McTimothy Associates

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ADVANCED & TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING AND COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS

Why Attend

Whilst engineers and technicians undergo many years of training to become proficient in their field of expertise, this does not necessarily include the art of writing. Because writing takes place in the absence of the reader it may represent a boring, dull, difficult, and unfamiliar chore for the technologist.

The result is that, too often, technical writing has a flat style making documents difficult and tedious to read. Complex writing results in a waste of time lost contracts and alienated customers – in other words, a loss of money.

$ 173.18

Event Date: 27/07/2022 – 29/07/2022

Total:

Introduction 

  • The Goals
  • Types of report (Formal Report, Technical Memo, Technical Proposals,
  • Equipment or Maintenance Manuals, Journal Articles)
  • Category of a reader (skilled, decision-maker, technical, operator, general non-specialists)

Compiling the report

  • Establishing a framework
  • Terms of reference (subject matter, purpose, reader identification)

Report structure

  • Findings
  • Observations
  • Discussions
  • Conclusion
  • Recommendations
  • Executive summary
  • Other sections (title page, table of contents, lists, appendices, references)

Elements of Technical Writing

  • Factual versus opinion
  • Logical flow of writing
  • Results of research
  • Case Study: Developing awareness of fact and opinion and substantiating opinions with facts
  • Practical Session: Determining terms of reference and writing an introduction

Development process

  • Research (interviewing, listening, note-taking, reading)
  • Organizing the report
  • Development methods (general to specific, specific to general,

chronological, sequential, cause and effect, comparison, spatial)

  • Overview of conclusion/ recommendations section
  • Practical Session: Applying the four-stage reading process, group discussion on conclusion and recommendations

Report outline

  • Mind mapping
  • Outline formats (academic and engineering outline styles)
  • Rough draft
  • Activate the writing (correct grammar, language, expressions, and units of measure)
  • Simplify the writing (word/sentence/paragraph lengths, fog index)

Report appearance

  • White space
  • Headings/sub-headings
  • Colour
  • Illustrations
  • Practical Session: Interpreting graphic material, graphic presentation

Checking the specification

  • Functional language correctness
  • Prototypes
  • Realistic specifications
  • Compliance test and evaluation criteria
  • Practical Session: Editing the specification

Types of specifications

  • Government specifications and standards
  • Industry standards
  • Specifications for complex goods and services
  • Performance specifications
  • Design specifications
  • Practical Session: Creating a specification template

Writing the specification

  • Time and cost framework
  • Collaboration with other purchasers
  • Using consultants and specialists
  • Liaison with industry
  • Specific and non-specific requirements
  • Tiering of specifications
  • Reviewing specifications
  • Constructive changes
  • Errors in specifications
  • Conflicting requirements
  • Practical Session: Writing the specification

Oral presentation

  • Preparation
  • Using the report as a guideline
  • Formulating the central message
  • Arranging the ideas, facts, and supportive arguments
  • Making a positive impact (appearance, gestures, eye contact, body language, style of speaking)
  • Effective use of visual aids (types of visual aid equipment, using the equipment correctly)
  • Maximizing delivery (fielding questions, managing answers, handling difficult situations, short talk guidelines, impromptu sessions)
  • Practical Session: Delivery of a two minutes presentation (each delegate delivers a presentation on a particular aspect of the technical report)

 

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