How To Effectively Approach Technical Report Writing
Oil & gas professionals increasingly need to translate complex findings, analysis, and recommendations for effective decision making. Many face challenges in getting their findings into paper and presenting a technical report effectively. The purpose of a technical report is to completely and clearly describe technical work, why it was done, results obtained and implications of those results. The technical report serves as a means of communicating the work to others and possibly providing useful information about that work at some later date.
A well‐written report allows the reader to quickly understand what has been accomplished. The report also provides sufficient detail to allow the reader to recreate the results although the level of detail provided depends heavily on the report’s audience and any proprietary nature of the work. A technical report must inform readers of the reasons, means, results, and conclusions of the subject matter being reported.
However, the mechanics and format of writing a report may vary. The key to a well‐written report is the organization. A report that is divided into several sections, occurring in a logical sequence, makes it easy for the reader to quickly obtain an overview of the contents as well as locate specific information. Technical report writing does not only include guidelines for producing a well‐written technical report but there are also many other important aspects and key skills to discover.
An effective technical report writing eLearning training course would focus on the unique needs of technical professionals who write for both technical and non-technical audiences. Technical professionals can use their technical knowledge and logical edge to write in a reader-friendly, grammatically accurate manner and persuasively communicate to their counterparts.
The Importance Of Learning The Art Of Technical Report Writing
- Write and turn-around accurate technical documents quickly to meet deadlines and productivity goals. The reason that it is important to meet deadlines is so that the recipient receives the quality standard and meeting deadlines also avoid any unnecessary delays.
- Understand how technical reports should be structured by applying a systematic approach to the writing task, involving planning, drafting, revision, and production. This will ensure that your report has a good structure and flow which will make it easier for the readers to comprehend.
- Use clear and powerful language to target and persuade readers for positive results. Language plays an important role in persuasiveness. Enhancing your report by having the right choice of words and command of language will make the report seem more convincing to those who read it.
- Use tried and tested proofreading techniques to check and review documents more effectively. Before submitting or printing an academic research paper, essay, email, memo, or any other written document, it is very important to carefully proofread it. Proofreading of written material is the final step that must be taken before a document can be considered complete.
- Identify and avoid common pitfalls in technical report writing. You will of course never be perfect, but there are ways to improve accuracy. Being able to just better identify those pitfalls in the first place would be the first step to avoiding them.
In this most trying of times for the oil & gas industry, the old adage "time is money" seems ever truer. Time away from work costs your organization. Time spent in training costs your organization. Time spent on soft skills training costs your organization. However, this is also true:
- Time spent explaining unclear writing costs your organization
- Time spent rewriting poorly written reports costs your organization
- Time spent clearing up misunderstandings in poorly written reports costs your organization
- Time spent correcting damaging mistakes caused by these misunderstandings costs your organization
Therefore, investing some time in technical report writing courses will save your staff and organization lots of time in the future when being tasked to write a good report.
Bring your communication skills to greater standards and help you in various aspects of your work and life. Learn the key aspects of good writing and the art of editing like a professional. Learn the basic report structure as well as the type of writing that's accepted in a report writing. So refine your technical writing style today and develop the perfect strategy for writing.