Technical Report Writing Skills

Technical Report-Writing Skills, first edition, has been developed to assist college and university students as well as professionals studying English as a foreign language at an upper-elementary or lower-intermediate level. While the book is specifically intended for learners who already have basic competence at sentence-level writing, it is, however, flexible enough to be used by almost anyone wanting to improve their writing skills. It provides enough material for about ninety-eight class-hours of classroom instruction; it is, in other words, a fifteen-week writing course.

Description

This book deals with principles of effective writing. After a review of sentence-level writing, students are assisted to acquire the skills necessary to produce various types of compositions. Students develop effective writing skills by focusing on format, mechanical accuracy, and clarity of expression.

In addition, students learn to collaborate with others on producing written assignments.

Fourteen practical and academic-writing topics are covered in fourteen units. These are:

         the mechanics of writing

         sentence structure

         transition signals

         writing an effective paragraph

         contrast and comparison

         report-writing

         argumentative writing: making generalizations and drawing conclusions

         note-taking

         business letters

         covering letters

         formal and informal emails

         email job applications

         memos

         resume-writing

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. write using grammatically-and mechanically-correct language appropriate to the type of report specified.
2. differentiate between effective and ineffective written communication by understanding and identifying the criteria that describe effective report-writing.
3. identify the context, purposes, audience, and process of formal written communication.
4. employ developed pre-writing skills by brainstorming, choosing, consulting other people and sources or information, and scanning material appropriate to the type of report required, as well as taking relevant notes.
5. further develop their writing skills by making use of notes, writing first drafts, and consulting dictionaries and other reference books.
6. proofread their own and classmates’ written work.
7. produce formal written communications targeted towards varied and specific audiences.
8. develop and use effective strategies for participating in collaborative work aimed at the preparation and completion of written business communications.