Writing the reportWriting the report

II

Exercise 1Exercise 1• What are main purposes of an FYPR• Who are the readers of an FYPR• What major parts does an FYPR

usually have? How are these parts organised?

Report writingReport writing• There are many different kinds of projects, and

many different kinds of appropriate project reports.

• The advice here is also written from the point of view of an examiner who has read many project reports in the past

• Your supervisor will certainly give you valuable advice and his preferred format

Report is importantReport is important• If you wish to secure a good mark for your

project, it is absolutely essential that you write a good report.

• It is the report which is marked, not the program or anything else you might have constructed during the project period.

• No matter how significant your achievements, if you do not write up your work, and write it up well, you will obtain a poor mark.

Ref: www.cs.york.ac.uk/projects/howtowrt.html

Report is importantReport is important• It is essential to understand that the

report will be read (?) and marked by a 3 examiners only your supervisor is familiar with the work which the report describes. Examiners are not mind-readers, and cannot give credit for work which you have done but not included in the report.

Knowing your readersKnowing your readers• Before you start working on your report,

you consider the kinds of audiences for whom you are going to be writing

• In addition to your supervisor, it is likely that over time your project will be read by other people as well (such as students continuing your work).

• It is important to consider the needs of your readers before you begin writing, and you should continue to keep them in mind as you write.

Expert readersExpert readers• Expert readers - your supervisors• They are likely to know much more about

the area that you are working on, than you do.

• They do not want to have to read through unnecessary material that you have copied, or learnt by heart from a textbook.

• Want evidence that you understand the key material in your field that is relevant to your project

Expert readersExpert readers• Want to see that you can explain

why it is relevant• You have to be selective in choosing

your references to other people’s work, and show that you can focus on key points and summarise details whenever possible.

Expert readersExpert readers• The reasons these ‘informed’ readers will

be reading your work is to find out if you have been able to carry out an extended investigation and that you present your findings in an orderly, reasoned and analytical manner.

• Be sure you use definitions and technical language to support the points you are making, not just to impress them with how much you know.

Uninformed readersUninformed readers• At least one of the panel members is not

an expert in the field• Future fellow students may read your

report to continue your work.• Uninformed readers will be reading for

information. • Expect to find out as briefly and clearly as

possible what your intentions were, if they were carried out successfully, and what the final outcome of your efforts was.

Uniformed readersUniformed readers• For these people, technical language

will need to be explained, but only in condensed form. They will be no more impressed than your supervisors by lengthy accounts of unnecessary detail

Knowing your audienceKnowing your audience• From time to time when you are writing try

to imagine some people who are likely to read your work, and consider whether they will easily be able to understand what you are saying.

• You should make your work ‘reader friendly’ by making your meaning very clear and easy to follow, allowing your ideas to flow in logical progression, and including adequate signals and linking phrases.

Your audienceYour audience• Your examiners are faced with the task of reading

5-10 project reports like yours over a short period.

• The examiner will not have much idea about your project except for the title. Therefore you need to present a clear idea of what was the intention of the project, what was your contribution, what were your sources of information, and what you personally achieved

• If you can achieve this, then the report has done its work regardless of how successful the project was technically.

A framework for the reportA framework for the report• In writing a report it is advisable to form a

framework for the report first • You may start with the formation of the titles of

the chapters. Then you proceed on to decide the titles and structure of the sections within each chapter. Continuing the process, each section may be further expanded into appropriate sub-sections, divisions and sub-divisions etc., until a complete framework is formed.

• If a well-structured framework can be set up, it will be relatively straightforward, to add materials around it to form your report.

IMRAD modelIMRAD model• I - introduction• M - methodology• R – results• AD – and discussion• Your background theory conclusions

etc should be inserted at the appropriate places

Frame workFrame work• If you begin by preparing an outline for

your project and list the headings you are going to use, that will help you to focus directly on the details you need to include in each section.

• It will also encourage you to consider what kind of information your readers will be expecting to find under each heading.

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• Title

– The title, in a few words, summarises the most important information on the experiment that you are reporting.

• What is the key element of the work?

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• Abstract

– The abstract should contain a short summary, about 200 to 400 words (1-page), of the work done in the project.

• Does the abstract give a clear and full picture of the report?

• Remember panel members are reading your abstract and the CD!

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• Acknowledgements

– This is where you should acknowledge the various parties who initiated, supervised or made contributions to the project

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• Table of Contents

– This is a list of the contents of the project report.

• Is this clear and accurate?• Refer to example

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• List of Symbols

– The list of symbols is not always necessary, but for reports in which many mathematical symbols are used, it is preferable to include such a list in the report.

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• INTRODUCTION

– For most reports the first chapter, as an introduction to the project, is necessary to introduce the reader to the background of the project. The motivation behind the project and a brief outline of the project work should be included in this introductory chapter.

• What is the problem? • What was I (were we) trying to do and

why?

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• BACKGROUND (LITERATURE REVIEW)

– An up-to-date summary of relevant and related research in your area. Basically this contains a little theory and all the previous work in the area, every statement must be supported by a reference

• What is the theoretical background?• Have I defined all terms?• Are references included?

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES (METHODOLOGY/

EQUIPMENT/APPARATUS/)

– Descriptions about the theory of the approach/methodology used and the steps taken when conducting the experiment

– If you are writing a software then explain the algorithm

• What information does my reader need to replicate the experiment?

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• Simulation

– The system design and the block diagram of the system, plus some brief descriptions on the theory.

• Is it clear? • Could someone else replicate this

study based on the diagrams and descriptions given?

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• RESULTS (EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS)

– The function of the results section is to display the full data obtained from the experiments, whether in tabular, graphic, or other form.

• What did I find out?  

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• DISCUSSION

– In this section, the results are interpreted in terms of the ideas and theory set forth earlier. This often means that it includes: a discussion of any special circumstances on the data collection or analysis the results and the errors

• How should the reader interpret it within the context of the theoretical background above?

• What were the most interesting results and why are they of interest?

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• CONCLUSION

– This chapter should state briefly the achievement of the project, the conclusions from the work and suggestions for further work.

– This section is meant to convey to the reader your opinion as to the nature and the significance of the results obtained.

• What is the main point that the reader should know?

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• Appendixes

– Materials which are closely related to the contents of the report, and which are themselves self-contained, may be included in the report as appendixes. While data sheets should normally not be included, detailed references to data sheets should be included to enable the reader to find them.

– Sometimes, the source program is included

• Is the information presented clearly?

The structure of the reportThe structure of the report• REFERENCES

– This is a list of the references referred to in the report. There is a particular format that the reference list should follow.

• Have I included all the references?• Are they correctly formatted?

How to write wellHow to write well• Many students appear not to realize

how difficult it is to write well. • Any type of writing is difficult, but

technical writing is particularly hard • Help is available in English

Learning Centre • Reference:

– Robert Barrass, ``Scientists Must Write'', E & Fn Spon (sic) (1982)

PrecisionPrecision• You must strive first to be absolutely precise. • When you write, it is not sufficient that you know

what you mean; • What you write must not be capable of

misinterpretation. • Take exceptional care to choose the right word

for the occasion. • Do not, for example, write ``optimum'' if you

mean ``good''. ``Approximate'' means ``close'', so ``very approximate'' means ``very close'‘– What is “the result is good”– The error is small or the error is acceptable

Precision?

Vigour (Vigour ( 活潑地活潑地 ; ; 果斷的 果斷的 )) • Prefer short sentences to long sentences. • Prefer short words to long words, provided

that the short word has the meaning you need

• Passive voice ?– “a program was written ...'' rather than ``I

wrote a program ...''. Many of your examiners might share this preference for, or prejudice in favour of, the passive voice, but this style is passing out of favour in all technical writing?

VigourVigour• Use of “royal we” ?

– (``we wrote a program'' when you mean ``I wrote a program'')

– By adding three and five, we obtain eight.

Spelling and grammarSpelling and grammar• Poor spelling is a distraction to the

proficient reader. There is very little excuse nowadays for spelling errors; there are many excellent spell-checker programs which make a good job of finding the errors for you

• Be especially careful with words whose common misspelling is a correct spelling of a different word– For example: form/from; with/will

IllustrationsIllustrations• Your report should generally contain illustrations (figures or

diagrams), but they must be relevant. Ask yourself if the illustration helps the reader to understand the text.

• If the text is readily comprehensible without the illustration, delete the illustration. If it is not, it is usually better to make the text clearer than to add a diagram.

• All illustrations should be prepared by an appropriate program, such as visio, pic, xfig or grap.

• If possible, include figures close to the text which refers to them, rather than all together in an appendix.

• It is normal to list tables and figures at the beginning of the report, after the table of contents.

Good illustration?Good illustration?

IntroductionIntroduction• Establish a context• Justify the research• Orient your readers to the purpose

and the structure of the report

IntroductionIntroduction• Establishing a field/area of research

– By showing that the research area is important, interesting, or topical

– By reviewing or summarising previous research in this area

IntroductionIntroduction• Establishing a research gap

– By indicating a gap in the previous research, pointing out a problem or bringing forward a question

• Occupying the research gap– By stating the purposes of the present

research– By outlining the structure of the FYPR– By indicating the value of the research

(optional)

IntroductionIntroduction• Part 1 begins with more general

statements about an area of research or a current situation

• Part 2 moves to more specific statements about certain problems and specific gap in previous research

• Part 3 is very specific in pointing out the aims and outlines of the FYPR

ExerciseExercise• Identify the three structures• What verbs are used to state the aim

or objectives of a research

Background/ literature Background/ literature review review

• What is the purpose of this section?– it established an area/background of

research and/or provides justification for your research

– It summarizes, comments on and draws conclusions about existing knowledge (to demonstrate your awareness of previous research in the area; to show that your project is linked to existing research activities recognized by your research community, i.e. your supervisor and professional in your field.)

Literature reviewLiterature review• For function (1), a brief summary of

previous research) should be placed in Parts 1 and 2 of the introductory chapter

• For function (2), it is a chapter in itself and is usually placed after the introductory chapter. For some types of projects such as an experimental research project, you may not even need to have a “literature review” chapter

ExerciseExercise• Identify the sentences in which the

writer cites other authors• The writer uses two different ways to

cite other authors. What are they?

CitationsCitations• Why do we reference other authors/research?

– Explain what others have contributed in terms of knowledge about the field of your research.

– You must acknowledge others who are the sources of this information.

– You can indicate in the way you reference their work, the extent to which you agree with the ideas you are reporting. In other words you take a stance or a position on the research and knowledge you are reporting.

CitationCitation• Two types of citation focus

– Information prominent (non-integral)– Example

• This has led to the increase of … (Chan, 1997)

– Chose to focuse on the information provided by the author

– Sentence is followed by the author’s surname and year of publication of the cited work in bracket

– Commonly used to refer to research in the general area of your study

CitationCitation• Author prominent tends to be used to

refer to studies more closely related to your own

• Example– Wong (1997) argues that …

Reporting verbsReporting verbs• When we cite others’ work, we can

use one of a number of ‘reporting’ verbs – X claims that Y is the case– X suggests that Y is the case– X argues that ….– X reports that…..– X presents the case that ….– X shows/indicates/ points out that…

Reporting verbsReporting verbs• The style used in the reporting verbs

may also reflect your level of commitment (support) to reference materials– Claims, suggests (low-level)– Agrees, shows, demonstrates (high-

level)– Argues, reports (neutral)

TenseTense• There are no strict rules about what

tense to use, but there are a number of factors to consider

• You may want to refer to more recent references by using the present tense

• References from older publications by using the past tense

Tense to useTense to use

• Present tense – focus is on the information (facts)

• Author prominent – present and past

• Example– Chan (1997) pointed out that the lack

of proper management in these buildings encourages the construction of UBW

Tense to useTense to use• Report verbs – simple past tense when

you refer to what an author or a researcher did

• Simple past, present perfect or present tense – when you refer to what the author wrote or thought – The choice indicates how close the research

reported is to your own opinion or research– Present tense (closest)

Tense to useTense to use• Complement verb

– Present tense – findings are generally accepted as fact

– Simple past – findings are just limited to the particular study or research you are citing

– Use modal auxiliaries (would, could etc) when you find that researchers of the cited work feel uncertain about their findings

CitationsCitations• Paraphrasing = expressing others’

ideas using your own words – Still need to indicate your source

• Direct quotations

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES (METHODOLOGY)(METHODOLOGY)

• It is generally recommended that this section be written in past tense, in either active or passive voice.

• Many are written from third-person perspective (using we) but check with the your supervisor to be certain what verb tense and perspective the report should use.

• When is the Procedures section written?– This section is usually very

straightforward (because these are the work performed by you), and writing it first helps many people establish the proper thought process and understanding of the work that will allow the rest of the report to flow more smoothly

• Before writing– Before you begin your methodology section it

is a good idea to consider two things. – The first is what readers will be expecting to

find out, and – the second is what you will expect readers to

know about your methods when they have finished reading this section.

– Also consider whether another reader could follow this section and replicate your study from your description of the procedures

– Try to impress your readers that you have done a lot of work

MethodologiesMethodologies• An easy way to plan out this section

is to think of it as the ‘what, why, how, who, when’ (five Ws) section of your project.

• Basically these are the main details you will want to include, and information about these details is what your readers will be expecting to find here.

Objectives or hypothesesObjectives or hypotheses

• The what– This is where you state exactly what it is that you are

going to do. – You will already have provided a brief outline of your

topic in your introduction. In this section you need to present your formal objectives or hypotheses.

– If you have several objectives each one must be set out separately in full detail even if this involves some repetition.

– Your aim is to make your objectives absolutely clear both to yourself and to your readers. You may also make clear which aspects of the topic lie outside the limits of your project. Stating what is not included can sharpen the focus on what your intentions actually are.

ExamplesExamples

• This research project focuses upon two different approaches which can be used to measure relative humidity. The first approach is to use an Electronic Thermo-Hygrometer to measure the humidity directly. The second approach is to use a humidity sensor. The aim of the study is to test and improve a sensing circuit previously designed by a fellow student as part of his final year project last year.

ExampleExample• The objective of the research is to

investigate the problems of tapping points of the transformer winding. Data will be collected from the tapping points of the transformer winding and an analysis will be undertaken.

ExampleExample• The objectives of the study are to

– Investigate the process involved in designing and implementing a computer assisted learning package .

– Show the basic design plan.– Find out the problems involved in

designing and implementing a computer assisted learning package.

Avoid listingAvoid listing• Your procedures should not be

written in the form of instructions or as a list of materials as in a laboratory manual.

• Instead, it is written as a narrative describing, either in first person active voice or in passive voice, what you did.

Student Text Improved Version

Chapter 3 Experimental Procedure 3.1.Sample Preparationi. The circular glass sheet was cleaned by washing with tap

water and then dried with a cleaning cloth. ii. The amount of soluble particles (salt) and non-soluble

particles (alumna) used for the test was measured using and electronic Scale

iii. The soluble and non-soluble particles were then mixed in a bottle.

iv. The mixture was sprinkled on the cleaned circular glass sheet uniformly using a bottle with holes on its cover.

v. …

Chapter 3 Experimental Procedure In this chapter I will present the procedure adopted for the

research. The aim of the research is to study the behaviour of surface conductance of an insulator in coastal areas such as Hong Kong. The steps taken for the experiment will be outlined below, first I will describe the sample preparation before I move on to demonstrate the testing procedures and low voltage circuit. Then the process of the experiment will be presented in detail in Section 3.5. The apparatus used in the experiment will be outlined in Chapter 4.

3.1. Sample PreparationBefore conducting the test to examine the conductance of

insulation certain experiment preparations needed to be made. These were as follows:

i. The circular glass sheet was cleaned by washing with tap water and then dried with a cleaning cloth.

Explanation

In the student text there is no introduction to the chapter or the contents of that chapter. Headings, sub-headings and lists are presented in isolation. There are no signals between sections and to the preceding or following chapters.

Chapter 3 Experimental Procedure 3.1.Sample Preparation

1. The circular glass sheet was cleaned by washing with tap water and then dried with a cleaning cloth.

2. The amount of soluble particles (salt) and non-soluble particles (alumna) used for the test was measured using and electronic Scale

3. The soluble and non-soluble particles were then mixed in a bottle.

4. The mixture was sprinkled on the cleaned circular glass sheet uniformly using a bottle with holes on its cover.

In the student text there is no introduction to the chapter or the contents of that chapter. Headings, sub-headings and lists are presented in isolation. There are no signals between sections and to the preceding or following chapters.

In this chapter I will present the procedure adopted for the research. The aim of the research is to study the behaviour of surface conductance of an insulator in coastal areas such as Hong Kong. The steps taken for the experiment will be outlined below, first I will describe the sample preparation before I move on to demonstrate the testing procedures and low voltage circuit. Then the process of the experiment will be presented in detail in Section 3.5. The apparatus used in the experiment will be outlined in Chapter 4.

Example

ExampleExample

3.1. Sample PreparationBefore conducting the test to examine

the conductance of insulation certain experiment preparations needed to be made. These were as follows:

ii. The circular glass sheet was cleaned by washing with tap water and then dried with a cleaning cloth.

Writing methodologyWriting methodology

• Providing adequate signals– Readers will find it helpful if you provide a

signpost, or heading indicating where your objectives will be outlined.

– Sometime students forget to do this. You can imagine that readers will find it rather irritating to have to search across several pages to find out exactly what you are planning to do.

– Including a sub-heading, stating exactly where your objectives are, is just being polite to your readers.

Writing MethodologyWriting Methodology

• Proof reading for accuracy– It is also a good idea to make sure that

the important sections of your project, such as the objectives, are written in accurate language.

– Readers will not be impressed by careless grammatical mistakes at this stage in your work

Writing methodologyWriting methodology

• Sentence structure– Try to avoid very long sentences. You

are less likely to make mistakes if you keep your sentences to a reasonable length.

– It is also easier for readers to follow your discussion if the sentences are fairly brief and clear

Rationale (The why)Rationale (The why)• At this stage you may want to include a few

comments about the reason for your study. • In your introduction you will have explained

in more detail why you think the study is worth doing. You will also have pointed out, in the background chapter, where there are gaps in the existing literature which your study might help to eliminate.

• In the methodology section you may refer to this aim again very briefly. Readers will expect to be reminded about key points all the way through your project.

Rationale (The why)Rationale (The why)

• When you are writing in English, it is important to be ‘reader friendly’. (this is also important in answering exam/quiz questions!!!!)

• Make it easy for your readers to follow and understand your meaning.

• So it would be useful at this stage to include a brief comment saying why you have chosen this aspect of your topic.

ExampleExample• Computer aided learning is still in its

infancy a study into the developmental process and affects of a computer aided learning package will ultimately lead to an improvement in: the understanding of how students learn; the presentation of CAL material; and an improvement in the students' aptitude for the particular subject.

Helpful to reader?Helpful to reader?• In recent years, there have been a number

of developments in power transformers. Power transformers are essential electrical apparatus used to step up and down the voltage of electrical transmission and distribution. Power winding is used in this process of stepping up and down the voltage. Therefore, in order to assess the stability and reliability of power transformers the winding process needs to be investigated thoroughly.

Being aware of readers Being aware of readers needsneeds

• The second extract provides us with some of the information we, as readers, need to help us understand why the writer has selected this topic for research.

• However, we might wish for more facts about the power winding at this point. It seems that the writer forgot about the needs of the ‘non-expert’ readers and assumed an understanding that they may not actually have.

• It is important to keep putting yourself in the position of your readers as you read over your work just to make sure you are communicating clearly.

Data collection instruments and Data collection instruments and procedures (The how)procedures (The how)

• In this section of your work you provide all the details necessary for readers to replicate your study if they so wish.

• It is here that you explain how you obtained your data and what exactly you did.

• You will explain what kind of study you have undertaken, what practical steps you took to test your hypotheses, how the models were developed, etc.

Data collectionData collection

• You will also describe any experimental apparatus you have used and outline the exact procedures you followed.

• It can be helpful to remember that in essence you are telling your readers exactly how to carry out a similar piece of research, but as clearly and briefly as possible.

ExamplesExamples• For each set of data collected, the

measuring procedures were as follows: – The point electrode and coup electrode were

polished before the experiment was started. – The breakdown voltage was determined with

the cup electrode connected to earth. Three measurements were obtained for accuracy.

– The power of the system was turned off in order to connect the measuring circuit to the point cup system….

Example - The how Example - The how • The computer assisted learning

package was developed after the material from each subject was collected. The syllabus of each subject was analysed. Based on this analysis a CDRom with accompanying handouts were developed for each subject.

The howThe how• Note that Past Tense and Passive

Voice are used frequently during this section to report the steps and procedures undertaken in your study.

Provide adequate Provide adequate signpostssignposts

• Many students seem to forget about their readers altogether.

• Sometimes an introduction to the methodology chapter is not included. Often there is little indication of how the writer proceeded with his/her study and how the instruments are related the purpose of the present study and in what order the information in this chapter will be presented.

• It is important that you give a general introduction about this kind of information.

People, Approaches, People, Approaches, Formula, etc (The who)Formula, etc (The who)

• If any other people, studies, approaches or formula are involved in your study this is the time to provide the details about them.

• But remember only to include what your readers need to know. Anything that is not relevant to your work should be omitted.

The time frame (the The time frame (the when)when)

• You may want to include information about the length of time that you were engaged in each part of your study. It may be helpful to tell readers briefly the time frame for the procedures you followed.

• Usually not included in a FYP report

ResultsResults• The reader must be able to follow the flow

of the data, otherwise the paper will mean nothing and most likely frustrate the reader.

• Use proper labels for figures and tables and the wordings in the labels must match the wording in your text.

• Table index Table 6.1 or Table 1 ? • The written text of the results section may

be as short as one sentence summarising the highlights and directing the reader to specific tables and figures.

Results sectionResults section• People often write this section either

first or second to the Experimental Procedures (Methodology) section. Another possibility is that you could write them simultaneously, describing each experiment and the corresponding data. Whatever you find easiest is fine.

ResultsResults• Your readers will be expecting to find

a section devoted to your actual findings, and generally this section should be included.

Restate your objectivesRestate your objectives• The first thing readers will probably be

looking for when they turn to your results section is some indication that you are addressing your objectives, research questions or hypotheses.

• Readers will be expecting that your results will match up with and be related to your intentions. Make sure that you highlight this information near the beginning of this section.

ResultsResults• Readers will also expect you to make

some connection between your findings and the results of studies you discussed in your literature review.

• Readers will want to know if your findings support, extend or contradict the findings of other researchers in your field.

• Detailed coverage of this can be left until later if you are including a separate ‘Discussion’ section or chapter.

ResultsResults• Results should be quantitative• Try to use items should as % error• Do not use generic terms such as the

“results are good” or “results are satisfactory”

• Use the “% error is less than 1%”

Select what results to Select what results to presentpresent

• It is possible that you will have collected more data than you intended.

• So before you start presenting lots of tables and figures you need to rethink what your purposes are in writing this section.

• Your first priority will be to relate your findings to your objectives. Then, you may want to comment briefly on aspects of your findings in relation to the literature, but most of this commentary will be reserved for the discussion section.

Tables and figuresTables and figures• Tables or figures to illustrate your data should be

placed these directly on the page where they are being described.

• Remember readers are busy people and do not want to have to search through pages of appendices to locate the tables

• However, busy readers do not want to have to struggle through material that is inessential or not relevant to your major results. So learn to be selective, and after careful consideration base your decisions about what to include on material your readers really need to know.

• Appendices are the place to put everything that is not central to your major findings.

Tense Tense • Usually the present tense is predominant

when presenting results, but as you will note from studying Table 4, it is not really possible to use one tense exclusively.

• Study the examples adapted from students’ projects that are shown in Table 8 below and decide how effectively the tenses have been used.

1. After a detailed investigation into corona behaviour in air, the experimental results will be represented in this chapter. First of all, the graphs below show the corona current change with the increase of the supply voltage from 0kV.

2. Figure 5.7 below demonstrates that students on the whole strongly agreed (28%) or agreed (70%) that the package stimulated their interest in the subject. Only a small percentage of students (2%) thought that the package did not stimulate their interest in the subject.

TenseTense• In Extracts 1, you can see here how the tenses

change as the writer refers to different aspects of the study.

• The writer uses the future tense to indicate what will be included in the chapter. The writer uses 'First of all' to signal what is going to be presented, however, there is no second or other description about other results which will be presented and the writer is left wondering if only one result will be presented.

• This paragraph needs to be completed and to include a comprehensive description of what the contents of the chapter will be.

ResultsResults• If you build a robot for your project,

what are the results?

DiscussionDiscussion• In this section you may comment on any findings

which are interesting, or unusual. • If you are able to suggest reasons for these

unexpected results this is the place to contribute your thoughts.

• In this chapter you can also relate your findings to results from previous studies which you have noted in your literature review.

• Depending on whether your findings uphold previous results, contribute information additional to what has done before, or offer alternative outcomes, you can expand on these earlier points.

DiscussionDiscussion• You may also explain how any changes to

or problems with the experimental procedure may have affected the results, or offer other suggestions as to why your results may have been different from or similar to related experiments described in the literature.

• Interpretations should be supported whenever possible by references to the experiment, the text, and/or other studies from the literature, properly documented.

1.Ideally the surface conductivity of the circular glass sheet should be the consistent when the contaminant content remains constant. However, the results from this study demonstrate that this may not always be the case. These results may be due to the fact that the salt particles were totally dissolved and mixed with the alumina particles when the experiment was repeated the second time.

2.From the data from the experiment show that when the Voltage is compared to the No. of tapping at 2.5kV that there is consistently a steep decrease from tap 1 to tap 10. This means that the stray capacitance effect is very violent from tap 1 to tap 10. One reason for this may be the insulating layer between the coils is wax paper and it is possible that this layer was damaged when the reactor is operation, this can increase the stray capacitance within the reactor.

DiscussionDiscussion• The writer of Extract 1 discusses what s/he thinks

are the causes of the findings. The phrase ‘These results may be due to the fact that. . ..’ signals that the writer is suggesting an explanation for the results that have been obtained. Other useful phrases include, 'this suggests; this indicates; these figures show; this may explain; this may be interpreted as; here we can see . . .. ’

• Also in this chapter you can outline the limitations of your study. As you discuss and interpret your findings you can also point out which aspects of your work are open to question, and acknowledge where things did not go according to plan.

ConclusionConclusion• This chapter should state briefly the

achievement(s) of the project, the key conclusions that can be made from the work and suggestions for further research.

• Are you repeating yourself ?• However, you need to state clearly and briefly the

major contribution your project has made. This chapter is meant to convey to the reader your opinion as to the nature and the significance of the results obtained.

• The writer moves here from the specific results of their study, to the wider implications and a more general view of how their findings should be interpreted.

The main objective of this project was to develop and interactive computer aided learning package for first and second year students. Although there are many different kinds of computer assisted learning (CAL) packages they are usually made up of animation or video, but for electrical engineering students the most important part is the simulation. Through simulations users can learn the theory of the subject. In this study I designed, developed, implemented and assessed a CAL package for electrical engineering students. Students were asked to use the designed package immediately after the related class and data related to their perceptions of this package were collected. The results suggest that…

Example of conclusionExample of conclusion• After the completing the project I

found that some of the procedures used could be improved. Based on the results of this study the following recommendations are made: – The operation switch of the CIG would

be made more convenient if …– The construction of the spark gap could

be improved by…

ConclusionConclusion• In some reports recommendations

for further research are given in detail.

Labelling and referring Labelling and referring to diagramsto diagrams

• All diagrams should be numbered and labelled correctly.

• To number diagrams we generally use the word "Table X" to refer to tables and "Figure X" to refer to all other diagrams, e.g. charts, graphs, pictures.

• Diagrams should be labelled using a noun phrase, e.g.– Fig 3. Multi-source Circuit NOT– Fig 4. Solve the problem by using

superimposition.

Diagrams and figuresDiagrams and figures• When referring to diagrams, you

should use the present tense.– Figure 2.1 shows a model of the

point/cup electrodes.– The two electrodes are mounted

together on a supporter and the supporter is put into a pressure vessel to form the whole point-cup system, as shown in Fig. 3.1.

Equations as SentencesEquations as Sentences

,

.

The current is given by

dVci C

dtthus the equation becomes

dVcCR Vc V

dtwhich is a first order linear equation

EquationsEquations• Equations should be written on

separate lines and numbered consecutively.

• Do not forget to use the appropriate punctuation marks.

ProofreadingProofreading• Many of the errors that students make are the

result of carelessness. • Students usually know the rules and can work out

their own mistakes, if a teacher points them out. • The problem is they don't check their own work

carefully enough. It can be difficult to see your own errors sometimes, so it's a good idea to work with a friend and proofread each other's projects.

• Report submitted with typing and spelling errors are very irritating to your reader, as they suggest carelessness on the part of the student.