poniedziałek, 6 października 2014

A Guide On Writing Engineering Reports And Proposals

By Jocelyn Davidson


A crucial aspect of engineering lies in the ability to properly relay ideas, findings and projects to the relevant bodies. The main reason of writing engineering reports and proposals is to seek grants from funding agencies, for publication in peer reviewed journals and for updating relevant agencies on the progress of projects.

It is important to consider the purpose or intention of writing engineering documents before beginning writing. The sole purpose should be to make the reader convinced that you have the proper qualification to carry out the project which is viable both in scientific and economic aspects. It is wrong to assume that your job as an engineer is not to convince but it is because most people do not understand the engineer language.

The people you are writing for are also an important aspect of your writing. They need to know something knew about the project. Explain the problem or the reasons why the project is beneficial to them clearly. In addition, provide background information to put the proposed solution into perspective. The reader needs to understand that you are an expert in that particular field and also understand the general approach to the problem.

Proposals are done before the commencement of a project and are written by any type of engineer. Their main purpose is to inform the management, clients or funding agencies. These stakeholders are able to see clearly the aim and objectives of this project, the method of doing it. In addition, it answers the questions of how long and how much.

There are at least six basic elements of a proposal. The abstract summary is one page long and is a brief and summarized proposal. It explains the purpose of the project, expenses to be incurred, qualifications and program essentials. In the introduction section, the purpose, background and brief overview of the project are objectively and clearly spelt out.

The rest of the document should bear the task description such as objectives, methods and evaluation. Milestones and a budget should also be presented perhaps using tables and charts. The qualifications of the team come last and explain why you are the best for the job. The structure and style of putting down engineering reports is not any different.

The outline of an engineering report consists of a title, executive summary, introduction, background, methods, results, conclusion, acknowledgements, references and the appendix. The background consists of theory and analysis where the laws, equations used and any other unfamiliar information is defined. Methods section indicates the apparatus, instruments and materials used. The findings are spelt out in the results page and discussed. Later conclusions and recommendations are drawn based on the objectives.

Finally, writing must be organized in such a way as to boost readability. The headings and general text of the documents should be formatted in the appropriate way. Any graphs or pictures used in the text are to be labeled appropriately. The style of writing ought to be determined by the content of document.




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