If you have a burning desire for certification by means of the ASET assessment (the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta), then this article is a must-read for you. Here, we will familiarize you with the major components of a technical report.
The Board of Examiners (BoE) asks the candidate to complete a technical report as an alternative assessment to determine technologist-level theoretical knowledge equivalency. These major components provided here will help you prepare a perfect technical report, which mustn’t be fewer than 3000 words (excluding executive summary, table of contents, references, appendices and bibliography). Keep in mind that the subject must be in harmony with the discipline in which you are seeking certification.
A reviewer who is designated by the BoE has to approve of a detailed proposed topic of the technical report before you write the report to make sure that the subject matter is appropriate.
Components of the technical report:
The following is an ordered list of the components of a technical report for ASET assessment. Keep in mind that each section has to start on a new page. You need to submit your report electronically in PDF format.
1. Title Page
Here, in this part, it is to be shown the title of the report and the author’s name. Both of these have to centred on the page.
2. Acknowledgements
It is a must to acknowledge and thank individuals who helped, contributed and acted as technical advisors for the author.
3. Table of Contents
The content table has the main topic and the related page numbers. Minor topics are included as subtopics under the appropriate main topic.
4. List of exhibits
5. List of acronyms (Optional)
6. Executive summary
It is a summary at the start of the report. It serves as a courtesy to the reader not having enough time to read the whole report. It is to be written so that a reader with some knowledge of the subject matter can determine whether they need to read the whole report to get more detail. The executive summary consists of (very briefly):
· The reason for the investigation was initiated
· The way the investigation was done
· An overview of the results
· The conclusions that are based on the results
· The recommendation (actions) based on the conclusion.
7. Introduction
The introduction may consist of the following (in no particular order):
· The scope of the report
· The reason behind writing the report
· General information sources
· Who authorized the report (if appropriate)
The introduction must not affect the material covered in the remainder of the report.
8. Body of the report
.Discussion
It will include the details of the investigation.
.In-text citations
The technical report for the ASET assessment must be the original work of the author, but every report will need outside information sources to substantiate the report author’s results.
. Footnotes
Explanations and other notes not easily incorporated into the text could be inserted as footnotes. They will appear at the bottom of the page.
. Quotations
Short direct quotations of no more than two or three lines must be made part of the text and enclosed in double quotations marks like this (“ “).
. Exhibits
A proper technical report for ASET assessment involves an investigation of a technical subject and has to be supported by tables, drawings, charts, pictures and graphs. All these are taken as ‘Exhibits’.
9. Conclusion
The conclusion is the result of the investigation and the author’s understanding of the outcomes (for example, the selection, analysis, design, assessment and so on). The conclusion clearly articulates the way the results attained in the discussion section related to the reason for writing the report outlined in the introduction.
10. Recommendation(s):
Recommendations are based on particular conclusions and mention actions that are needed or suggested based on the author’s analysis of the data.
11. Reference list
Cite references by inserting a reference number into the report at the appropriate point.
12. Bibliography (optional)
The bibliography consists of an alphabetical list of books, articles and works that were reviewed in preparing the technical report. The bibliography should not have those sources that are included in the reference list.
13. Appendices
Supplementary data that the author created by the author that could be too large for the body of the report, and not important to the body of the report, to be included as an appendix.
14. Annexes
Supplementary data not created by the author that may be too large for the body of the report, not important to the body of the report, to be included in the annex (for instance, data sheets and manufactures data).
15. Index (optional)
An index is an alphabetical list of particular topics in the report.
16. Glossary of terms (optional)
A glossary of terms is an alphabetical list of words and terms utilized in the report.
Having told you the components of a technical report, we still advise you to take ASET technical report help so that you can get the report written by experts. They will not only prepare your report as per the technical report guidelines, but they will also highlight your skills, knowledge and experience, which will help you achieve a positive ASET assessment for certification.
