pm report writing appendices

8/9/2019 PM Report Writing Appendices

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Appendix A Report Contents and Content

MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT - Content

PREAMBLE - a cover sheet with key information on the works.

General - Period for the report, costs to date, monthly & cumulative progress of work, &assessments of progress and forward projections of progress plus actionsrequired to achieve programme. Content of report with respect to quality,safety, environmental, visits, events etc.

Description of the works - brief description of the works in terms of overallproject/scheme context, length/span, weights, volumes, areas etc plus startdate, completion date duration and contract sum.

Contractual Organisations - tabular listing of Employer, Engineer, Architect, Contractor,others as appropriate (Nominated subcontractors, QS etc.).

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Highlights of the month in terms of achievements, slippage in terms of safety, progress,quality and actions taken to correct any slippage. Include significant claims or variations.Can be itemised for larger projects under the following headings

1. Highlights/Synopsis - brief description of the month's work2. Work in Progress - activities in progress on site, offshore, design, fabrication

etc3. Contract Status - in terms of overall progress against baseline/recovery

programme. Rate of progress in monthly and longer-term view andrequired/promised measures to rectify. Table of planned key dates/milestonesand those achieved plus forecasted dates. Schematic cartoon showing areas ofwork and progress (Progress Diagram) plus indicative photographs andSummary Progress Chart ('S' Curve and Major activities with percentages).Table of subcontractors etc.

4. Payment Forecast - comment on payment to date and effect on cashflow/budget

5. Claims & Variations - Number and status (rejected, under review, accepted).6. Quality Assurance - departures or compliance7. Safety - accidents incidents and follow up on previous incidents. General

view on safety 'attitude' or awareness.8. Environmental - compliance with codes/standards. Complaints and actions

taken.

2.0 PROJECT STATUS


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2.7 Claims & Variations

Numerical listing of claims notified and status. Identifaction of claims by title plus time&/or cost related. Extension(s) of time plus effect on key dates etc included as a Table

2.9 Quality assurance & Inspection

2.9.1 Documentation2.9.2 Programme2.9.3 Review of ITP / Procedures

2.10 Safety

2.10.1 Accidents & Incidents2.10.2 Safety Risks - reviewed against programme2.10.3 Safety Plan - updates

2.10.4 Meetings2.10.5 Inspections2.10.6 Accident statistics

2.11 Environmental Issues

2.11.1 Water - Status/Equipment/Monitoring/Compliance/Complaints2.11.2 Air2.11.3Noise

2.12 Materials

2.12.1 Laboratory2.12.2 Quality Control2.12.3 Test Results - by Material ; Number/compliance/deviations/Action

3.0 COST STATUS

3.1 Financial Summary

3.2 Tender Total & Estimated Final Contract Sum

3.3 Variation Orders

3.3.1 Pending3.3.2 Issued

3.4 Further contingencies & Claims


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3.5 Estimated Payment Forecasts

3.6 Claims Notifications, Settlements & Resolutions

4.0 APPENDICESManagement Control Reports (Current Month Only)

4.1 Incoming Correspondence Log4.2 Outgoing Correspondence Log4.3 Submissions Control Log4.4 Request For Information Log4.5 Critical Action / Approval Log4.6 Quality Assurance Documentation Log

4.7 Quality Assurance Surveillance Report Log4.8 Accident Statistics

Programme Control Reports

4.9 Activities Completed This Period (w/finish variance)4.10 Activities started This Period (w/start variance)4.11 Planned Start Slippage Report4.12 Planned Finish Slippage Report4.13 Activities in Progress & 3 Month Programme4.14 Site Activities Not Completed -Past Due4.15 Physical Progress reports by Cost Centre

Cost Control Reports

4.16 Cost summary report by Cost Centre4.17 Payment Obligations Forecast Report4.18 Claims Control Log4.19 Variation Order Log4.20 Interim Payment Schedule Milestone Report


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Short Listing Of Tenderers

CONFIDENTIAL Item No

PROCUREMNT MEETING

DATE OF MEETING : 16 APRIL 1998

SUBJECT : CONTRACT xxxx

TITLE

SUBMITTED FOR : INFORMATION

PREPARED BY : MALCOLM PEART

TENDER CO-ORDINATOR (contact)

VETTED BY : NAMEAPPOINTMENT TITLE & CONTACT

ENDORSED BY : NAME

APPOINTMENT TITLE & CONTACT

DATE OF SUBMISSION : DD MONTH YYYY

SHORTLISTING OF TENDERERS

AIM

1. The aim of this paper is to inform xx that aaa of the bbb prequalified tenderers for Contract xyzhave been shortlisted for detailed evaluation.

SCOPE OF CONTRACT

2 Contract xyz is for the construction of 3.5km of twin bored tunnels together with associatedtransition structures and cut and cover tunnels, an on-line substation and two ventilation/escapeshafts together with utility diversions and canal diversion works. The contract also includes forthe co-ordination of and attendance on the System Wide Contractors including construction andmaintenance of the Staging Area.

TENDERS RECEIVED

3 Tenders were called on dd Month yyyy. At the tender closing date of dd month yyyy 1998 xx ofthe yyy prequalified contractors submitted their bids as follows:-

A $zzzzzzzzzzz

B $ddddddddddd


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A copy of the Schedule of tenders received is included in Appendix 1.

4 A of the contractors did not submit tenderers. B withdrew during the tendering period and Cwithdrew prior to tenders being let. The A companies in question were:

aaaaa withdrew prior to tenderbbbbb withdrew during tender

ESTIMATED COST

5 The estimated cost of the contract based on the Clients evaluation is $.

EVALUATION

6 The Tender Committee comprising ABCD and the Tender Evaluation Team met on dd Monthyyyy to review the xx tenders and received the report of the Tender Evaluation Team.

7 A brief summary of the tenders received is given below and a summary is included in AppendixII.

XXXXX

8 The tender sum for XXX is $ with a NPV of $. A number of alternatives have been proposed bythe tenderer which would result in a tender price of $ (NPV of $) if all were accepted.

9 The tenderers alternative offer comprises the following:

a)b)

c)

The only alternative considered viable at this time is the ------- which results in a saving of $.

10 No conditions were imposed by this tenderer. The tenderer is in agreement with the Authoritysinterpretation of the ground conditions.

11 The tender submission is generally compliant with the clients requirements and provides all ofthe items required by the Instructions to Tenderers with the exception of zzzzz. The submissionlacks detail in respect of some major technical items and details of middle management on siteand technical operatives.

12 The proposed Staging Area arrangement in respect of ground levels is unacceptable as it doesnot comply with the requirements of the Contract. In terms of programme the submission isgenerally compliant with the exception that some activities extend beyond Basic StructureCompletion and the commencement of tunnelling is later than anticipated by the Authority.

YYYYY

13 The tender sum for


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14 No conditions.

15 The tender submission does not fully comply with the Instructions to Tenderers. The submissionlacks information on and to a great extent does not comply with the requirements of the Tender.This will have to be corrected during detailed evaluation.

16 The tenderers programme is brief and is

CONCLUSION

42 Based upon the above analysis the following two lowest tenderers have been shortlisted forfurther evaluation:

a) AAAb) BBB


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Accident Investigation Aide Memoire

(What, Why, When, How Where, Who)

Incident undesired event that could have resulted in personal harm, property damageor loss (near miss).

Accident undesired event that results in physical harm to a person or damage to property.

Facts Interpretation Recommendations

What happened (who wasaffected)

Why did it happen How will it be rectified & Howwill it be prevented

Where did it happen Who will implementchanges/improvements

When did it happen

Factual Report Immediate to 24 hours.

Location, date & time

Names of all parties involved.

Names of victims & how affected.

Description of damage

Description of incident/accident +sketches/images.

Description of events immediately prior toincident/accident.

Findings Report Following Investigation

Determine contributory factors & rootcauses of incident/accident.

Develop recommendations to preventrecurrence and list actions required withidentified parties & target dates

Discuss findings with personnel involvedin incident/accident and those on the site atthe time.

Follow Up & Close OutAscertain if actions have been taken andfurther recommendations as required.

Possible Issues to be addressed.

Braking performance Supervision (experience) Workers (drugs, alcohol)

Loads Safety equipment fitted Negligence/Attitude of workers

Train configuration & plannedconfiguration.

Adequacy of alarms/warnings Housekeeping

State of track Signaling procedure. Escape routes / hop ups.

Speed Diary of events Training records

Location of personnel Tool box talks Driver/operator certification.

Training/experience of personnel Environment (ventilation,noise, temperature, gas)

Weather

Maintenance records & dailychecks.

Safety precautions (chains,chocks, clips, buffers, gates,auto stop).

Procedures, Knowledge ofprocedures, relevant riskassessments.

Calculations for equipmentincluding load, braking, stoppingdistances.

Speedometer on truck/loco. Equipment breakdowns,availability, malfunctions.

Visibility Risk assessments for runaway(loco ops), segment handling.


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Incident Investigation Aide Memoire Ground Loss, Settlement, Movement

(What, Why, When, How Where, Who)

Incident undesired event that could have resulted in personal harm, property damageor loss (near miss).

Accident undesired event that results in physical harm to a person or damage to property.

Facts Interpretation Recommendations

What happened (and any effects) Why did it happen How will it be rectified & Howwill it be prevented

When did it happen How did it happen Who will implementchanges/improvements/repairs.

Where did it happen

Factual data.

Location, date & time Chainage, Road, Building

Description of damage Extent & magnitude. Photograph,

Depth of tunnel/excavation Depth to crown of tunnel, relative locations. Geology

Extent of settlement/damage Time/distance plot of settlement/TBM location. Contours.

Volume loss & K factor.Excavation history D-wall panels, strutting loads/sequence

TBM history Face pressures, grout volume, muck volume, stoppages,thrust, torque, screw speed, additives in graphical format.

Findings / Conclusions

Determine reasons for settlement Over-excavation, face pressure loss, lack of grouting.Loss of trench stability, late strut installation, overload ofstrut. Incorrect excavation sequencing.

Develop recommendations to preventrecurrence and list actions required withidentified parties & target dates

Changes to method, sequencing, design.

Discuss findings with personnel involvedin incident/accident and those on the site at

the time.

Check accuracy of daily/construction records.

Follow Up & Close Out Audit, Management Review.

Ascertain if actions have been taken andfurther recommendations as required.

Possible Issues to be addressed.

Training/experience of personnel Diary of events Supervision (experience)

Maintenance records & dailychecks.

Negligence/Attitude ofworkers Equipmentbreakdowns, availability,malfunctions.

Procedures, Knowledge ofprocedures, relevant riskassessments.

Management briefing in difficultareas

Reviews of data (facepressure & actual settlement)

Risk assessments for TBM drivingand damage.

Pre-existing Damage Other activity in area Adequacy of ground

treatment/design.


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Appendix B - Check List for Authors

The following checks should be made during the report writing process and must becarried out prior to submitting the report for review, compilation or checking. The list iscomprehensive but not exhaustive.

Does the Title Page indicate the

title of the paper and any authors (if allowed/required)?

Does the Table of Contents contain

correct headings of each section or chapter

list of tables with correct reference/title

list of figures with correct reference/title

list of appendices

Does the Abstract/Summary

contain information that is not covered in the text (it should not) cover the subject adequately

Does the Main Text

have a carefully designed structure

have all pages numbered

have all sections titled and numbered

have consistent headings and subheadings indicated

have headings and subheadings matching the table of contents

contain all due acknowledgements

Are all Tables

necessary

numbered consecutively

captioned in sufficient detail

consistent in presentation

correctly referred to in the text

checked for accuracy

labelled with units of measurement

designed to fit the text format (or included at the end)

correctly listed in the table of contents

Are all Figures

necessary

checked for spelling

checked for legends and correct use of symbols

numbered consecutively

captioned in sufficient detail

consistent in presentation with scale and axes as required


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Appendix C - Checklist for Referees

When reviewing or refereeing a report the anagram CRAP should be kept in mind. Agood report should comply with CRAP but its content should be far from it. CRAP standsfor:

Content, Relevance, Analyses and Presentation

Overview1. Is the subject presented logically?2. Have any pertinent points been missed?3. Does each sentence say what it means to say?4. Can anything be omitted without losing effect or coherence?5. Should anything be added to ensure coherence?6. Can the work be shortened? If so, how?7. Is the title suitable? Can it be improved?

8. Are the tables and figures clear and unambiguous? Are they all necessary?Do they contribute to the text?9. Do the abstract, summary and conclusions express the content suitably?10.Is the work appropriate to the intended readership?11.Is the scope of the work met/12.Are all references that are quoted included in the section on references?

Organisation

Is it well organized

Are terms of reference/scope clearly stated

Is it logically developed

Are the conclusions sound Are the recommendations convincing

Content

Is the content of the report adequate

Is it complete, correct and clear

Is the emphasis placed at appropriate points

Form

Is it well laid out

Are the visual aids adequate

Does the general layout assist the reader in following the argument

Style

Is the style of the required standard

Is the meaning precise

Are the sentences well constructed

Are the grammar and syntax correct


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Details of presentation

Does the contents page show:

Correct headings and captions

A list of appendices

A list of tables, figures, drawings and illustrations

Does the main text:

Have the status of each heading matching that shown on the contents page

Acknowledge information taken from elsewhere

Contain material that would be better placed in an appendix

Does the reference list

Show the references correctly so that each may be found by the reader

Show the date of issue of the publication

Contain all the works cited in the text including those on figures, tables andappendices

Are the figures

Referred to in the text

Acknowledged if some or all of the information is taken from elsewhere

Oriented by a north point or some other means

Located by a town, street, grid liens etc.

Given a scale

Self explanatory

Captioned in sufficient detail

Placed after their mention in the text or included at end of report.

Are the tables


Captioned adequately

Placed after their mention in the text or included at end of report.

Do photographs

Have a scale

Have a top indicated

Have a caption indicating where it was taken, direction of view,description of principal point of interest.

Are the appendices


Captioned adequately

Have all technical terms been adequately defined

Is there a need for a glossary of terms, abbreviations, symbols


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Are all cross references accurate and relevant?

Have quotations from other works

Been checked for accuracy in spelling, punctuation, capitalisation andword order

Been correctly acknowledged and page number identified

Are all localities and names spelled correctly in text, figures and tables.


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Appendix E - Style and Word Usage

Adverbs

Adverbs of time sometimes, often and frequently relate to time rather than place.

There are frequent cracks in the concrete beam should use the phrase many cracks orcracks at 5cm to 15cm throughout the concrete beam.

Partly and partially partially may be defined as with fondness rather than part of.

Quite means wholly or completely but is often used, incorrectly, to mean very orrather

While is an adverb of time but is often used as a conjunction instead of and, but,though and whereas.

Adjectives

Adjectives are often misused and should not exceed their purpose, e.g. very, excellentand extremely are often exceed their purpose. Emotive adjectives should be avoided intechnical writing as they can be construed as matters of opinion rather than fact..

Alternative implies a choice but is often misused for other, new, fresh or revisedand should not be confused with alternate, meaning every other.

Approximate(ly) means very close(ly) and should not be used to mean about orroughly.

Further, farther further implies time whereas farther implies distance.

Just is used as a rough indication of distance and efforts to give actual distances shouldbe given.

Due is an adjective and is commonly misused for the participle owing as in due(owing is correct) to heavy rain the cliff collapsed. Due means due date or duetime.

Double negatives - In spoken English double negatives are used but in the written wordthey should be avoided. Two negatives make a positive and the statement I did not donothing which is intended to mean I did not do anything is incorrect. The use of thephrase It is not uncommon means It is common but implies that it is usual, most of thetime or under normal circumstances. Whilst double negatives (when used correctly) aresometimes acceptable in speech or less formal writing they should be avoided in reports.Similarly question asked in a negative sense such as Havent you done that? (Have younot done that can prompt replies of No or Yes. No can mean I have done it(correct) or, incorrectly No, I have not done it while Yes can mean Yes. I havent


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done it (correct) Yes, I have done it. If seems confusing it is. So the rule is do notuse double negatives.

Everyday is an adjective describing an activity or event that takes place every day or isroutine or normal.

Former and latter are often used but the reader can be confused. It is better to repeatwords, particularly if the reader has to refer back through the text. Former and lattershould not be used if here are more than two nouns to which former and latter can refer.

Important is generally misused unless it accompanies a term showing why or how thething is important, e.g. commercially important. Words such as abundant orconspicuous or tall can replace important.

Get or got or gotten have many meanings including obtain, procure, earn, achieve,

attain but is often used as a catchall. The English language has many alternative verbsand more precise words than get.

Limited should be used in the sense of restricted and not as a synonym for small.Use few instead of a limited number of and not useful instead of of limited use.

One is often used unnecessarily in sentences such as the problem is (a) difficult (one).

Practical/practicable practical means useful in practice whereas practicable meansfeasible or able to be done but both may be appropriate on occasion.

Significant has a precise meaning of important or revealing and should not be usedas a synonym for considerable or large when describing numbers or quantities.

Located, Situated and present are often superfluous as in the site is (located, situated)2km from the road and the people (present) in the office.

Unique is sometimes used to mean exceptional. Unique means having no equal and assuch a thing cannot be rather unique.

Various means different or diverse but is used to mean many or several.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions join words, clauses or phrases. Sentences may be started with and orbut if it is felt by the author that such conjunctions reinforce what is being said oremphasizes objections.


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Since should be restricted to its primary meaning of a sequence of time (e.g. since thestart of the project) and writers should use because or as (the other meanings ofsince) to prevent momentary ambiguity by the reader.

Nouns

Case or instance are often superfluous such as in some cases the roads headeastwards.

Character, nature, conditions, purposes are sometimes used where they only contributeto waffle such as:

the surface is (of an) uneven (character/nature). With proper drainage(conditions), the land could be used for farming (purposes).

Data is the plural of datum. It is common to use the data is but the correct usage is

the data are.

Effect is something brought about by a cause, a result. The government's action had noeffect on the trade imbalance. Affectis a verbas inInflation affects the buying power ofthe dollar.

Horizon -has no thickness but is often used to describe geological units with a thicknesssuch as beds or stratum.

Majority or major in the context of the majority of or the major part of should not beused when most would meet the need.

Phrases

Etc. when used after phrases such as for example, such as, including, and forinstance etc. is superfluous and improper.

Prepositions

Be wary of stringing prepositions together: up to is acceptable; of up to is notacceptable; and of about up to is illiterate.

Many compound prepositions are clichs and should not be used in writing unless there isno simpler preposition available. Examples of compound prepositions are: as regards, asto, in connection with, in regard to, in relation to, in the case of, prior to, relative to, withreference to, with regard to. Many of the latter may be replaced with a single prepositionsuch as in relation to may be replaced by for, over or with.

With is commonly misused for and.


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Never end a sentence with a preposition such as with, unless you have not anything elsewith which to end it. Of course the rule is not written in tablets of stone as wasdemonstrated by Winston Churchill when he allegedly corrected himself after breakingthe rule and said This is the sort of thing-up with which I will not put which, althoughgrammatically correct loses meaning.

Pronouns

Pronouns are used to keep sentences brief and avoid repetitions of nouns but care shouldbe taken as they (pronouns) are easy to misuse and misuse of them (pronouns) can lead toa misunderstanding of a sentence or report.

The first sentence in a discrete section of a report should be complete and not rely on aheading or a previous section. It this and those should not be used alone as it canconfuse the reader and requires the reader to interpret the written word. Which mustalso be used carefully.

It is often used to anticipate the subject and can cause confusion. Avoid commencing asection or sentence with it be specific.

The use of it at the start of a sentence can leave the reader momentarily confused if thenoun to which it refers is at the end of the sentence. For example it is not practicable,in view of its size, to provide a bibliography would be easier to understand if thefollowing were written a bibliography is not practicable as there are too manyreferences.

That and which. That is the defining or restrictive pronoun while which is non-defining, non-restrictive or commenting. A defining clause is not placed betweencommas whereas a non-defining clause is placed between commas. That is an awkwardword because it is three parts of speech; a conjunction, a relative pronoun and ademonstrative pronoun, as in I think that the drawing that we need is that one.

Whose -can refer to things as well as persons.

Verbs

There are many problems associated with the use of verbs and some of the commonestproblems are listed in this section

To be. The verb to be is best used to indicate existence or position. If it is used as aprinciple verb it can make sentences feeble as in, the strongest winds are (blow) from thenorth. The verb to be in forms such as is it was and there are are often used atthe start of sentences but such a form can multiply words or place the subject of thesentence in an inferior position.


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To occur means to exist, to be present or to be found. Occur is often used inplace of more applicable verbs such as trees occur (grow) in the valley. Efforts shouldbe made to use the appropriate, definitive verb.

Pomposity. The pompous writer uses expensive verbs. He does not go somewhere, he

proceeds: he never does anything, he conducts it or carries it out; he never startssomething, he commences or initiates it; he never ends something; he terminates it oruses the passive tense and causes nit to be terminated.

Animate/inanimate. Some writers ascribe human qualities to inanimate things such asthe rock mass suffered deformation rather than the rock mass was deformed orunderwent deformation.

Range, vary are not synonyms. Range is used to express gradations in space, as in thethickness ranges from 200mm to 500mm or, less commonly, time. Vary is used toindicate fluctuations in time as in the river flow varies with the seasons.

Singular and plural verbs. The general rule is that if the subject is treated as a single unitthen the singular is used as in, 100 cubic metres of concrete was placed or 15 concretetrucks were used.

Split infinitive in which to is separated from the verb to which it relates by an adverbor other word should be avoided although, in some cases a split infinitive reads better, asin to boldly go.

Develop is sometimes used to mean build , or mine (gold etc.) rather than seekingthe apt verb.

Following is not a preposition but is sometimes used for after as in following (after)the rain there region was flooded


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Appendix D - Referencing

Newspapers - use the newspaper name with the omitted and the date (Times, 24 Feb.2003). If the author is known then the author-date should be used.

Personal Communication an entry in the List of References is not required but thereference should be included within the text as in (Strange, A. 1996, pers.comm. 23March)

Anonymous Works if the author is not known then the title of the article in italicsshould be included as in (The Internet as a Reference Source, 1999).

Unavailable Publication Date if the date is unknown then n.d (no date) may be usedor c (circa) if an approximate date can be ascertained.

Organisations often there may be no specific author but the sponsoring organisation

may be available, this is particularly true of government or governing body publications.

Books the following general format should be used: , , , volume number if applicable>,, editor, reviser, compiler or translator if other than author>,, , . For example:

Gilbreath R.D., 1986, Winning at Project Management What Works, What Failsand Why, Wiley, New York in Cleland D.I., 1999, Project Management Strategic Design & Implementation, McGraw-Hill, Singapore, pp308 313.

Ong A.C.L., Kong S.P., Lim C.K., Tiwari R.S., Kwong A.K.S. & Quah A.T.M.,2000, Your guide to e-commerce Law in Singapore, Drew & Napier, Singapore.

Journals and Proceedings the same format for book references is required exceptthat the title of the article is shown in single quotes as follows:

Larson, E.W. & Gobeli D.H. 1987, Matrix management: Contradictions andinsights, California Management Review, vol XXXIX, no4, Summer, pp 126-138.

Menon, A.P.G. & Chin K.K, 1998, The Making of Singapore's Electronic RoadPricing System, Proceedings of the International Conference on Transportationinto the Next Millenium,Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 9-11 Sept1998, pp.35-42

Electronic references in order to reference electronic articles the same format as forbooks should be used with the following exceptions:

CD-ROM books should include [CD-ROM] after the title of the booktogether with the accession number of the article.


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Internet sites should include [online] after the title and the address of theweb site and the date accessed.

An example of a reference to an electronic article is shown below:

Clinton, W.J. & Gore A. 1996, Framework for Global Electronic Commerce,http://library.findlaw.com/scipts/getfile.pl?file=/federal/ftc/ftc000187.html[Accessed 23 September 2000]

Personal e-mail messages should be referenced as ,, ,,.


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Appendix F - Punctuation

Full Stop

The full stop, or period, is required at the end of sentences and constitute an opportunity

to take a full breath after having made a point. Sentences must convey meaning and notcreate ambiguity and, to this end should not be too short nor teutonically lengthy. Fullstops are also used after abbreviations with the following exceptions:

When the last letter forms part of the abbreviation, Mr, Dr (but Prof.).

After symbols or abbreviations of units of measurement, Fe, Cu, pH, kHz,m.

After certain countries or states, USA, UAE, UK.

Well-known organisations, UN, IBM, UNESCO.Full stops are not used after headings, unless they are used in running text, or tableheadings, but are used at the end of figure captions.

Colon

A colon is deemed by some writers to be less than a full stop and more than a semicolon;in effect a three-quarter breath. In general the colon is used in the following manner:

Preceding a listing of items

Preceding an explanation or elaboration

In ratios at a scale of 1:10,000

Semicolon

The semicolon marks a break of intermediate strength between a comma and a full stop;in effect a half breath. Some specific uses of semicolons are as follows:

to separate clauses or phrases that already include commas.

before the following words: also, moreover, therefore, however, so, sothat, consequently, that is, e.g., namely.

in a form of reference within the text.

Comma

Commas are used within sentences to separate phrases and clauses that form the sentenceto provide meaning or for clarity; in effect quarter breaths. The use commas is generallya matter of common sense but thee are some generally recognised conventions thatshould be followed:

a comma is used before the final and and or in any listing. A classicexample is the Bishops of Winchester, Salisbury, Bristol and(,) Bath and Wells


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Quotation Marks

Quotation marks are used to indicate direct quotes from other authors or the spoken word.Such quotes can be paraphrased so that the original meaning is not lost but should still be

referenced within the text to avoid plagiarism. Specific quotations should only be used iffelt to be absolutely necessary.

Single quotation marks () should be used rather double () quotes unless there is aquotation within a quotation. For lengthy quotes the quotation marks should be at thebeginning of the quoted passage, the end of the overall quoted passage and at thebeginning of each paragraph.

Quotation marks are also used to identify words or clauses used within the text to identifyspecific word to which the author is referring or emphasise that the word used may be notbe used in its strictest sense.

Brackets (or parentheses)

Brackets are used as an aside, as a clarification or explanation. The text in brackets maybe omitted form a sentence, or the entire text, without loss of grammatical meaning orsense. Examples of usage are as follows:

explanation - Each pair is called a varve (Swedish, varv, a periodicrepetition) and sediments characterised by this annual banding are said to bevarved

elaboration the strength of eth clay is 20 to 30 kPa (very soft)

alternative (or parentheses) sub headings (1), (2), (etc)

referencing other work or sections (Smith, 1999), (see Figure 3)

geographical co-ordinates

Brackets can occur within brackets as can other punctuation. If a complete sentence iswithin brackets then the full stop is included within the brackets. If a sentence includes asentence with brackets at the end of the sentence then a full stop must also be placed atthe end of the sentence containing the parentheses.

Dots

Dots are used to represent intentional omissions from quotations. In such instances threedots are adequate and the reduced quotation must remain intelligible and be in context.

Italics

Words are italicized for Latin names, foreign expressions, some references to journalsand to emphasise certain words or clauses.


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Ellipsis () - It is used to show where words have been missed out when writing what aperson said. It can also be used to show that there is more to be said but the personstopped at that point.

For example:

... one day all Americans will live peacefully throughout the world ... they will beat peace with all other world inhabitants ...So much more could be said ..

What are the fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar? They are the

period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, semicolon, colon, dash,hyphen,

parentheses, brackets, braces, apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipses.

Sentence Endings

Three of the fourteen punctuation marks are appropriate for use as sentence endings.

They are the period, question mark, and exclamation point.

The period (.) is, according to yourDictionary.com, placed at the end of declarativesentences and other statements thought to be complete, and after many abbreviations.For example:

As a sentence ender:Jane and Jack went to the market.

After an abbreviation:Her Mar. birthday came and went.

Use a question mark (?) to indicate a direct question when placed at the end of a sentence.

For example: When did Jane leave for the market ?

The exclamation point/mark (!) is used when a person wants to express a sudden outcryor add emphasis.

1. Within dialogue: Holy cow! screamed Jane.2. To emphasize a point: My mother-in-law's rants make me furious !

The Comma, Semicolon and ColonThe comma, semicolon and colonare often misused because they all can indicate a pausein a series.

According to yourDictionary.com, the comma is a punctuation mark (,) used to indicatea separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence. Additionally, it isused in letter writing after the salutation and closing.

Separating elements within sentences: Suzi wanted the black, green, and blue shoes.

Letter Salutations:Dear Uncle John,


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Separation of two complete sentences: We went to the movies, and we went to thebeach.

According to yourDictionary.com, the semicolon (;) is used to connect independentclauses and indicating a closer relationship between the clauses than a period does. For

example:John was hurt; he knew she only said it to upset him.

A colon (:) has two main uses. The first is after a word introducing a quotation, anexplanation, an example, or a series and often after the salutation of a business letter,according to yourDictionary.com. The second is within time expressions. Colons havebeen used throughout this article to indicate examples. Within time, it is used to separateout the hour and minute: 12 : 15 p.m.

The Dash and the Hyphen

Two kinds of dashes are used throughout written communications. They are the endash

and the emdash. According to yourDictionary.com, an endash is A symbol (-) used inwriting or printing to connect continuing or inclusive numbers or to connect elements of acompound adjective when either of the elements is an open compound, as 1880 - 1945 orPrinceton -New York trains.

However, the emdash has more complicated grammatical use. The symbol of is used toindicate a break in thought or sentence structure, to introduce a phrase added foremphasis, definition, or explanation, or to separate two clauses, according toyourDictionary.com. Use it in the following manner: We only wanted to get two birds butthe clerk talked us into four pregnant parakeets.

A hyphen (- ) is the same symbol as the endash. However, it has slightly different usagerules. Use a hyphenbetween the parts of a compound word or name or between thesyllables of a word, especially when divided at the end of a line of text. Examples of thisin use include:

Between a compound name:Mrs. Smith -Reynolds

Within a compound word: back - to - back

Between syllables of a word when text is on divided:

The thought -

ful girl brought cookies to her ailing neighbor.

Brackets, Braces, and Parentheses

Brackets, braces, and parentheses are symbols used to contain words that are a furtherexplanation or are considered a group.


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Parentheses(()) are curved notations used to contain further thoughts or qualifyingremarks, according to yourDictionary. However, parentheses can be replaced by commaswithout changing the meaning in most cases. For example:John and Jane ( who wereactually half brother and sister) both have red hair.

Brackets are the squared off notations ([]) used for technical explanations. For example,yourDictionary.com uses them when you look up word definitions. At the bottom of eachdefinition page, brackets surround a technical description of where the word originated.

According to yourDictionary.com, braces ({}) are used to contain two or more lines oftext or listed items to show that they are considered as a unit. They are notcommonplace in most writing, but can be seen in computer programming to show whatshould be contained within the same lines.

Apostrophe, Quotation Marks, and Ellipses

The final three punctuation forms in English grammar are the apostrophe, quotationmarks, and ellipses. Unlike previously mentioned grammatical marks, they are not relatedto one another in any form.

An apostrophe (') is used to used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from aword, the possessive case, or the plurals of numbers, letters, and abbreviations.Examples of the apostrophe in use include:

Omission of letters from a word:An issue of nat ' l importance.

Possesive case: Sara ' s dog bites.

Plural for numbers: Sixteen people were born on dates with 7 ' s in them.

The yourDictionary website defines quotations marks ( ) as Either of a pair ofpunctuation marks used primarily to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributedto another and repeated word for word, but also to indicate meanings or glosses and toindicate the unusual or dubious status of a word. For example, whenever this article hascopied direct definitions from yourDictionary, quotation marks have been placed aroundthe item. Single quotation (') are used most frequently for quotes within quotes.

The ellipsesis generally represented by three periods (. . . ) although it is occasionally

demonstrated with three asterisks (***). The ellipses should be used in writing orprinting to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words. Ellipses are frequentlyused within quotations to jump from one phrase to another, omitting unnecessary wordsthat do not interfere with the meaning. Students writing research papers or newspapersquoting parts of speeches will often employ ellipses to avoid copying lengthy text that isnot needed.


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Appendix G - Abbreviations

A H

alternating current ac hectare ha

ampere A hertz Hzhigh frequency HF

B

biochemical oxygendemand

BOD K

kelvin K

C kilo (prefix) k

centimetre cm kilogram kg

circuit breaker CB kilogram per cubic metre kg/m3

cubic centimetre cm3 kilogram per second kg/s

cubic metre per second m3

/s kilogram per square metre kg/m2

cubic millimetre mm3 kilohertz kHz

kilometre km

D kilometre per hour km/h

day D kilometre per second km/s

decibel DB kilonewton kN

decibel Active DBA kilovolt kV

degree Celsius C kilovolt ampere KV A

degree fahrenheit F kilowatt KW

degree (plane angle)

diameter Dia Ldirect current Dc litre per second l/s

dissolved oxygen DO low voltage LV

double pole Dp lumen Lm

lux Lx

E

extra high voltage EHV

extremely high frequency EHF

extremely low frequency ELF

Ffrequency modulation FM

G

gallon Gal

gallons per day gal/d

gallons per hour gal/h


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gallons per minute gal/m

gallons per second gal/s

gram G

gram-molecule Mole

M P

mega (prefix) M polyvinyl chloride PVC

megabytes Mb potential of hydrogen PH

megahertz MHz Pulverised fuel ash PFA

megavolt MV

megavolt ampere MV A R

megavar Mvar Reference Ref

megalitre Ml

megawatt MW S

metre M Square centimetre cm2

metre per second m/s Square kilometre km2

micro (prefix) Square metre m2

microampere A Square metre per second m2/s

microsecond s Square millimetre mm2

microvolt V

milliampere MA T

milligram Mg Tonnes per day (metric) t/d

millilitre Ml

millimetre Mm U

million gallons per day Mgal/d Ultra high frequency UHF

millivolt MV Unplasticised polyvinylchloride

PVC-U

milliwatt MW

V

N var var

Newton N Very high frequency VHF

not applicable Na Very low frequency VLF

Volt V

Voltampere V A

pm report writing appendices

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