Basics of Report Writing What is a report

Basics of Report Writing

What is a report? An orderly and objective communication of factual information that serves a business purpose.

REPORT WRITING

REPORT TYPES §Long Reports §Short reports §General reports §Empirical research report §Feasibility reports §Progress reports §Analysis reports

How to Write a Good Report

Structure §Front matters – Title: What is this? – Author(s) & affiliation: Who wrote this? – Abstract: Summary of the work – Acknowledgements: Who helped? – (Table of Contents) – (List of Tables) – (List of Figures)

Structure §Body of the report – Introduction: – Method: – Results: – Discussion: – Conclusions: What are we talking about? How did we measure? What does it mean? What should be remembered?

Structure §End matters – References: – Appendices: Whose work was referred to? Extra information

Title §Short §Accurate §Informative §Include key-words – Allow search engines to find the article §No abbreviations

Abstract §Summary of work §Should be self-contained (no references) § 1 -2 sentences for each of the 5 main parts (introduction, method, results, discussion, conclusions) – then streamline §High information content

Abstract §No abbreviations § 200 -300 words §Best (re-)written last §All information should be covered in the body of the report

Introduction §Usually too long §Best written last (or at least rewritten). The work it requires (e. g. background reading) needs to be done first. §Provides background information – Starts wide and focuses quickly §Tries to catch the interest §Introduces each and every new idea, concept, symbol, abbreviation

Introduction §Places paper in context – Relation to other work §Defines scope and purpose of the work. §What problem(s) are we trying to solve? What question(s) are we trying to answer?

Introduction §Shows what has been done (by others) before – = literature review – Refer to main authors/works in the field (most relevant work) – Refer to most recent work in the field (use Citation Index)

Introduction §Shows what has NOT been done before (and was done in the present work) – Shows WHY the study needed to be done – Objectives

Method §What method(s) did we use to address our problem(s)? What method(s) did we use to answer our question(s)? §Must allow evaluation of the results §Must allow verification of the results (convince) §Describe experimental set-up, instruments, procedures, statistical processing §Describe evaluation procedure

Method §Mention all settings, controls, variables, processing, etc. §Assume basic knowledge of the field §Can include photographs and/or diagrams §May include limitations, assumptions, range of validity §Describe what was actually done, NOT what should have been done

Results §Purely objective §Only facts and observations – No opinions or interpretations! §Text – Summarizes most important results of tables and figures – Guides readers through tables and figures – Provides clarifying information – Points to anomalies in the results

Results §Figures – Label all axes – Mention all units – Use same scaling for figures that need to be compared – Put caption BELOW the figure – Number the figures sequentially – Include the figure immediately after the first reference to it in the text (unless page layout does not permit)

Results §Figures – Put all required info on the figure (if possible) – not in caption or text – Avoid crowded figures – Avoid the use of color

Results §Tables – Label all columns – Mention all units – Put caption ABOVE the table – Number the tables sequentially – Include the table immediately after the first reference to it in the text (unless page layout does not permit)

Results §Use EITHER table OR figure for a particular subset of results §Do not use more decimals in a number than you could measure §Give an estimate of the measurement error §Also include “negative” results – They are often the source of the major discoveries

Discussion §Only place where the author can and should be less objective §Interpret your results. Did we solve our problem(s)? Did we answer our question(s)? §Put results in perspective §Major patterns §Relationships, trends, generalizations §Exceptions to observed patterns and generalizations

Discussion §Differences with published work or expected results §Possible explanations for differences/ discrepancies §Point out potential shortcomings §Recommendations for future work §Theoretical implications §Possible applications §Possible generalizations

Discussion §Opinions can be mentioned §Shows what new things were learned from the experiments/data §No new results? Replication. §What is the relevance of the present results – what did we learn? §Explain, analyze, interpret, compare §Mention the things that are not readily observable from the data

Conclusions §What do you want the reader to remember? §Should be self-contained (no references) §Typically 2 -3 paragraphs (1 idea per paragraph)

Acknowledgements §Thank all who have directly contributed to the work §Thank any sponsoring organizations §Thank any external reviewer §Do not thank relatives and friends

References §All statements, ideas, figures, tables of others should be referenced §Cite current AND recent publications – Current: reference (seminal) papers – Recent: show that you know what are the recent developments in the field (use Citation Index, e. g. : Google Scholar “Cited by …”). §Reference only the works that you have actually read

References §Should be clear enough for the reader to locate it §Should contain: author name(s), title, location, date §Location: – Publisher and city (for books) – Journal name volume and page(s) (for articles) – Conference name, date, and location, and page in the proceedings (for conference papers) – Department and University (for theses) – URL (for Web pages) §Follow the imposed format

Appendices §Additional material that is only meant for technical reading – E. g. : mathematical proofs, raw results, circuit diagrams, … §Non-essential to comprehension §Further clarify report §Each appendix should contain different data/information §Appendices should be referred to in the text

Style §Paragraph – One idea per paragraph – One paragraph per idea – First sentence of paragraph is main idea – Rest of paragraph defines the idea §Tense – Passive – Avoid use of pronouns (I, we, you, …)

Style §Numbering – Number all pages – Number all headings except abstract – Hierarchical numbering of headings §Avoid repetitions §Use formal and impersonal language §Use a consistent style

Grammar §Should be impeccable – Spelling also §Articles – First time a process, part or concept is introduced: “a” or “an” – Subsequently use: “the” – No article for uncountable nouns (e. g. NOT “a happiness”) §Use short sentences

General recommendations §Be as brief as possible §Avoid unnecessary abbreviations §Know your audience §Don’t repeat the things the reader knows – Don’t copy the information from the lab sheets §Remove unnecessary words, sentences, paragraphs §Weigh each word – Every word should be accurate, justified and useful

General recommendations §The main purpose is to convey information – Don’t try to entertain – Good presentation is less important than sound technical content – Don’t over-emphasize format (you are not studying to be a technical secretary) – Follow the imposed format right from the beginning

General recommendations §Proofread and let it be proofread §Follow preferably the same structure (sub-headings) in methods, results and discussion parts

General recommendations §A good report should demonstrate comprehension, not just state facts §Check visibility and readability

Summary

Bibliography UNi. M Library: § DG Riordan, SE Pauley, "Technical report writing today, “ Houghton Mifflin Company (Boston), 1999 § R Barrass, "Scientists must write: a guide to better writing for scientists, engineers and students, " Routledge (London), 2002 § JW Davies, "Communication skills: a guide for engineering and applied science students, " Pearson Education Asia Ltd (Singapore), 2001 § JN Borowick, "Technical communication and its applications, " Prentice Hall (New Jersey), 2000 § DF Beer, D Mc. Murrey, "A guide to writing as an engineer, " John Wiley & Sons, Inc (New York), 1997 § R Ellis, "Communication for engineers: bridge that gap, " Arnold (London), 1997 § S Goodlad, "Speaking technically: a handbook for scientists, engineers, and physicians on how to improve technical presentations, “ Imperial College Press (London), 1996 § HF Wolcott, "Writing up qualitative research, " 2001 § JN Borowick, "How to write a lab report, " 2000

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