Ferreira, Fernandes, Nbrega, Costa, Sousa.

1
Joo Ferreira - 2021013
Joo Fernandes - 2014713
Miguel Nbrega - 2114112
Vitor Costa - 2051613
Rafael Sousa 2019413

Professor Maria Alcina Sousa

Languages and Business Studies
19-12-2014

Writing a Technical Report

In our quest for an example of a technical report we found that the content and style of this document varies
greatly, depending on its purpose of use to its audience. For a better understanding of what a technical report
looks like we chose for our analysis a technical report made by the computer laboratory of the University of
Cambridge.

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1. Introduction
A technical report is a formal, fact-based and non-fictional document normally used to communicate
information to others, conveying technical information, clearly and easily in an accessible format thus allowing
for customers, colleagues, etc. to be able to use as a reference, making it possible for these documents to be
used in order for the process or results to be repeated or built upon.
The purpose of this type of document is to explain and analyse information by presenting an idea, relevant
evidence, and appropriate discussion. This type of writing is to explain, inform, or even describe in a formal
academic and technical way.
Unlike other scientific literature, such as scientific journals and the proceedings of some academic
conferences, technical reports rarely undergo comprehensive independent peer review before publication.

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2. Text Characteristics
This type of text must have the following characteristics concerning its type of language, the writing must
be:
1. Clear- it avoids unnecessary details
2. Simple- uses direct language, avoiding vague or complicated sentences.
3. Impartial- it avoids making assumptions (Everyone knows that) and unproven statements (It can
never be proved that) it must show how and where the data was collected and supports its conclusions
with evidence.
4. Structured logically - ideas and processes are expressed in a logical order. The text is divided into
sections with clear headings;
5. Accurate - it avoids vague and ambiguous language such as about, approximately, almost;
6. Objective - statements and ideas are supported by appropriate evidence that demonstrates how
conclusions have been drawn as well as acknowledging the work of others.
Choosing the words
To make your writing clear, accurate and concise you should consider carefully the words that you use,
and the ways in which you use them.
Technical terms
A technical report naturally employs the use of some technical terms related to their field of study.
However, use such terms only when you need to do so.
In our analysis we found technical terms such as: TREC Tests (Text Retrieval Conference), Collection
Frequency Weight, BM25.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations are rarely ever used in this type of document, although abbreviations can be a very useful
way of saving time and avoiding repetition, but they can be open to interpretation, which defeats the main
purpose of a technical report, which is to provide information clearly.
Use of objective language

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The use of language in a technical report should be objective (i.e: impartial, stating a fact or process).
The language in scientific and technical writing is different from the language you would use when having a
casual conversation with friends.
Objective vs Subjective language
In the following figures (Figure 1 and 2) the key differences between subjective and objective language
can be seen.

Figure 1Analysis of Subjective Language

Figure 2 Analysis of Objective Language

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Use of tenses
Scientific and technical writing often uses the past tense as in this text, when the main focus of the
writing is to describe experiments and observations that took place prior to the time of writing. However, the
past tense may not be appropriate for everything that you write and sometimes you will need to combine
different tenses in the same piece of writing. For example, the use of different tenses can help to clarify what
happened or what you did in the past (past tense), what you conclude (present tense) and what will be an issue
for the future (future tense).
Picking a voice
Writers in the technical and scientific domain have a tendency to use passive rather than active
expressions; stating that A was affected by B uses the passive voice while stating that B did something to A uses
the active voice. The voicing found in our particular text is passive.

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Discourse Markers
In Practical English Usage Michael Swan defines a 'discourse marker' as a word or expression which
shows the connection between what is being said and the wider context. In the following table (Table 1) we
can find the most commonly used discourse markers in the chosen technical report.
Position within
Type of relationship

Sentence connectors
clause/sentence

Adding something

Moreover; Additionally;

Initial position

Also.
Making a contrast between
two separate things, people,

However.

Initial position

ideas, etc.
Initial position
Making an unexpected
Although; though.

Starts a second/

contrast (concession)
subordinate clause
Initial position
Saying why something is
Because; Since; As.

Starts a second/

the case
subordinate clause
Saying what the result of
Therefore; Thus.

Initial position

something is
Initial position
Expressing a condition

If.

Starts a second/
subordinate clause

Making what you say

Indeed.

Initial position

stronger
Table 1 Common types of Discourse Markers found within the Technical Report

3. Conclusion
Generally speaking, while this specific type of text exists in a multitude of fields, each with their own
technical, exclusive terms, the structure itself is very much alike in every properly written report.

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The technical report that was analysed revealed information about the strict set of formal guidelines
followed, showing a special focus on direct and objective language. Keeping in consideration that the way a
technical report is elaborated depends also on its audience and their understanding of its main subject.

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Works Cited
S.E. Robertson, K. Sparck Jones. Technical Report - Simple, proven approaches to text retrieval. Web 20:37 13
December 2014
Objective Language. The University of Adelaide. Web 15:12 14 December 2014
Swan, Michael (2005). Practical English Usage. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Print. 16:40 16
December 2014
Dr Gerard Sharpling. Discourse Markers. Web 16:18 18 December 2014
The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web.17:40 18 December 2014

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Appendix A
S.E. ROBERTSON, K. SPARCK JONES. Technical Report - Simple, proven approaches to text retrieval.
Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge.

Discourse Markers
Normal Vocabulary