To: Nancy Myers

From: Casey Tiede

Date: May 17, 2022
Subject: APLED 121-Chapter 17 Summary

CHAPTER 17
OBJECTIVES IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

Report Definition- Reports come in different lengths and levels of formality, serve different and often
overlapping purposes, and can be conveyed to an audience using different communication channels.
o Supply a record of work accomplished
o Record and clarify complex information for future reference
o Present information to a large number of people with different skill levels
o Record problems presented
o Document schedules, timetables, and milestones
o Recommend future action
o Document current status
o Record procedures
Online Reports- Online report writing provides numerous benefits to both the organization and the
individual.
Types of Reports- Many reports fall into the following categories:
o Incident reports
o Investigative reports
o Trip reports
o Progress or status reports
o Lab or test reports
o Feasibility/recommendation reports
o Research reports
o Proposals
Criteria for Writing Reports
 Organization- Every short report should contain five basic units: identification lines, headings
and talking headings, introduction, discussion, and conclusion/recommendations.
 Development- When providing information to a reporter or investigator do no be vague or
imprecise. Specify to the best of your abilities with photographic detail.
 Audience- Before writing your report, determine who will your text. This will help you decide if
terminology needs to be defined and what tone you should use.
 Style- Style includes conciseness and highlighting techniques. Achieve conciseness by
eliminating wordy phrases.
Incident Reports
 Purpose and Examples- If a problem occurs within your work environment that requires
analysis, and suggested solutions, you might be asked to prepare an incident report.
 Criteria- To write an incident report, include the following components:
 o Introduction
o Discussion
o Conclusion/recommendations
Investigative Reports
 Purpose and Examples- This report does not just document the incident. It focuses more on why
the event occurred. You might be asked to investigate causes leading up to a problem in the
following instances:
o Security
o Engineering
o Computer technology
 Criteria- The following is an overview of what you might include in an effective investigative
report:
o Introduction
o Discussion
o Conclusion/recommendations
Trip Reports
 Purpose and Examples- When you leave your work site and travel for job-related purposes, your
supervisors not only require that you document your travel expenses and time while off-site, but
also they want to be kept up to date on your work activities.
 Criteria- The following is an overview of what you might include in an effective trip report:
o Introduction
o Discussion
o Conclusion/recommendations
Progress Reports
 Purpose and Examples- supervisors want to know what progress you are making on a project,
whether you are on schedule, what difficulties you might have encountered, and what your
plans are for the next reporting period.
 Criteria- The following is an overview of what you might include in an effective progress report:
o Introduction
o Discussion
o Conclusion/recommendations
Lab Reports (also referred to as test reports)
 Purpose and Examples- The knowledge acquired from a laboratory activity must be
communicated to colleagues and supervisors so they can benefit from your discoveries. You
write a lab report after you have performed the lab activity to share your findings
 Criteria- The following are components of a successful lab report:
o Introduction
o Discussion
o Conclusion/recommendations
Feasibility/Recommendation Reports
 Purpose and Examples- One way a company determines the viability of a project is to perform a
feasibility study to document the findings and then to recommend the next course of action.
 Criteria- The following are components of an effective feasibility report:
 o Introduction
o Discussion
o Conclusion/recommendations
The Writing Process at Work
 Prewriting- Use a simple topic outline to gather data and determine your objectives.
 Writing- After completing the prewriting, review and revise your rough draft. Have a colleague
provide feed back on your rough draft.
 Rewriting- After revising your rough draft, add the revisions in your final draft.