UNIT 1

Structure of a technical report writing for

Agricultural and Bio systems Engineering (ABE)
OBJECTIVES

At the end of the discussion, students are expected to:

Identify the structure of a technical report.
Develop excellent written communication skills
including technical report writing.
Develop a technical report for the problems in the
field of Agricultural and Bio systems Engineering.
What is Technical Report?

Technical report is a format report designed to convey

technical information in a clear and easily accessible
format.
The main purpose of an Engineering technical report
is to present a solution to a problem in order to
prompt action.
Provide a record of your developing expertise and are
legal record of your work and decision making.
Technical reports are a central part of your professional success
and are usually designed to:
 Convince the reader of your position Persuade them to act, or
 Inform them of your findings.

They are an opportunity for you to:

 Clearly communicate a solution to a problem Recommend
action, and
 Aid decision making.

Technical reports are designed for quick and easy

communication of information, and use:
 Sections with numbered headings and subheadings, and
 Figures and diagrams to convey data.
 A technical report is divided into sections which allow different readers
to access different levels of information. This guide explains the
commonly accepted format for a technical report; explains the
purposes of the individual sections; and gives hints on how to go about
drafting and refining a report in order to produce an accurate,
professional document.
Technical Report contain the following sections:

- Title Page - Conclusions

-Summary - References
-Table of Contents -Bibliography
-Introduction - Acknowledgement
- Body - Appendices
Title Page - Must include the title of the report. Reports for
assessment, where the word length has been specified, will often
also require the summary word count and the main text word count.
Summary - A summary of the whole report including important
features, results and conclusions
Table of Contents - Numbers and lists all section and subsection
headings with page numbers
Introduction - States the objectives of the report and comments on
the way the topic of the report is to be treated. Leads straight into
the report itself. Must not be a copy of the introduction in a lab
handout.
Body - Divided into numbered and headed sections. These sections
separate the different main ideas in a logical order
Conclusions - A short, logical summing up of the theme(s)
developed in the main text.
References - Details of published sources of material referred to or
quoted in the text (including any lecture notes and URL addresses
of any websites used.
Bibliography - Other published sources of material, including
websites, not referred to in the text but useful for background or
further reading.
Acknowledgement - List of people who helped you research or
prepare the report, including your proofreaders
Appendices - Any further material which is essential for full
understanding of your report (e.g. large scale diagrams, computer
code, raw data, specifications) but not required by a casual reade
 UNIT II

Aspects of Technical Report Writing

for Agricultural and Bio systems
Engineering (ABE)
OBJECTIVES

At the end of the discussion, students are expected to:

Identify the structure of a technical report.

Develop excellent written communication skills
including technical report writing.
Develop a technical report for the problems in the
field of Agricultural and Bio systems Engineering
 Struggles of a writer in 90’s

During earlier days, no formal training was given to

students who aspired to write an article. There were also
very few resources for obtaining the published articles.
Now, training on technical writing is offered to students and
they are provided access to many published articles online
or print forms. Students are made aware of many graphical
and statistical software required for publishing a good
quality article
 Ways to overcome the initial struggles of a
writer
A good writing skill will develop only with years of
experience. Students should realize that the article
is "theirs" and they should play the lead role.
Reading more technical articles and writing more
will help the students to improve their writing skills.
Writing is a perfect example of "learning by doing".
Organizing thoughts and ideas

The standard framework for scientific paper

include sections, such as introduction, methods,
results, discussion, conclusion,
acknowledgments, and references. Writing of an
article should start with a good outline, where
students demonstrate and capture the essence
of the article. The article has to be
understandable and less objectionable to all the
reviewers.
Writing style and approach

In technical writing, the motto should be "Not

write to impress, but inform". This idea ties
with the "expectations" of technical readership.
The current trend is to use more direct
sentences (active voice), wherever possible
then indirect (passive voice).
General nature of article sections

An article in two-column format should ideally be six to

seven pages. The time available to the student and the
suggested page length in the journal determines the
length of the article. It should also be noted that
sections can be written in any random sequence based
on the available information.
Avoiding Redundancy
Redundant information should never be
presented in an article. An article can be
compared to a machine, where every
component (e.g., nuts, bolts, levers) in a
machine has its own purpose. The journal space
is always considered very precious, hence
should be filled with only relevant information.
Making the article interesting for readers

The article has to be written in the form of a

story. In this aspect, the student can be
compared to a "movie". A movie is successful
only if it satisfies the expectation of the viewers.
Similarly, the article should satisfy the
expectations of the targeted readers.
Managing time while writing an article

Students should understand and accept that writing an

article deserves quality time — a lot of it. Students
should start writing the article as early as the
commencement of the project. Updates to the article
and review can be done at any time, without waiting for
the draft to be finalized.
Good example articles for ABEN students

ASABE awards the best papers (about 5-10 in

number) out of 1000 papers that has been
submitted. Agricultural and related specializations
such as agronomy and soil science articles can
serve as good examples for students. Most of
these writers are native speakers of English.
THANK YOU!