1. Scott Coffel Director, Hanson CTC Writing Effective Reports

2. Famous Last Words of Engineers ● ● “I’m an engineer—not a writer.” ● ● “Equations matter. Words don’t.” ● ● “I don’t have to explain my data—it explains itself.” ● ● “Don’t worry—only engineers will read this.”

3. Simplicity and precision result from making good choices. To make good choices, you must go through a writing process. A good writing process requires drafts, feedback, and revisions. There are no shortcuts to good writing. The Craft of Technical Writing (1)

4. The Craft of Technical Writing (2) ● ● Precise writing establishes your credibility as an engineer. Therefore… ● ● Technical writing is a no-ambiguity zone: Ambiguity (defined as “doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation) can often lead to serious misinterpretations.

5. The Craft of Technical Writing (3) ● ● State objectives with clarity and depth. ● ● Provide background and context for research and/or experiments. ● ● Serve as a reliable narrator of your procedures so that peers in your field can recreate your work. ● ● Assert and explain the significance of your results. ● ● Recommend the optimal course of action.

6. Reports in a Nutshell Lab reports measure your ability to communicate the purpose, procedures, results, and conclusions of your experiment. Tell what you did, how you did it, and why you did it. Your audience expects both clarity and analysis. Using your lab report as a guide, engineering colleagues should be able to duplicate the experiment.

7. Criteria for Success: Overview You facilitate decision-making, emphasize conclusions, use supporting data. A broad audience can read and understand your report. You clarify the problem, emphasize merits of the study, and show practical results.

8. Criteria for Success: Writing for Multiple Audiences You write a clear, concise, non-technical Abstract so that a top executive can review and act on the report. Your Introduction and Background and Discussion and Conclusion sections give detail but remain clear, concise, and non-technical so that your immediate boss can understand your main points even if the boss is not an expert. Professionals in your field will understand your Experimental Methods, Results, and Appendices.

9. Summing Up Successful Technical Communicators— View writing as a process that involves drafts, feedback, and revision. Write to multiple audiences. Visit the Hanson Center. Again: Tell what you did, how you did it, and why you did it. Your audience expects both clarity and analysis.

10. Questions? Visit the Hanson Center for Technical Communication You can find the assignments, evaluation sheets, discussions of plagiarism, and other useful stuff on the Center’s web site at http://www.engineering.uiowa.edu/~ctc. http://www.engineering.uiowa.edu/~ctc Hours: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, Sunday 3:00 – 5:00, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Location: 2224 SC (in the Student Commons area) Scheduling: Appointment sign-up sheet posted outside door of 2224 SC

11. Thank You