Reference no: EM134007018

The five major stages of technical report preparation are:

1. Gather the data
2. Analyze the results
3. Outline and organize the report
4. Write the rough draft
5. Polish your revised draft

Gather the data

Technical report preparation begins with proper planning. An orderly investigation is a prerequisite for an orderly technical report. Maintain orderly records as the data is gathered. The investigator must document properly as each process is completed. For students who need assistance in structuring technical documentation and research reports, Coursework Writing Assignments Help can provide useful academic guidance.

For example: When conducting an investigation of a dead box system, the removal of the hard drive is photographed, next the bios is pulled up and photographed and finally a picture is snapped when the write block device is installed. By doing these steps you are creating a time stamped record of the investigation that will be helpful when writing a report later.

Analyze the Results

During the analysis and data review, likely conclusions should be noted but not formed into opinions. This is the most important step in the technical report preparation because the conclusions are the reason for the report and the basis for the technical report preparation. However, limited information gathered during this phase may lead to incorrect assumptions if the evidence gathered isn't taken as a whole.

As you analyze data make pertinent notes that lead to your later conclusions. Proper analysis and Interpreting And Report Findings are essential for producing accurate technical reports and evidence-based conclusions.

For example: If the suspect machine shows evidence that steganography software was installed and later removed, the investigation may believe that anti-forensic measures are being employed and should note it for later conclusions when looking at other evidence. If later, you discover that the person wrote a research paper about steganography but made no other attempts to hide or remove evidence the final conclusion might be different.

Outline and Organize Your Report

Outlining is a very necessary preliminary step to forensic technical writing. Without an outline, most people will write reports that are confusing and difficult to follow. Organizing the report is also critically important. A good suggestion for the forensic report is to start at the high level, and have the complexity of the forensic report increase.

Students often improve their report structure and clarity by reviewing professional Essay Writing Report Writing Help resources before preparing the final technical document.

This way, the high-level executives need to read only the first page to get a summary of the conclusions. They usually are not interested in the evidence that support the conclusion.

Rough Drafts

With a logically organized outline such as the template you will be supplied with, writing the rough draft will be much easier. However, due to the nature of the technical materials included in forensic reports, several versions are required. Each version will be an improvement over the other.

You should let someone with limited knowledge proof your near final version. Remember, the forensic report must be easily understood by lay or non-technical personnel such as attorneys or the court. Knowledge of systems such as the Anatomy Of Digital Computer can also help investigators better understand technical evidence while preparing reports.

Polishing a Revised Draft

Finally, we''ve made it to the last stage! However, this is an important step, and the one most often overlooked by inexperienced technical forensic writers. In this step, the "appearance" (readability) is improved without doing major modifications to the structure of the report.

Successful forensic technical writers may use a variety of methods to review and revise the report. One of the best methods involves three separate reviews of the forensic report:

1. The first review deals with conclusions and supporting facts. Ask these questions: Are the conclusions valid? Is sufficient information given to support the conclusions? Is enough information given to explain the results? Have all irrelevant ideas been deleted? Are the illustrations pertinent and necessary?
2. The second review is of the mechanics and organization of the report. Ask these questions: Are the subject and purpose clearly stated? Does the report flow smoothly from beginning to end (or topic to topic)? Are the relations between topics clear? Is each illustration clear and properly labeled? Are all required parts of the report included?
3. The third review is of spelling and grammar, particularly punctuation and sentence structure. Ask these questions: Is each sentence written effectively? Are the sentence varied in length and complexity to avoid monotony? Are the words specific and not vague? Have unnecessary words been deleted from the report?