Write technical reports

Assessment Prep Resources for NVQ-J Level 1 & 2 Workplace Communication

Write Technical Reports:
Five Things You Should Know About the Write Technical Report (Basic) Paper
by Karen Taylor Bennett

Photo Source: http://www.setonresourcecenter.com/MSDS_Hazcom/FatalFacts/f-facts32.html
Q1. How many reports will we have to write on the assessment?
This is a typical question that I get from learners preparing to sit the Level 2- Write Technical Report
(Basic) assessment. Rarely are you asked to write more than one report on the assessment paper.
Q2. What are some common question formats presented in the assessments offered by
HEART Training institutions and other learning institutions offering vocational
qualifications in Jamaica?
Study these past paper questions:
1.

Choose ONE of the writing prompts describing a different incident below. Write
the report. 1. You were installing fluorescent bulbs in your company’s warehouse, when you
slipped off the ladder and broke your hand.Write an incident report detailing when, where,
how and why the accident happened.Use a memorandum format for your report.
2. While working in the electrical lab yesterday, a fire started. Write an eye witness account.
addressed to your supervisor tracing the events surrounding the fire. State your conclusions

about the surface causes of the fire and make recommendations to prevent a recurrence of
fires caused by these factors.
3. Sometimes a photograph or illustration of an accident scene is used with specific details of the
scenario. As far as possible use these details given in your report.
Use the picture below to describe the circumstances under which your work colleague received an
electrical shock that caused damage to his hand and the loss of two fingers.
Write the report based on what you observed and facts you would have gathered, addressed to
your Supervisor. Include the relevant details that your company would need to know about the
incident
Involuntary Muscle Contraction
This worker fell and grabbed a powerline
to catch himself. The resulting electric
shock mummified his first two fingers,
which had to be removed. The acute
angle of the wrist was caused by burning
of the tendons, which contracted,
drawing the hand with them.

3. Do I have to write all reports in memo format even if the question does not state
this?
You are usually expected to write a memo report. A memo report is just a report which uses the
Memo format. Even if the instructions does not state this, expect to address your report to a
superior. Common designations are the Supervisor or Head of Department. In some instance you'll
be told to write to the Manager or Contractor. You are writing a fictional report so prepare to make
up not only the incident, but names of the people and places involved. A standard Memo report
begins with the Heading.
The Heading has four parts:
i) Memorandum
Write the word Memorandum top center of your page.
ii. To: line

Below the word Memorandum, in the left margin, write To: (Use the Tab button if you're using a
computer, or measure about one inch space behind the colon, and start writing the name of the
person you are writing the report to, for example, John Black or J. Black). Next, write Mr Black's
job designation.
You can choose to write this beside the person's name horizontally so it looks like this:
To: John Black - Supervisor
Note that I've capitalised the T in the word To: and added a colon (:) behind it. If you are writing the
job title beside the name, separate the words with a hyphen as seen in thee example above.
iii) From: line
The writer's name goes here. Add same tab space as the To: line behind the colon to enable
uniformity of presentation, and then write your name.
iv) Date: line
Write the date on which you are writing the report. The preferred style for the sake of clarity is
November 25, 2013.
v.) Subject: line
Give busy employers, and other readers in the busy workspace a chance to get a quick idea of what
your report is about by creating a brief subject that sums up what the report is about. The Subject is
your topic. It should be short and concise. Write it like a newspaper headlines. Study some headlines
on the front page of your daily or weekly newspaper to get an idea of what I mean.
4. Can you share some tips for writing effective subjects for incident/accident reports?
Candidates writing the report often commit these three unpardonable crimes in writing reports.
They write
vague, one-word subjects, for e.g. Accident, Injured or Fire
Readers may discard a report that has a heading that is too vague.
complete sentences for the Subject.
E.g. I Broke my Arm in An Accident onsite This Morning.
Two key words to remember when writing the Memo's subject are concise and specific.
Long Subjects that extend to two or more lines
While some business memos may warrant this kind of Subject, try to summarise and constrict what
you need to say to one line.

These subject writing bloopers described above makes you sound like a novice rather than a
professional. Keep it succint and newsy while maintaining a formal, professional tone. Remember,
this is business writing, not a short story narrative.
5. What should I pay attention to in regard to the presentation of a report?
So now that you have an edge on writing effective Subject lines, it's time to look at Presentation.
Marks are often alloted to the visual aspect of the report so spend some time especially on getting
your spacing right. You may not be given the opportunity to type your report in the assessment. But
you should still present a professionally handwritten paper that is visually appealing.
The standard memo format presents the heading section of a memo to have a LINEAR look.
In this format, all lines are aligned uniformly beneath each other. Personally I prefer this style, as it
makes the presentation look neater which is what you should aim for.
Standard Format
Memorandum
The heading segment follows this general format:
TO: (readers' names and job titles)
FROM: (your name and job title)
DATE: (complete and current date)
SUBJECT: (what the memo is about, highlighted in some way)
Style 1
Memorandum
To: John Black - Supervisor
From: Karen Taylor Bennett - Electrical Technician KTB (Signature)
Date: November 25, 2013
Subject: Report on Fatal Electrical Accident at Plant
Note: Some assessors expect to see an affixed handwritten signature beside your name in the From:
line.
Style 2
Note: You may notice that I have used double space between each of the elements below. This is not
standard. I can't find spacing deature in Wordpress page to apply the correct spacing. When you

write your heading, apply single space between the person's name and job designation and
doublespacing between the To, From, Date, and Subject elements.
Memorandum
To: John Black
Supervisor
From: Karen Taylor Bennett KTB (Your signature, required if presenting as hard copy)
Welder
Date: November 25, 2013
Subject: Report on Fatal Electrical Accident at Plant
Some Additional Writing Tips to Help you Craft an Effective Subject
You might need additional practice in summarising to help you improve in this area.
Try this: Take a sentence from the first paragraph of a newspaper and condense its main idea to
four or five words. First, cross out all the prepositions and conjunctions. Keep the noun and verb
words. These are called content carrying words or key words. Try to find a general word or category
to replace synonymous words or words that share a common idea.
Another way to practice your summarising skills is to create a telegram from the first paragraph of
your report. Prune the unnecessary details until you have the required word limit while maintaining
the essence of the message you wish to convey to your reader in 30 seconds.
If you're having difficulty coming up with an effective subject, don't sweat it. You don't have to write
the subject first. You can write your report draft and then come back to writing the subject.
To get your writing juices flowing, try this brainstorming method.To brainstorm for a subject idea,
first ask yourself this key question,
What is the news?
To explore this further, ask yourself
What type of accident happened?
Type of Accidentsare Fire, Fall, Electrocution, Collapse of Trench, Collision, Altercation, Chemical
Spill
What was the outcome of the accident?

Describe it in terms of a fatality, injury or near -miss. For e.g. Eye Injury, Back Injury,
Inhalation of fumes, Fainting, Broken limb, Lacerations to a body part, Loss of limbs, Minor
Wounds. You can also identify the person injured in the SUBJECT.
Try this: Jot down on a piece of paper the following words:
Report on . . .
State either the name of the accident or the accident outcome where the ellipsis ( . . .) is.
EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE REPORT SUBJECTS:
Here are some examples to help you get started:
Report on Electrical Fire at Crossroads Plant
Report on Fumes Inhalation Accident in Welding Workshop
Report on Trench Collapse and Workers' Injury Today
Worker Injured in Construction Site Accident
Colleague Electrocuted
Martin Brown Loses arm in Machineshop Accident
Back Injury Sustained in Fall at Factory Today
Forklift Accident in Warehouse
Workers Seriously Injured in Highway collision
Eye Witness Account of Altercation at Security Post
Break-in at Stores
Warehouse Fire Leads to Lost Hours
More Useful Resources to help you with Memo writing
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/590/
http://www.fsb.muohio.edu/heitgedl/Memo%20writing%20tips%20ACC333%20SP06.pdf
http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/documents/memoformat.pdf
In another post, I'll takk about planning strategies- getting the facts together to write your report and
manging your time within the assessment.
Do you have questions still about writing that essential first section of the technical report? Leave a
comment in the box on this page and I'll try to answer them for you. Check this Facebook page for
more assessment preparation tips and resources that will help you ace your Level 1 and Level 2
Communication tests and assessments.
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Write technical reports

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