B38EI Mini-Project Report Structure and Marking Scheme

Summary/Abstract (5 Marks)
This should be written last and should be a short summary (100 to 200 words) of the
report/project that details the significant findings of the exercise.

Introduction (10 Marks)

The introduction should be approximately 1 page long. It should include an introductory
paragraph that details the relevance of this project to the demonstration of engineering
principles.
3 marks
A few paragraphs should be written that give good examples of where this work occurs in
industry/engineering design etc. What are the benefits of this project?
4 marks
The introduction should conclude with a short paragraph that details the aim and objectives
of the exercise.
3 marks
Design (20 Marks)
The adopted design should be explained here; this section will need more information than a
discerption of the system or listing the project requirements. This will represent your team
approach to achieving the required task using the available components and resources.
All equations and sample calculations should be detailed here. Always use SI units and include
them in each equation.

Components (5 Marks)
This section should include clearly labeled photographs or schematics (often preferable) of
the component used.
5 marks
All components should be described and the system as a whole to be described in the form
of a schematic diagram, flow chart, or state diagram.
5 marks
Computer Modelling (25 Marks)
This section should include everything related to the use of computer tools for modeling
and/or simulation. Different tools used can be arranged as different sections.
It should be clear and concise and have enough detail so that the build can be repeated easily.
This should describe what you did to develop the prototype using software packages.
This can include screenshots of the developed model/prototype.

Results & Discussion (10 Marks)

Results from any of the software packages used are to be presented here. Use graphs when
appropriate, label your graphs clearly and use SI units.

The discussion should compare and make sense of the trends displayed on the Graphs and/or
other forms of results.
Questions that should be answered in this section may include:
• How can the results be used in a real engineering context?
• How can the prototype be improved?
It is important to realize the shortcomings of the developed prototype, however, this section
should not just list the problems faced.

Conclusions (10 Marks)

This section (100 – 200 words) should briefly summarise the main conclusions of the exercise.
A brief opening paragraph followed by 2 or 3 bullet points and a closing comment should
suffice.

References (5 Marks)
Any academic textbook, research article, etc. to which you have referred in the report or used
in the project should be detailed here in order of appearance or cite by using the author-date
method or other referencing/citation style. All references should be cited in the text. Citation
for figures, tables, etc. should be included in the relevant caption.

Bibliography (5 Marks)
A bibliography should include further relevant sources that you have read and are relevant to
the report but to which you have not specifically referred.

Appendix
Any additional information you want to include which does not fit in the main report such as
codes, datasheets, etc.

General report writing notes:

• Although formatting is not identified with a specific mark, it is going to contribute to
the final marking of the report joined with the general report presentation quality.
• All equations when used must be numbered.
• All figures/images/graphs must have a proper number and title located under the
figure with their sources.
• All tables must have a proper number and title located above the table with sources.
• Citations must be used in the body of the report wherever a source is used.
• Citation and referencing must follow a proper format. Ensure the same style is used
throughout the report.
• Font and formatting must be contestant throughout the report.
• Text in the body of the report to be fully justified (format).
• Technical reports are in general should be written in the third person, past tense.
Never use personal pronouns like “we” or “I”.