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ENGINEERING REPORT
WRITING
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT 06269-2157
September 2003 Edition
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INTRODUCTION.
As a practicing engineer, you will need to write reports,
proposals, scientific papers, and electronic messages. Writing is
perhaps the most important way in which you will convey your ideas
to managers, other engineers, and customers. Your communication
skills will therefore determine how
successful you are as an engineer,
perhaps even more so than your technical expertise!
This booklet describes briefly how to write an effective
engineering report. As you read this booklet, keep in mind that there
is always more than one way to convey the same idea. In many
situations, there is not necessarily a “right way” and a “wrong way.”
REPORT ORGANIZATION.
Good report organization should promote readability and reflect
the scientific method of attack, which proceeds with objective,
method, results, and conclusions. It is logical to report a project in
the sequence in which it is done, and many engineering reports are
organized on this basis. Two improvements to the logical sequence
are the addition of an abstract or executive summary and the
insertion of headlines. These two features facilitate “scanning” of the
report. Thus, a busy executive or engineer may quickly assess the
major findings and conclusions of the report, and then easily find
further details as required.
In writing a full-length engineering report, you should start with
a report outline, then proceed to a rough draft. The outline defines
the organization of the report, and the rough draft serves to avoid
omissions. Once the content is established, the rough draft is refined
for clarity and conciseness. After proofreading and correction of
minor mistakes, the finished product is produced. This entire writing
process is most easily done using a word processor. “Spell
checkers” are particularly useful in removing spelling or typographical
mistakes.
The outline for a general full-length engineering report contains
the following items:
1. Title
2. Summary orAbstract (Executive Summary)
3. Introduction
4. Theory and Analysis
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5. Experimental Procedures
6. Results and Discussion
7. Conclusions and Recommendations
8. Acknowledgments
9. Literature Cited
10. Appendix
The individual sections of t
he report will have headings, which are
made to stand out with underlined, bold, italic, or large size print. The
names of the sections may be more descriptive than the generic
names listed above. Headings may be numbered, especially in
longer reports, theses or books. Longer documents may also have
subheadings within sections.
A title page should be used with full identification including
names and dates. If the report is long, a table of contents should
follow the title page.
The abstract should summarize the major points in the report in
concise manner and should allow the reader to make a decision on
whether or not to read the full paper. The first sentence should state
what was accomplished. The abst
ract is not a condensation of the
entire paper, but rather a clear statement
of the project scope, results
achieved, and the conclusions and recommendations drawn from the
results.
An introduction is desirable to indicate the background of the
project and the reasons for undertaking it. Some information on
previous work is usually included.
In the theory and analysis section, pertinent principles, laws,
and equations should be stated and unfamiliar terms should be
defined. Analytical diagrams such
as theoretical cycles or flow and
field patterns should be shown here. Be sure to include all necessary
supporting theory without adding deadwood.
The experimental procedures section should describe
apparatus and materials. Instrument types, ranges, and identification
numbers should be indicated. A sketch of the test setup showing
relative positions, connections, and flows should be included.
Preliminary results, equalizing periods, duration of runs, and
frequency of readings should be indicated. Special precautions for
obtaining accuracy and for controlling conditions should be
described. Conformity with or divergence from standard test codes
or procedures should be clearly stated.
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The results and discussion section should summarize the
important findings with supporting tables, graphs, and figures.
Original data or extensive data tables should be included in
appendices. Graphical representation is very important in conveying
quantitative results. The use of logarithmic or other special scales
should be considered. Deviations from smooth curves should be
carefully checked. Apparent discrepancies should be pointed out
and explained.
The discussion should describe the accuracy and importance of
the results. Sources of meas
urement error should be evaluated.
Results should be critically compared with theory, and differences
greater than the experimental errors s
hould be explained. Limitations
of the theory and tolerances in engineering values should be
considered. Conclusions should be supported by specific references
to data and results, quoting numerical values, and guiding the reader
from facts to conclusions. Conclu
sions should follow directly from the
numerical results quoted, without the need for mental arithmetic by
the reader. Omit any part of the discussion which could be written
without performing the experiment.
The conclusions and recommendations section should
summarize the conclusions which have been drawn. These
conclusions may be supported by brief reference to data or results.
Recommendations are often more important than conclusions. Few
experimental projects are an end in themselves. Either the results
are to be used for a purpose, or t
he experimenter sees more work
that could be done. In student reports, recommendations on
improving the laboratory experiments, equipment or procedures are
accepted gratefully.
Acknowledgments are usually unnecessary in a student report.
They are very important in theses, journal articles, or company
reports. Always acknowledge all other contributors to the work,
people who have contributed ideas or materials, and sources of
financial support.
The bibliography must list sources to which direct reference
was made in the text. Other general references may also be given.
Numbered footnotes, or preferably endnotes, are used to list sources
in the order of reference.
REPORT STYLE.
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For many years, it was customary to write scientific papers in
the third person, passive voice, past tense. Even today, this style is
preferred by many. More and more, how
ever, the first person, active
voice, past tense is becoming the preferred style. Consider some
examples:
Not Recommended:
Clean the gallium arsenide substrates by
boiling them in trichloroethylene.
Not Recommended:
I clean the gallium arsenide substrates by
boiling them in trichloroethylene.
Acceptable:
The gallium arsenide substrates were cleaned by
boiling in trichloroethylene.
Recommended:
We cleaned the gallium arsenide substrates
by boiling them in trichloroethylene.
Simple technical English should be used. Engineering and
trade terms may be used, but the style should be dignified. Short
sentences are preferred. Acronyms may be used but only if they are
defined at the first appearance.
For further guidelines on style, see Appendix A, or refer to a
writing handbook such as The Little, Brown Handbook
, by H. R.
Fowler (Boston: Little, Brown
and Company, 1980), The Elements of
Style
, by William Strunk and E. B. White (New York: Macmillian,
1979), or Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace
, by Joseph
Williams (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1981).
REPORT MECHANICS.
As a matter of general mechanics, you should use the
following: uniform page size (8.5” x 11”); prominent headings; well-
displayed tabulations with titles; well-displayed figures with titles;
ample margins; and numbered pages. Reports submitted in
University of Connecticut writing
courses such as ECE 209W or ECE
262W must have letter-quality print produced by a laser printer or ink
jet printer.
Numerical results should be reported with due regard for the
experimental accuracy with which they were obtained. For instance,
0.75 +
0.01 Ampere is acceptable but 5.3275 +
0.01 Volt is not. In
the absence of explicitly stated errors, the error is assumed to be
plus or minus one in the least significant digit. Hence 5.33 V means
the same as 5.33 +
0.01 V.
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Graphs should be numbered and completely labeled and titled.
The title should be brief and descrip
tive, such as “Motor Speed as a
function of Torque.” The independent variable should be shown on
the abscissa (horizontal axis) and the dependent variable should be
shown on the ordinate (vertical axis). Scales should be labeled with
the name, symbol, and units of the quantity involved. Each of the
curves on a sheet should be clearly identified, and all of the
experimental points shown.
Graph scales should be chosen for easy reading but with due
regard to the accuracy of observed and computed quantities, so that
variations are neither concealed nor exaggerated. For instance, if
temperatures can be read only to the nearest degree, the smallest
subdivision on the graph paper should be one degree or greater.
Major scale divisions should be chosen so that interpolation is easy.
The subdivisions should preferably represent 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100
etc. Most scales should start from zero; if they do not, a broken axis
must be used.
Smooth curves should be drawn with no extrapolation beyond
the experimental points. Any discontinuities or points of inflection
should be examined with suspicion. Methods of plotting that give
straight lines are preferred.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
Use this booklet as a guide, but remember that it can not take
the place of good judgment. Every report is different. The unique
content of a report may dictate the style or organization of the report.
REFERENCES.
H. R. Fowler, The Little, Brown Handbook
(Boston: Little, Brown and
Company, 1980).
William Strunk and E. B. White, The Elements of Style
(New York:
Macmillian, 1979).
G. L. Tuve and L. C. Domholdt, Engineering Experimentation
(New
York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1966).
Craig Waddell, Basic Prose Style and Mechanics
(Troy, NY:
Rensselaer Press, 1990).
rubic.xlsx
Technical Writing 1.pdf
The automobile airbag should deploy very fast, to protect the occupant (good) but the faster it deploys,
the more likely it is to injure or kill small people or out of position people (bad). Solve this contradiction.
need to be done by triz method
When you find the contradiction dont forget to find the solutions for the resulting princible and to try to visulise it using sketch , program or any thing else .. It must be a professional project
Answers
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