Using present tense can be acceptable at times particularly in your discussion and interpretation sections but present tense, used incorrectly, can create the opportunity for confusion. Mistakes creep in quite unintentionally and unless you are made aware of a correct way of reporting, these habits can be difficult to break. Without getting into the technical explanations of why one is more correct than another, the simplest way of explaining this is that in both cases a sequence of events is referred to which is not fully explained in the weaker sentences.
In both examples the first action that has to be completed amounts to a series of activities — experiments; and reading multiple references.
The use of the correct forms clarifies the nature of the activities that were completed prior to the second stages. This is quite a sophisticated level of language use, but something to bear in mind.
If it was just a single action then things are a little simpler: e. Poor punctuation suggests that you have adopted a carelessness to the writing of your report that does immeasurable damage for you, and which is difficult to undo even with the most excellent of research results. The good news is that the more you write, the more your punctuation will improve. There are some good resources to use to make sure that you are developing good punctuation habits.
For all students, however, a good tip is to get an independent person to check your writing before you submit, regardless of how confident you feel. As a rule of thumb try to confine your use of commas to separating distinct parts of sentences from each other. Always read your sentences aloud to see if the comma is, indeed, in the right place.
Hyphens are becoming increasingly popular in student work, and are often overused or incorrectly used. Use them to create a more noticeable break in a sentence than can be created simply with brackets. Try not to overuse them. You use them only in two cases: The first is at the beginning of a list of elements, while the second is at the beginning of a quotation. They can also be used to separate elements in a list. Direct quotes like this should, however, be limited to those instances when the words used are particularly powerful — either because of who said them, or because of the way they are expressed.
There also needs to be a direct link between the quote and the contents of your own text — i. In general, quotes are used sparingly — short selections only to illustrate a particular point. That is not the point of quotations, and this is leaning towards an inappropriate use of quotations, for which you could be penalised. Also be aware of the risk of using too many quotes — each one must be justifiable and must contribute something powerful to your text.
If you do use quotations you should generally introduce the source before the quotation in an introductory sentence, and then cite the quote, including specific page numbers, afterwards. You will also need to include the full reference in your bibliography. Please do go through these and make sure you avoid them in your own work. In all of these examples the students were using the kind of language that they did not use in everyday life and which was clearly too challenging.
Here simpler language would have been far more effective. This is simple laziness. Do not use shall when you mean will. Words that sound similar are often used interchangeably, and incorrectly, by students. For some reason this problem comes up repeatedly in student projects. In all such cases these are two entirely different words. Make sure you know their correct meaning, and use them appropriately.
Nelson Mandela is sometimes compared to Mahatma Ghandi. These are always things that are obviously quite similar. In that case, for example Cape Town could be compared with Johannesburg; Nelson Mandela could be compared with Robert Mugabe; Results from experiment 1 are compared with results from experiment 2. Examples would be: the number of times the vehicle rolled, the number of accidents that occur in a year, the number of particles, or the number of widgets you use to construct your model.
Remember, too, that some materials have specific units of measurement — volume applies to liquids and gases the volume of water required and to traffic flows the volume of traffic exceeds per day. There are a number of different types of illustrations that are explained in this section.
They do, however, have a number of requirements in common. The reader does not want to have to page through your document to find an illustration that you refer to — make their lives easier by placing it immediately below the reference wherever possible, or at very worst, overleaf. The second convention is tied to this. This is that for every illustration there must be some introductory comment that refers to the illustration by number, as well as some explanation as to what the illustration is showing the reader.
Do not leave it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions about the meaning of the illustration — spell out exactly what the key elements are that the reader is expected to take note of. A third convention is that unless the illustration is entirely your own work, it must include the source immediately below the title. If you are using photographs downloaded from the Internet make sure they are not subject to any copyright restrictions before you use them.
Conventions related to the use of Google Maps are laid out in detail in the Department plagiarism policy. In short you are entitled to use Google Map images for personal use not for profit! This is always found at the bottom of the image itself. The caption of an illustration should make it clear what it is showing, without being too long. The explanation of the contents of the illustration is given in the text.
Different researchers have different preferences for numbering of illustrations. This is a simple and straightforward method of numbering. Others prefer to use the chapter number as a reference point; building the illustration number from this.
So the first table in Chapter 4 could then be Table 4. Ultimately this is very much a personal preference. Just be sure that your numbers flow logically; that the illustration is referenced in the text and discussed; and that your Tables and Figures are listed in separate lists in your contents page. In other words, keep your graphs the same size as each other and your photos or diagrams the same size as each other. If you use a series of tables try to be consistent in the table format you use — in your shading, use of borders, use of font and font size etc.
A very important consideration is that the information that we need to read off the illustration — be it a graph, a table or a diagram — must be clear enough for us to do so. Most of these are very obvious elements, but sometimes in the final rush to meet a deadline such details can be overlooked.
Van Schaik, Pretoria. Lauchmann, R. Planning the Technical Report. Writing and creating the Technical Report. Useful behavior for working on your project and writing the Technical Report. Presenting the Technical Report. Back Matter Pages If, for instance, your report is focused on a particular experiment, be specific on the way it was conceived, set up, and conducted.
Present your data and describe what it all means in the next sections. It can be hard to determine how much data to present. Giving too little can significantly weaken your analysis and the overall report. Giving too much, however, can drown the reader in a sea of tables and figures. Make sure you provide all essential data, and err on the side of providing a bit too much unless otherwise instructed.
Present your data in a logical order, so that each table or figure leads into the next one. Round out the report with a conclusion that bookends your introduction.
If, for instance, you listed several specific questions in your intro, answer them specifically in the conclusion. Otherwise, use it to pull together your findings into a clear, convincing statement.
Be as bold in your conclusions as your data and analysis permits you to be. Part 3. Check for specific guidelines with your university, employer, etc. While there is a fair amount of standardization when it comes to organizing technical reports, the particular layout can vary somewhat by discipline or other factors. Create a simple title page at the beginning of your report. The title page obviously needs to provide the title of the report and your name, and often includes details like the date and the purpose for the report's submission.
Check for any title page layout guidelines for your discipline, department, employer, etc. Provide a condensed overview of the report in the abstract. The goal of a technical report abstract is to boil down the essentials of the report into about words. You need to provide a very quick rundown of what the report covers and any conclusions or recommendations you make in it.
You want it to be a condensed description of what you have written, not of what you intend to write. Check to see if there is a specific word limit for your abstract. Depending on your situation, you may need to write an abstract, an executive summary, or both. Draw up a table of contents, list of tables, and list of figures. The table of contents should break down the entire report section-by-section, so readers can quickly get a feel for the entire report and find any particular section.
A technical report is a formal document that details the results of a study through in-depth experimental information, data, and results. These are often written to address a specific research need without having to undergo the stress that comes with long production schedules of academic journals.
The report may cover subjects in the fields of physical sciences, engineering, agriculture, and education, among others. Many commercial companies, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies sponsor these researches for the benefit of their respective areas of study.
Authors may choose to issue the technical report in a print or digital format, depending on their objectives and means of distribution. The Parts of a Technical Report Have you ever written a technical report before? Or something close to it? Unlike academic reports made in school, technical reports tackle complex subject matters that require extensive research and careful analysis to complete.
Each page of the report contains vital information about the topic that readers may find useful for their own study. A technical report generally comprises of the following parts: Cover Page: Here you can find the title of the report, the logo of your organization if you have one , the names of the author s , the date it is written, and other necessary information that might be useful. The cover page allows you to formally introduce yourself and your research to an audience without providing much details on what it is about.
It is usually a one-page summary of the discussion that identifies the problem statement, the methods used, the means of obtaining the data, the significant results, and the conclusion. Table of Contents: Reports that are more than ten pages typically require a table of contents to guide readers. Page numbers of each section are indicated in this part of the document to help readers quickly locate the necessary information.
I ntroduction: You can find background information about the report in this part of the document. It contains a brief description of the subject, the approach taken, and the procedure used to solve the problem.
It also highlights the aims of the research to the reader so that one may understand your purpose for writing. Development: This section defines the conceptual design, methods, procedures, techniques, analysis, and project plan of the study. It is a crucial part of the report that explains the specifics of the project for future researchers to refer to. Think of it as a longer version of a lab report. A detailed look into the process also makes it easy for readers to understand how results were garnered at a later part of the experiment.
Discussion: To understand the data obtained from the survey, experiment, or test, findings and other vital issues related to the subject are thoroughly discussed in this part of the report.
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