Technical Writing: Features & Conventions

As a student, engineer or scientist you will be required to write technical reports as part of your degree as well as throughout your career. Examples of such reports include annual environmental reports to regulators, annual reports to shareholders, project proposals, tender documents and journal articles. This handout will briefly examine the main/common technical writing features and conventions used by scientists and engineers.

The Components of a Report

Depending upon its length and purpose, a technical report may include the following components:

• Title Page
• Disclaimer
• Abstract
• Acknowledgements
• Contents Page
• List of Figures and Tables
• List of Symbols and Definitions
• Introduction
• Main sections and subsections
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• References
• Appendices

Sample Report Content page