Complete Report Writing Dr. Andrew Fry for Dr. N. S. Harding Chemical Engineering 475 September 27, 2016

“The fundamental purpose of scientific discourse is not the mere presentation of information and thought but rather it’s actual communication. It does not matter how pleased an author might be to have converted all the right data into sentences and paragraphs; it matters only whether a large majority of the reading audience accurately perceives what the author had in mind.” --George Gopen and Judith Swan The Science of Scientific Writing Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Technical Writers Practice: Planning Clarity Brevity Simplicity Word Choice Committing to writing as a process Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Planning: Before You Begin Identify your audience and their expectations Know your purpose Know your material Understand the writing task at hand Organize your thoughts and material Budget adequate time to write, review, and edit Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Clarity and Brevity Avoid jargon Define the unfamiliar If you abbreviate or use acronyms, the first time spell them out and put abbreviation in parentheses Never use two words when one will do Most important first Remove redundancy Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Simplicity Avoid needless words Avoid ambiguity – order the words in your sentence carefully Don’t overuse pronouns – especially “it” and “this” Choose words whose meanings are clear Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Writing Concisely Takes Time “One of the beauties of his [Abraham Lincoln] speeches was their eloquent brevity. He agonized over his speeches, revising and cutting and polishing until the moment he mounted the podium. He couldn’t stand folks who were long-winded. Referring to one such person, Lincoln said, ‘That man can compress the most words in the fewest ideas of anyone I ever knew.’” From Abraham Lincoln (reported in the book Lincoln, by Russell Freedman) Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Complete Report Sections (8-10 pages double spaced) Title Page Front Material (Table of Contents, List of Illustrations) Executive Summary Introduction (Objective) and Background Theory Experimental Procedure/Methods Results and Discussion Conclusions and Recommendations Back Material (Acknowledgments, References, Appendix) Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Title Page Descriptive title To Whom? From Whom? Date Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Front Material For these short (formal) reports it is optional If you include, then the Title Page is “i” Use roman numerals up to Executive Summary which would be “1” Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Executive Summary Last section written 1 page maximum Summarizes: Use key bullet points (conclusions/recommendations) Summarizes: Objective, what was done How it was done What were the results What are the conclusions What are the recommendations IF figure/table, must have different number, e.g. ES1 Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Body of Report Use a header and footer; one of which has the page number. No smaller than 11 pt type Double-spaced; not less than 1.5 spacing Use headings and sub-headings Refer to figures/tables before showing Be consistent Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Paragraphs/Text Each paragraph organized around key sentence Key sentence should be 1st or 2nd sentence Rest of paragraph supports/discusses key sentence Key sentences can be used as outline for the report 3rd person is preferred in technical writing Be consistent in verb tense usage Completed items in past tense Discussion/analyses/recommendations – present Almost nothing in future tense Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Figures Captions are below figure Label axes correctly with units Use common scales for multiple figures, sig. figs. Pay attention to symbols, colors, etc. Make the figures clear and clean Be consistent Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Tables Titles are above table Align columns Don’t forget units (column headings) Significant figures!!! “*” or call outs are directly beneath table Be consistent Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Equations (Reactions) Numbered consecutively on right side: (#) Identify all variables first time used Same size font as text or may go to 10 pt. Capital “E” when referring to specific equation Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Results/Discussion Section(s) Data analysis Good: Includes all results so one can duplicate or make a decision based on data Better: Summarizes data into figures/tables so one can quickly make a decision based on data Best: Synthesizes the data to show: In-depth analysis Significance of results Context and meaning Credible recommendation(s) Want reader to think, feel, or do something differently because they read the report! Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Back Material Acknowledgments (optional – include MIKE/JOHN!) References – required Appendix – required (Separate Subsections) Detailed derivations of theory Raw and reduced data Sample calculations Statistical analysis Other supporting documentation Note: Equations, figures, tables are numbered, A1, etc. Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Writing Is A Process Good writing doesn’t happen overnight. It requires planning, drafting, rereading, revising, and editing. Learning and improvement require self-review, peer-review, subject-matter feedback, and practice. There are NO shortcuts; practice makes perfect!! Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016

Bottom Line From your report, the reader should know who, what, when, where, why and how and be able to completely duplicate your experiment and get essentially your results and conclusions within your calculated confidence level!! Note: There is no good writing, only good re-writing! Suggestion: Finish the report and sleep on it – then next day review one last time. QUESTIONS? Chem. Eng. 475 – Fall 2016