Preparing Written Reports

Effective Communication in Effective Communication in Chemical Engineering Chemical Engineering

Freshman Design Freshman Design

Preparing Written Reports

Professor Julia WilliamsProfessor Julia Williams

Coordinator of Technical Communication Coordinator of Technical Communication and Assistant Professor of Englishand Assistant Professor of English

Preparing Written Reports

Peters and Timmerhaus Reports ManualPeters and Timmerhaus Reports Manual Components of the Project ReportComponents of the Project Report Report Preparation Report Preparation

Peters and Timmerhaus Reports Manual

A Guide to Good Writing A Guide to Good Writing

Peters and Timmerhaus

Intended to help you Intended to help you prepare various types prepare various types of reportsof reports

Emphasizes clarity of Emphasizes clarity of communication communication andand quality of technical quality of technical informationinformation

Not just the results of Not just the results of the study but the the study but the manner in which they manner in which they are presentedare presented

Questions a writer Questions a writer must ask him/herselfmust ask him/herself

Writer’s Questions about Readers

What is the purpose of this report?What is the purpose of this report? Who will read it?Who will read it? Why will they read it?Why will they read it? What is their function?What is their function? What technical level will they understand?What technical level will they understand? What background information do they have What background information do they have

now?now?

Academic vs. Industrial Reports

Audience: ProfessorAudience: Professor Purpose: InformPurpose: Inform Reading: All parts of Reading: All parts of

the reportthe report

Audience: Peers, Audience: Peers, Supervisors, ClientsSupervisors, Clients

Purpose: Inform, Purpose: Inform, instruct, and persuadeinstruct, and persuade

Reading: Different Reading: Different parts read by different parts read by different readersreaders

Academic and Industrial Reports

Audience: Professional non-expertAudience: Professional non-expert Purpose: Inform and persuadePurpose: Inform and persuade Information: Technical features, experiment Information: Technical features, experiment

resultsresults Reading: Report parts must provide Reading: Report parts must provide

information reader expects to seeinformation reader expects to see

Types of Written Reports

Formal reports: research, development, Formal reports: research, development, designdesign

Detailed results; formatDetailed results; format Informal reports: memos, letters, progress Informal reports: memos, letters, progress

reports, surveysreports, surveys Summary; formatSummary; format Academic and industrial specificationsAcademic and industrial specifications

Freshman Design Project Report

Form and ContentForm and Content

Project Report Form

Letter of TransmittalLetter of Transmittal Title PageTitle Page Table of ContentsTable of Contents SummarySummary IntroductionIntroduction Previous WorkPrevious Work DiscussionDiscussion Final design and dataFinal design and data

Conclusions and Conclusions and RecommendationsRecommendations

AcknowledgmentAcknowledgment Table of Table of

NomenclatureNomenclature Literature ReferencesLiterature References AppendicesAppendices

Letter of Transmittal

Audience: Professional non-expertAudience: Professional non-expert Purpose: Introduces report to its readersPurpose: Introduces report to its readers Information: States report’s subject and Information: States report’s subject and

purpose; focuses on one or two key points purpose; focuses on one or two key points dealing with the document’s preparation or dealing with the document’s preparation or content; encourages questions and content; encourages questions and commentscomments

Project Report: Summary

Objectives: what you did

Process/Equipment: how you do it

Results: what you found out

Conclusions/Recommendations: what it means

Project Report: Introduction

Audience: Professional non-expertAudience: Professional non-expert Purpose: Relate necessary background and Purpose: Relate necessary background and

theory for the projecttheory for the project Information: Report scope, purpose, design Information: Report scope, purpose, design

feasibilityfeasibility

Project Report: Previous Work

Audience: Professional non-expertAudience: Professional non-expert Purpose: Survey the work of others on this Purpose: Survey the work of others on this

topictopic Information: Literature-survey results, Information: Literature-survey results,

previous work previous work

Project Report: Discussion

Audience: Professional non-expertAudience: Professional non-expert Purpose: Describing the methods used for Purpose: Describing the methods used for

developing the proposed designdeveloping the proposed design Information: Methods for reaching final Information: Methods for reaching final

conclusions, validity of those methods, conclusions, validity of those methods, assumptions and limitations on the results, assumptions and limitations on the results, graphs/tables/figuresgraphs/tables/figures

Project Report: Design and Data

Purpose: Present your design and justify its Purpose: Present your design and justify its feasibilityfeasibility

Information: Drawings of design (flow Information: Drawings of design (flow sheets), tables listing sheets), tables listing equipment/specifications, tables giving equipment/specifications, tables giving material/energy balances, simple cost material/energy balances, simple cost estimatesestimates

Project Report: Conclusions and Recommendations Purpose: Offer conclusions based on Purpose: Offer conclusions based on

objective and resultsobjective and results Information: Questions posed by objectives Information: Questions posed by objectives

with specific conclusionwith specific conclusion Pattern of Organization: In order of Pattern of Organization: In order of

importance; more detail than Summaryimportance; more detail than Summary

Project Report:Appendices

Purpose: Present information that was not Purpose: Present information that was not part of the Project Report bodypart of the Project Report body

Information: Sample Information: Sample calculations,derivation of essential calculations,derivation of essential equations, tables of data, results of equations, tables of data, results of laboratory testslaboratory tests

Report Preparation

It’s All in the Details!It’s All in the Details!

Make a plan

Outlining function in WordOutlining function in Word Create headings and subheadingsCreate headings and subheadings Fill them in as you go alongFill them in as you go along

Label, label, label

Label/caption all tables, graphs, figuresLabel/caption all tables, graphs, figures Include unitsInclude units Match format to information type: tables Match format to information type: tables

for definite numerical values, graphs to for definite numerical values, graphs to show trends/comparisonsshow trends/comparisons

More specific instructions on page 461More specific instructions on page 461

Get ready to revise

Customary Rose-Hulman approach to Customary Rose-Hulman approach to written workwritten work

Write a draftWrite a draft Revise the draftRevise the draft Revise it againRevise it again

Write like an engineer

Reduce use of personal pronounsReduce use of personal pronouns Reduce use of passive voiceReduce use of passive voice Reduce use of nominalizationsReduce use of nominalizations Reduce use of useless redundancyReduce use of useless redundancy

Preparing Written Reports

Effective Communication in Effective Communication in Chemical EngineeringChemical Engineering

Freshman DesignFreshman Design

Preparing Written Reports

Peters and Timmerhaus Reports ManualPeters and Timmerhaus Reports Manual Components of the Project ReportComponents of the Project Report Report Preparation Report Preparation