Components Abstract: The abstract is a short summary of the experiment or research that was conducted. The abstract begins with a sentence or two of explanation for why the experiment was needed (think thesis statement). The abstract should include important points of the experiment or research so that the audience understands the information that will be present in the whole report. Because the abstract encompasses the essence of the whole report, it is often beneficial to write this portion of the report last.
Introduction: The introduction formalizes the need for the experiment. It explains why the experiment was important. It hypothesizes expected outcomes. While in the engineering world, most audience members will already understand the technical components and background materials, the technical report format is being used to show that you the student understand this information; so, it must be detailed and concise (remember Addie is also reading this, and she is not an engineer).
Procedure: This section should outline, in detail, the experiment and/or making time that was conducted to yield understanding and conclusion. Generally, this section would include diagrams, charts, images that demonstrate the experiment (note: they should be professional, not just hand drawn - although hand sketches are also relevant to this section). If the experiment included different control groups, these groups should be identified and characterization of the groups should be provided. Finally, this section should have a brief explanation of the method of the experiment and why it was chosen OR the different types of materials used during making time that yielded different results. Results: This section not only yields the results or outcomes of the experiment, but also identifies which components yield which results within an explanation of why. The results need to be organized to follow the experiment in order for the audience to have a clear understanding of when, where, how the results happened. As with the procedure section, it may be necessary to include professional charts and images to demonstrate these results. If an error existed within the experiment, it should be identified and explained in this section. Analyze the error that occurred and how the components of the experiment yielded this error.
Discussion: Identify any further research and experimentation that needs to be conducted in order to finalize the planning phase and proceed into the building phase.
Conclusion: It is important to not summarize the findings as the conclusion. The audience has just read your technical report and have already been provided that information. Instead the conclusion is your opportunity to convey recommendations for future steps, procedures or materials based on those findings. In other words, if you were conducting an experiment on whether PVC pipes, bronze pipes or galvanized pipes should be used in a new home construction, the conclusion is your opportunity to explain in detail why bronze pipes would be the most efficient. This is also the section in which you would provide material and financial cost estimates based on product research.
References: While titled References, the section of the technical report actually follows the guidelines of a Works Cited. Detailed expectations can be found in the Étude Formatting and Style Guide.
General Writing Format The technical report is still considered an academic text and should follow those general guidelines.
Written in third person, no personal pronouns
Focused on experimental research and conclusions, not personal opinion or beliefs
Written and discussed in chronological order
Provides logical connection between procedures, results and recommendations