CHAPTER EIGHT

GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION OF SEMINAR

AND PROJECT REPORTS

This document may be used for the preparation of seminar and project reports
associated with the ND and HND academics programmes.

1. INTERACTION WITH YOUR SEPERVISOR

It is recommended that you meet your supervise regularly during the course of the
seminar/project; though ultimately the form of these interactions depends on both of
you. You should maintain a record notebook/file where you can include a record of
discussion with your supervisor. Such a system will allow easy and quick access to the
details and chronology of your work.

Role of the supervisor:

 Advice in identifying, selecting and defining and appropriate researchable and

achievable topic.
 Help in refining your ideas and discussion of various approaches to your work.
 To act as a resources for assistance with the identification and location of
relevant literature.
 To discuss your research design and the choice of appropriate research
methods.
 To discuss with your researching findings.
 To make general comment on proposed content of the report and chapters to
assist you in identifying weaknesses or deficiencies in your presentation and/or
analysis.
 To monitor your progress.

Your supervisor is there to help you pass; and it is not in there interest that you
should fail. You should not, however, expect them to read every work of your work or
provide detailed and comprehensive comments on each you submit. It is your skills
that are being assessed not your supervisor; he or she will not operate with you as if
you were remote control; His/her primary roles are to make sure you are progressing
adequately along the right lines and that your work does not contain any cress errors
or omissions. Make sure that you use your supervisor. His/her will usually be the first
marker of your report and you will have no recourse for compliant if you do not use
him/her, or act on his/her advice. It is your responsibility to maintain contact with
your supervisor, and keep him or her informed about any difficulties, especially if
they are like to pose a threat to completion by the deadline.
Extensions to deadlines are far more easily justified if your supervisor has been
abreast of any problems rather than trying to explain at the last minute whiles you
cannot summit on time.

N.B: The writing style, spelling, grammar and overall presentation of the dissertation
are your responsibility as is any proofreading. It is notoriously difficult to proofread
your own work, as you are familiar with it that spotting mistake does not come easily.
It is therefore a good idea to get a friend or colleague to do this for you. People who
are not at familiar with the subject area, such as members of your family, often make
excellent proofreaders, as they have no preconceptions about what you are saying.

Useful supervision tips!

 Agree terms — make sure that there is agreement between you and your
supervisor about what you both expect of each ether in the supervision
process.
 Frequency - decide the number and frequency of supervision sessions. It is
advisable to record your discussions in a logbook.
 Timing/time-tabling - make sure that you use supervision effectively and try to
associate them with significant events in the dissertation process where you
are likely to need most help.
 Need - try to identify when you need supervision rather than struggling along
aimlessly for long periods and wasting a lot of time. Even if you think there are
any issues that you need help with, regular contact can offer a lot of support
and enable you and your supervisor to monitor your progress.
 Agenda - compile as agenda of those matters you wish to discuss with your
 supervisor so that you do not forget to deal with any issues or waste valuable
time.
 Notification/advance warning - make sure that you notify your supervisor as
early as possible of your inability to keep an appointment.
 Prior work — try to provide your supervisor with work that you want them to
comment on at least one week before a scheduled supervision so that they are
given adequate time to read it thoroughly beforehand.

Most supervision may take place by email, over the telephone via letters. These tips
should still assist you in making the most effective use of the supervision process.

You should submit report drafts as and when requested by your supervisor. The final
responsibility for producing an error- free report lies with you, and not your
supervisor!

2. SUBMISSION

The spiral bound copies of your report should be submitted within the given deadline
to the designated person. Late submission may not be acceptable; if allowed, it will
necessarily attract a penalty which may be reflected in your score.

3. PLAGIARISM

This is a serious academics offence. If you are discovered to commit plagiarism,

you will repeat the seminar/project course in the next session.

Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or borrowing someone

else's original ideas. But terms like '.'borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the
offense. According to the Merriam - Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means
to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another person) as one's own; to use
another person's production without crediting the source; to commit literary theft; to
present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source. In
other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's
work and lying about it afterward. Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however,
by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed, and
providing your audience with information necessary to find that source, is usually
enough to prevent plagiarism.

4. FORMAT

4.1 TEXT AND UNITS

It is mandatory to use plain A4 sized paper - the type of paper used for photocopying.
All material should be types in double line spacing.

A margin of 25mm (1 inch) should be allowed at the top, bottom and right, while left
margin should be 38mm (1.5 inch); this is to allow for binding on the left. Other than
page numbers, no material should intrude into these margins, (see the figure below).

1 inch

1.5
Inch
 TOP COVER PAGE (SEE THE FIGURE BELOW)

The top cover page of your report should carry the following information in printed
form with block letters:

Soft-cover spiral bound seminar report should have transparent cover and contains:

Title of Seminar

Name of Student

Matriculation Number

Supervisor's Name

Date of Submission

A SEMINAR PRESENTATION (font 16)

ON

A COMPUTERISED CAREER CHOICE COUNSELLING

SYSTEM (font 20)

BY

GROUP E4

NAMES MATRIC NUMBERS (font 16)

OJO YETUNDE P/ND/11/3210034

BINTU ADEYINKA P/ND/11/3210055
ADEYANJU BISI P/ND/11/3210065
OPAAJE OLUWASEGUN P/ND/11/3210090 (font 14)

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY
YABA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY, YABA, LAGOS (font 16)

SUPERVISED BY
MR. ADEBAYO D.R. (font 16)

SEPTEMBER, 2015. (font 14)

Section and Sub-section headings: sections and subsections should be typed in Times
New Romans or CG font of size 13, bold with

Main Body Text: The body of your presentation should type using font styles; Times
New Roman or CG font size 12, in a fully justified bold and margin.

Contents page should, have topics along with page number Page Margin – Top -1”,
Bottom – 1”, Left – 1.25”, Right – 1.25”.

5. PRELIMINARY PAGES

These are constituted, in the given order by:

Title page

Certification

Acknowledgement

Abstract

Table of Contents

Main content

Each of these should commence on a fresh page. The preliminary pages should be
numbers in lowercase roman numerals with should appear at the Centre on the
bottom, while the main content pages should be in Arabic numerals. All pages,
including figures and tables, should be numbered.

Abstract: the abstract must contain the context/relevance of the problem at hand, a
description of what was done and the significant observation/results. This should not
exceed one page and should usually be one paragraph.

HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a concise summary of a completed research project or paper. A well-

written abstract will make the reader want to learn more about your research, read
your paper, or

Discussion or content

their chapters (iv) and Summary or Conclusions.

INTRODUCTION

Say something about the speaker. Where is the speaker from? What is the speaker's
background? Why is the speaker interested in this topic?

Introduce the topic in non-technical words. Explain the corneal in which the work was
done. Get your reader interested in the topic.

What were the speaker’s objectives for this seminar?

The introduction section should contain the following elements:

 Background of the study

 Problem statement
 Objectives of the study
 Scope of the study
 Research methodology
 Definition of terms

LITERATURE REVIEW

This should be as exhaustive as possible. Primarily, you should discuss previous studies
which specifically pertain to your research topic/title. Attempt to minimize referring
to work which is indirectly related to your topic. Avoid making forced connections and
do not try to cram in relevant references.

Do not copy word for word from published literature. The last section in this chapter
must contain a brief mention of the gaps in the literature and a justification for
undertaking your study/ project.

A literature review helps the researcher by:

 Placing your tentative research problem in the context of your field and
related fields. Gathering information about what is already known about the topic.
 Identifying 'gaps' in the knowledge.
 Helping to limit or refine your research.
 Suggesting methods and design for research.
 Suggesting ways of avoiding difficulties or deficiencies.

 States what you plan to do to expand existing knowledge.

Highlights the similarities and differences between your work and the work, of
others.

Locates the research problem within a theoretical framework and reviews the
underlying theory.

DISCUSSION

Give an overview of the seminar. Illustrate this with specific details yon feel are
particularly interesting or important. Is the work original, novel, or elegant? Is it
useful? Does it have applications in other fields of research? Could it be useful to you?
How does it relate to what you already knew? Does it improve on earlier solutions to
the same problem? Can you see applications in addition to ones the speaker
described? Did the speaker suggest future directions? Do you have any other ideas for
future work on this topic?

CONCLUSIONS

Summarize, very briefly, in plain language, what you learned from the seminar. How
important do you think the topic is? Does this work make a significant contribution?
Discuss directions for future research. What does this project lead you to believe must
be studied in the future? Did your analysis raise new questions? Were there things that
you would have liked to be able to evaluate but were unable to? 3. Explain why your
work was important. How did it advance scholarship and normative goals?

TYPING INSTRUCTIONS

1. The impression on the typed copies should be black in colour.

2. One and half spacing should be used for typing the general text.

3. The general text shall be typed in the Font style ‘Times New Roman'

4. Margins: Top 30mm, Bottom 25mm, Left 35mm, Right 20mm

5. Line spacing: One and a half spacing

6. Font size: 12, Font style 'Times New Roman' normal

7. Larger fonts may be used for headings & subtitles. (Not too large, limit to 14 or 16)

8. Do not add any additional spacing's between headings and paragraph.

9. Use the very minimum numbers of pages. No separate pages for writing chapter no
- 1, chapter no - 2 etc.

10. Give page Number in the page footer center.

11. The introduction chapter starts with the Page No 1.

12. The Title page and Bonafide Certificate will not find a place among the items
listed in the Table of Content

REFERENCING STYLE

We recommend APA style of referencing.

APA REFERENCING STYLE

This handout is meant to give you a broad overviewad of information needed for a
reference list page. It is by no means comprehensive. For specific information on
documenting particular sources, consult a style guide such as publication manual of
the American Psychological Association (www.apastyle.org) or a writer’s reference.
When using the reference list information below, skip any information not provided by
source. For instance, if a book has no author, begin the entry with the title of the
book followed by the date. To conserve space, the examples have been single-spaced;
however, in an actual reference list, all entries should be double-spaced.

APA REFERENCING LIST

Print Sources

Books

Author's last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year of publication). Title of the book.
City: Publisher, e.g.:

Adejuyigbe, S. B. (2002): A Computer - Aided Design (CAD) of Sand Casting

Operations, PhD Thesis in the Department of Mechanical engineering, Federal
University of Technology, Akure.

Adejuyigbe, S.B (2002): CAD/CAM for Manufacturing. An Engineering Textbook for

University and Polytechnics TOPFUN Publications. Akure, Nigeria.

Adejuyigbe, S.B. and Aderoba A.A. (2000): An Appraisal Foundry Technology in

Nigeria. Nigeria Journal of Engineering Management, Ondo, Vol. 1(2):1-12.

Adejuyigbe, S.B. and Akinola S.K. (2002): Industrial Automation and Communication
in Nigeria Industries (Case Study of Industries in Osun State).

French, C. S. (1998). Data Processing and Information Technology. Gosport, Hants:

Ashford Colour Press.

NB: For book with two to five authors, list all the authors; however, when a work has six
or more authors, cite all authors the first time, and in subsequent citations include
only the first author followed by et al.

In-Text Citations
In-text citations consist of the surname(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.

 If there is no author, use the title (or a short form of the title, if it is lengthy) and
the year. Titles that are italicized in the reference list are italicized in text;
titles that are not italicized in the reference list appear in quotation marks.
 If there is no date, use "n.d." (Without quotation marks) instead.

E-Books

The reference list entry for an e-book includes the author, date, title, and source
(URL or DOI). Tor a chapter in an e-book include the chapter title and page numbers (if
available).

Whole e-book:

Author, A. (date). Title of book. Retrieved from http://xxxxxxx

Author, A. (date). Title of book. doi:xxxxxxxxxx

Chapter in an e-book:

Author, A. (date). Title of chapter. In E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx-xx).

Retrieved from http://xxxxxxxxx

Author, A. (date). Title of chapter. In E. Editor (Ed.). Title of book (pp. xx-xx).
doi:xxxxxxxxxx

The in-text citation includes the author and date, as with any other APA Style citation.

NOTE ON REFERENCE LIST:

 Sources are listed in alphabetical order by author's last name. If there is no

author, move-the date of publication after the title and use the first major
word in the title.
 The second line of each entry is indented1/1 or 5 blank spaces.
 For electronics sources, break long URL's after a slash or a period.
 List begins on a new page.
 The entire reference list page is double-spaced and has 1” margins.
GENERAL GUIDELINES

Please maintain consistent tense in your redDo not keep flipping between past and
present tense. To norm has been the use3 voice ("was done") in technical writing.
However, the active voice ("we did) is increasingly being accepted. If you wish to use
the active voice be sure to obtain your supervisor’s consent. Pay attention to detail
and accuracy. Be clear, but concise.

Please make a sincere effort to weed out typographical errors. Remember that these
mistakes will cost you marks and may even earn you a re-submission. If you have
become tired of reading your report over and over again and suspect that this fatigue
will cause you to overlook typos and grammatical mistakes get a friend to help you
out (perhaps you can also provide similar help in reciprocation).

CONTENT

EXPECTATIONS

The technical reports that you would be writing will pertain to (i) seminars and (ii)
research projects. A brief idea of what is generally expected in each of these in
outlined below. The grade that you obtain will depend upon how far you meet these
expectations.

Seminar:

 Exhaustive survey of literate based on a clear definition of the scope and focus
of the topic.
 Development of a theme or a unifying or classification scheme within which
this literature- can be reviewed and discussed cogently.
 Critical analysis of selected studies from the literature which includes pointing
out lack of or deficiency of data or information in the literature, comments on
the validity of data or assumptions in theory and models, comparison of data or
models, inconsistencies.
 Summary of salient observations and trends, scope and desirability of farther
work in the area of review, implications on related fields and applications.
Research Project:

 Literature survey of related work with a clear identification of gaps in the

Literature and the justification and desirability of undertaking the study.
 Theory /model equations including method of solution. This section may also
contain a detailed rebuttal of some previous study.
 Experiment/ design of experiments, description of equipment and methods of
analysis. This section may include a critique of some previous experimental
work.
 Salient observation on the results you have obtained such as the relationships
between different variables and parameters, unusual trends, interpretations of
the observed trends, comparison between theory and experiment, comparison
with previous literature, limitations, justification of prior assumptions made,
and inconsistencies.
 Summary of salient and trends, how the study filled some gaps in the
literature, scope and desirability of further work on fee problem, applications,
potential areas.

If the report refers to progress in a particular period of your work (e.g last six month)
this this must be clearly brought out in your report including a summary of what was
done in the preceding period and what is to be done in the next phase. The bulk of
your material should, however, refer to the- work done during the period in question.

REFERENCES/ BIBLIOGRAPHY

It is the norm to consult other people's work in the course of carrying out a scientific
research. If you cite anybody's work in the body of your report, you must include it in
the references list page.

However, if you did not cite any author in your report, but you used ideas from
certain materials you read, you should compile the list of such materials under
bibliography list; they should be separated under their respective headings.
APPENDICES

Use appendices to describe anything that breaks the regular flow of your report such
as, sample calculations, flowcharts, source code etc. e.g. you may have the following
appendices:

Appendix A - Sample Output

Appendix B – Program Flowchart

Appendix C - Source Code Listing.

PRESENTATION

Time Limits

It is a good idea to have a mock examination with the help of your friends. Do not
expect your supervisor to be involved with this effort.

You should attempt to organize this on your own.

Tips for preparing PowerPoint presentation slides

 Remember more talks are ruined due to poor slides that for any other reason!
So, design and prepare your slides carefully! Use reasonably sized letters
(preferably, upper case) and appropriate font style so that a viewer can read
the material comfortably.
 Never prepare a highly cluttered or a densely packed presentation in an
attempt to retain everything on it.
 Also remember that you have only a limited number of slides to display.
 Do not write long sentences on a slide nor mix-many sentences - put points or
keyboards.
 Try and put more graphics on the slides as compared to text, since for a viewer
this is the easiest and fastest to comprehend.
 Avoid too marry equations since these require considerable effort to
 understand for the audience. In any case, skip all intermediate steps of a
derivation and focus only on the problem formulation and the final
equation/solutions.

Tips on speaking

 Speak clearly and evenly (avoid elocutionary postures). Your speech must be
audible enough so mat it does not seem like a general murmur.
 Punctuate your speech properly; bring out me emphasis clearly. Do not drone
on monotonously. Remember those lectures when you went off to sleep in the
classroom! Do not speak too fast.
 Avoid referring to materials that you do not fully comprehend. You may land
yourself in serious trouble if someone decides to quiz you on such a topic.
 Do not recite by heart (avoid memorizing your talk) nor read off from the slide
as if you are reading a text book.
 Answer questions directly. Do not eat around the bush. If you do not know the
answer acknowledgement gracefully without display of unnecessary aggression.
If you have not understood a question please say so; request for it to be
rephrased. In any case do not be insolent – keep quiet to get out of an awkward
situation.
 End your talk with a thank you.