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Final Report Format

A formal technical report is written at the end of a project. Generally, it is a complete, stand-alone document aimed at persons having widely diverse backgrounds. Therefore, a detailed description of the project is required. The outline of a typical formal report is:

· Title page

· Summary (abstract): An abstract or summary should contain a brief overview of the report, including its conclusions and recommendations if there are any. A good length for an abstract is 300 words; some scientific journals actually specify this number of words explicitly. The abstract of a scientific paper or report is considered to be capable of `standing alone' and being published separately. For this reason the heading `abstract' in a report is usually not numbered. Numbering usually starts with the introduction.

· Table of contents

· Introduction: This section contains background to the work to acquaint reader with the problem and the purpose for carrying on the work)

· Method: In the `method' section you should describe the way the work was carried out, what equipment you used, and any particular problems that had to be overcome.

· Results: Results are usually given as plainly as possible, and without any comment. You should include enough data to enable to reader to be confident that you have done what you said you would do, and that your conclusions will be trustworthy.

· Discussion: In this section the author provides an interpretation of the results, compares them with other published findings -- if there are any -- and points out any potential shortcomings in the work. In particular, if your findings are unusual, or very much at odds with other people's conclusions, you should explain why you think this might be. Otherwise the reader will probably assume you have just made a mistake.

· Conclusion: The conclusion gives the overall findings of the study. It is important to realize that `conclusion' does not just mean `the last bit of the report'. Your conclusions should really be statements that can be concluded from the rest of the work.

· Recommendations: In this section the author normally includes any advice he or she wishes to offer the reader. Some people use the recommendations sections for suggestions of further work.

· References and bibliography: The purpose of citing references is to allow the reader to follow up your work, and perhaps check that the conclusions you draw really follow from the sources you cite.

· Appendices: The appendices are where the author will usually place any material that is not directly relevant to the report, and will only be read by small number of people. Appendices may be used for mathematical proofs, electrical circuit diagrams and sections of computer programs.