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Wednesday 8 October 2014

A Brief Description Of 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 audience is also a factor to be considered while writing. They cannot pay for information they already know therefore they are supposed to learn something new. The problem should be clearly stated and the solutions to it explained clearly. Background information should be used to provide more information so that readers are able to put them the problem and solution into perspective. It is important that the audience understands that you are the expert in that specific field.

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.

The structure of this proposal should consist of at least six basic elements. The executive summary is a one paged brief and compressed summary of this proposal. It should clearly and objectively explain the purpose, programs essentials, expenses and qualifications of people undertaking the project. The introduction should bear the purpose of this project in detail. It should also provide useful background information and a brief overview of the task.

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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