How important is writing in engineering?

Research reports for business/professional audiences vary in length and complexity, depending on the subject, purpose and audience. Formal reports usually include all of the following parts, whereas simpler, in-house reports may consist of just the Report Body and References.Like all technical writing, a research report should be concise, clear, and easy to read. In the professional world, people may not have time to read your report word-for-word, so you need to organize it according to the standard, familiar structure; you also need to use headings, white space, and other design elements that are friendly to being scanned and comprehended quickly.Here are the parts of a formal report, FYI—but note that in this assignment, you’ll omit the front matter (yay!) and just do the report body and references:Front Matter—may include:Letter of transmittal (like a cover letter)Title pageAcknowledgementsTable of contentsLists of figures and tablesReport Body:IntroductionBackgroundMethodsResultsDiscussion or FindingsConclusions and/or RecommendationsBack Matter—may includeReferencesAttachmentsAppendicesBe sure you look at this week’s readings about research reports to get an overview of the genre before you start working on your own. Also, do the brainstorming exercise (A#10): it will save your sanity as well as time and energy.As the brainstorming assignment mentions, once you’ve decided on a topic you should formulate a specific research question about it in order to focus it appropriately for the length of the assignment and the amount of time you have, as well as for practice in the genre. Research reports in the professional world are usually produced in order to answer some question, for example:What is the best way to train cybersecurity specialists?What are the risks of self-driving cars?How important is writing in engineering?Are solar roof panels a way for homeowners in Eugene to save on their electric bills?Once you have your question narrowed down, do the research (using the library databases, websites that you have evaluated, or other credible sources) and try to answer it.When writing your research report, keep in mind your audience (this class) and make sure they can understand what you’re saying (i.e., explain technical terms and issues that they might not be familiar with). You can use the first person (“I”) when writing your report, i.e., feel free to talk about your own experience or interest and process. Use respectful, professional language, but within those confines, be yourself on the page.