SUNY Community

Technical Report Writing Guidelines

Author(s):

This document specifies the recommended format to be used when submitting a formal technical report in a variety of disciplines and purposes. Also, this manual can be used as a guide to compose less formal reports, such as lab reports, that may consist of a subset of the items presented here. It is a useful general guide from which faculty can specify the particular requirements for reports in their courses.

Now in it’s eleventh iteration, the text was updated in July 2023 to include guidance on the use of AI in technical writing.

pdf icon Technical Report Writing Guidelines
PDF 569KB

 

Using this text? We'd love to know more about you: fill out this short questionnaire to let us know!


Introduction

The Formal Technical Report

Universal Report-Writing Considerations

Standard Components of a Formal Technical Report

Title Page

Abstract

Table of Contents

Introduction

Background Theory

Design

Theoretical Analysis

Procedure

Results and Discussion

Conclusion

References

Appendix

Why You Should Know How a Reader in Industry Peruses a Technical Report

Questions to Ask Yourself Prior to Submitting Any Report

Conclusion

APPENDIX A: “How To” Guide on References and Citations

APPENDIX B: Page Numbering and Table of Contents using MS Word

APPENDIX C: Writing Tips for Discussing Results

Percent Difference/Error

Significance of Difference

Writing Discussion Based on Questions

Guidelines for Graphs

Considerations for Technical Responses