Guidance on Writing a Report

In this module, there are two courseworks that you should write in the form of a technical report. Some people think that working in computer and media technology involves only working with equipment and talking to people. In fact, many tasks in these industries involve writing. Written communication, in fact, is an integral part of most tasks. The ability to write a technical report in a clear and concise manner is the mark of a professional. You must be able to translate the formulae, numbers, and other technical abstractions into an understandable written form, and to write in a way that conveys your competence and professionalism. There are many variations in technical report format. Each group, institution, or company may have its own standard format to follow, and there are many books on how to write technical reports. Certain elements are common in most technical reports. These elements can be seen in any typical report. A technical report must inform readers of the reasons, means, results, and conclusions of the subject matter being reported. The mechanics and format of writing a report may vary, but the content is always similar. Your report should include the following sections: Abstract: The abstract is a very brief summary of the entire report, including its conclusions and recommendations if there are any. An abstract for your coursework report only needs to be a few sentences. The abstract should be capable of standing alone, so if necessary the abstract alone can give the reader a good overall idea of your work. Normally you write the abstract last, but it is the first section in the report. Introduction: The introduction should quickly explain the purpose of the work being reported. Also briefly introduce the necessary concepts that were applied in order to obtain the results. You need to make an assumption about the technical level of the readers. Assume that the readers already possess technical ability to understand the material. Do not attempt to write an introductory text on the subject. This just wastes your time and the readers time. Experimental Details: In this section, the details of the experiments or research conducted are discussed. The descriptions may be in paragraph form, list form, or a combination of both. The description must contain just enough detail to enable someone else to duplicate your experiment and results. Engineering and scientific experiment must be repeatable and verifiable. Results and Discussion: Report only the final results of your work. Do not give a diary of how your work progressed. Your successes and failures along the way can be interesting, but do not put them in the report. If your findings are unusual, or very much at odds with other people's conclusions, you should explain why you think this might be. Conclusions and Recommendations: The conclusion is a short statement of what can be concluded from the rest of the report. A conclusion is not a summary. Once conclusions are made, make some recommendations as to the utilities of those conclusions. Explain how useful the methodology and the results are. Mention restrictions or limits pertaining to the use of the results. For example, The results reported here apply only to the AVI-3675 codec and to no other codecs. Suggest what the next step in the study should be to overcome the limitation or advance the study further. Format of the report The report needs to be printed on paper. You should fill in and and attach a coursework cover sheet. Use a minimum cost solution: You do not need to use thick glossy paper or a special binding. Ordinary printer/ copier paper bound with a staple is fine. It is possible to write a good report in under 5 pages. You will not get better marks for writing at length. A good report is concise and not wordy. Rules to follow throughout the report: 1. In your experiments, you will need to make a number of observations. The coursework assignment will probably ask you to observe something, such as What happens when you reduce the number of DCT coefficients? You also need to give your analysis. Suppose you observe that, for example, when you reduce the number of DCT coefficients, the image loses its sharpness. This is a reasonable observation, but then you should ask yourself why. When you answer the "why?" question, you are providing some analysis. For example, you could write something like, "The image loses its sharpness because there is a reduced contribution to the image made by the high spatial frequency components." Then you could go further and
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make a recommendation such as, Therefore, I would not recommend using this type of filter to compress images of text, because the information in images of text is conveyed mainly through the high spatial frequencies. 2. Use of references. You must supply bibliographic references to the work you cite in the report. You must also cite in the text where you use the reference. For example, suppose you list in your bibliography the book Pleasure from Insects, by Michael Tweedie, published in 1969. Then, in your report where you use a fact or quotation from this source, you should cite it, by giving a reference number (if you number them) or a citation such as (Tweedie, 1969). Use a standard referencing system (see links below). 3. Answer all parts. Remember to answer all the questions that are in the assignment. 4. Use your own words. Do not copy words from somebody elses writing. Especially do not copy words from Wikipedia. If you are not confident about your English, do not take the easy way of copying. You must use your own words, even if they are not the best English. The laboratory reports are a good way to practice your English. The assessor can tell that English is not your first language by the way you write, and you will not be penalised if you use your own words. However, if you use large amounts of text that you did not write, even if it is properly referenced, then you will not receive a good mark, because you depended on other peoples words instead of your own. It is better to use your own words, even if they are not perfect. In this way, your English will improve with practice. Sometimes, it is essential to quote somebody elses words. If you use another person's words directly, you must be clear about this and give a full reference. If you don't do this, you are breaking regulations about plagiarism, you are probably also breaking the law, and you are being unprofessional. 5. It is a bad idea to include excuses about how difficult the work was, and how the report would have been better had you been given more time. It doesn't look professional. 6. Writing good reports is difficult, and usually takes longer than you think. If possible, allow yourself at least twice as much time as you first think you'll need. 7. There are many possible things I have not mentioned in this guidance. For example, I have not mentioned which size of type to use, whether to have single-or-double spacing, or whether to write on both sides of the paper. In all matters such as these, where I have not said anything in this guidance sheet, you should use your own judgement. Dont fret about these things, as they will not be taken into account during marking. The assessment is about the content of what you write, though a general standard of neatness is important too.

Useful Links Module website (you will need to authenticate with your PIP login and password): http://tech.brookes.ac.uk/modules/U08884 Standard referencing systems: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/library/resources/britstan.pdf http://www.brookes.ac.uk/library/resources/harvard.pdf Coversheet: You can download a coursework coversheet from the module website.

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