What makes a good Report?

1
What makes a good Report?

• A report must have a clear logical structure
  with clear signposting to show where the ideas
  are leading.
• The report must make a good first impression.
  Presentation is very important
• All reports must be written in good English
  using short sentences and with correct grammar
  and spelling
• Ref http//www.surrey.ac.uk/Skills/pack/report.ht
  ml

2
Where to start?

• Report Structure
• Before you write you should define the high level
  structure of the report The Table of Contents
• Defining a clear logical structure will make a
  report easier to write and to read.

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Report Structure I

• Title Page
• Abstract
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Body Technical Detail Results
• Discussion Conclusions
• References
• Appendices

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Report Structure II

• Introduction
• Background and Context
• Technical Details
• Results
• Discussion Conclusion

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Order of Writing

• Start with the technical chapters/sections
• Then move onto the discussion
• Finally write the conclusions and introduction
  and abstract if you are including one

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What goes in the Appendix?

• The appendix should not contain
• Material that is crucial to the flow of the
  document
• Unnecessary bulking material
• The appendix should contain
• Material the would interfere with the flow of the
  main document, either because it is too long or
  not essential reading, e.g. lists of parameter
  values etc.
• Bibliography list of all the sources of
  material you reference in you document.

7
Writing Style

• Your style should be
• Readable, Professional, Objective, Logical,
  Succinct
• Always write in the third person
• The experiment was preformed. not
• I did this experiment
• A lot amount of data can be found on the WWW
  not
• I found a lot of data on the WWW

8
Spelling Grammar

• You dont get marks for good spelling but you can
  lose them for bad spelling!
• Use the spell checker in Word but dont assume
  that it will correct all your typos
• Word will also check your grammar but dont rely
  on it
• Read your work aloud, get a proof reader, proof
  read yourself thoroughly

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Capitals

• Only use capitals for proper nouns
• Place names, company names etc
• If you are using acronyms define then at the
  first point of usage
• New Product Development (NPD)
• Avoid using capitals for emphasis, use bold,
  italics or underlines if you must.

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Headings

• Differentiate headings from the rest of the text
  using different fonts, bold, italics or
  underlines.
• Be consistent in how you format your headings
  use predefined styles, modify these to suit your
  needs
• Dont go beyond 3 levels of headings

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Tables, Figures Equations

• All tables must be labelled descriptively across
  the top and must be referenced in the text.
• All figures must be labelled descriptively across
  the top and must be referenced in the text.
• All equations must be numbered consecutively

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General Presentation

• Text must be 12 point and 1.5 spaced
• Sheets should be plain white A4 printed in one
  side only, in portrait orientation except where
  necessary for tables and figures
• Text should be justified on both sides, and leave
  a blank line between paragraphs.
• A staple in the top right hand corner is
  sufficient for most reports
• Follow instructions given by lecturers

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Cheating

• Cheating in an exam is defined as the use or
  attempted use of unauthorised material
  unauthorised collaboration or attempted
  unauthorised collaboration copying or attempted
  copying. Cheating is considered a Major offence
  under the Code of Conduct and suspected cases
  will be referred immediately to the Discipline
  Committee.
• Normally the penalty for cheating is suspension
  for 12 months. A repeat of such conduct shall
  warrant expulsion.

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Citations and Referencing

• An citation is the acknowledgement in your
  writing of the work of other authors and includes
  paraphrasing and making direct quotes.
• Unless you have a very good reason to do
  otherwise you should paraphrase that means
  putting the material into your own words. This
  shows that you understand what you have read and
  know how to apply it to your own context.
• Use direct quotes sparingly.

Adapted from A guide to Academic Referencing,
Liz McAspurn, RMIT Learning Skills Unit.
Available http//www.sece.eu.rmit.edu.au/survival
/part7/referencing.htm
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Examples of paraphrasing

• According to Montoya-Weiss and Calantone (1994) a
  wide variety of methodologies and study types
  have been used
• A study of product development in the Japanese
  electrical machinery industry (Wakasugi and
  Koyata 1997) found that ..
• Traditionally small firms are seen as being
  flexible and innovative while large firms are
  expected to have structured processes (Wakasugi
  and Koyata 1997).
• Much of what is published about structure and
  organizational issues in small firms focuses on
  external relations ..(Rothwell and Dodgson 1991
  Hoffman et al. 1997 MacPherson 1997).

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Direct Quotes

• Direct quotes need to be placed between quotation
  marks
• Rosenfield defines a cluster as a geographically
  bounded concentration of similar, related or
  complementary businesses, with active channels
  for business transactions, communications and
  dialogue, that share specialised infrastructure,
  common opportunities and threats. (Rosenfeld,
  Cited in Cook, 1996143)
• This shows clearly that the words being used are
  not your own words.

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Longer Direct Quotes

• There are occasions when it is useful to use
  include longer direct quotes. If you have to do
  this and are quoting more that about 40 words you
  should again use quotation marks but also indent
  the text. (Some authors change the spacing or use
  italics for longer quotes.)

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Example of Longer Direct Quote

• The sustainability of higher-value added
  industry is grounded in the diminishing
  significance of cost structures their success is
  grounded in the capacity to innovate.
•  
• At the level of the European Union, a weak
  capacity to innovate has been identified as a

innovation, in the sense of product, process,
and organisational innovation, accounts for a
very large amount, perhaps 80 90 of the growth
in productivity in advanced economies. (Cooke,
Uranga and Etxebarria, 1998 1564).
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Useful Web Sites

• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/
  reportW/
• http//odtl.dcu.ie/wp/1999/odtl-1999-03.html
• http//www.sece.eu.rmit.edu.au/survival/part7/refe
  rencing.htm