Report Writing

Kamlesh Gosai
Professor (IT)

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 Scheme Of Presentation
• What Is Report?
• Types Of Reports
• Structure
• Plagiarism
• References
• Language Issues

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 What Is Report?
• Written For A Clear Purpose And To A Particular
Audience
• Specific Information And Evidence Are
Presented, Analysed And Applied To A Particular
Problem Or Issue
• Information Is Presented In A Clearly Structured
Format Making Use Of Sections And Headings
• Information Is Easy To Locate And Follow

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 What Is Report?
• May Be Be Given A Report Brief Which
Provides With Instructions And Guidelines
• Brief May Outline The Purpose, Audience And
Problem Or Issue That Report Must Address
• Any Specific Requirements For Format Or
Structure
• Be Sure To Take Account Of Specific
Instructions Provided

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 Types Of Reports
• Information Writing Assignment
• Case Study
• Review
• Technical Report
• Book Report
• Critical Analysis/Critique

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 Types Of Reports
• Research Paper
• Essay
• Bibliography
• Literature Review
• Term Paper

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 Structure

• Research Paper
• Essay

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 Structure - Research Paper

• Cover Page
• Acknowledgments
• Contents
• List Of Symbols, Figures And Tables, If Any
• Preface

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 Structure - Research Paper

• Introduction
• Literature Review/Background
• Chapters Covering The Work
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendices

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 Structure - Research Paper
Preface Should Contain :
• The Purpose Of The Report
• The History Of The Project
• Major Contents Of The Report
• About 500-1000 Words

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 Structure - Research Paper
Paper - A4 Size
Margins - 1.5 Inch Left
1 Inch Right, Top And Bottom
Font - Times New Roman 12 Size
Heading Font - Arial 14
Second Heading - Times New Roman Or Arial 12 Bold
Third Heading - Times New Roman Or Arial 12 Italics
Spacing - 1.5
Best Is To Use Standard Word DEFAULT Style Set
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 Structure - Research Paper
• All Tables And Figures Must Be Numbered
• List Of Abbreviations Should Be Prepared And
Placed After List Of Table/Figures
• Pages Should Be Numbered Starting From
Introduction
• Consistent Spacing Must Be Given
Throughout The Report

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 Structure - Essay
• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion

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 Structure - Essay
• Introduction :
• About 10% Of The Essay
• Start Introduction Generally
• Narrow Down Essay By The End Of The
Introduction To Indicate Both What The Essay
Will Do And How It Will Be Organised
• This Is Called Thesis Statement

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 Structure - Essay
• Body :
• About 80% Of The Essay
• Each Paragraph Should Make A New Point
• Number of Paragraph Will Depend On The Length
Of Essay
• Linking Words Should Be Used Between
Paragraphs To Make The Essay Flow Smoothly

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 Structure - Essay
• Conclusion :
• About 10% Of The Essay
• Start The Conclusion With Specific Reference To
Your Arguments
• End More Generally

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 Structure - Essay
• Write A Draft
• Style
• Formatting
• Proofreading

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 Mind Map
Idea
Related

Idea
Idea Related
Related
Central
Idea

Idea Idea
Related Related

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 Accident Enquiry - Example

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 Plagiarism

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 Plagiarism

• Taking and using the thoughts, writings, and

inventions of another person as one's own

• Using someone’s ideas without citing or

quoting; thereby, receiving credit for
someone else’s intellectual effort

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 Plagiarism

• Copying from a single source

• Copying from several sources

• Paraphrasing

• Collusion
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 Plagiarism

• Use Images Labelled For Reuse

• Copyright Free Images
• Any Information, Fact, Or Statement That Is Widespread And
Known By A Variety Of People Is Considered Common
Knowledge
• John Adams Was The Second President Of USA
• The Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor On December 7,
1941
• There Is No Need To Give Credit To Information That Is Of
Common Knowledge

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 Plagiarism – Fair Use

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 Plagiarism – Detection Software
http://turnitin.com/

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 Citation

• When To Cite :
• Not Your Own Idea
• Not A Common Knowledge
• When In Doubt, Cite

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 Style of Citation
Sample Book References:

Pawlak, Z. (1991). Rough sets: Theoretical aspects of reasoning about data. Norwell, MA:
Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2006). Multivariate data
analysis (6th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Sample Reference to Chapter in Book:

Ravallion, M. (2007). Transfers and safety nets in poor countries: Revisiting the trade-offs and
policy options. In V. Abhijit, R. B. Banerjee, & D. Mukherjee (Eds.), Understanding poverty (pp.
203– 230). Oxford University Press.

Sample Journal Reference:

Bose, I. (2006). ‘Deciding the financial health of dot-coms using rough sets’. Information &
Management, 43(7), 835– 846.

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 Latin Terms Commonly Used In Reports

e.g. – for example

i.e. – that is

ibid - Latin word ibidem, which means “in the same place.”

et al - stands for et alii which translates as “and other people.”

circa- around: e.g. - c. 3000 B.C.

viz - namely
sic. - sic erat scriptum, "thus was it written“ – indication original
error
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 e.g. and i.e
USAGE
• Let’s look at some examples of how to use i.e. and e.g. correctly:

• YES The rocky planets (e.g., Mercury) are closest to our sun.

NO The rocky planets (i.e., Mercury) are closest to our sun.

• Mercury is not equivalent to the rocky planets-they’re not the

same thing. Mercury is just one example of a rocky planet,
therefore e.g. is appropriate.

• YES The rocky planets (i.e., Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are closest to our
sun.
•
YES Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars (i.e., the rocky planets) are closest to our sun.
•
NO The rocky planets (e.g., Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are closest to our sun. 34
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http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/latin-terms-and-abbreviations/
 e.g. and i.e
USAGE
In Some Instances, i.e. And e.g. May Both Be Acceptable, But
Using One Or The Other Will Drastically Change The Meaning
Of The Sentence. For Example:

1. Farmer Brown Sells His Produce (e.g., Apples, Oranges,

Carrots) At The Market.
2. Farmer Brown Sells His Produce (i.e., Apples, Oranges,
Carrots) At The Market.

??? Spot The Difference

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http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/latin-terms-and-abbreviations/
 Ibid.
• The Abbreviation Ibid. Stands For The Latin Word Ibidem, Which Means
“In The Same Place”

• It Is Used In Endnotes Or Footnotes When You Cite The Same Source And
Page Number(s) Two Or More Times

• If You Cite The Same Source But A Different Page Number, You Can Use
Ibid. Followed By A Comma And The Page Number(s). Also, Note That
Ibid. Is Capitalized When It Begins A Note

• For Example:

• 1. Barsby, 99-101.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., 97.
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http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/latin-terms-and-abbreviations/
 et al.
• EXAMPLE: Even the recent Gartner report from star analyst Jane Disbrow
et al. shows that 61% of their customers have been audited by at least
one software vendor. [Forbes]

• Et al.is an abbreviation of the Latin loanphrase et alii, meaning and

others. It is similar to etc.(short for et cetera, meaning and the rest), but
whereas etc. applies to things, et al. applies to people.
•  If you cite one author in body text, it should be “AuthorOne”. Two
authors: “AuthorOne and AuthorTwo”. Three or more authors:
“AuthorOne et al.”

• Name of the first author will be given in full and then followed by et al.

• As with etc., there is no need to include ‘and’ before et al.

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http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/latin-terms-and-abbreviations/
 sic.
• Sic is a Latin term meaning “thus.”
• It is used to indicate that something incorrectly written is intentionally
being left as it was in the original. 

• Sic is usually italicized and always surrounded by brackets to indicate

that it was not part of the original. Place [sic] right after the error.

• Example: She wrote, “They made there [sic] beds.”

• Note: The correct sentence should have been, “They
made their beds.”

http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/definitions/sic/
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 Further Learning
• http://www.columbia.edu/itc/seas/E3810-lab/wreport.html
• http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/braman/students/good-report.html
• http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
• http://www.macmillandictionary.com/live/
• https://www.coursera.org/specialization/bizcommunication/15

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 Thank You

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