Chapter 10

Formal Reports:
Writing the Body
Adil Abdul Qayyum 191-FET/BSEE/F16

Mohsin Shabbir Ali 166-FET/BSEE/F16

Shaharyar Ahmad 192-FET/BSEE/F16

Usama Hadayat 169-FET/BSEE/F16

 Understand
Understand
Know the how to write
how to
basic parts of a
present
a report body reproducible
results
procedure
Understand
what should
be included
in the
discussion
SET A STAGE FOR CONVINCE THE WHY YOU DID THE CONDITIONS THAT SCOPE OF THE PURPOSE OF BOTH
THE READER RECIPIENT TO READ WORK AND WHY IT LED TO THE WORK WORK WORK AND REPORT
THE REPORT WAS IMPORTANT

OBJECTIVES OF THE
WORK AND REPORT
CHAPTER 10
FORMAL REPORTS: WRITING
THE BODY
Procedure:

• What was done, in enough detail so the work can be repeated by others

Results:

• Outcome of the tests conducted in the procedure expressed in the

chronological order without interpretation

Discussion:

• Analysis of results (including statistics); why things happened the way

they did and how compared with the results of others (from references);
description of models/equations or laws
 This section of a report body could be called
“investigation”, “Laboratory Tests”, “Field Tests”, “Design
Concepts”
 Contains enough detail that what was done can be repeated
by others.

Two main reasons for details that allow

the repeatability of a procedure.

If you want to repeat the tests in the future, you will

have the necessary information

If your work is being published, others may want to

repeat it to verify that your effort is correct

 Repeatable procedures are the basis of objective, scientific

progress
 How do you
make a
procedure
repeatable?
 Do what cooks do
 Enlist all the ingredients used
 Write all the steps sequentially
 Give specific sizes and quantities
 State conditions (temperature and times)
What was so
common in the
last slide?
Imperative mood
usually reserved for
writing instructions or
operating manuals
Active voice and Passive voice

Communicating information as an observer.

Impersonal passive voice is preferred for formal reports

Example: “The laboratory received four test webs for evaluation…”

Active voice is optional but may be preferable in many cases

Do not use first person singular pronouns (I, me, my)

DIFFERENT APPROACHES OF
WRITING PROCEDURES
Personal/ Logical order.
Chronological / sequential order.
Order of importance.
PERSONAL/LOGICAL ORDER
A well constructed body of formal report
contains sentences that are logically arranged.
It involves:
 Arranging.
 Supporting.
 Details.
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER Example
 Listing, describing, or discussing when
events happened as they relate to time.
 Sequential order is usually desirable in
most discussions or procedures.
KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
 Put the information in an order so that it makes
sense to the readers.
 Illustrations in the form of schematics, figures,
and photos are encouraged.
 Always identify the standards when conducting
the most common tests.
 Add references in the procedure, if you are
reproducing a test developed by others.
 Do not just replace the discussion of procedures
by referring to procedures elsewhere.
You are telling a story what order will make
the best sense to the audience?
 Remember!
The reader is not as familiar with the
material as you are.
ORDER OF IMPORTANCE
 Inadequate
procedure

Readers are busy people

Present all necessary facts in one document

Check the procedure for omissions

Check if the work could be repeated with the data presented

TIP
DESCRIBING
MACHINES/PROCESSES

Shaharyar Ahmad
192-FET/BSEE/F16
Describing Machines:

Describing a machine or process is a common

There is no formula for making descriptions effective

Describing Process

Use the same type of writing procedure in describing the process

Always consider using a photo or sketch when
describing special geometric
shapes, assemblies, or other complicated
interrelationships.
WRITING TEST
RESULTS
Results are the outcome of what happened in each part of a study.

Show them in a table or in a graph or a bar chart.

Tables are not easy to interpret whereas a graph or bar chart

can provide a visual comparison of the test results.

The section on results presents test data along with any

illustration that help readers interpret the results.
 RULE
The section on results should focus on just
‘Results’
Present the test data and outcomes with
good illustrations
State what the results show in a concise
manner.
 WRITING THE
DISCUSSION
Adil Abdul Qayyum
191-FET/BSEE/F16
WRITING THE DISCUSSION SECTION
Why this happened

Explain the results to the reader

Present closing argument to the thesis

Reasons why you think the results happened as they did

Personal pronoun may be appropriate here

Opinion and perspective of the author

Use objective tone

Statistics and math models are applied to the test results

 Go back to the
references in the
Compare your
introduction and
results with the
relate them with
work of others
your results and
interpretation
 Explain the deviation of
results
why your Avoid
Keep all the
investigation introducing new
results in the
did not work information in
result section
out this section
Discussion should be tailored to the situation
Sometimes it can be omitted
 DISCUSSION SUMMARY
The discussion can be difficult, easy, or omitted, depending on the
situation

The appropriate section to explain results

Compare your results with those of others

Convince readers that your results are accurate, usable, and have value
If your project was a failure, say so and
explain “why”
 RULE
Explain why things happened the
way they did
 SUMMARY
Not too long
Could be only one page
Must include procedure, results and discussion
Explanation of results (where possible)
Do not intermix
Avoid new data after results
 SUMMARY OF RESULTS
Refer and describe the standard tests in the procedure section
Make the repeatable procedure
Ask coworker to repeat the test and find out any omitted details
State test conditions for all the parameters
 SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Results are not interpretations

Present results in a form that makes interpretation easy
Describe your results in words too
Result is not a conclusion
 “DISCUSSION” SUMMARY

Interpretation and explanation of results

Results usually require graphics to assist the reader
Opinions belongs to the discussion
Avoid the presentation of data in tabular form only
IMPORTANT TERMS
Procedure • Parameters
Tables • Conclusion
Repeatable • Results
Discussion • Statistics
Standard tests • Graphics
Attributions • Thesis