Learning Objectives: After reading this lesson, you should be able to:

 Understand the meaning of a research report

 Analyze the components of a good report
 Structure of a report
 Characteristic differences in Research Reporting

WHAT IS A REPORT?
A report is a written document on a particular topic, which conveys information and
ideas and may also make recommendations. Reports often form the basis of crucial
decision making. Inaccurate, incomplete and poorly written reports fail to achieve their
purpose and reflect on the decision, which will ultimately be made. This will also be the
case if the report is excessively long, jargonistic and/ or structureless. A good report
can be written by keeping the following features in mind:
 All points in the report should be clear to the intended reader.
 The report should be concise with information kept to a necessary minimum and
arranged logically under various headings and sub-headings.
 All information should be correct and supported by evidence.
 All relevant material should be included in a complete report.

Purpose of Research Report

 Why am I writing this report? Do I want to inform/ explain/ persuade, or indeed all
of these.
 Who is going to read this report? Managers/ academicians/ researchers! What do
they already know? What do they need to know? Do any of them have certain
attitudes or prejudices?
 What resources do we have? Do I have access to a computer? Do I have enough
time? Can any of my colleagues help?
 Think about the content of your report – what am I going to put in it? What are my
main themes? How much should be the text, and how much should be the
illustrations?

Framework of a Report
The various frameworks can be used depending on the content of the report, but
generally the same rules apply. Introduction, method, results and discussion with
references or bibliography at the end, and an abstract at the beginning could form the
framework.

STRUCTURE OF A REPORT
Structure your writing around the IMR&D framework and you will ensure a beginning,
middle and end to your report.
 I Introduction Why did I do this research? (beginning)
 M Method What did I do and how did I go about doing it? (middle)
 R Results What did I find? (middle) AND
 D Discussion What does it all mean? (end)

What do I put in the beginning part?

 TITLE PAGE Title of project, Sub–title (where appropriate), Date, Author,
Organization, Logo
 BACKGROUND History (if any) behind project
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Author thanks people and organization who helped during
the project
 SUMMARY(sometimes called abstract of the synopsis) A condensed version of a
report – outlines salient points, emphasizes main conclusions and (where
appropriate) the main recommendations. N.B this is often difficult to write and it is
suggested that you write it last.
 LIST OF CONTENTS An at- a – glance list that tells the reader what is in the report
and what page number(s) to find it on.
 LIST OF TABLES As above, specifically for tables.
 LIST OF APPENDICES As above, specifically for appendices.
 INTRODUCTION Author sets the scene and states his/ her intentions.
 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES AIMS – general aims of the audit/ project, broad
statement of intent. OBJECTIVES – specific things expected to do/ deliver(e.g.
expected outcomes)

What do I put in the middle part?

 METHOD Work steps; what was done – how, by whom, when?
 RESULT/FINDINGS Honest presentation of the findings, whether these were as
expected or not. give the facts, including any inconsistencies or difficulties
encountered

What do I put in the end part?

 DISCUSSION Explanation of the results.( you might like to keep the SWOT analysis
in mind and think about your project’s strengths, weakness, opportunities and
threats, as you write)
 CONCLUSIONS The author links the results/ findings with the points made in the
introduction and strives to reach clear, simply stated and unbiased conclusions.
Make sure they are fully supported by evidence and arguments of the main body of
your audit/project.
 RECOMMENDATIONS The author states what specific actions should be taken, by
whom and why. They must always be linked to the future and should always be
realistic. Don’t make them unless asked to.
 REFERENCES A section of a report, which provides full details of publications
mentioned in the text, or from which extracts have been quoted.
 APPENDIX The purpose of an appendix is to supplement the information contained
in the main body of the report.

PRACTICAL REPORTS VS. ACADEMIC REPORTS Practical Reports: In the practical

world of business or government, a report conveys an information and (sometimes)
recommendations from a researcher who has investigated a topic in detail. A report like
this will usually be requested by people who need the information for a specific purpose
and their request may be written in terms of reference or the brief. whatever the report,
it is important to look at the instruction for what is wanted. A report like this differs
from an essay in that it is designed to provide information which will be acted on, rather
than to be read by people interested in the ideas for their own sake. Because of this, it
has a different structure and layout. Academic Reports: A report written for an
academic course can be thought of as a simulation. We can imagine that someone
wants the report for a practical purpose, although we are really writing the report as an
academic exercise for assessment. Theoretical ideas will be more to the front in an
academic report than in a practical one. Sometimes a report seems to serve academic
and practical purposes. Students on placement with organizations often have to
produce a report for the organization and for assessment on the course. Although the
background work for both will be related, in practice, the report the student produces
for academic assessment will be different from the report produced for the organization,
because the needs of each are different. RESEARCH REPORT: PRELIMINARIES It is
not sensible to leave all your writing until the end. There is always the possibility that it
will take much longer than you anticipate and you will not have enough time. There
could also be pressure upon available word processors as other students try to
complete their own reports. It is wise to begin writing up some aspects of your research
as you go along. Remember that you do not have to write your report in the order than
it will be read. Often it is easiest to start with the method section. Leave the
introduction and the abstract to last. The use of a word processor makes it very
straightforward to modify and rearrange what you have written as your research
progresses and your ideas change. The very process of writing will help your ideas to
develop. Last but by no means least, ask someone to proofread your work.

STRUCTURE OF A RESEARCH REPORT

A research report has a different structure and layout in comparison to a project report.
A research report is for reference and is often quite a long document. It has to be clearly
structured for the readers to quickly find the information wanted. It needs to be
planned carefully to make sure that the information given in the report is put under
correct headings. PARTS OF RESEARCH REPORT Cover sheet: This should contain
some or all of the following: Full title of the report Name of the researcher Name of the
unit of which the project is a part Name of the institution Date/Year. Title page: Full
title of the report. Your name Acknowledgement: A thank you to the people who helped
you. Contents List of the Tables Headings and sub-headings used in the report
should be given with their page numbers. Each chapter should begin on a new page.
Use a consistent system in dividing the report into parts. The simplest may be to use
chapters for each major part and subdivide these into sections and sub-sections. 1, 2, 3
etc. can be used as the numbers for each chapter. The sections of chapter 3 (for
example) would be 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and so on. For further sub-division of a sub-section
you may use 3.2.1, 3.2.2, and so on. Abstract or Summary or Executive Summary or
Introduction: This presents an overview of the whole report. It should let the reader see
in advance, what is in the report. This includes what you set out to do, how review of
literature is focused and narrowed in your research, the relation of the methodology you
chose to your objectives, a summary of your findings and analysis of the findings BODY
Aims and Purpose or Aims and Objectives: Why did you do this work? What was the
problem you were investigating? If you are not including review of literature, mention
the specific research/es which is/are relevant to your work. Review of Literature This
should help to put your research into a background context and to explain its
importance. Include only the books and articles which relate directly to your topic. You
need to be analytical and critical, and not just describe the works that you have read.
Methodology Methodology deals with the methods and principles used in an activity, in
this case research. In the methodology chapter, explain the method/s you used for the
research and why you thought they were the appropriate ones. You may, for example,
be depending mostly upon secondary data or you may have collected your own data.
You should explain the method of data collection, materials used, subjects interviewed,
or places you visited. Give a detailed account of how and when you carried out your
research and explain why you used the particular method/s, rather than other
methods. Included in this chapter should be an examination of ethical issues, if any.
Results or Findings What did you find out? Give a clear presentation of your results.
Show the essential data and calculations here. You may use tables, graphs and figures.
Analysis and Discussion Interpret your results. What do you make out of them? How
do they compare with those of others who have done research in this area? The
accuracy of your measurements/results should be discussed and deficiencies, if any, in
the research design should be mentioned. Conclusions What do you conclude?
Summarize briefly the main conclusions which you discussed under "Results." Were
you able to answer some or all of the questions which you raised in your aims and
objectives? Do not be tempted to draw conclusions which are not backed up by your
evidence. Note the deviation/s from expected results and any failure to achieve all that
you had hoped. Recommendations Make your recommendations, if required. The
suggestions for action and further research should be given. Appendix You may not
need an appendix, or you may need several. If you have used questionnaires, it is usual
to include a blank copy in the appendix. You could include data or calculations, not
given in the body, that are necessary, or useful, to get the full benefit from your report.
There may be maps, drawings, photographs or plans that you want to include. If you
have used special equipment, you may include information about it. The plural of an
appendix is appendices. If an appendix or appendices are needed, design them
thoughtfully in a way that your readers find it/them convenient to use. References List
all the sources which you referred in the body of the report. You may use the pattern
prescribed by American Psychological Association, or any other standard pattern
recognized internationally. REVIEW OF LITERATURE In the case of small projects, this
may not be in the form of a critical review of the literature, but this is often asked for
and is a standard part of larger projects. Sometimes students are asked to write Review
of Literature on a topic as a piece of work in its own right. In its simplest form, the
review of literature is a list of relevant books and other sources, each followed by a
description and comment on its relevance. � The literature review should demonstrate
that you have read and analysed the literature relevant to your topic. From your
readings, you may get ideas about methods of data collection and analysis. If the review
is part of a project, you will be required to relate your readings to the issues in the
project, and while describing the readings, you should apply them to your topic. A
review should include only relevant studies. The review should provide the reader with a
picture of the state of knowledge in the subject. Your literature search should establish
what previous researches have been carried out in the subject area. Broadly speaking,
there are three kinds of sources that you should consult: 1. Introductory material; 2.
Journal articles and 3. Books. To get an idea about the background of your topic, you
may consult one or more textbooks at the appropriate time. It is a good practice to
review in cumulative stages - that is, do not think you can do it all at one go. Keep a
careful record of what you have searched, how you have gone about it, and the exact
citations and page numbers of your readings. Write notes as you go along. Record
suitable notes on everything you read and note the methods of investigations. Make
sure that you keep a full reference, complete with page numbers. You will have to find
your own balance between taking notes that are too long and detailed, and ones too
brief to be of any use. It is best to write your notes in complete sentences and
paragraphs, because research has shown that you are more likely to understand your
notes later if they are written in a way that other people would understand. Keep your
notes from different sources and/or about different points on separate index cards or
on separate sheets of paper. You will do mainly basic reading while you are trying to
decide on your topic. You may scan and make notes on the abstracts or summaries of
work in the area. Then do a more thorough job of reading later on, when you are more
confident of what you are doing. If your project spans several months, it would be
advisable towards the end to check whether there are any new and recent references.
REFERENCES There are many methods of referencing your work; some of the most
common ones are the Numbered Style, American Psychological Association Style and
the Harvard Method, with many other variations. Just use the one you are most
familiar and comfortable with. Details of all the works referred by you should be given
in the reference section. THE PRESENTATION OF REPORT Well-produced,
appropriate illustrations enhance the presentability of a report. With today's computer
packages, almost anything is possible. However, histograms, bar charts and pie charts
are still the three 'staples'. Readers like illustrated information, because it is easier to
absorb and it's more memorable. Illustrations are useful only when they are easier to
understand than words or figures and they must be relevant to the text. Use the
algorithm included to help you decide whether or not to use an illustration. They should
never be included for their own sake, and don't overdo it; too many illustrations distract
the attention of readers.

Essentials of a Good Report: Good research report should satisfy some of the following
basic characteristics: STYLE Reports should be easy to read and understand. The style
of the writer should ensure that sentences are succinct and the language used is
simple, to the point and avoiding excessive jargon. LAYOUT A good layout enables the
reader to follow the report's intentions, and aids the communication process. Sections
and paragraphs should be given headings and sub-headings. You may also consider a
system of numbering or lettering to identify the relative importance of paragraphs and
sub-paragraphs. Bullet points are an option for highlighting important points in your
report. ACCURACY Make sure everything you write is factually accurate. If you would
mislead or misinform, you will be doing a disservice not only to yourself but also to the
readers, and your credibility will be destroyed. Remember to refer to any information
you have used to support your work. CLARITY Take a break from writing. When you
would come back to it, you'll have the degree of objectivity that you need. Use simple
language to express your point of view. READABILITY Experts agree that the factors,
which affect readability the most, are: > Attractive appearance > Non-technical subject
matter > Clear and direct style > Short sentences > Short and familiar words REVISION
When first draft of the report is completed, it should be put to one side atleast for 24
hours. The report should then be read as if with eyes of the intended reader. It should
be checked for spelling and grammatical errors. Remember the spell and grammar
check on your computer. Use it! REINFORCEMENT Reinforcement usually gets the
message across. This old adage is well known and is used to good effect in all sorts of
circumstances e.g., presentations - not just report writing. > TELL THEM WHAT YOU
ARE GOING TO SAY: in the introduction and summary you set the scene for what
follows in your report. > THEN SAY IT : you spell things out in results/findings > THEN
TELL THEM WHAT YOU SAID: you remind your readers through the discussion what it
was all about.

Essentials of a Good Report: Good research report should satisfy some of the following
basic characteristics: STYLE Reports should be easy to read and understand. The style
of the writer should ensure that sentences are succinct and the language used is
simple, to the point and avoiding excessive jargon. LAYOUT A good layout enables the
reader to follow the report's intentions, and aids the communication process. Sections
and paragraphs should be given headings and sub-headings. You may also consider a
system of numbering or lettering to identify the relative importance of paragraphs and
sub-paragraphs. Bullet points are an option for highlighting important points in your
report. ACCURACY Make sure everything you write is factually accurate. If you would
mislead or misinform, you will be doing a disservice not only to yourself but also to the
readers, and your credibility will be destroyed. Remember to refer to any information
you have used to support your work. CLARITY Take a break from writing. When you
would come back to it, you'll have the degree of objectivity that you need. Use simple
language to express your point of view. READABILITY Experts agree that the factors,
which affect readability the most, are: > Attractive appearance > Non-technical subject
matter > Clear and direct style > Short sentences > Short and familiar words REVISION
When first draft of the report is completed, it should be put to one side atleast for 24
hours. The report should then be read as if with eyes of the intended reader. It should
be checked for spelling and grammatical errors. Remember the spell and grammar
check on your computer. Use it! REINFORCEMENT Reinforcement usually gets the
message across. This old adage is well known and is used to good effect in all sorts of
circumstances e.g., presentations - not just report writing. > TELL THEM WHAT YOU
ARE GOING TO SAY: in the introduction and summary you set the scene for what
follows in your report. > THEN SAY IT : you spell things out in results/findings > THEN
TELL THEM WHAT YOU SAID: you remind your readers through the discussion what it
was all about.
FEEDBACK MEETING It is useful to circulate copies of your report prior to the
feedback meeting. Meaningful discussion can then take place during the feedback
meeting with recommendations for change more likely to be agreed upon which can
then be included in your conclusion. The following questions should be asked at this
stage to check whether the Report served the purpose: > Does the report have impact? >
Do the summary /abstract do justice to the report? > Does the introduction encourage
the reader to read more? > Is the content consistent with the purpose of the report? >
Have the objectives been met? > Is the structure logical and clear? > Have the
conclusions been clearly stated? > Are the recommendations based on the conclusions
and expressed clearly and logically?

Different Parts of a Report Generally different parts of a report include: 1. Cover Page
/ Title Page 2. Introductory Pages ( Foreword, Preface, Acknowledgement, Table of
Contents, List of Tables, List of Illustrations or Figures, Key words / Abbreviations used
etc.) 3. Contents of the Report (which generally includes a Macro setting, Research
Problem, Methodology used, Objectives of the study, Review of studies, Tools Used for
Data Collection and Analysis, Empirical results in one/two sections, Summary of
Observations etc.) 4. References (including Appendices, Glossary of terms used, Source
data, Derivations of Formulas for Models used in the analysis etc.)

Title Page: The Cover page or Title Page of a Research Report should contain the
following information: 1. Title of the Project / Subject 2. Who has conducted the
study 3. For What purpose 4. Organization 5. Period of submission

Introductory Pages: Introductory pages generally do not constitute the Write up of the
Research work done. These introductory pages basically form the Index of the work
done. These pages are usually numbered in Roman numerical (e.g., i, ii, iii etc). The
introductory pages include the following components: Foreword, Preface,
Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, List of Tables, and List of Figures / Charts.
Foreword is usually one page write up or a citation about the work by any eminent /
popular personality or a specialist in the given field of study. Generally, the write up
includes a brief background on the contemporary issues and suitability of the present
subject and its timeliness, major highlights of the present work, brief background of the
author etc. The writer of the Foreword generally gives the Foreword on his letter head.
Preface is again one/two pages write up by the author of the book / report stating
circumstances under which the present work is taken up, importance of the work,
major dimensions examined and intended audience for the given work. The author gives
his signature and address at the bottom of the page along with date and year of the
work.
Acknowledgements is a short section, mostly a paragraph. It mostly consists of
sentences giving thanks to all those associated and encouraged to carry out the present
work. Generally, author takes time to acknowledge the liberal funding by any funding
agency to carry out the work, and agencies which had given permission to use their
resources. At the end, the author thanks everybody and gives his signature.
Table of Contents refers to the index of all pages of the said Research Report. These
contents provide the information about the chapters, sub-sections, annexure for each
chapter, if any, etc. Further, the page numbers of the content of the report greatly helps
any one to refer to those pages for necessary details. Most authors use different forms
while listing the sub contents. These include alphabet classification and decimal
classification. Examples for both of them are given below: Example of content sheet
(alphabet classification)
List of Tables and Charts: Details of Charts and Tables given in the research Report
are numbered and presented on separate pages and the lists of such tables and charts
are given on a separate page. Tables are generally numbered either in Arabic numerals
or in decimal form. In the case of decimal form, it is possible to indicate the chapter to
which the said table belongs. For example, Table 2.1 refers to Table 1 in Chapter 2.
Executive Summary: Most Business Reports or Project works conducted on a specific
issue carry one or two pages of Executive Summary. This summary precedes the
Chapters of the Regular Research Report. This summary generally contains a brief
description of problem under enquiry, methods used and the findings. A line about the
possible alternatives for decision making would be the last line of the Executive
Summary.

BODY OF THE REPORT: The body of the Report is the most important part of the
report. This body of report may be segmented into a handful of Units or Chapters
arranged in a sequential order. Research Report often present the Methodology,
Objectives of the study, Data tools, etc in the first or second chapters along with a brief
background of the study, review of relevant studies. The major findings of the study are
incorporated into two or three chapters based on the major or minor hypothesis tested
or based on the sequence of objectives of the study. Further, the chapter plan may also
be based likely on different dimensions of the problem under enquiry. Each Chapter
may be divided into sections. While the first section may narrate the descriptive
characteristics of the problem under enquiry, the second and subsequent sections may
focus on empirical results based on deeper insights of the problem of study. Each
chapter based on Research Studies mostly contain Major Headings, Sub headings,
quotations drawn from observations made by earlier writers, footnotes and exhibits.

Use of References: There are two types of reference formatting. The first is the 'in-text'
reference format, where previous researchers and authors are cited during the building
of arguments in the Introduction and Discussion sections. The second type of format is
that adopted for the Reference section for writing footnotes or Bibliography.

Citations in the text The names and dates of researchers go in the text as they are
mentioned e.g., "This idea has been explored in the work of Smith (1992)." It is generally
unacceptable to refer to authors and previous researchers etc.

Examples of Citing References (Single author)

Duranti (1995) has argued or It has been argued that (Duranti, 1995)
In the case of more authors, Moore, Maguire, and Smyth (1992) proposed or It has been
proposed that (Moore, Macquire, & Smyth, 1992) For subsequent citations in the same
report: Moore et al.(1992) also proposed... or It has also been proposed that. . . . (Moore
et al., 1992)

The reference section: The report ends with reference section, which comes
immediately after the Recommendations and begins on a new page. It is titled as
'References' in upper and lower case letters centered across the page.

Published Journal Articles Beckerian, D.A. (1993). In search of the typical eyewitness.
American Psychologist, 48, 574-576. Gubbay, S.S., Ellis, W., Walton, J.N., and Court,
S.D.M. (1965). Clumsy children: A study of apraxic and agnosic defects in 21 children.
Brain, 88, 295- 312.

Authored Books Cone, J.D., and Foster, S.L. (1993). Dissertations and theses from start
to finish: Psychology and related fields. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association. Cone, J.D., and Foster, S.L. (1993). Dissertations and theses from start to
finish: Psychology and related fields (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.

APPENDICES: The purpose of the appendices is to supplement the main body of your
text and provide additional information that may be of interest to the reader. There is
no major heading for the Appendices. You simply need to include each one, starting on
a new page, numbered, using capital letters, and headed with a centered brief
descriptive title. For example: Appendix A: List of stimulus words presented to the
participants

Dos and Don’ts of Report Writing

 Choose a font size that is not too small or too large; 11 or 12 is a good font size to
use.
 Acknowledgment need not be a separate page, except in the final report. In fact, you
could just drop it altogether for the first- and second-stage reports. Your guide
already knows how much you appreciate his/her support. Express your gratitude
by working harder instead of writing a flowery acknowledgment.
 Make sure your paragraphs have some indentation and that it is not too large. Refer
to some text books or journal papers if you are not sure.
 If figures, equations, or trends are taken from some reference, the reference must be
cited right there, even if you have cited it earlier.
 The correct way of referring to a figure is Fig. 4 or Fig. 1.2 (note that there is a space
after Fig.). The same applies to Section, Equation, etc. (e.g., Sec. 2, Eq. 3.1).
 Cite a reference as, for example, "The threshold voltage is a strong function of the
implant dose [1]." Note that there must be a space before the bracket.
 Follow some standard format while writing references. For example, you could look
up any IEEE transactions issue and check out the format for journal papers, books,
conference papers, etc.
 Do not type references (for that matter, any titles or captions) entirely in capital
letters. The only capital letters required are (i) the first letter of a name, (ii)
acronyms, (iii) the first letter of the title of an article (iv) the first letter of a sentence.
 The order of references is very important. In the list of your references, the first
reference must be the one which is cited before any other reference, and so on. Also,
every reference in the list must be cited at least once (this also applies to figures). In
handling references and figure numbers, Latex turns out to be far better than Word.
 Many commercial packages allow "screen dump" of figures. While this is useful in
preparing reports, it is often very wasteful (in terms of toner or ink) since the
background is black. Please see if you can invert the image or use a plotting
program with the raw data such that the background is white.
 The following tips may be useful: (a) For Windows, open the file in Paint and select
Image/Invert Colors. (b) For Linux, open the file in Image Magick (this can be done
by typing display) and then selecting Enhance/Negate.
 As far as possible, place each figure close to the part of the text where it is referred
to.
 A list of figures is not required except for the final project report. It generally does
not do more than wasting paper.
 The figures, when viewed together with the caption, must be, as far as possible, self-
explanatory. There are times when one must say, "see text for details". However, this
is an exception and not a rule.
 The purpose of a figure caption is simply to state what is being presented in the
figure. It is not the right place for making comments or comparisons; that should
appear only in the text.
 If you are showing comparison of two (or more) quantities, use the same notation
through out the report. For example, suppose you want to compare measured data
with analytical model in four different figures, in each figure, make sure that the
measured data is represented by the same line type or symbol. The same should be
followed for the analytical model. This makes it easier for the reader to focus on the
important aspects of the report rather than getting lost in lines and symbols.
 If you must resize a plot or a figure, make sure that you do it simultaneously in
both x and y directions. Otherwise, circles in the original figure will appear as
ellipses, letters will appear too fat or too narrow, and other similar calamities will
occur.
 In the beginning of any chapter, you need to add a brief introduction and then start
sections. The same is true about sections and subsections. If you have sections that
are too small, it only means that there is not enough material to make a separate
section. In that case, do not make a separate section. Include the same material in
the main section or elsewhere. Remember, a short report is perfectly acceptable if
you have put in the effort and covered all important aspects of your work. Adding
unnecessary sections and subsections will create the impression that you are only
covering up the lack of effort.
 Do not make one-line paragraphs.
 Always add a space after a full stop, comma, colon, etc. Also, leave a space before
opening a bracket. If the sentence ends with a closing bracket, add the full stop (or
comma or semicolon, etc) after the bracket.
 Do not add a space before a full stop, comma, colon, etc.
 Using a hyphen can be tricky. If two (or more) words form a single adjective, a
hyphen is required; otherwise, it should not be used. For example, (a) A short-
 channel device shows a finite output conductance. (b) This is a good example of
mixed-signal simulation. (c)Several devices with short channels were studied.
 If you are using Latex, do not use the quotation marks to open. If you do that, you
get "this". Use the single opening quotes (twice) to get "this".
 Do not use very informal language. Instead of "This theory should be taken with a
pinch of salt," you might say, "This theory is not convincing," or "It needs more work
to show that this theory applies in all cases."
 Do not use "&"; write "and" instead. Do not write "There're" for "There are" etc.
 If you are describing several items of the same type (e.g., short-channel effects in a
MOS transistor), use the "list" option; it enhances the clarity of your report. 30. Do
not use "bullets" in your report. They are acceptable in a presentation, but not in a
formal report. You may use numerals or letters instead.
 Whenever in doubt, look up a text book or a journal paper to verify whether your
grammar and punctuation are correct.
 Do a spell check before you print out your document. It always helps.
 Always write the report so that the reader can easily make out what your
contribution is. Do not leave the reader guessing in this respect.
 Above all, be clear. Your report must have a flow, i.e., the reader must be able to
appreciate continuity in the report. After the first reading, the reader should be able
to understand (a) the overall theme and (b) what is new (if it is a project report). 35.
Plagiarism is a very serious offense. You simply cannot copy material from an
existing report or paper and put it verbatim in your report. The idea of writing a
report is to convey in your words what you have understood from the literature. The
above list may seem a little intimidating. However, if you make a sincere effort, most
of the points are easy to remember and practice. A supplementary exercise that will
help you immensely is that of looking for all major and minor details when you read
an article from a newspaper or a magazine, such as grammar, punctuation,
organization of the material, etc.

PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT

While preparing for the presentation of a report, the researchers should focus on the
following issues:
 What is the purpose of the report and issues on which the Presentation has to
focus?
 Who are the stakeholders and what are their areas of interest?
 The mode and media of presentation.
 Extent of Coverage and depth to address at.
 Time, Place and cost associated with presentation.
 Audio – Visual aids intended to be used.