Dr.

Will Kurlinkus
Genre Specifications
1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Procedures
4. Results
5. Discussions
6. Conclusions
7. References
Abstract
! Around 200 Words
! Write this last, after you know your
results.
! Should provide the reader with a brief
summary of everything: the problem
being addressed, what you did
(methodology), your results, and what
they mean.
Common Abstract Errors
! Too long or too short
! Not specific enough
! Vagueness:
! Steels are one of the most widely used materials in the world and
controlling the physical properties they possess has been an engineering
challenge for years.
" This introduction line is a little broad and student like. Id start with the second line.
Remember all the information you provide should be useful to your audience and
specific to the experiment.
! Each sample was viewed under high magnifications and these
predictions were further investigated.
" Some vague language here. What does further investigated mean? What specifically
was investigated?
! Samples that had been water quenched had vast amounts of"
" Vast is a little vague. Vast as compared to what? Use estimated percentages instead.
! This experiment was performed to gain experience in metallography
through comparing steels...
" This is student languagethe experiment was performed to demonstrate the effects of
varying cooling rates on heat treated stealput things in terms of what youre teaching
your audience, not in terms of what you learned
Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3
Introduction
! Under 2 Pages
! Creates a context for your entire report.
! Introduces the theory, definitions, diagrams,
and techniques that will be needed to
understand the discussion section.
! Describes the goals of the experiment and
why you are doing it.
! Must balance what the reader does and does
not need to know.
! Describes what you might expect to see.

Procedures
! Around 1 Page
! Deadly specific descriptions of what you
did.
! Past tense.
! Describes your materials, what you did with
them, and what techniques you used.
! Remember you are trying to create a
repeatable experiment so someone can
recreate your results.
Common Procedures Errors
! This is not a cooking recipeyou should not be giving orders:
First, mount the Bakelite. becomes First, samples were
mounted in Bakelite.
! It should be in past tense and describe what you did. Try to avoid
personal pronouns (you, I, we) as well.
! Three metal samples of each 1018, 1045, and 4340 steel were given
to each lab group. Prior to the lab each sample was stamped with an
eight or a five followed by either the letter
" Try to avoid this type of student language. These first two sentences arent really
necessary for an understanding of the experiment.
! The first heat treatment is to heat the steel to 950 C and keep it at
that heat for fifteen minutes; this step will be repeated in the following
two heat treatments as well. After the initial heating, the sample is
simply allowed to air cool.
" Repetitionalso please keep in the past tense throughout the procedure section.
! Dont skip steps: For instance, dont just say that the metal
was polished. Tell me the different grits of sand paper, the
order of grits, and how you cleansed samples between grits.
Be specific.
Results
! Major results including all your figures,
tables, charts, etc.
! All your data should be explained to your
reader, generally before the figure is shown
what are we seeing, what do the different
colors represent?
! Data should be given in some logical order
choose one and stick to it.
! Data should be given but not analyzed.
! Microstructures should be labeled within
images.
Creating Tables
There are only two types of images: Tables and Figures (charts and graphs are
to be referred to as Figures). Both should be capitalized when referred to in the text.
Tables and figures should both be labeled in 10 point, italicized, Times New Roman
font.
Tables should be given a very specific and fully capitalized title above the image
(not inside the cells).
Note that both the table and its title are left justifiedNo more centering.

Creating Figures
Figures are labeled and captioned under the image.
Note again, that the figure and its caption are flush left.
In regards to punctuating a figure, punctuate full sentences, but dont punctuate
incomplete ones. Thus, the first line of the figure above doesnt have a period, but
the second line, which begins a complete sentence, does.
Every figure and table should be given its own space and labelno more side-by-
side figures, text wrapped around figures, or shared captions. Dont do 1A, 1B, etc.

Common Results Errors
! Dont just give me a bunch of figures and graphs. You need to
describe what I am seeing both in captions and in the text
outside those captions and labels.
! Describe what different colors represent.
! Talk about how different figures and charts differ from one another.
! Talk about general trends.
! But dont begin to explain why figures and trends are occurring.
! Dont leave the reader wondering what a microstructure is
label them all.
! Dont give one line descriptions above a figure that are the exact
same as the caption below the figure. Introduce figures a group
at a time (and group them logically).
! Figures 1-5 show the effects of air cooling on 4340 at magnifications of
400x and 800x. Pearlite appears as dark brown patches while ferrite (the
majority of each sample) appears light grey"
! In general, the most formatting errors happen in this section.
Make all figures uniform, dont have images extending beyond
the edges of the page.