The evidence-gathering process:

Technical reports and documentation are literal and evidence based - they are not written by way of writer opinion. A report's credibility rests on the quality of evidence (research) integrated throughout a report. But before you gather your evidence and research, you must first clearly define the purpose of your report. The operative word is the VERB - if the verb does not clearly articulate the goal of the report or purpose of the document, it will not reach its overall objective.

The importance of objectivity

For the report or document to be credible (taken seriously), the information must be objective (according to evidence), not subjective (according to you). For a report to be objective, all claims and statements must be both specific (not generic) and verifiable (proof).

When a reader sees this type of statement: The quality control manual is out of date, the first impression will likely be negative. If the writer does not supply the reader with specific DETAIL, supported by credible evidence or explicit language, the report (which is often in competition with others for funding and/or jobs) will not be considered. A statement like that will cause a stakeholder to question the writer's credibility (and the company they work for).

How is the manual out of date?

• Is it not cost effective?
• Difficult to use?
• Not functional?
• Does it pose a security risk?
• Does it conform to current health and safety standards?
• Does it have design flaws?

To verify a subjective claim, the writer should provide evidence in terms of:

• Measurements, comparison to a previous time, comparison to an industry 'norm' or legislated standard, comparison to a similar product, provide technical specifications, statistics, percentages, etc. Revised, the statement might read, "The quality control manual is out of date as it has not been updated with current Work BC and federal Occupational Health and Safety Standards since 2011."

LABS

YOUR TASK:

Under each of the vague statements, revise each so that the content is clear, descriptive, and verifiable. The goal is to remove what is ambiguous and replace with content your reader will understand. You will need to make up the details. The first one has been done for you and there is another example/sample below #10.

1.NE1's Parking Lot B is a mess.

Example: NE1's parking lot B contains potholes, faded parking lines, and usually floods

during rainfall due to uneven grading.

2.The workmanship on the book case cabinets are terrible.

3.The company's employee onboarding process is confusing.

4.The air quality in this region during the forest fire season is poor.

5.Financial reports take too long to reach the Chief Accountant at month-end.

6.The email program our office uses is obsolete.

7.The developer promised public amenities in lieu of cutting down an old-growth forest.

8.The site supervisor is inconsistent with enforcing health and safety standards.

9.Our company's profits grew last year.

10.The Bank of Canada's lending rate will rise next quarter.

Sample

Subjective

- Squamish receives more annual rainfall than the Lower Mainland (what does

'more' mean? Where in the Lower Mainland? - this leaves your readers with questions. Your job is to ELIMINATE those questions in your written communications).

Verifiable

- Environment Canada states the average rainfall in Squamish was 2,250 mm per year

for the past four years (2013-2017), while the City of Vancouver received 1,900 mm per year during the same time period (Environment Canada, 2018).

NOTE: citations are not required for the purpose of this exercise - but in a report or workplace document they would be required to ethically credit the source where the information came from- and to prove what you've said is factual, credible, reliable.