The Importance Of Writing Engineering Reports And Proposals

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By Jocelyn Davidson


The ability to relay ideas, research findings and project information to the relevant authority is an important aspect of engineering. Publication in peer reviewed journals, progress updates and obtaining funds are some of the objectives of writing engineering reports and proposals. There are several aspects that need to be factored in when writing engineering documents.

The first is the goal or purpose of writing. Writing should be used to convince the audience that the project is able to meet scientific and economic requirements. It should also inform that the engineer is capable of starting and completing it. It is part of the job description for engineers to write convincingly as most of their clients may not understand the terms.

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 written by consulting engineers as well as engineers in academia. They are written to seek funding from funding agencies for projects or for approval by management. Another reason for writing them is to send to clients, prospective or otherwise. They indicate what the task is about, how it will be done, the cost, time frame and objectives of the task.

A good proposal is composed of six important elements. The first is an executive summary which is a page long summary of the proposal. Its work is to explain the aim, expenses, qualifications and other program essentials in a very brief format. The details of the purpose of project, the background information and project overview are found in the introduction section.

Project description is a description of the objectives, evaluation and the methods to be used. A timeframe and also a budget outline are also in this section presented using tables and diagrams. The qualification is important to assure the client that the team handling the project is qualified. Engineering reports do not vary so much from proposals in style or organization.

Engineering proposals and reports are similar in that they both have sections such as the executive summary and the introduction section. Reports have additional sections which include theory and analysis, results and discussion, conclusion, acknowledgement, reference and appendix. The theory and analysis section defines the applied laws, principles and equations. The method section is a list of apparatus and instruments used. Results are presented in the results section and conclusions drawn.

In conclusion, styles that inform and enhance readability should be chosen over those that aim to impress. An appropriate formatting method should be used to format headings and text. Remember to use labels for any picture, diagram, graph or table included. In addition, use the document content to inform the writing style and organization of the work.




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