Ch 7: Informal Technical Reports Lesson Plans
About This Chapter
Weekly Syllabus
Below is a sample breakdown of the Informal Technical Reports chapter into a 5-day school week. Based on the pace of your course, you may need to adapt the lesson plan to fit your needs.
Day | Topics | Key Terms and Concepts Covered |
---|---|---|
Monday | Types of informal reports | Memos, letters, e-mails, other informal report genres |
Tuesday | Progress reports | Progress report content, structure and purpose; how to compose progress reports |
Wednesday | Research and laboratory reports | Laboratory report purpose, content and structure, writing laboratory reports |
Thursday | Incident reports | Purpose, content and structure of incident reports, how and when to write incident reports |
Friday | Ethical issues in informal report writing | Major ethical issues associated with informal report writing |

1. Types of Informal Reports
Often, information needs to be communicated within a company or department. In this lesson, we'll examine informal reports, including informational, analytical, and progress reports, and the purpose and types of each.

2. How to Write Progress Reports: Purpose, Structure & Content
Progress reports can be important documents, both to communicate within an organization and to communicate with clients and others outside an organization. Watch this lesson to find out how to write a progress report.

3. How to Write Research & Laboratory Reports: Purpose, Structure & Content
One of the most common types of technical writing for those who work in scientific fields is the research report. In this lesson, we learn the parts of a research report, as well as why it is written in such a way.

4. How to Write Incident Reports: Purpose, Structure & Content
Incident reports may serve as vitally important business documentation in many industries. In this lesson, you'll learn the purpose, structure and content of a typical incident report. A short quiz follows.

5. Ethical Issues in Informal Report Writing
In the business world, informal reports are a common part of communication, but there are some ethical issues that should be kept in mind when writing them. In this lesson, we'll cover common ethical problems in informal report writing.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Technical Writing Syllabus Resource & Lesson Plans course
- Technical Writing Basics Lesson Plans
- Prewriting Lesson Plans
- Writing Technical Documents Lesson Plans
- Technical Editing & Rewriting Lesson Plans
- Parts of a Technical Document Lesson Plans
- Usability Testing & Technical Writing Lesson Plans
- Formal Technical Reports Lesson Plans
- Business Reports and Proposals Lesson Plans
- Technical Correspondence Lesson Plans
- Writing Resumes & Cover Letters Lesson Plans
- Technical Instructions Lesson Plans
- Technical Manual Writing Process Lesson Plans
- Proposal Writing Process Lesson Plans