Typing: Some Useful Hints

There must be a single space after all punctuation marks, except single and double

quotation marks. Some typists allow two spaces, which look ugly when a word processor

is used with right-hand side justification.

There should be no space before a punctuation mark, except single and double quotation

marks. Occasionally, if the situation permits, allow a space before an exclamation (!) mark

or a question mark (?).

Allow margins of about 25 mm on all sides of the page. (adjust the page margins of your

computer accordingly).

Use itemised lists as far as possible.

Acceptable font sizes for text are in the range 10 12 points (72 points = 1 inch). The best

line spacing is 1, but if there are space constraints, single spacing is adequate.

Formats

Use, but minimise indentation.

Example of excessive, unwanted indentation:

of 18

1. The Background

The system is divided into four subsections.

(a) Transmitter

This is the device that transmits electromagnetic waves into the atmosphere.

Four suppliers have sent bids.

(i) Motorola Company

Their offer cannot be accepted owing to the following reasons.

(a) Non-standard equipment

Indent the first line of each paragraph by five spaces (if desired), and be consistent

throughout the report.

Begin a new Chapter on a new page.

Do not begin a section within the last three lines of a page.

Number and Date Formats

Never begin a title or a sentence with a number. Spell-out the number or avoid using the

number at the beginning.

Similarly, never begin a sentence in a report with an acronym or an abbreviation.

A sentence

eg. Twenty five students attended the class.

A heading or a title

eg. 2015-2020 Demand Forecast should be replaced with

Demand Forecast for the Period 2015-2020

Numbers less than (say) twenty occurring within sentences should be spelled-out.

eg. There were eleven quotations received for the supply of television sets.

It is not necessary to add a zero before numbers between 0 and 9 in reports. It may,

however, be required in legal and financial documents.

of 18

eg. Please meet me at our office in Colombo 04.

Use a date format understood by anybody in the world.

eg: Americans would write, "Sri Lanka got independence on 02/04/48".

British would write, "Sri Lanka got independence on 04-02-48".

A Sri Lankan would normally write, "Sri Lanka got independence on 1948/02/04".

An energy manager would have to be more precise, and he/she would say,

"Sri Lanka got independence on 4th

February 1948" or

"Sri Lanka got independence on 4 Feb 1948".

Equations, Charts and Pictures

All equations, charts, figures and pictures in a report must be,

Numbered (tables can be numbered separately)

Referred in the text

Labelled with a caption.

(unless your report has only a handful of each kind).

Avoid referring to figures in the style,

..the temperature readings are given in the table below.

(What happens if the word processor pushes the table to the next page ?)

Use a uniform and consistent style in referring to Figures. See the example.

Observe the following:

(a) Tables and Figures are referred in the text in a uniform style. (Table 12, Figure 13, etc.)

(b) The figure caption is in bold, with all nouns and verbs beginning with uppercase letters

(c) The figure caption and the table caption follow a similar style Figure 13-

(c) The figure and the caption are centred on the page, although it appears to be tilted towards the left

hand side.

Filing

Information printed on landscape mode should be bound such that they are readable

upright from the right-hand side of the report.

Use only standard-sized paper. Avoid using large paper and then folding them.

of 18

Tables and Figures MUST be embedded in between the text. Filing all Figures and

Tables at the end of the report should be avoided.

Table 12 Heat Loss from Flat Vertical Surfaces

Surrounding Air

Temp (C)

Actual Heat Loss from Plain Vertical Surfaces in Still Air

(W/m2)

Hot Face Temperature (C)

204 177 149 121 3 66 38

38 2952 2221 1603 1082 653 296 -

21 3740 2650 1956 1382 905 502 170

10 3833 2952 2221 1603 1082 653 296

2 4215 3281 2502 1845 1281 817 429

Based on the measurements presented in Table 12, an economic evaluation of the projects was

conducted, and the results are shown in Figure 13. The results are further summarised in

Table 13.

Figure 13 Economic Evaluation of the Proposed Projects

-100,000

-80,000

-60,000

-40,000

-20,000

0

20,000

40,000

Cu

mu

lati

ve

An

nu

al

Ca

sh

flo

w($

10

00

' s

)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Year

Project A

Project B

of 18

Common Mistakes

DUE TO

Wrong: The project was not approved due to the shortage of funds.

Due is always an adjective, such as in:

The Government gives due recognition to the Engineering profession.

Due to is also used to link two nouns or noun phrases. If required, the first example can be

written as,

The project was not approved, the disapproval being due to the shortage of funds.

or simply say,

The project was not approved, owing to the shortage of funds.

However, the following is correct:

My absence yesterday was due to bad weather.

CIRCUMSTANCES

Circumstances relate to events around an event.

Wrong: Under the circumstances, ..

Correct: In the circumstances,

REASON

Wrong: The reason why the transformer failed was severe lightning.

Correct: The reason the transformer failed was severe lightning.

or a smoother form is, The reason for the transformer failure was severe lightning.

Also wrong: The reason was because, ..

The reason was due to .

VERBAL AGREEMENT

Wrong: I write to confirm our verbal agreement.

All agreements are verbal agreements. Some are oral, others are written.

Correct: I write to confirm our oral agreement.

of 18

CENTRED

Wrong: The discussion centred around the controversy about the purchase of new buses.

The sphere or a circle has a centre. One centers on it. Not around it.

Correct form: The discussion centred on the controversy about the purchase of new buses.

EITHER, NEITHER

Wrong: Neither the Minister nor the MPs know the constitution.

Correct form: Neither the Ministers nor the MPs know the constitution.

If Minister has to be in the singular, the only was to write this is,

The Minister does not know, and the MPs do not know the constitution.

Problem: Neither you nor I (was?, were ?) there ?

Solution: You and I were not there.

Wrong: Neither Peradeniya nor Ruhuna Universities have conducted examinations.

Correct: Neither Peradeniya nor Ruhuna University has conducted examinations.

SUCH AS

Wrong: The switch controls several equipment such as the water pump, security lights,

garden lights, etc.

Correct: The switch controls several equipment such as the water pump, security lights and

garden lights.

The switch controls the water pump, security lights, garden lights, etc.

HOPEFULLY, OBVIOUSLY, LITERALLY

All these are adverbs (used to support a verb).

To be avoided: Hopefully, we will be able complete the study today.

Obviously, the power failure was avoidable.

Improved form: We hope to complete the study today.

The power failure was obviously avoidable.

of 18

COMMON ERRORS IN LETTERS AND MEMOS

REFERENCE

Wrong: Reference your letter of 10th

January. (incomplete sentence). The information is

attached.

Correct form: I write with reference to your letter of 10th

January. The information you

requested is attached.

ACKNOWLEDGE

Wrong: I acknowledge receipt of your letter.

Correct form: I have received your letter.

EVEN NUMBER, EVEN DATE

Wrong: My letter of even number refers.

Correct form: I refer to my letter IEE/RW/10.

THE SAME, SAME, REGRET

Wrong: We have received your request for a sample copy. We regret that we cannot provide

the same.

Correct form: We are sorry that we are unable to provide a sample copy, as requested.

AS TO, AS FOR, REGARDING, AS REGARDS, WITH REGARD TO

All the above forms should be avoided, with the exception "with regard to".

To be avoided: Regarding your claim, we have some questions.

Best form: We have some questions about your claim.

THE FORMER, THE LATTER

To be avoided. Repeating certain phrases is not a crime !

To be avoided: A Scientist and an Engineer performed the test, the latter being the person

responsible.

Best form: A Scientist and an Engineer performed the test. The Engineer was the person

responsible.

LITTLE, A LITTLE

I had little difficulty in finding the address. (means the address was found easily)

I had a little difficulty in finding the address. (means there was some difficulty)

of 18

ANNEXES

"Annex" is an attachment to a document or a report. "Attachment", "Appendix" also

have the same meaning.

"Appendix" is more appropriate for a research paper, which is in a specific format,

accommodated within a specified number of pages.

"Annexe" is the attachment to a building.

"Annexure", though widely used in Sri Lanka, is wrong.

What information should be placed in Annexes ?

Basically, all the information that is not required for the general reader, detailed

information (such as data), supporting documents and calculations should be placed in

Annexes.

How should the Annexes be named or numbered ?

Have a system, such as Annex 1, Annex 2, . or Annex A, Annex B, .

In a long report, Annexes can be numbered as Annex 1.1, Annex 1.2, Annex 2.1, .

Then the reader can easily recognise the chapter to which an Annex is related.

Number the figures and tables in annexes. If page numbers of annexes continue from the

body of the report, it is good practice to continue the figure and table numbering system

into the annexes, as well.

If not, number figures as Figure A1 or Figure A.1, and tables as Table A1 or Table A.1.

Also number the equations, if a number of equations (say, more than three) have to be

used.

Although annexes are not in the body of the report, they too should be carefully written

and formatted. If an annex is an extract from a different document, adequate care must be

taken to improve its appearance (for example by copying it properly, cleaning unwanted

text and marks).

of 18

Page Numbering, Headers and Footers

1. Page Numbering

Numbering system: There are several options.

(a) Number pages from 1 to n, from the beginning to the end of the report. Summary, Contents, The

Report and Annexes are all covered under a single numbering system.

Advantages: No confusion, no missing pages, easier for the printer and the binder

Disadvantage: Need to decide the number of pages allocated for Summary and Contents, which

are usually prepared last. (However, this problem can be overcome when a word processor is

used.)

(b) Number pages up to the Introductory Chapter, in a system different from the system used

thereafter. A common practice is to use roman numerals (i, ii, iii OR I, II, III) for the initial pages,

and Arabic numerals for the bulk of the report.

(c) As (b) above, but number pages separately for each Chapter. (Page 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, etc.)

Advantage: Easier to add pages to Chapters. Essential when different persons write different

Chapters of a report.

Disadvantage: During printing and binding, last pages of a Chapter may be omitted, without being

noticed by the printer and the binder.

Whatever the system used, all pages in a report MUST be numbered. The only exceptions are the

cover page and the inner cover page.

Where to place the page number ? : The ideal location is the middle of the page, at the bottom. If it

is placed on the right-had side of all pages, in case the report is subsequently copied on both sides of

the paper and bound, numbers of pages on the left-hand side may not be visible.

Word Processors have the facility to number the odd-numbered pages on the right-hand side and the

even-numbered pages on the left-hand side.

Format of the Page Number: The character font has to be the same as, or not more than two points

smaller than, the font used for text. Formats such as "Page x", "Page x of y" and "x" are acceptable. In

facsimile messages, it is essential to show the total number of pages, either on a separate cover page or

by using a page numbering format such as "Page x of y" or "Page x/y".

of 18

2. Headers and Footers

The placement of page numbers in the header is discouraged.

The header and footer may contain the title of the report and the title of the current chapter.

Certain Institutions print their name in the header or the footer, which is acceptable.

However, the general rule is to minimise the amount of material placed in headers and footers, so that

the reader can concentrate on the body of the report.

3. Footnotes

The practice of using footnotes is fast declining. Placing long strings in footnotes should be avoided.

In scientific papers, many institutions place the references as footnotes, and this practice too is on the

decline.

Assignments

1. Letter

Your Company/University/Board/Corporation recently invited applications to fill the second highest position in

the Institution, which recently fell vacant owing to the retirement of the person who held the position for a long

time.

Five applications were received, and some applicants are well known persons in the country in their own fields

of specialisation.

Write a letter inviting one of the candidates to an interview.

2. Memo

You are responsible for the preparation of the annual report of your Company/University/ Board/Corporation.

The deadline to send it to the printers is 5th

April, just five days after the closure of the financial year on 31st

March.

of 18

Every year, financial information comes late, and the entire process gets delayed. Printers will not accept work

after about the 8th of April, owing to New Year holidays.

Write a Memo to the Chief Executive of your institution, explaining the real situation, and proposing a more

realistic time-frame for various activities in the process.

3. Spot the Errors

Press release

750 Kw Mini Hydro Plant Commissioning

All equipments have now been instaled at the Nanuoya MHP. Many many engineers work

round the clock to insure power plant is ready before 02/03/15 when CEB will stop giving

special incentives for MHPP. The project cost is Rs 154089521.00 as per the company.

Citizens in the area criticize the project company because they realise the project is going to

effect the drinking water supply in the Area. Even though a small pond of 1 MCM is built with

the power plant, the company is saying they will loss money when water is given to people

from the up stream because water released will not be able to generate electrical energy and

that energy can not be recovered.

To maximise their profits, the development company has asked M/s Water and Power (Pvt) Ltd.

to carry out a new study and they have concluded it is cheaper to give deepwells to the People.

And this project is going to start very very soon. Because of the rainy season, the above

mentioned problems will not face soon by the people.

The mayor of Nuwaraeliya is calling a meeting for the interested parties which will be held on

sunday next week.

Handout Compiled by: Dr Tilak Siyambalapitiya

First compiled in March 2005, revised in January 2010, revised March 2014.

How to Write Good Reports Handout

Documents

Transcript of How to Write Good Reports Handout