Advance

Technical
English
2 N D SEMESTER
How to Write Technical Reports

Understandable Structure, Good

Design, Convincing
Presentation
 1 Introduction
A scientific or Technical Report describes a research
process or research and development results or the
current state-of-the-art in a certain field of science or
technology. Therefore all documents in the following
list are Technical Reports, if they deal with a technical
subject:
– report about laboratory experiments
– construction and design report
– report about testing and measurements
– report about internships
– various theses like project, diploma, magister, bachelor, and
master thesis, doctorate
thesis/dissertation, habilitation treatise
– article or report about research work in scientific journals
– project report, intermediate or final report etc.
– testing regulations
– work report
– functional specifications and functional requirements
– business plan
– expertise
– patent
– functional description, user manual, software documentation etc.
A Technical Report can be defined as
follows:

▸ Technical Report = report about technical

subjects, written in the “language of science
and technology” (special terms and phrases,
display rules etc.).
 This requirement has three aspects:

1. clarity of the technical or scientific statement

(prerequisites, facts, figures, findings, conclusions, own
statements)
2. clarity of what is already known and what is new as well as
3. clarity of what has been worked out by the author.
POLICE REPORT
Primarily, report is defined as an account of any
occurrence prepared after thorough investigation. It
is also defined as an account or statement
describing in detail an event, situation, or the like,
usually the result of observation and inquiry.
POLICE REPORT WRITING
Is considered technical writing, and as such,
one needs to develop special skills and
techniques. Police report writing is the
backbone of criminal investigation and
prosecution.
PURPOSE OF WRITTEN REPORT
A. TO PRESERVE KNOWLEDGE – Knowledge when in use
can be shared and used by the others for greatest possible
benefits. It can pass on from generation to generation;
B. TO PROVIDE ACCURATE DETAILS – regardless of the
length of time the details recorded in a written report will be
available or future time and for any purpose with accuracy.
C. TO AID THE PERSONNEL AND OTHER AGENCIES –
written report provides valuable assistance to other members of
investigation agencies and other law enforcement agencies. Record
and report are important part of achieving mutual cooperation
among agencies national, local or private entities; and
D. TO COORDINATE THE ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE
ORGANIZATION – a report by an individual may be concerned of
another office within the organization. Mutual and supportive roles
would result to closely coordinate activities when the report is
widely disseminated or not limited to a few.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD POLICE
REPORT
A. ACCURATE – this means that the report is in exact conformity
to fact. A fact is something that has been objectively verified.
B. CLEAR – the language and format in one’s report must be
simple and direct to the point. Clear means plain or evident to the
mind of the reader.
C. COMPLETE – a report must answer the Who, What, When,
Where, Why and How questions. It must also contain the elements
of the offense.
D. CONCISE – this means that the report says much with a few
words as possible. Conciseness relates to the elimination of
unnecessary words and does not mean short.
E. FACTUAL – a report must be factual. A fact is something that
has been objectively verified and is presented objectively. One
must report the facts correctly and without error.
F. OBJECTIVE – one must remember that there are always two
sides to every story and both sides have the right to be told.
G. PROMPT – a report must be completed in a timely manner and
submitted at the soonest possible time.
STEPS IN REPORT WRITING
A. INTERVIEWING - Interview is defined as asking somebody a
series of questions to gather information. This is the first step in the
process.
B. NOTE TAKING – it means brief notation concerning specific
events while fresh in one’s mind and used to prepare a report.
C. ORGANIZING – organizing means to arrange the components
of something in a way that creates a particular structure.
D. WRITING THE NARRATIVE – this is the
fourth stage in the preparation of the report. The
task is not only to express your ideas, but to make
an impression upon the mind of the reader as well.
E. PROOFREADING – to proofread, ask yourself
the following questions: is this the best I can do? Do
I want to read it to the Chief of Police?
Quiz #1
Situation:
You were assigned by your Chief of Police to investigate the robbery case that happened
at a shopping mall at SM Sta. Elena. Explain briefly the things/activities which you are
going to do in each step of the report writing process.
1. Interviewing
2. Notetaking
3. Organizing
4. Writing the narrative
5. Proofreading