Lesson

     A technical report is the main type of document that many engineers and scientists use to communicate what has occurred in a project. In science and engineering, an expected organization exists for technical reports. That organization is as follows: title, summary, main text (introduction through conclusions), appendices, and references. The five films of this lesson discuss that organization.

Organizing Your Technical Reports: Overview. This film presents an overview of the expected organization of a technical report in engineering and science.

​Organizing Your Technical Reports: Titles. This film discusses creating titles for reports in engineering and science.

​Organizing Your Technical Reports: Front Matter. This film discusses the front matter (summary and contents) of reports in engineering and science.
​Organizing Your Technical Reports: Main Text. This film discusses creating the main text (Introduction through Conclusions) of reports in engineering and science.
​Organizing Your Technical Reports: Back Matter. This film discusses the back matter (appendices, glossary, and references) for a report in engineering and science.

Formats and Student Models

Short Report Format
Long Report Format
Memo Report Format (Forthcoming)

Model Student Report: Short Format (Penn State)
Model Student Report: Long Format (Penn State)
​Model Student Report: Memo Report Format (Virginia Tech)

Questions for Reflection

     Forthcoming. ​

Instructor's Lesson Plan

     Forthcoming will be a plan for instructors to incorporate this summary lesson into a class period of their course. Included with this plan will be discussion questions, student activities, and a comprehension quiz. ​​​

References

  1. Alley, Michael, The Craft of Scientific Writing, 4th ed. (New York: Springer Verlag, 2018), Lesson 7.​
  2. George Whitesides, “Whitesides’ Group: Writing a Paper,” Advanced Materials, vol. 16, no. 15 (2004), pp. 1375-1377.

Sponsors and Editors


​Sponsors
     Leonhard Center, College of Engineering, Penn State
​     National Science Foundation, NSF EAGER Award  1752096

​Faculty Editor
     Michael Alley, Teaching Professor, College of Engineering, Penn State

Film Editors
     Richelle Weiger, College of Engineering, Penn State
     Casey Fenton, College of Engineering, Penn State
For the academic year 2019-2020, we are collecting comments, questions, criticisms, and suggestions for the films, text, and quizzes of each lesson on scientific writing. To help us understand your input, would please let us know what your discipline is and whether you are a student, professional, or faculty member?