Guide to Writing

Academic Reports

Student Workbook
Workbook Title:
Writing Academic Reports – Guidance Notes for Students.

Workbook Description:
In this workbook, you will learn about how you can approach writing academic
reports.

Document Version:
V4.0-L6.

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0. Introduction
This guide provides a simple methodology / workflow that you can use to formulate
and write academic reports.

For the report assessment you will write an investigation report that researches a
practical problem, application, or scenario that requires complex systems (e.g.,
autonomous drones or delivery robots) and present your findings.

You will write a narrative literature review that presents and evaluates your findings.

Below we provide an example of how you can approach writing this

investigation report.

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1. Deciding on a Report Topic and Doing Research
The first thing you need to do is choose a topic or academic question. Try to choose
a fairly specific topic – this will help to limit your search for literature (i.e., sources or
academic papers) (and make the task more manageable). It will also help you to draw
conclusions / answer your question at the end of the report. Also, be careful to choose
a topic with adequate research literature.

See the report assessment for examples of possible report topics or questions.

A good way to decide on a topic is to do some brief research and see what you find.

Start by thinking of an area you might like to explore. This area might be given
to you, or you might need to select it.

For example, on this module you are required to research a practical problem,
application, or scenario that involves complex systems. For example:
• Autonomous flying vehicles
• Smart robots
• Delivery robots
• Autonomous space rovers
• Virtual assistants
• Simulations
• Deep neural nets
• Factory Automation
• Automatic vacuum cleaner
• Autonomous vehicles
• Etc.

I would then recommend you link the general area to explore with a practical problem,
application scenario or industry. For example, autonomous flying vehicles for delivery.

Here are some more examples of topics (e.g., complex system / artificial intelligence
areas / agent types) in the form of report titles:
• Reinforcement Learning for Self-Driving cars.
• Deep Neural Networks for Self-Driving cars.
• A* Search for Mobile Robot Navigation.
• Deep Reinforcement Learning Applied to Autonomous Vehicle Navigation
• Deep Reinforcement Learning in the Game of Chess.
• Recycling Robot Using Reinforcement Learning and Neural Networks.
• Reinforcement Learning and Reflex Agent Applications to Autonomous Vehicles.

You should think of several topics / titles (agent types plus practical problem,
application scenario or industry) and do a brief search to see what academic
papers are available for each topic.

Any basic search is ok at this stage. Be careful you don’t spend too long on the
research at this stage. One to three hours should be enough. You do not want to end
up going round in circles – too much info – cannot decide.

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At this stage I would recommend you only read the titles and abstracts of the papers /
journals you find. You might read the introductions if you are not sure the paper /
journal will be useful.

You might also make basic notes at this stage, recording things you find especially
interesting and relevant.

I would also recommend you make notes about the ideas / topics / areas you are
seeing in the papers you are finding. You can use these ideas / topics / areas to
help structure your literature review.

Where to look for research?

A key question you might ask yourself is where to look for research / academic papers.

For computing / computer science related topics you can start by using these websites
/ journal libraries to see what academic papers are available.

You should access these websites (except Google scholar and Google) via the
University website so that you can be logged into them via your university account.
Here is a link to where you can explore all the journal sites the university gives you
access to: https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/resources/databases-a-z/

Here are some specific journals / websites to explore:

• ACM Digital library.

o https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/resources/databases-a-z/databases/acm-digital-
library.php
• IEEE Xplore Digital Library.
o https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/resources/databases-a-z/databases/ieee-xplore-
digital-library.php
• ScienceDirect.
o https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/resources/databases-a-
z/databases/sciencedirect.php
• Google scholar.
o https://scholar.google.com/
• Google.
o https://www.google.co.uk/

Search the journal websites using the potential topics you identified. For example,
games technology and agriculture or games technology and autonomous cars or
games technology and artificial intelligence or games technology and cybersecurity.

See what material is available.

When searching on Google, check if a paper has been peer reviewed and you can
download a PDF of it.

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Also, focus on more recent papers. I would recommend you focus on papers from the
last five years. The more recent the better. Research older than that might not be
relevant.

Reflect on how many papers you are finding for a research topic and assess
how many papers you need for you academic report. For example, if the report
word count is 2,000, you might want 10-15 references. Therefore, you need 10-15
academic journals or papers.

Ask yourself the question, can I get 10-15 academic journals or paper references from
the research I have just done? If no, consider changing the topic / title to something
that produces more papers. This could involve just changing the practical problem,
application scenario or industry. For example, move from games technology and
agriculture to games technology and autonomous cars.

Save the pdf academic journals and papers you have found to your OneDrive or
a USB memory stick.

Hopefully, now you have a good selection of academic journals and papers you can
use for your report. You might have all you need. If not, we can do further research
later.

Here are some links to help you with finding academic papers / journals.

Here is a link to a document about finding information:

https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/media/departments/lis/skills/study-guides/LS013-Guide-to-
Finding-Information.pdf

Here is a link to a document about evaluating information:

https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/media/departments/lis/skills/study-guides/LS014-Guide-to-
Evaluating-Information.pdf

Here is a link to a guide on accessing and searching Google Scholar:

https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/media/departments/lis/skills/study-guides/LS121-Google-
Scholar-guide.pdf

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2. Determine the Basic Contents of the Report
Next, create a basic contents list so we have a blueprint of the report. You might have
to decide on the contents of the report, or it might be given to you.

In this case you have been given the high-level contents of the report. Here is
the report structure from the assessment:

Title.
Abstract.
1. Introduction.
2. Aim and Objectives / Question – The include a clear outline of the aims or
question of the investigation.
3. Literature Review.
4. Analysis of Findings.
• A critical analysis and evaluation of the research found during the literature
review. This should be related to the aims of the report.
• In this section you should interpret the research and determine whether it has
provided an answer to your research question / aim.
• Evaluate the alternative types, architectures, or algorithms for the design and
implementation of intelligent agents in your topic. You can also draw upon any
practical work you have done on the module.
5. Conclusion.
References.

I would write the above structure in a document and add notes about what you
could include in each section (see next task for help with this).

I would write the report in the following order. It will save you having to repeat / change
things. However, you should formulate a question or aim at the start of the
process.

I would write the report in the following order:

• First, write the… Literature Review.
• Second, write the… Analysis of Findings.
• Third, write the… Conclusions.
• Fourth, write the… Introduction.
• Fifth, write the… Abstract.

You should construct the reference list as your write the literature review.

Writing the report in the above order should help you avoid having to repeat things or
be unsure what to write.

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3. Think About Report Content (e.g., Sub-Sections) and
How Much Content Needs to go in Each Section
Next, you can think about how much content needs to go in each section of the report
and what content needs to go in the report.

A literature review is not a summary of papers and/or journals. A literature

review should be organised according to subtopics that relate to a larger topic
(e.g., the title, aim, question of the report).

In an academic report, the main section will be the literature review. Therefore, this
section will have the largest word count.

For example:

For a 2,000 word report you might allocate 1,000 words for the literature review, 500
words for the analysis of findings 250 words for the conclusion and 250 words for the
introduction.

Next, you should think about how many sub-sections (i.e., ideas / topics / areas) there
will be in the literature review.

You should be able to identify ideas / topics / areas from the initial research you did.
In general, I would recommend you discuss at least 5 ideas / topics / areas; however,
there can be more.

Once you have a general idea of your sub-sections (i.e., ideas / topics / areas), you
can start to think about word count for each sub-section. For example:
• If you have 1,000 words for your literature review and have identified 4 sections.
you will have about 1,000 / 4 = 250 words for each sub-section (i.e., ideas / topics
/ areas).
• If you have 1,000 words for your literature review and have identified 8 sections,
you will have about 1,000 / 8 = 125 words for each sub-section (i.e., ideas / topics
/ areas).

Remember, the above word counts are not fixed values. They are just an
indication / guidance of what to go for and how you can divide up a report.

How can I identify ideas / topics / areas from the initial research for sub-sections
of my report?

A key question you might ask yourself is how can I identify ideas / topics / areas from
the initial research for sub-sections of my report?

You should look at the research you have found. Read the titles, abstracts, and other
content (e.g., introductions, literature reviews and conclusions). Through this process
you should be able to discover topics.

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As you discover ideas / topics / areas you should add them to your list and re-calculate
the word count using the rule above.

When you are happy with your sub-sections (i.e., ideas / topics / areas), you
should add them to your report structure you created in task 2. Think about the
order you put them in. Start with more general sub-sections (i.e., ideas / topics / areas),
and then move to more focused sub-sections that focus more tightly on the aim /
question of the report.

Here is an example of a report subject and ideas / topics / areas that could be found:

Report subject:
Reinforcement Learning and Reflex Agent Applications to Autonomous Vehicles.

Ideas / topics / areas that could be found:

Autonomous vehicles and the Key Challenges they Face.
Reinforcement Learning.
Reflex Agents.

You should select the ideas / topics / areas and number of sub-topics in the literature
review based on word count and what can be found.

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4. Organising Your Journals / Papers Part 1: Putting Your
Journals / Papers in Sub-Sections
Because a literature review is not a summary of different sources, we need to spend
time keeping our research (journals and papers) organised. Also, we want to organise
the research and related information in a way that makes writing the report
straightforward.

Next, you can organise the journals and papers you have found according to the sub-
sections (i.e., ideas / topics / areas) you identified in task 3.

In task 3 you should have added the ideas / topics / areas you found as sub-sections
to your report structure you created in task 2.

We want to now decide which literature review sub-section each of the journals and/or
papers you found belongs to. For example:
Subtopic 1 – journal or paper pdf 3, 4, 7.
Subtopic 2 – journal or paper pdf 8, 9, 12.
Subtopic 3 – journal or paper pdf 1, 2.
Etc…

Once you have done this you now know how many journals and/or papers you have
for each sub-section and thus where the journals and/or papers will go in the report.

You might need to read the journals and/or papers again to confirm which sub-section
they should go in.

If you find you do not have enough journals and/or papers for a sub-section,
you might decide to go back to find more journals and/or papers (see task 1).

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5. Organising Your Journals / Papers Part 2: Reading Your
Journals / Papers Mindfully
Next, you should read your journals and/or papers or, if you feel you have read the
journal or paper enough already, you should make notes about what the journal or
paper says regarding the sub-section you have allocated it.

When reading journals and/or papers, you should do so mindfully (i.e., consciously,
thoughtfully). You should think about what the journal or paper is saying regarding the
sub-section you have allocated it.

You should also think about what the journal or paper is about, what results it is
presenting and any analysis the authors do of the results.

How should I read journals and/or papers mindfully?

You should create a table or synthesis matrix to makes notes about the journals or
papers as you read them mindfully.

Below is an example of a simple table you can use to read journals or papers
mindfully. After this there is an example of a synthesis matrix.

You would create the table below in a document.

When you read a journal or paper you add it to the table and make notes as you read
it. Think about the things I have highlighted above.

Source / Sub-Section (i.e., Notes or extracts from the paper.

Paper ideas / topics / (These identify the elements of the paper that are
areas) in Literature useful for the sub-section. These can be in the form of
Review notes that could be copied and pasted into your report
document or extracts that you paraphrase in your
report document).

Pdf1 2.1 <Add notes about how the paper is useful / relates to
this section>

Pdf2 2.1

Pdf2 2.2
(a journal or paper
might be useful in
multiple sub-
sections).

Pdf3 2.3

… … …

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Note the three dots (…) in the table above. Three dots are called an ellipsis. It means
the table could continue beyond the example (i.e., have more rows or columns).

Below is an example of a synthesis matrix you can use to read journals or

papers mindfully.

Remember, you only need to use one of these techniques. A Simple table or
synthesis matrix.

Another way to organise the reading or papers or journals is a synthesis matrix. A

synthesis matrix structure works in a similar way to the previous example; however, it
is organized differently.

A literature review requires synthesis. Synthesis is about combining multiple sources

or ideas. Through this you can reveal the whole state of knowledge.

For example, you could write the following in a literature review:

“Researcher A suggests that X is true. Researcher B also argues that X is true, but
points out that the effects of X may be different from those suggested by Researcher
A.”

Source: https://case.fiu.edu/writingcenter/online-resources/_assets/synthesis-matrix-
2.pdf

In the example above, X is the subtopic or idea being discussed in the sentences.
Research A and B agree X is true but disagree on X’s effects.

In the example above, one subtopic or idea is being discussed; however, two sources
are being used to discuss it. The similarities and differences between the two sources
are being drawn out. This sheds light of the whole state of knowledge. The literature
review is creating a new story / narrative by exploring the similarities and differences
in research. This is synthesis!

A synthesis matrix is a table that allows you to organise your papers or journals in a
way that helps you include synthesis in your literature review. It allows you to organise
and categorise the different arguments presented on a topic.

A synthesis matrix table focuses on a topic. In general, we can think of this as the topic
of the report as a whole.

General note - if we are writing a final year dissertation that has a large
literature review, we might have multiple topics. Therefore, we might have
multiple synthesis matrix tables that cover each topic.

See the table below for an example of a synthesis matrix table.

Across the top of the table are spaces for each source / paper / Journal / pdf.

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Down the side of the table are spaces for each sub-section (i.e., idea / topic / area).

Think of the rows in a synthesis matrix as a sub-section in your report. The content of
each row contains the things you would discuss in each sub-section of your report.

You would create the table below in a document.

When you read a journal or paper you would add it to the table and make notes as you
read it. Think about the things I have highlighted above.

As you read a journal or paper you would add it to a column and move down the
column belonging to the source / paper. In each row you would record information
about each main idea or argument presented in the journal or paper about that sub-
section (i.e., idea / topic / area).

You would repeat this process for each source / paper you have for a sub-section (i.e.,
idea / topic / area).

You might find you need to add new rows as you identify new main ideas / arguments
in a sub-section (i.e., idea / topic / area).

When you write your report, you work by rows. You write each sub-section by
combining all the columns in each row.

Some sources may not cover all the sub-sections. This is fine. The gaps in the table
may be a clue to gaps in current research.

Literature Review Topic: <Add sub-section here>

Source / Paper #1 Source / Source / Paper …

Paper #2 #3

Sub-Section (i.e., <Add notes about how the …

ideas / topics / paper is useful / relates to this
areas) 1 main idea / argument>

Sub-Section (i.e., …
ideas / topics /
areas) 2

Sub-Section (i.e., …
ideas / topics /
areas) 3

… … … … …

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Below is an example of a completed synthesis matrix table. Its contents are not related
to computer science; however, it gives you an idea of how you can complete the table.

Example source: https://case.fiu.edu/writingcenter/online-

resources/_assets/synthesis-matrix-2.pdf

Literature Review Topic: Women in WWII

Cornelsen Stewart …

Alteration of - Women accredited the - WAAC (Women’s Army …

women’s WASP program for opening
roles new doors, challenging
because of stereotypes, and proving that
WWII women were as capable as
men (p. 113)
- Women could compete with
men as equals in the sky
because of their exemplary
performance (p. 116)
- WASP created opportunities
for women that had never
previously existed (p. 112)
- Women’s success at flying
aircrafts “marked a pivotal
step towards breaking the
existing gender barrier” (p.
112)
Auxiliary Corp) was 1st
chance for women to serve in
army, given full army status in
1943 as WAC (p. 28)
- Needs of the war were so
great that women’s traditional
social roles were ignored (p.
30)
- Military women paid well
for the time period and given
benefits if they became
pregnant (p. 32)
- The 1940’s brought more
opportunities to women than
ever before (p. 26)

Hardships - “From the outset male pilots
and resented women’s presence in
oppositions a traditionally male military
women setting” (p. 1113-4)
faced - “The WASP were routinely
assigned inferior planes that
were later found to have been
improperly maintained” (p.
114)
- discrimination against
WASP at every level of
military service, women were
only paid 2/3 of what men
were for doing identical tasks
(p. 114)
- “From the outset male pilots …
resented women’s presence in
a traditionally male military
setting” (p. 1113-4)
- “The WASP were routinely
assigned inferior planes that
were later found to have been
improperly maintained” (p.
114)
- discrimination against
WASP at every level of
military service, women were
only paid 2/3 of what men
were for doing identical tasks
(p. 114)

… … … …

You can find a full version of the example above at this link:
https://case.fiu.edu/writingcenter/online-resources/_assets/synthesis-matrix-2.pdf.

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6. Writing Your Literature Review
Next, you should use the notes in the Simple table or synthesis matrix to write your
literature review.

Use your table or synthesis matrix to help you write the literature review.

Think about how you structure things. For example, don’t put future material before
past.

You might also need to adjust your word count. if your word count is too high look at
material to see what you could by cut out.

Also, remember, pictures and diagrams are always a winner, include where you can
(make sure you reference them).

Here is an example of how you can write a literature review. The excerpt synthesizes
information by summarising it.

“While the articles used in this research agree that women made many
advances during the Word War II period, it is crucial to realize that not all these
changes were welcomed. In most cases women faced discrimination from just
about everyone around them. Women in the workplace were often placed in
positions of inferiority or treated as being less physically able to do the same
work the men did. Many women were often not trained because they were
viewed as temporary employees who were only there for the duration of the war
(Bruley, 2003, pp.221-222). Women were very rarely given equal pay as men,
even though some of them did the same work. Women in the military faced not
only mental abuse but also physical harm from their male counterparts.
According to Cornelsen (2005), there were many instances where female
aviators were injured or killed due to being made to fly ill-maintained aircrafts
or aircrafts that had been sabotaged. (p.114)…”.

Example source: https://case.fiu.edu/writingcenter/online-

resources/_assets/synthesis-matrix-2.pdf

Here are some links to help you with academic writing and writing a literature review.

Here is a link to a document with more information about writing literature reviews:
https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/media/departments/lis/skills/study-guides/LS015-Guide-to-
Writing-a-Literature-Review.pdf

Here is a link to a document with more information about academic writing:

https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/media/departments/lis/skills/study-guides/LS012---Guide-
to-Academic-Writing.pdf

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7. Writing Your Analysis of Findings
In this section you should interpret the research and determine whether it has provided
an answer to your research question / aim.

Here you are discussing through critical analyse of the findings outlined in the previous
section of your report the significance of the findings and developing arguments to
support your conclusions.

You could structure the findings in the following way:

(1) Start by clearly stating an overview of the findings in relation to the purpose of the
report.

(2) State the specific findings in your report.

(3) Analysis of specific findings with links to existing research/evidence.

(4) Interpret the findings and analysis.

Here is an example of analysing your findings:

“We have looked at a few different studies on two different agent architectures, and
while they both perform well it’s clear they each have some strengths and some
weaknesses. Starting with the reinforced learning approach where the agent is
rewarded for exhibiting the desired behaviour, we have seen scenarios where this has
provided promising and successful results like those seen in [11] where their agent
performed better than human drivers at following a lead vehicle, not only slowing much
sooner but also providing a more comfortable ride. As well as in [6] where the agent
they built was able to safely pull out from a junction, mimicking human behaviour in a
similar scenario while also maintaining a level of safety. There have also been partial
successes with this method as we’ve seen in [8] where they were able to successfully
simulate an agent to follow the desired path, however they found it much harder to
translate that to reality, resulting in the agent driving over the curb and ignoring
unfamiliar road signs.”

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8. Writing Your Conclusions
Complete conclusion, use material from your literature review.

The conclusion should summarise the key findings of the review. You should evaluate
the current state of the literature reviewed. Tie things together and link to aim /
question. Outline areas for future study.

You should show what you think about your results.

9. Writing Your Introduction

Complete introduction, use material from all your report to give the reader a road map
of what is coming up. The introduction should also include a clear sub-section that
outlines the aims or question of the investigation.

10. Writing Your Abstract

Write your abstract. An abstract is a short paragraph that gives the reader an overview
of your report.

The abstract should include a brief overview of all the stages of the report.

Use the contents of your report to help you write the abstract. Use your aim / objective
/ question and a small amount of your literature review / findings and the main bits of
your conclusions. Basically, summarise your whole report.

11. Complete Your Reference List

Complete the reference list for your report and add it to the end of the report.

Your report will contain in-text citations. A literature review must also have a reference
list. This list provides full reference information for each in-text citation.

You should use the Harvard referencing system.

Here is a link to a document with more information about referencing using the Harvard
referencing system:
https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/media/departments/lis/skills/study-guides/LS134-Harvard-
Quick-Guide.pdf

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12. Proofread Your Report
Proofread your report and then rework it to address any issues and improve clarity.

You might identify areas that are lacking. You might decide to do a bit more research
and writing to improve these areas.

Here is a link to a guide on proofreading and editing:

https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/media/departments/lis/skills/study-guides/LS001---Guide-
to-Editing-and-Proofreading.pdf

13. Proofread Your Report again

Proofread your report again and then rework it to address any issues and improve
clarity.

It is good practice to think about academic writing as an iterative process; however,

you should avoid making small changes and then proofreading again. You should read
your report, identify changes, and make the changes. Only proofread again when you
have made substantial changes. You probably want to limit the amount of proofreading
you do. For example, limit yourself to no more than 3 times.

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14. Summary of the Report Writing Process
Below is a graphical summary of the academic report writing process we have outlined
in this document.

Image description: A graphical summary of the academic report writing process we

have covered in this document.

15. MP3 Audio Versions of WLV Skills for Learning Guides

Note, many of the links to guides created at the University of Wolverhampton have
MP3 Audio versions. Here is a link to all guides. This link includes links to MP3 Audio
versions of all guides:
https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/skills-for-learning/study-guides/

18
16. Organising Your Journals / Papers: An Additional Way
to Use a Synthesis Matrix
This section highlights another way you could use a synthesis matrix. This is
further information. You do not have to use this approach or read this section.

As we highlight above, if we are writing a final year dissertation that has a large
literature review, we might have multiple topics. Therefore, we want to have multiple
synthesis matrix tables that cover different topics.

In this case you might find each sub-section (i.e., idea / topic / area) of your report is
larger and needs its own synthesis matrix. In this case, each synthesis matrix table
focuses on one sub-section (i.e., idea / topic / area) of your report. Therefore, you
would create a synthesis matrix table for each section of the report. This approach
allows you to include more detail in the table.

In this approach, across the top of the table are spaces for each source / paper /
Journal / pdf.

Down the side of the table are spaces for each main point or arguments for a sub-
section (i.e., idea / topic / area).

Just like your research topic as a whole, each sub-section (i.e., idea / topic / area) will
have points or arguments within it that are discussed in research. A synthesis matrix
can allow you to identify these main ideas or arguments and establish what each
source says about them.

Think of the rows in a synthesis matrix as all the things you would discuss in a sub-
section of your report. You might consider each row a paragraph in a sub-section of
your report.

You would create the table below in a document.

As you read a journal or paper you would add it to a column and move down the
column belonging to the source / paper. In each row you would record information
about each main idea or argument presented in the journal or paper.

You would repeat this process for each source / paper you have for a sub-section (i.e.,
idea / topic / area).

You might find you need to add new rows as you identify new main ideas / arguments
in a sub-section (i.e., idea / topic / area).

When you write your report you work by rows. You write each part of each sub-section
by combining all the columns in each row.

Some sources may not cover call the sub-sections. This is fine. The gaps in the table
may be a clue to gaps in current research.

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Sub-section (i.e., idea / topic / area): <Add sub-section here>

Source / Paper #1 Source / Paper #2 Source / …

Paper #3

Main Idea A in <Add notes about how the …

Topic paper is useful / relates to
this main idea / argument>

Main Idea B in …
Topic

Main Idea C in …
Topic

… … … … …

> END OF STUDENT WORKBOOK █

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