Summer Internship Program

Guidelines for writing a Project Report A Project Report is a written presentation of the work done by the students on a given assignment. It is important to bear in mind that even though the project report is submitted only at the end of any given assignment, in reality it is a culmination of continuous efforts on the part of the students. Writing a Project Report: The SIP requires submission of project report not just to IBS but also to the organisation where you are undergoing SIP. Following is a general guideline on writing a project report. The parts included in a report depend on the type of report you are writing, the requirements of the organisation you are working for and the length of your report. In a generalised sense an ideal project report should cover the following elements: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii) viii) ix) x) xi) xii xiii) xiv) i) Cover Title Page Authorisation Acknowledgments Executive Summary Abstract Table of Contents List of Illustrations Introduction Main Text Conclusions and/or Recommendations Appendices (if necessary) References Glossary (if necessary) Cover: This is the first page of the report. It should contain the title of the report, name(s) of the author(s), name of the organization and the date on which it is submitted. The format of this page is given in the attached PPT and should be adhered to.
A REPORT ON (title of the Project in CAPITAL LETTERS)

By (Name of the Student) (Name of the organization)

Page 1 of 7 Zarina Bazliel, Soft Skills, Class of 2012, IBS Gurgaon

i) a) b) c) d) e)

Title Page:

This element may contain the following information:

Title of the report Name of the author Name of the authority for whom the report was written Contract, project or job number (if any) Distribution list

Format of this page is given below:

Contract: A REPORT On (Title of the Project in CAPITAL LETTERS) By (Name of the Student)

(Name of the Organization for whom the Project was written) Distribution List:

iii)

Authorisation: This indicates the person or the department, which authorized the project and the making of the report. It also includes the Authorisation Form. For example: The report is submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirement of the MBA program of ICFAI Business School. iv) Acknowledgements: There are many persons who may have helped you during the course of your project. It is your duty to acknowledge and thank them for their help. Customarily, thanks are due to the following persons in the given order: a) b) c) d) v) Head of the Orgnaisation Company Guide Faculty-in-Charge Others

Executive Summary: The Executive Summary conveys in condensed form what the report is about. The purpose of this element is to enable the reader, to grasp the main issues of the report quickly without having to go through the whole Page 2 of 7 Zarina Bazliel, Soft Skills, Class of 2012, IBS Gurgaon

report. An executive summary should be self sufficient and intelligible, without reference to any other part of the report. It is never intended as a substitute for the original document. But it must contain suffient information to allow the reader to ascertain his/her interest. A suggested format for Executive Summary for the SIP Project Report is given below: Executive Summary Suggested Format Project Title. Company. Objective Methodology followed (very briefly). Findings and recommendations.

vi)

Abstract: An Abstract is a technical summary. It is read by persons who are familiar with the report. Therefore, technical terminology can be used. Abstracts may be read either before, during or after the report is read. Sometimes , only the abstract is read rather than the report proper. An abstract can be a part of the report. Table of Contents: The main function of this element is to give the reader an overall view of the report. The main divisions as well as the subdivisions should be listed with the number of the page on which they first appear. It helps the reader locate a particular topic or cub-topic easily. While preparing the table of contents you have to bear in mind the following points about its layout: Leave a 1 margin on the left and a 1 margin on the right, the tope and the bottom. Write the phrase `Table of Contents on the top in CAPITALS. Write the number of the item to indicate the sequence of items. After the number leave three or four spaces and then type the first heading. Indent second-order headings three or four spaces. Leave two lines between main headings and one line between subheadings.

vii)

An example of a table of contents is given below. Observe that for numbering up to `Abstract lower case Roman numerals have been used and from 1Introduction onwards Arabic numerals have been used.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Authorisation Acknowledgements Executive Summary/Abstract 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose, Scope & Limitations .2 Sources and Methods 1.3 Report Organisation 2. Industrial Analysis 2.1 ____________________ 2.2 _____________________ 3. ____________________________ 3.1 _________________________ 3.2 ___________________________ i ii iii 1 3 5 9 15

viii)

List of Illustrations: A separate list of illustrations is given immediately after the table of contents incase of a large number of (more than ten) tables and figures. Its layout is the same as that of the table of contents and it gives information about the number, title and page reference of each illustration. If the number of illustrations is very large, divide in into two parts, namely, List of Tables and List of Figures. Introduction: The report is introduced in this element. It should contain the purpose of the report, limitations, scope of study, specify its limitations, methods of collecting data and their sources, sufficient background materials, including literature survey to present the reader a clear picture of the work. An outline of the work should also form a part of the introduction. Main Text: This section discusses or describes the main business of the report. The main function of this part is to present data in an organized form, discuss its significance and analyse the results that flow there from. Usually it has several sections grouped under different headings and sub-headings. It contains the experimental work/ data collection, the survey doe, a description of activities, the results obtained/illustrations, the discussion and interpretations etc. Significant discrepancies in results should be called to the readers attention, even when it is admitted that no reasonable explanation can be offered.

ix)

x)

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xi)

Conclusions and/or Recommendations (if any): The conclusions and/or recommendations are based on the discussions and interpretations of the results obtained. It would be helpful to the reader if other possibilities pertaining to the stated conclusions and/or recommendations are discussed. Appendices (if necessary): The contents of an appendix are essentially those that support or elaborate the matter in the main text. The matter, which is essential but which unnecessarily diverts the attention of the reader from the main problem, is generally put into the Appendix. Given below are some items, whch normally form part of the appendix. These are: a) Calculation sheets, b) Supplementary Details of Instructions, c) Flow Charts, d) Computer Programs, e) The Questionnaire, f) Large Maps, g) Samples of the Work Done, etc. If the project itself is to make a computer program for some problem, then the flow chart and the computer program have to be in the main body of the report. You should decide the sequencing according to your own needs.

xii)

xiii)

References: All references should be given in this section. List references alphabetically by the authors last name or, when the author is unknown, by the title of reference. We cite below two examples of writing references: i) ii) Ages, Warren K., Philip H. Ault, and Edwin Emery. Perspectives on Mass Communication, 2nd ed. New York: Harper & Row, 2003 (for books). Time to Call in the Boss Business Week, 27b July 2005, 32-36. (for periodicals).

xiv)

Glossary (if necessary): A glossary is a list of technical words used in the report and their explanation. However, if the number of such words is limited, they are generally explained in the footnotes. Whether you should include a glossary in your report will depend upon who is Going to read your report. If the readers field of expertise is the one to which your report relates, there is no need for a glossary. But if audience is drawn from other areas, it is advisable to give a glossary.

POST PROJECT REPORT Post Project report is a one page summary of SIP report required to be submitted by the student along with final project report to faculty guide. The format for which is given at the end of this document. This report would be used along with the Resume of the student for placement. Students should take utmost care in writing the report. Further students are advised to retain a copy with them for future use.

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Summer Internship Program

Post Project Report Suggested Format 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Student Information (With) Company and Duration Project Title/Work Profile. (maximum 30 words) Key Result Areas (KRAs) Reporting (to) Team size. Could you apply what you learnt? Learning during SIP. (maximum 80 words) Special Achievements/Recognition. (maximum 50 words)

Model Summary Name:_____________________. I did my SIP with_________________Company name (www_______.com) ( Companys Website) from________to_______2007. Project Title Creating a Marketing Strategy for a yet-to-be-Launched Product in Consumer Electronics Space Profile/Key Result Area Reporting on similar launches elsewhere in the world. The effectiveness of their campaign. The learning from their experience. How can we do better? Documenting every activity during the project. Reporting: I reported to Senior Accounts Manager, who acted as the delivery head for this particular project. Team Constitution: The core team was made up of 9 members. The brand manager from Client Company and two senior members of the creative team from the advertising agency of the client were indirectly (but very closely) involved. How did I apply my learning at IBS? During the project my learning in classroom (case studies, free wheeling discussions, etc.) proved to be very useful. At times I referred to my notebooks, I did this mostly to weigh my solution or though process against the one prescribed by the textbooks. This comparison pushed me to revisit the plans/strategy though out by me. This was of immense help in improving the quality of my inputs. Page 6 of 7 Zarina Bazliel, Soft Skills, Class of 2012, IBS Gurgaon

Learning during SIP: I learnt a lot during the project, firstly, it provided my much needed corporate exposure (working with a team, business communication, prioritizing work). Though we are continuously given inputs on soft skills and business communication during our program; but there is no better place to hone these skills than the workplace. I was exposed to_____________(name some business processes, functional relationships, specific skills, etc. Do use correct terminology.) Preparation/Achievements/Recognition: I began preparing my inputs for the project even before I joined, that helped a lot. The report I took along was appreciated a lot and created the backbone of the teams future work. During an informal discussion with the member creative team, I came up with a punch-line for the product, it was approved for the real campaign worth Rs. 1.5 crore per annum.

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