3.6 The Text of the Technical Report
3.6.2 Good Writing Style in Technical Reports
The style of the Technical Report shall follow the general rules for good writing style above. However, there are also some rules, which are only valid for Technical Reports and which must be obeyed, too. Above all other rules, there is the following basic principle:
▸ Clarity and unambiguousness have always preference compared with writing style rules!
The Technical Report shall be understandable without questions for readers, who have technical knowledge but no detailed knowledge of the current project. Since authors of a Technical Report have often worked on their project for weeks or months, they can hardly imagine how much (or better: how little) a normal reader of the report can know about the project at all, when they start to write the report in the last phase of the project. Therefore, in Technical Reports too much detail knowledge is supposed very often, which the addressees do not have. This overstrains the readers of the report quite frequently, and their motivation to read the report is negatively influenced.
In addition, after frequent reading of own texts authors tend to become blinded by routine against their own formulations. Therefore, during the end check of the Technical Report you should show it a friend or colleague, so that he/she can proof whether the report is understandable for people who have not been involved in the project.
The Technical Report is usually written impersonally, i.e. passive sentences are used quite frequently and personal pronouns like “I, we, my, our, you, etc.” are avoided.
However, in a summary or critical appreciation it is OK, to speak of“we”or“our”, if the own working group or department is meant.
It is traditionally like that. Most technicians got used to the impersonal way of writing during their education and professional practice. The customers will probably prefer impersonal writing as well, because they are used to it, too. For non-technicians passive sentences and impersonal writing seem clumsy, boring, and monotonous. Therefore, many books about good writing style recommend to write in active voice.
Passive sentences also comprise the danger, that the reader is uncertain who does something. For example, in a description of a machine or plant it may be uncertain, whether the operator or an automatic mechanism of the machine or plant executes an action. If this may occur, you should use an addition like“by the operating staff”(man) or
“by the revolver control”(machine).
You have to decide carefully for your Technical Report, whether, how much and where you want to use active sentences instead of the usual passive. You are“on the safe side”, if you avoid personal pronouns and use the passive voice instead. Here an example of formulating the same fact once in active and once in passive voice:
– Active:“…we have evaluated the following alternatives…”
– Passive:“…the following alternatives have been evaluated…”
However, using the personal pronoun“we”is bad writing style in Technical Reports!
The tense is present tense. Past tense is only used, if a previously used part, measuring procedure or similar is described.
The naming of technical appliances, assemblies, parts and procedures (e.g. in part lists and design descriptions) shall be according to the function of the appliance, assembly, part, or procedure, i.e. not handle but shutting handle, not gear but input gear, not plate but retaining plate, not angle but stiffening angle, not frame but carrying frame, not variant 1 but electric-mechanical solution etc. The general principle for naming parts is:
▸ Parts are always named according to their function.
This holds true in all areas of technology, e.g. also in civil engineering and electrical engineering. Now some examples as an illustration.
Company or working group internal names are probably unknown to the readers.
Therefore, select neutral names.
Another aspect is, that you should use valid standardized terms for names of parts and processes as far as they exist. If you want to search for standardized terms in ISO standards go towww.iso.organd enter the word„vocabulary“plus a word from yourfield of technology. For example, entering the words „vocabulary engine“ leads to ISO 2710-1:2000 „Reciprocating internal combustion engines– Vocabulary – Part 1: Terms for engine design and operation.“To search the equivalent German standards, go towww.
beuth.de and enter the search words „Begriffe Teil 1“plus a word from your field of technology. Example:„Begriffe Teil 1 Verbrennungsmotoren“also leads to ISO 2710-1.
If an assembly drawing and part list or a sketch of the described appliance belong to the Technical Report, it makes sense to add the position number in brackets after the part name. That is to say for example:“Thefixation of the cover plate (23) was accomplished by groove pins to save costs.”Here“23”is the position number and “cover plate”the name from the part list. This correlation of number and name in report and drawing as well as part list helps the reader, tofind his way in the different documents.
Quite frequently, you can read the following or similar formulations in Technical Reports.“The design has a high mechanical strength and a very good wear resistance.”In this case it is better, to substitute the general term “design”with the actual name of the complete (sub)assembly or plant. An application of this rule to the example above could be:“The oil mill has….”
Often a value range is specified with two physical values. Then it is wrong to write:
measure and measuring unit, extension sign (– or to) and again measure and measuring unit. Correct is to write the dimension only once, after the two measures. An example for illustration (text from the description of a mold for injection molding, wrong position of measuring unit is marked in boldface typing):
“The main problem is the effective insulation of the hot mold (ca. 160–200 °C) from the relatively cool distributor duct area (ca. 80–110 °C).”
▸ As a test you can read the written text loudly. Then you will find out fast, if there are unnecessary details in the text.
To finish this section here is a further style rule for Technical Reports. Since the Technical Report is addressed to technicians, who normally approach all problems in a rational way, there should be no emotional and colloquial formulations in the Technical Report. Thus, sentences like“After the ergonomic analysis of his workplace the employee can continue to work joyfully.” or “The programmed software ran really cool.”should better be avoided.