1. Some Comments on Writing Short Technical Reports FES 409

2. Sections of a Tech Report (not all fit this mold) INTRODUCTION METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION CONCLUSIONS LITERATURE CITED

3. Organizational headings First, second and third order headings- (1) METHODS (2) Study Site (3) Climate and soils (2) Data Collection (1) RESULTS

4. INTRODUCTION Statement about the problem(s) and objective(s) being addressed (from your lab handout). Background information that the reader should know about the subject (e.g. “Soil fertility is a key determinant of forest composition and growth…”) Generally won’t have subheadings, and will be brief (1-2 Parra.)

5. METHODS What you did and how Information describing the study site Sampling design Measurements and instruments used Approach to data analysis, including computer programs used (e.g. modified Excel spreadsheets and FVS) This section will typically have subheadings

6. RESULTS Summary of your important findings- don’t just repeat #’s that appear in tables Reference to tables and figures (order synchronized with text) Save most of the interpretation for the discussion This section will have subheadings May include reference to an appendix

9. Referencing Tables and Figures Figure 1 clearly shows the relationship between DBH and TPA over time. The number of stems in the 8-10” DBH size class declined over time (Figure 1).

10. DISCUSSION Synthesis of results Reconcile findings with objectives Compare with what others have found, where appropriate (Literature cited) May or may not have subheadings, often they help Keep parallel with Methods and Results

11. CONCLUSIONS Brief REstatement of your most important findings Nothing new should appear here (i.e. no surprises) This section will not have subheadings

12. LITERATURE CITED List of all references included in your report “Controlling the understory microenvironment is not an objective of the seed tree method (Smith et al. 1997).” Smith, D.M., Larson, B.C., Kelty, M.J., and P.M.S. Ashton. (1997). The Practice of Silviculture: Applied Forest Ecology, 9 th Ed. Wiley, New York. 537 pp. Baker, F.S. 1949. A revised tolerance table. J. For. 47:179-181.

13. Some Common Mistakes Not taking the time to proofread Improper capitalization of common names (e.g. white pine not White Pine but American beech not american beech) One sentence does not a paragraph make Significant digits (e.g. there is no such thing as 12.2598 trees per acre, round 12 TPA; BA to 0.1 ft 2 /ac)