09/10/2001

• What students don't do!
• Report Structure - What a report should (and must) include
• Principal components
• Mandatory components
• Notes on Presentation and Style
• Bibliography for this Web Page

What students don't do

• contents page
• page numbers
• introduction
• section headings and descriptions
• explanations of why diagrams are included and what the diagrams mean
• cross references between text and appendices
• summary and/or conclusion
• contents page for, and introduction to, appendices

Reports have a traditional structure.
A good report will usually contain each of the following components or sections:

• Title page
• Acknowledgements
• Synopsis
• Contents page(s)
• Introduction
• Main body of report
• Summary (Review of report contents)
• Conclusion
• Appendices
• Bibliography / References

• a Title Page
• a Contents Page
• an Introduction
• the Main Body of the report
• a Summary / Conclusion

in general, the title page of a report will show:

• report title
• name(s) of author(s)
• title(s) or position(s) of author(s)
• submission date
• distribution list

• title
• name(s) of author(s)
• course / subject / group details
• the due date for the piece of work
• FAO (For Approval Of) tutor.

• when an author has had help from others, the report should include some mention of the nature and quantity of the assistance given, as well as the name(s) of help-givers.

• All but the most trivial of reports should have a very brief summary or outline, on the first page after the title sheet.
• The sysnopsis for a small report may be a single sentence, and for a larger report would not be more than a small paragraph, encapsulating the contents of the report. (See for example the first sentence describing the contents of this Web page.)
• A reader should be able to see, almost at a glance, the main topics or themes dealt with in the report.
• (Often, a synopsis will have under it a list of keywords which act as a reference to the report's contents.)

• Section headings displayed with relevant page-number.
• sub-section headings where appropriate (also with relevant page-numbers.)
• A general guideline as to whether a sub-section heading should be included in the contents page is whether its inclusion will (a) be useful for the reader, or (b) help to give a good preview of what is to come.

• 'Background' and rationale for the report
• preview and 'setting the scene'.
• This section (hopefully) whets the reader's appetite.
• It may be appropriate to bring to the reader's attention particular themes, issues or questions which are raised in thebody of the report.
• (NB: the Introduction is sometimes the last section of a report to be finished!)

• descriptions and explanations of how facts were obtained or the findings were achieved
• references to sources
• cross-references to additional material in appendices
• The body of the report may be in chapters and/or sections.
• Where appropriate, a chapter or section may have its own Introduction and Conclusion sections.
• Sometimes, in larger reports a chapter or section may have its own Contents page.
Long passages of text should be broken up by using sub-headings.
• Only use paragraph numbering in reports which are intended for group discussion and reference.

• a review of the report's contents
• a recapitulation or descriptive overview of the main points or principal themes within the report ie: a summary of what the reader has been shown in the text
• (it is NOT a list of section headings.)

• The Conclusion builds on the contents of the Summary
• and references the Introduction. For example: have the objectives defined (or the questions asked) in the introduction been attained (or answered).
• The Conclusion discusses emergent issues such as the results and answers provided by the report and , just as importantly, any questions or problems which have come to light during the project
• The Conclusion will provide an evaluation of the contents of the report, and the methods used, as well as any difficulties encountered in gathering material for the report
• The Conclusion provides a space for the author or team to include their own thoughts (considered judgements) and opinions;
• and rounds off the report.

typically comprise:

• supporting information;
• working material

• If an appendix exists, there must be some reference to it within the report.
• Appendices typically have some brief Introduction as well as a Contents page (if there are more than two appendices).
• Appendices' pages should be numbered (by hand if necessary)

• A bibliography is in essence an ordered list of texts (books, periodicals, etc) which have been used (implicitly or explicitly) in compiling the report.
• Some of the texts in the bibliography will appear in the References section (often more than once)

Typically there are three types of reference in reports:

• References to sources
• References to additional notes
• References to appendices and cross-references

My preferred reference format within a text is as follows:
Drewry  says "The Simpleton Email System is not very good" (Drewry,1999).
or
Drewry (1999) suggests that the Simpleton Email System is not as good as it should be.
or
One author has suggested a number of times that the Simpleton Email System could be better (e.g., Drewry,1999a; Drewry,1999b).

The references for the above in the References section would be:

Drewry, T. (1999a) On Strange Email Systems, Some Pub.
Drewry, T. (1999b) Reports and Documentation, URL: http:etc/etc.
(Note the URL in last example)

The format of the above references is as follows:

Surname - Initial(s) - publication date -  Title of text - Publisher/URL

When a source is a text  derived from e.g., an anthology, then the reference might be:

Drewry, T. (1999a) 'On Strange Email Systems', in DeVille, C., ed. (1999) Millenial Madness, McGripe-Valley

i.e. Surname - Initial(s) - publication date -  Title of text - in Surname - Initial(s) - publication date -  Title of text - Publisher

The above referencing system can also be more detailed, e.g.,
(Drewry, 1999:12)shows the relevant page number is 12
Other variations:
(Drewry, 1999:12-13), (Drewry, 1999:12ff), (Drewry, 1999, ch. 3)

• I put references at the end of the text, in alphabetical order, in a section 'References'.
• Some authors put their references within the main body of the text either:
• at the bottom of the page on which the reference is made, or
• at the end of a section / chapter of the text in which the references have been made.

• The reference pointers to additional notes are usually  superscript numbers
• I usually have a Notes section at the end of a report - i.e. as End-notes. Since the End-notes are automatically created by the word-processor, the references are listed in order.  In a long report of many sections and/or chapters, it can be useful to group the references by the section or chapter in which they were made.
• Some authors put their Notes within the main body of the text either:
• at the bottom of the page as Footnotes, or
• at the end of a section / chapter of the text in which the notes are referenced.

for example:

(see Appendix 1)
(see 'Interesting Section' above/below)
(see 'Interesting Section' in chapter 2)

• Internal structure
• Content
• Words
• Diagrams
• Cross references
• Attitude

• plan paragraphs
• construct sentences carefully (rule-of-thumb: max. 20 words)
• use sub-headings to break up large blocks of text
• in longer reports use recapitulation to remind readers of previously stated reasons and arguments (eg; when continuing some theme or argument started in an earlier chapter).

• make sure you include what is necessary
• be concise but thorough
• be sure that your facts are correct
• exclude irrelevant material
• justify conclusions
• ensure that your logic is correct
• aim for clarity both in language and in exposition of concepts.

• short and concise where possible;
• no unfamiliar jargon;
• avoid impressive words;
• use transitive verbs (eg: 'does', not 'is done by');
• simple prepositions (eg: 'now', NOT 'at this point in time');
• use 'former', 'latter', - as little as possible;
• any pronoun (eg: 'it', 'this', etc) should be close to the phrase to which the pronoun relates;
• caution with qualitative words (eg: 'quite', 'very', 'appreciable');
• Don't start sentences with words like: 'Clearly', 'Of course', 'Obviously', 'Thus', 'Therefore'.

• any diagram, figure or graph in a report should have an explanation close by, ie: a sentence or two explaining why it is there, or some explanatory reference within (if possible) adjacent text.

• include appropriate cross-referencing, eg:
• between sections and appendices
• between text and diagrams
• conceptually across sections.

• do not overestimate your readers' knowledge;
• do not underestimate your readers' knowledge;
• talk to your reader (not down-to, or up-to);
• be serious but not solemn (do not be chatty);
• use humour with great caution;
• never use sarcasm.

• Peter Checkland, (1986) 'Systems Thinking, Systems Practice', Wiley.
• F.W.Brookes, (1982) 'The Mythical Man-Month', Addison-Wesley
• G.Watkins, Lecture notes. UWE Bristol.

•  Some Notes on Writing a Project Report from Barbara Segal.
• A Guide to Writing for Computing Students from Bob Storey-Day
• References - the Harvard System from Dianne Nelson

Printing this Document

1. click on the 'File' button in the Menu bar
2. choose 'Save as'
3. identify the disk and directory to which you wish to save
4. click on the down arrow besides the 'Save File as Type' box
5. choose 'Plain text'
6. and save the file to disk
7. (if you don't have a floppy with you, save the file to disk and send it to yourself using email)
8. later you can load the file into a wordprocessor and print out the parts of the text you need.
9. Be aware that all normal copyright restrictions apply, ie: you can take a copy for your own use but not for distribution in any form.