KINDS OF TECHNICAL LITERATURE

1.Complaint Report. A critical assessment of action, policy, procedure or person. It usually recommends an alternative or adjustment. Examples are trouble reports, investigative reports, accident reports.


2.Progress Report. An account of what has been accomplished on a project over a specific period of time and what may be expected in the next period. It may include changes in procedures or adjustments in schedules. Some progress reports record personal or professional development as in psychotherapy personnel evaluation.


3.Status report or project report. It is similar to a progress report but the underlying difference is in the time covered. Instead of accounting for a period of time, it describes the status of the project at a particular time, usually the present. It also describes the condition of a department, company profession or industry. In this case, personnel may be evaluated on the basis of their works, examples are annual reports to stockholders by corporations, Presidents’ report, annual state of the message or address delivered to Congress by the President.


4.Trip Report. An account of a business or professional trip. It records specific and significant places, events, conversation and people met. It attempts to answer where, when, what, why, and who. It may have recommendation section.


5.Laboratory Report. A record of procedures and results of laboratory tests. It describes the scope of a project, the equipment utilized, the procedures used, the results of tests, and any conclusions or recommendations.