Geotechnical

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Technical documents present facts, data, evidence, calculations, results, and theories, which must be
presented in an impersonal, neutral, and objective manner. Avoid use of the word “feelings” or the verb
“feel” in technical writing.
MIT
General Guidelines for Technical Writing
Objectives:
•
Content: designed to accomplish writer’s purpose: complete and appropriate for intended
audience
•
Tone: neutral to positive, desirable reflection of writer and writer’s opinion of reader
•
Style: clear, concise, precise, interesting enough to keep reader’s attention but undistracting
•
Appearance: attractive; professional; appropriate to audience, situation, and purpose
Method:
•
Concentrate on content; design the document to fit reader’s concerns and level of
understanding.
•
Emphasize important ideas by working with position, heads, space, phrasing, sentence structure,
etc.
•
Write completely but concisely.
•
Write correctly; errors are distracting.
•
Set a useful pace by spacing the frequency of key ideas; balance claims, support ideas, and
information.
•
Use active voice when you have no reason to use passive.
•
Take care with the use and meaning of words.
•
Vary sentence patterns and length.
•
Use concise, well-organized paragraphs.
•
Itemize key points and tabulate significant figures.
•
Be willing to do several drafts.
USU
https://engineering.usu.edu/students/ewc/writing-resources/technical-writingstandards#:~:text=Technical%20documents%20present%20facts%2C%20data,%E2%80%9Cfeel%E2%80%
9D%20in%20technical%20writing.
Stanford University, Prof. Jack Baker
https://www.jackwbaker.com/advice/Paper_formatting_advice.html
Writing, formatting, and notation
1. Check for consistent notation and terminology throughout the paper. Did you always use the
same variable and the same name to refer to a given quantity or concept? It may seem a little
boring to keep using the same word, but it is beneficial to the reader if you always use the same
word or variable to refer to a given concept. It is easy to accidentally invent new notation
partway through a draft that doesn’t match earlier content, so make sure to clean that up. Even
minor inconsistencies such as ‘damage grade’ versus ‘damage state,’
or Sa(T) versus Sa(T) versus SA(T), should be fixed to avoid confusion.
2. Use consistent notational conventions as much as possible. I prefer to use capital letters for
random variables, lower-case letters for constants, bold symbols for vectors, and non-bold for
scalars. Sometimes I run into problems that force the use of other conventions, but I only do it as
a last resort and with some trepidation. And I err on the side of explaining my conventions as
well (e.g., ‘where boldface indicates a vector’).
3. Consistently use either present or past tense verbs. Either can work, but don’t switch between
one and the other absentmindedly.
4. Use consistent capitalization in the paper title and heading titles. You can use sentence case
(where only the first word is capitalized, like in this document) or title case (where each word is
capitalized), but be consistent throughout the document. Some journal paper templates use an
ALL-UPPERCASE style for titles, and that’s fine too if the template uses that.
5. For each equation, define every variable in the equation. Look at each variable in each equation,
and ask ‘will a reader be able to figure out what this is?’ If not, you need more documentation.
6. Use precise cross-references as much as possible. Instead of ‘as discussed above,’ write ‘as seen
in Figure 2.’ Instead of ‘using the above procedure,’ write ‘using Equation 3.’ Don’t make your
reader guess what you are referring to. I usually do a word search on ‘above’ and ‘below’ as one
technique for identifying and eliminating these cases.
7. Spell out numbers less than ten (e.g., ‘five’) and use digits for numbers greater than ten (e.g.,
‘150). There may be a little leeway with this in technical writing when the boundary between an
equation and a sentence can be blurry. But if you deviate from this rule, do it thoughtfully rather
than accidentally, and do it consistently.
Figures
Do the following for each figure:
1. Think about the message you are trying to communicate and what is needed to convey this
message. Have you chosen the appropriate figure type and the necessary data to include?
2. Remove any markings that distract from the information you are trying to convey. Make sure
that unimportant markings are shown using thin lines and do not take up too much space.
3. Make sure that every figure is cited and discussed in the paper, and that the figures appear in
the order they are cited. If a figure is not discussed, it does not belong in the paper.
4. Check that all items on the figure are labeled or explained.
5. If there is a legend, and if the lines or symbols are somewhat ordered from top to bottom in the
figure, make the order of legend entries match the order of lines or symbols in the plot.
6. Choose appropriate numerical ranges for the axes.
7. Choose an appropriate color palette for the
figure. https://colorbrewer2.org and https://coolors.co/ are useful tools for choosing color
schemes, and they have options to make sure the colors work well in greyscale or for colorblind
people. Maintain consistent color schemes throughout the paper, to the extent possible.
8. Label all axes, including units. Ideally, give the text name of the property being plotted, the
variable name, and the units. The text name makes it easier for the reader to understand what is
being plotted without having to go back to the paper for a definition. The variable name (if there
is one) adds an explicit connection to any related equations. See the figure below for a
demonstration.
9. Legends, axis labels, and other text should have a similar font size to the rest of the text in the
paper. Some plotting program’s default font sizes are too small, so this requires a small effort to
fix. See the figure below for a demonstration.
10. Use one or at most two font sizes in a figure. Ideally, all figures should have identical font sizes.
11. Use acronyms and abbreviations in figures with great caution. The reader may have to search
back through your paper to find the acronym definition before interpreting the figure. You will
often be surprised at how little space it takes to spell out your terms.
12. Make sure any variable names you use are consistent with definitions in the text.
13. Place a caption below every figure and omit titles at the top of the figure image. The caption
should describe the figure. I put comments interpreting the figure in the body text, but some
fields and journals include some in the caption; if you do this, think about consistency across the
figures in your paper.
14. If there are subfigures, describe or identify each subfigure in the caption.
15. Write the captions in complete sentences.
16. End the caption text with a period.
Two example figures that illustrate axis labels and units. There are also only two font sizes in the
figure, and they are like the text font size. See below.
When plotting quantities versus depth, plot the depth with zero at the ground surface and increasing
downwards. See example below.
Tables
Do the following for each table:
1. Confirm that a table is the best format for the data and idea you are communicating. Often a
figure is preferable. If the table is small, with only a few numbers presented, it may be preferable
to list them in a sentence.
2. Consider the appropriate number of significant figures to report. Usually, only a few digits are
appropriate. If the numbers are results from experiments or statistical analysis, consider how
many digits are signals as opposed to estimation noise. And keep in mind that the more digits
you report, the more difficult it is for a reader to skim the table and discern patterns.
3. Consider the appropriate alignment of each column. Columns of text are easier to read when
left-aligned. Columns of floating-point numbers should generally be right-aligned or aligned at
the decimal point. This will differentiate numbers of differing magnitudes.
4. Put a caption above the table.
5. The caption should be written in complete sentences.
6. The caption text should end with a period.
7. Avoid excess border lines in the table. A good practice is generally to have a horizontal line at the
top of the table, a line following the header labels, and a line at the bottom (i.e., no vertical
lines, and no horizontal lines between rows of data).
See the table below for an illustration of several of the above items.
Citations
1. Use one of the following formats when you cite a reference:
1. Mention the author by the last name in the sentence and then give the year of the
publication in parenthesis:
Rodgers (2003) inferred that the 1906 San Andreas earthquake likely included super-shear rupture
velocities.
2. Give the facts or ideas mentioned by the author and then attribute these facts or ideas
by putting their last name and the date in parenthesis:
The 1906 San Andreas earthquake likely included super-shear rupture velocities (Rodgers, 2003).
2. In both cases, the author’s first name is not used, the date is always in parentheses, and there
are never two sets of nested parentheses. If you are mentioning an idea that is described in
several places, and you are providing one example reference, precede the citation by an ‘e.g.’:
3. Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (e.g., Kramer, 1996) was used to obtain a ground motion
hazard curve for the example site.
4. You can include a prefix in a Latex citation with the command cite[e.g.,][]{kramer_1996}.
5. Some journals use numbered references instead of the ‘author-date’ references shown above. In
that case, the above reference text would look like ‘According to Rodgers [1]…’ and ‘super-shear
rupture velocities [1].’
6. Check that you have cited the most appropriate sources. Many authors tend to cite their own
work or those of others in their research group, because that is what they are most familiar with.
But if there are earlier or more impactful papers that make the same point, then it is more
appropriate to cite those papers instead. Excessive self-citation can give the impression that you
do not know the field well, or that you are trying to promote your own work over that of others.
7. Check that the citation information in your reference list is complete. Common sources of errors
are reports with report numbers missing, and papers that were initially cited as ‘in press’ but are
now published.
8. Check for errors in your reference list. Common problems are non-capitalized proper nouns,
errors in author names, and missing report numbers (often caused by automatic but incorrect
data handling in the reference management software).
REFERENCES
References in alphabetical order following this format:
Darcy H. 1856. Les fontaines publiques de la ville de Dijon. Dalmont, Paris.
Gibson R.E. and Henkel D.J. 1954. Influence of duration of tests at constant rate of strain on measured
“drained” strength. Géotechnique 4 (1), 6-15.
Terzaghi K. 1936. The shearing resistance of saturated soils. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. Soil Mech., Cambridge,
Mass., 1, 54-56.
A good figure or illustration should not need a text for explanation; a good text should not need an
illustration for understanding the message from the writing.
U.S. Deportment
of Transportation
Federal Railroad
Administration
Office of Research,
Development and Technology
Washington, DC 20590
GUIDELINES
FOR WRITING
TECHNICAL
REPORTS
A comprehensive guide to understanding the requirements
of full-length FRA Office of Research, Development and
Technology Technical Reports.
Created September 31, 2018
CONTENTS
1.
OVERVIEW TO TECHNICAL REPORTS ………………………………………………………………… 1
2.
FORMATTING AND READABILITY ……………………………………………………………………… 1
TECHNICAL REPORT FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS: ………………………………………….. 1
Checklist of General Layout and Formatting Requirements: ………………………………………….. 2
FIGURES …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
WRITING GUIDANCE ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
3.
BASIC STRUCTURE OF A TECHNICAL REPORT ………………………………………………….. 3
TECHNICAL REPORT COVER PAGE ………………………………………………………………………… 4
NOTICE …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE ………………………………………………………………………….. 4
METRIC/ENGLISH CONVERSION FACTORS ……………………………………………………………. 6
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS [Optional]…………………………………………………………………………… 6
CONTENTS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
ILLUSTRATIONS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
TABLES …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
Checklist for Formatting Tables: ………………………………………………………………………………… 7
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY …………………………………………………………………………………………… 7
Checklist for the Executive Summary: ………………………………………………………………………… 7
INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
BACKGROUND …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
OBJECTIVES …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
OVERALL APPROACH ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
SCOPE ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT …………………………………………………………………………… 9
SECTION 2 TITLE ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
SUBSECTION 1 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
SUBSECTION 2 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
SUBHEADING 2.2.1 ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
SUBHEADING 2.2.2 ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
SUBHEADING 2.2.3 ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
APPENDIX [Optional] ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ……………………………………………………………………… 10
FOOTER ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
4.
WRITING STYLE & REQUIREMENTS …………………………………………………………………. 11
U.S. Government Publishing Office’s (GPO) Style Manual …………………………………………. 11
Writing in Plain Language……………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
508 Compliance ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11
5.
REPORT SUBMITTAL PROCEDURE ……………………………………………………………………. 13
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1. OVERVIEW TO TECHNICAL REPORTS
The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Office of Research, Development and Technology
(RD&T) publishes Technical Reports that provide in-depth description and analysis of research
work undertaken by FRA or its sponsored organizations. The reports present research to internal
and external stakeholders, complete with technical specifications and results for final publication
on FRA’s eLibrary.
The design of this reference document offers explanation and examples on the types of
information to include in Technical Reports, and where to incorporate this information within the
framework of the Technical Report Template. While not exhaustive, the guidelines will help
authors to effectively communicate the key messages and ideas of the research study.
2. FORMATTING AND READABILITY
The format of FRA’s Technical Report Template meets our agency’s report writing guidelines
and standards. All draft submissions must use the Technical Report Template. The Technical
Editors will not accept draft submissions not formatted per the template due to not meeting
FRA’s report writing standards, and thus the original author(s) must reformat the draft and return
it to the Program Manager.
TECHNICAL REPORT FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
•
ALL authors must have an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCiD ID) for new
reports not submitted into the editing process. Accessing its website allows the free
generating of the ORCiD ID by following the instructions. For additional information,
consult with the Program Manager.
•
Only Microsoft Word XML .docx format will be accepted.
•
DO NOT modify heading styles, spacing, font, language preference (default set to:
American English), or template layout:
o 1” margins
o An indent of 0.25” from the left margin is for the first-level bullets. An additional
indent of 0.25” is for each descending sub-bullet.
o Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, or Calibri 12-point font must be the main text
for the document.
•
For rules related to grammar, spelling, punctuation, and general form, FRA uses the U.S.
Government Publishing Office’s (GPO) Style Manual, available online.
•
Use the built-in “Citations and Bibliography” feature. Learn how to add a citation and
create a bibliography.
•
Use the Word “References” feature to insert references/citations. Learn how to add
citations in a Word document.
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•
Follow American Psychological Association’s (APA) references format. See the
REFERENCES section for more details.
•
Use the accessibility checker to ensure the Technical Report is 508 compliant. Click here
for information on how to use the accessibility checker.
•
Avoid using blank spaces (including carriage returns) for formatting purposes.
Checklist of General Layout and Formatting Requirements:
 Has the document been formatted using Style elements (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2)
and/or Outline in a hierarchical manner (e.g., Heading 1 to Heading 2 to Body Text)?
The template has built in headers that are not to be changed.
 Are page numbers formatted as opposed to manually typed?
 Have footnotes or endnotes been created using Word’s footnotes feature?
 Is the list style being used as opposed to manually typed characters (e.g., hyphens,
numbers, or graphics)?
FIGURES
•
Include figures to illustrate or support the important points of the Technical Report. Each
figure must have a short caption and MUST include a 508-compliant alt-text title and
description (i.e., the body of the report should accurately describe the figure, so it is
acceptable to add a shortened sentence). To learn how to how to add alt-text, see this
video: Improve accessibility with alt text.
•
Figures (also known as illustrations) may be graphs, drawings, photographs, etc.
•
Use colors that have high contrast against each other or the background.
•
Provide appropriate figures for the given context so readers may easily interpret it.
•
If a contractor or other company owns the graphic and the graphic was never published,
then you would add a copyright attribution under the graphic, e.g., © TTCI.
•
If the graphic is published and/or altered by the author, then a copyright attribution and
reference citation should be added under the graphic.
•
Manually type equations and use Microsoft’s ‘Symbols’ if possible; workaround is to
capture equations as images and briefly describe it in the alt-text. An additional
workaround is to capture the equation(s) in a table, but note that the requirement for
header rows and alt-text still applies.
WRITING GUIDANCE
•
Use plain language. Visit this link on the “Checklist for Plan Language” published to
plainlanguage.gov. Section 4 provides additional information.
•
Strive for clarity, concision, accuracy, and objective tone
o The draft should read as though one author wrote it.
•
Avoid slang, conversational tone, and clichés
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•
Use American English, not UK English (e.g., center, not centre; behavior, not behaviour;
organization, not organisation)
•
Maintain parallel structure as well as consistency with acronyms, abbreviations, and
terminology
•
For each section, ask: “Does this information belong here?”
•
Use active voice and avoid passive voice. Active voice clearly establishes who has taken
what action and simplifies the sentence (e.g., the company polluted the lake). Passive
voice camouflages who has taken action (e.g., the lake was polluted by the company).
•
Check for subject-verb agreement
•
Apply the right verb tense (i.e., use past tense for research work completed in the past)
•
Follow publishing rules regarding diacritical marks (i.e., symbols that tell the reader how
to pronounce a letter, such as à, é, ç, etc.
•
Run spell check and the accessibility check in Microsoft Word prior to submitting the
draft report
3. BASIC STRUCTURE OF A TECHNICAL REPORT
The guidelines accompanying the Technical Report Template will help authors think through the
structure of the report, and present the appropriate type and level of content according to each
section and subsection. Technical Reports begin by laying out/establishing the fundamental
premise of the research study and then build upon it to provide an in-depth analysis of the
research work carried out.
The Technical Report Template contains the following sections/subsections/elements. It may be
useful to refer to the Technical Report Template while reviewing the guidelines:
The items below are cross referenced to the section. Press ctrl and then click the text to follow
link:
TECHNICAL REPORT COVER PAGE
NOTICE
REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE
METRIC/ENGLISH CONVERSION FACTORS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
TABLES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
1.2 OBJECTIVES
1.3 OVERALL APPROACH
1.4 SCOPE
1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
2. SECTION 2 TITLE
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2.1 SUBSECTION 1
2.2 SUBSECTION 2
3. CONCLUSION
4. REFERENCES
APPENDIX A. APPENDIX HEADING [Optional]
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
FOOTER
TECHNICAL REPORT COVER PAGE
The cover page has a header with FRA’s logo, positioned on the top left of the page and FRA’s
city/state location along with the office in which these reports are written for on the top right of
the page. DO NOT change the positioning or size of the header.
Add the report’s title and (if applicable) subtitle above the image. Capitalize the first letter of
each word in the “Title of Report,” except for prepositions such as on, in, to, for, and with. Insert
an image that captures the subject of the report. Add an alt-text description to the image. To learn
how to do so, see this video: Improve accessibility with alt text.
The footer on the cover page contains a unique report documentation number and the following
text: “Final Report | Month 20YY.” DO NOT change this as the RD&T Technical Editor enters
this information.
NOTICE
DO NOT move or modify the content on the “NOTICE” page.
REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE
The Standard Form 298 is provided by OMB No. 0704-0188. DO NOT resize or reposition this
form. Complete the following fields with the requested information. Original authors are
responsible for the items in BOLD. Follow the instructions below on which fields to fill in:
1. REPORT DATE. RD&T’s Technical Editors will enter the publication date.
2. REPORT TYPE. Information for a Technical Report is already entered. DO NOT
modify.
3. DATES COVERED. Enter the start date and end date [MM/20YY] for the research
work conducted, which includes the time needed to draft the report. Authors must fill in
this information.
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE. Enter this information, as shown on the title page. Authors
must fill in this information.
5a. CONTRACT NUMBER. Enter all contract numbers as they appear in the report, e.g.,
F33315-86-C-5169. Consult with the RD&T Program Manager about this information.
Authors must fill in this information if applicable.
5b. GRANT NUMBER. Enter all grant numbers as they appear in the report, e.g., AFOSR82-1234. Consult with the Program Manager about this information. Authors must fill in
this information if applicable.
5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER. Enter all program element numbers as they appear
in the report, if applicable, e.g., 61101A/. Leave blank if information is unknown.
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5d. PROJECT NUMBER. Enter the project number as it appears in the report, if applicable,
e.g., 61101A/. Leave blank if information is unknown.
5e. TASK NUMBER. Enter all task numbers as they appear in the report, e.g., 05;
RF0330201; TO4112. Consult with the RD&T Program Manager about this information.
Authors must fill in this information if applicable.
5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER. Enter all work unit numbers as they appear in the report, if
applicable, e.g., 001; AFAPL30480105. Leave blank if information is unknown.
6. AUTHOR(S). Enter the name(s) and ORCiD IDs of the person(s) responsible for writing
the report, performing the research, or credited with the content of the report. Enter
names by first name – middle name (or initial) – last name (i.e., plus any additional
qualifiers) format. E.g., Richard K. Smith, Jr. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-2345-6789,
Rebecca T. Williams https://orcid.org/0000-0001-2345-6789, and Leslie P. Chan III
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-2345-6789. Authors must fill in this information.
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES). Enter this
information for the company/organization performing the research. Authors must fill in
this information.
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER. Enter a unique
alphanumeric report numbers assigned by the performing organization, e.g., BRL-1234;
AFWL-TR-85-4017-Vol-21-PT-2. Authors must fill in this information.
9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES).
Information for the organization(s) financially responsible for and monitoring the work is
already entered. DO NOT modify.
10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S). Information for FRA is already entered. DO
NOT modify.
11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S). The Technical Editors will enter this
information, which is a unique alphanumeric identifier assigned to this report.
12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT. Information about the report’s
distribution/availability is already entered. DO NOT modify.
13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. The RD&T Program Manager overseeing this project will
enter this information.
14. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words). Provide a quick overview of the report. The
abstract is a stand-alone section to help readers understand at a glance the findings and
conclusion of the report. It concisely conveys the purpose of the research, its significance,
and its main message. The abstract does not include data-related details, except for the
most significant. Authors must fill in this information.
15. SUBJECT TERMS. List any keywords pertinent to the subject matter of the report,
including RD&T core subject matter terms (e.g., track research, rolling stock research,
train control and communication, or human factors). If the report mentions certain terms
or their abbreviations frequently, be sure to add them to the keywords. Repeat keywords
used in the title to optimize the search (i.e., with the right set of keywords, readers have a
5|Page
greater likelihood of finding the Technical Report when conducting an eLibrary search.
Authors must fill in this information.
16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF (16a-16c). Information is already entered. DO NOT
modify.
17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT. No information is needed here.
18. NUMBER OF PAGES. The Technical Editors will enter this information when finalizing
the report for publication.
19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON. Add the name of an individual associated to the
work/research who will field phone calls related to this report, if applicable.
19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER. Add the responsible person’s contact phone number if
applicable.
METRIC/ENGLISH CONVERSION FACTORS
DO NOT move or modify the contents of this table. This information is intended for readers’
reference.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS [Optional]
If appropriate, the author(s) may acknowledge FRA staff for technical contributions. Neither
FRA nor FRA staff should be acknowledged for providing funding.
CONTENTS
Update this table after content has been added to the Technical Report Template and the report is
ready for submission; check for accuracy. DO NOT manually update the table of contents. To
learn more about how to update a table of contents in Word, by visiting Microsoft Office’s
website on this topic.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Technical Reports include figures to illustrate with visual examples related important aspects of
the research, such as site location or crash impact, or provide graphical data to support or
summarize analytical findings. Figures may be graphs, diagrams, screen captures, photographs,
etc.
A table of figures is pre-populated and inserted at the beginning of the report (refer to “page v”
of the Technical Report Template). The table of figures is automatically generated when all
figures are captioned using the “References” Insert Table of Figures” feature. DO NOT
manually edit the table of figures. Learn more about how to update a table of figures.
Helpful Tips:
• Place figures in the most appropriate context within the report so that readers can easily
interpret it based on the text directly preceding it.
•
Each figure must have a short caption and include an alt-text description. To learn more
about this see this video: Improve accessibility with alt text to find out more about this
topic.
•
All background images and watermarks must be removed.
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•
All images have their text wrapping set to “In Line with Text.”
•
All multi-layer images must be grouped together to create one figure.
•
Do not insert an image/figure into a text box or table.
•
Number figures consecutively, starting with Figure 1.
•
Images should be in PNG, JPEG, or JPG format.
•
Figures should be visually clear and legible. The Technical Editors recommend a white
background, not shaded; this helps to create the best contrast and make the information
clearly discernible.
•
Provide high-resolution (300 dots per inch [dpi] or greater) photography or artwork if
necessary and provide original drawings or illustrations at the beginning of the cycle.
TABLES
Tables can be included in Technical Reports to present qualitative or quantitative information by
ordering, segmenting, grouping, or arranging information into rows and columns.
A listing of tables is automatically generated at the start of the report. (Refer to page vi of the
Technical Report Template.)
Insert tables using the “Insert” feature in Word. To learn more about how to insert or draw a
table in Word, visit Microsoft Office’s website on this topic.
Checklist for Formatting Tables:
 Do all tables have a logical reading order from left to right, top to bottom?
 Do data tables have the entire first row designated as a “Header Row” in table properties?
 In table properties, is “Allow row to break across pages” unchecked? In other words,
table cells cannot break