Words such as impressive, new, improved, large, and better often are seen in technical descriptions.

This page gives examples of different genres of technical writing, including instruction manuals, proposals, reports, posters and visual communication, technical descriptions, product recalls, and white papers.

Databases with Multiple Types of Technical Documents

These databases contain research reports, progress reports, feasibility reports, proposals, technical descriptions, instruction manuals, executive summaries, and other types of technical writing. For best results, use Advanced Search and include the document type as part of a TITLE search, such as

"progress report" AND solar

then check the full text to make sure you have the type you want.

• NASA Technical Reports Server

  Various genres of scientific and technical information related to research created or sponsored by NASA.

• OSTI.gov

  Primary way to search for research results from the U.S. Department of Energy. Includes links to many government publications that are harder to find elsewhere. Advanced Search options are available for more control of search terms.

Executive Summaries

• National Academies Press

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  Source for free online books on science and technology topics--most books here start with an "Overview" or "Summary" of the content; lengths vary.

• Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Technology

  Research reports on Americans' attitudes and behaviors regarding technology. Most begin with a "Summary of Findings."

Instruction Manuals

Instruction manuals for consumer products are easy to find with your favorite search engine; just include "instruction manual" or "product manual" with the name of the product in your search.

• Online Technical Writing: Examples, Cases & Models

  Links to sample instruction manuals and other examples of types of technical writing from an online writing textbook.

News Releases

Posters and Visual Communication

• Examples of Posters - Creating Effective Poster Presentations

  Scientific poster examples from NCSU, including critiques of the posters.

• Better Posters - Critiques

  Examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly in scientific posters, with suggestions for improvement.

• IKEA

  Search for a product, then look for Assembly to view its instructions document. IKEA focuses on visuals to avoid the need for translating text.

Product Recalls

• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

  The "Recalls" section of the CPSC site lists recent product recalls.

• Recalls.gov

  Lists product recalls issued by six U.S. government agencies, in categories from motor vehicles to medicine.

Reports

(Can include progress, problem-solving, feasibility, laboratory, research, and recommendation reports.)

• NTIS: National Technical Reports Library

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  The NTRL provides information on over 2 million technical reports from U.S. government sponsored research in a wide variety of subject areas. Includes many types of reports. Full-text links are provided for many reports.

• Institute for Transportation (InTrans) Project Reports

  Reports from the Institute for Transportation at ISU in collaboration with the Iowa DOT.

• Laboratory Reports

  How-to writing page with links near the top to example laboratory reports.

Technical Descriptions

• Google Patents

  Patents contain technical descriptions of the claimed inventions, as well as graphics illustrating the inventions.

• Iowa State University Patents

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  Some of the patents issued to ISU researchers.

• Apple Tech Specs

  Specifications/product descriptions for Apple products.

• Energy Star Product Specifications

  Gives requirements for products to claim the Energy Star label.

White Papers

• Tech Republic

  Vendor-supplied technical white papers, accessible with free site registration.

What are the types of technical description?

What do you mean by technical description?

What is process description in technical writing?

What style is used in technical writing?