Technical Report Writing

How your report looks often determines whether or not it is read and acted upon in the way that you intended. A simple, but inviting, cover will give your report a chance of achieving its purpose. It cannot substitute for good technical work or competent writing but without a reasonably presentable face on it, your report may not even get read.

The Latin phrase has it; de gustibus non est disputandum, there is no disputing matters of taste. What may appear attractive to you may not to me, obviously. In technical report writing however, you and I do not matter nearly so much as our audience. Consider, as you decide questions of style and appearance, what their likes and dislikes probably are. Again, you'll be guessing, but if you follow some basic principles of design and keep it simple you are not likely to go very far astray.

One of those principles is that simpler is almost always better. Logos present an excellent example of this principle. They are nearly always simplifications of some idea, picture or often letters of the alphabet. Think of some of the better known corporate and sports logos (below); IBM, 3M, Chrysler, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Minnesota Twins, the Cubs, the Seahawks, the Iowa State Hawkeyes ..... All are simple, eye-catching, bold and repeated again and again in everything related to their owners.

Organizations which produce many reports find it very useful to standardize report formats. This has several advantages including simplifying the report writing process and allowing the organization's work products to look consistently good. This is done by both large and small organizations both in the public sector and in private consulting work.

The best part of this is that it is not very difficult to do. Simply select from among your existing reports several that look good and adopt the best features from each. Try to keep it simple and let it be a useful checklist. The title page is a good place to start. This standard format also serves to remind the writer to include certain essential information while at the same time contributing to the appearance of the report.

The first thing your potential audience sees of your report is the cover. Make that first impression count. Make it attractive and invite the reader to open it to see what's inside.

Bindings, such as wire spiral bindings, which allow the report to be opened and lay flat are very desirable. They are expensive but if your report is one which is likely to be used again and again by your readers, they may be worth that extra cost. Some reports are designed from the beginning to be amended and updated frequently. For these, three ring view binders are often the best choice. Whatever you choose, think of how your report will be used by your target audience and then select the best binding you can afford.

Color is also expensive but becoming less so with the improvements in color copying technology. Use color sparingly in technical reports however. Not only is it expensive but it creates a few problems you need to think about ahead of time. Never rely on color alone to convey your message. If, for example, you want to depict six different land use categories on a map in color, also use six different shading patterns. In this way you can make black and white copies of the map cheaply and not lose the information by doing so.

A very useful thing to know about your primary audience is whether or not they have such a symbol of their identity. If so, use it in your report which is, after all, written for them. It makes your report "customized" and identifies your client audience as the important part of the process that they are. It makes them feel good and appreciated and lets them know that this report was written for them, not for just anyone.

Longer reports require that division into smaller segments to avoid a lot of page flipping to find specific information. Tabs and dividers are very useful here and should be part of most of your lengthier reports. Labeling, or at least numbering, the tabs is highly advised.

When Figures or maps get larger than 11" x 17" you'll need to find some way to incorporate them into the report other than binding them. A map pocket inside the back cover works very well for this if only one or two such Figures are needed. If a larger number are needed you may have to go to a separately bound volume with an oversized cover, etc. This is to be avoided if possible because of both the cost and time involved. But if you must, do it. The information those Figures contain may be essential to your reader and you must make it a accessible to him/her as possible.

Desktop publishing programs are wonderful but they do tend to allow some of us to get carried away. The number and variety of styles, sizes and shadings possible may tempt you to try them all in one document. Resist that temptation. Two or three sizes and, at most, two styles of font are about all that are really needed to produce a good looking technical report. Try to select styles that are easy to read. Try them out within your organization if you can. You can print out a sample page from the report using the fonts you think you'll use and ask 3 to 10 people to read it and tell you how they like each.

Making a report look good does cost something but it need not be overwhelmingly expensive. While you need to consider these costs remember that they are usually only a small part of the total project budget. An ugly report costs something too. If it loses your primary audience because they are turned off by its appearance then the money you saved on cheap covers, sloppy bindings, and illegible maps is money thrown away.

Whether you work in a public agency or in the private sector, time is always money. This syllabus is filled with many tips for saving time, in the long run. The suggestions on standardization, cloning, customized tab sets, covers, etc. will all do that. Your job may not primarily be to produce reports but if report writing is any significant part of your job, use these suggestions to save time later. When the deadline looms on the horizon, you won't have the time to spend setting these things up.

The perfect technical report has never been written but some excellent examples exist. Whatever their content, those best examples "look good". If they don't it is not likely any of us would run across them. A little planning and attention to detail at the beginning of the report writing process will pay off at the end by resulting in a report someone will want to open and read.

Even the most mundane report can be made to look better and easier to read. A customized cover which invites the reader's attention and tells him/her quickly what this report is about is the front door to your house of communication.

Labeled, tab dividers segment your report into useful pieces. They are the doorways to the rooms of that house and they make the floor plan clear to your reader.

Chapter 1 * Chapter 2 * Chapter 3 * Chapter 4 * Chapter 5 * Chapter 6 * Chapter 7 * Chapter 8 * Chapter 10