technical report

The abstract is a brief (approx. 100-200 words) summary of the report. It summarizes the Purpose, the Scope, the Features, and the Conclusions of the project and acts as a quick reference for people who do not wish to read the entire report. Do not explain why the study is done in the abstract, that belongs to the introduction. The abstract provides straightforward description without providing underlying details. You should focus on your contributions to the understanding and solution of your project problem. A good abstract should cover the following list:

· Typically 100-200 words

· It is written in a very dense/compact way

· Single paragraph that describe each of the following in one or two sentences:

· Topic/Purpose: What is the topic of the report? What did you do?

· The Approach/ The Scope: How did you do it? What is the area?

· Key Features: What are the most important findings? (Features)

· Conclusions: What are the main outcomes? (conclusions)

· Sentence are longer than normal.

· Omit introductory explanation, unless that is the focus of the main body of the report.

· The abstract is not an introduction!

· This is a numbered page (Roman ii).

· Does NOT Contains any undefined symbols, abbreviations, or acronyms

· Does NOT Makes any reference by number to any references or illustrative material

· Does NOT Provide general background information

· Does NOT Explain why you are doing the research, investigation or design

· Does NOT Refer to later diagrams or references.

Writing style

In general, do not use “I”, “we”, “he”, or “she” in technical writing. Always use passive voice and past tense.

The Introduction section briefly outlines the importance of the subject and how the information obtained might be used. Use figures and information from any reference (e.g., books, journals, and internet) to better explain the subject. You could have more than subtitle to in the introduction, especially if you are discussing more than one issue otherwise you can give each subject a separate title. In the introduction try to describe the following:

· Give sufficient background information of the topic of the project:

· The topic (what is the project about) (Use Figures)

· Why the project is important (Report & Use Figures)?

· History (Use Figures)

· Give technical background of the topic (Explain it using Figures)

· Theory (Use Figures)

· Assumptions (Use Figures)

· Outline overall approach

· States the purpose of the project to present the results of your design (report)

· Why the study is being carried out

· Define your problem clearly (Use Figures)

· Additional Information:

· Explain aims/hypotheses

· Explains connections with any previous work and gap(UF)

· Outline overall approach (Explain briefly what you will do or What you did)

Figure 1: Example figure

In this section you should present your results and the presentation of results should be as straight-forward as possible. Tables and graphs are excellent tools for summarizing numerical results and should be used whenever applicable. Present the results by referring to the figures and tables, Figures are more preferable than tables. Graphs are much more informative than data tables because patterns can be identified much more easily.

An example of a table is given in Table 1. Note that the data in the table should be single spaced and the caption of the table should always be above the table. The following guidelines are applied when using tables:

1. Tables should be as compact as possible and as informative as it gets.

2. Units along with symbols are included and given in details. It is possible to use round parenthesis, “( )”, instead of the square ones, “[ ]”.

3. The text in the table should be centered and size 11.

4. Your table should have a caption that describes the table and should be listed above the table.

5. Note that you should write a paragraph before each table to describe the content of the table, e.g., describing each column, its units, and so on.

Most of the times, data from the each table are plotted on a graph. In some experiments, not all data are plotted and hence the author should evaluate and discuss the experimental results from that table. This should be done in a paragraph below the table. The results are compared to expected, theoretical, or published results, and reasons for deviation are suggested. Trends and patterns in the results should be indicated and evaluated. Students should also include a statement about sources of error in the results being discussed.

Figures and graphs should be labeled well enough to act as a standalone and self-explanatory document. Scales should be chosen such that the resultant curve is as large as the page permits. All figures and graphs should be referred to in text before their appearance in the report and must follow the following rules:

a) All graphs must have a self-explanatory caption that describes the figure.

b) Axes should be labeled properly (symbol and units are required).

c) Use symbols for experimental data points and lines for theoretical predictions.

d) If you have more than one curve in the same figure, each curve should be marked clearly and distinctly using different line types and/or symbols using a legend.

e) Legend should be placed within the figure (Save space).

f) Figures should not be framed.

g) Figures should fit page width if possible (Small figures are wrong practice!)

h) Figures must be numbered properly and captioned. The caption must be centered and placed below the figure.

An example of a graph is shown in Figure 1. Before each figure you should have a paragraph describing the figure, e.g., describing the x-axis, the y-axis, the different curves, e. g., dashed line, solid line, and so on. For example, to describe Figure 3, one can write the following:

Example:

“Figure 1 shows the relation between the out-of-plane displacement at the center of the plate, wo(0,0), with the edge displacement, . The y-axis shows the deflection at the center of the plate whereas the x-axis shows the edge-displacement; both are normalized by the plate thickness, H. It can also be seen that there are two curves in Figure 1; the solid line represent the stable solution whereas the dashed line represents the unstable solution. The two inserts show the deflected plate configuration along the corresponding path.”

Note that in the above paragraph we did not describe the behavior of the graph nor the nature of the relation between the out-of-plane deflection and the edge-displacement. The paragraph only describes the content of the figure.

It should be written as a single paragraph discussing the findings. The conclusion should a brief summary of your finding stating your judgment. The conclusions should be related to the purpose of the project and must be supported by results, i.e., ask yourself how good are the finding. If applicable, present recommendations for what further work are needed. Usually recommendations are given along with the conclusion section.

The Reference section is used to list references which were directly quoted or paraphrased in the report. Copied figures must also be referenced. The number beside a given reference corresponds to the number placed at the end of the given quote or paraphrasing. Entries in the reference section are in the order that they occur in the text. Some examples are as follows:

Book:

[1] Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. Title of book: Subtitle. (Edition [if not first]). Place of publication, Publisher, Year.

Example:

[1] Ernest Rabinowicz. Friction and Wear of Materials. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 136-137, 1965.

[2] AD. Sarkar. Wear of Metals. Oxford: Pergarnon Press, pp. 46-47, 1976.

Paper:

[1] Author's surname, initials. “Title of article”. Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), page numbers, Month and Year of publication.

Example:

[1] M.-L. Dano and M.W. Hyer. “Thermally-Induced Deformation Behavior of Unsymmetric Laminates”. International Journal of Solids & Structures, 35(17):2101–2120, June 1998.

Website:

[1] Author(s), (year of publication or last update). Title of page [type of medium]. Available: URL [accessed date

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