Guidelines For Writing A Report English Language Essay

This report explains through description, and by example, the type of report expected of students in the English 102 course at Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Sharjah campus. The report is divided into 5 main sections. After the introduction, section 1 provides guidelines on how to write a report, including the documentation and steps required as well as offering advice on plagiarism and meeting deadlines. Section 2 focuses on the contents of the report, explaining which sections must be included. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of stating your main point.

Introduction

For the English 102 course, students are expected to write a 10-page report on a topic. The topic, and title of the report will be the same as the statement used for the group presentation in their debate, but the report will be completed individually. As this is the first report that students have been asked to write, this document has been prepared to offer guidance on how to organise a report, what sections to include, and how to format the final product. Students are expected to follow the advice offered in this report when preparing their individual reports.

1. Guidelines for writing your Report [1]

1.1. What you need to do when writing a report.

1.1.1. Prepare Action plans

Make sure that you write both group and individual action plans and keep them in your portfolio. Also, keep a record of meetings and what was decided and who was responsible for what etc.

Take Notes

Keep all notes that you take while researching and put into your portfolio. Don’t throw anything away. Make sure that you take notes during meetings. Decide before the meeting who is responsible for this.

1.1.3. Research in the Library and Internet

Any research that you do should be documented and kept in the portfolio. Only research that is mentioned in your report needs to be referenced so it is important that you keep a separate record of any background research that you carry out.

Acknowledge sources

Do not try to pass anything as your own when it is not. Make sure that you acknowledge all your sources.

Write references

Only include references that are used in your report.

Report Writing File[2]

You should keep a Report Writing file and store a record of all the work you do – your photocopies, notes, outlines, drafts, references etc. These will not only help you complete your report but also prepare your presentation in week 14 but will also help with your portfolio.

1.3. Deadlines

You must meet the deadline. Your report must be handed in no later than Thursday May 20th. You will lose 10% of your final mark each day your report is late (not including weekends).

1.4. Plagiarism

If you plagiarize you could receive zero. ‘TURNITIN’ software is now being used to check all submitted work for plagiarism.

If your report contains more than 20% of plagiarized material you will receive a zero mark. If it is between 15 and 20% you can only receive a maximum C grade. If your quoted material is more than 33% of your report you can only receive a maximum grade C.

Formatting

The whole report must use the following formatting:

Font size for paragraphs: 12 and 14 for titles

Times New Roman (Normal)

Line Spacing 1.5

(This whole document is written using this format.)

Bear in mind that a format, however helpful, cannot replace clear thinking and clear writing. You still need to organize your ideas carefully and express them coherently. Be precise and concise. Remember! You must plan and write an outline before writing a report.

1.6. Numbering and Headings in Reports

1.6.1 How to divide your report.

Dividing your information clearly is very important when writing a report.

We classify our information to show the relative importance of items and the relationships between them. We use headings and decimal outlines to show these divisions and subdivisions in our information. This handout is written in the style that is required. Use it as model for your report.

1.7. Presentation of your report

It is important that your report not only reads well but also looks good. Follow the guidelines below in order to produce a professional looking report.

1.7.1. Layout guidelines.

These guidelines refer to the whole document. The document must:

Be produced in Microsoft Word, and all spelling must be checked

Be black and white, without edging or “cake” decoration.

Have one-inch margins on all sides on all pages. Pages must be numbered

Have clear paragraph breaks and begin a new page for each main section

Refer to any visuals that are used. Visuals must have a number and title

Be stapled on the top left-hand corner

2. What does the report consist of? [3]

2.1. The Contents of your report

Your report must contain at least 10 pages. Do not write more than 15 pages, including:

Title Page

The essential information here is your name, the title of the report or project, the date, the course and the instructor’s name. Be aware of any other information your instructor requires. The title of a report is the same statement used in your presentation.

Table of Contents

As in many books, manuals and other printed materials, a Table of Contents is necessary at the beginning for ease of use for the reader. All sections of the report should be listed in page order. Remember to include each section and sub-section and to write the corresponding page numbers.

Abstract

Your report must contain an abstract. The abstract provides an overview of the study based on information from the other sections of the report.

2.1.3.1. Writing an Abstract

The abstract is the first section of the report. It usually comes after the title and before the introduction. The reader can read the abstract to obtain enough information about the study to decide if they want to read the complete report. Because it contains elements from the whole report, it is usually written last.

2.1.3.2. Ordering Your Information

Abstracts from almost all fields of study are written in a very similar way. The types of information included and their order are very conventional.

2.1.3.3. Activity

Read the following abstract carefully.

Abstract

1During the last 10 years, use of the World-Wide-Web for educational purposes has increased dramatically. 2However, very little empirical research has been carried out to determine the effectiveness of this use. 3The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the effectiveness of using the World-Wide-Web on an EAP writing course. 4Two groups of students were taught writing by two different methods: one group was taught by a teacher in a traditional classroom, while a second group included use of an on-line web-site in their course. 5The two groups were assessed in the same way after a twelve-week period of instruction. 6Results of the assessment showed significant differences between the two groups, the group that used the on-line web-site performing much better on all aspects of the test. 7This suggests that the use of computer assisted learning programmes for at least some of the teaching time available can be recommended for EAP writing courses.[4]

This abstract contains the following elements that should be included in your abstract. Number them in the correct order.

___ Results

___ Principal Activity

___ Conclusion

1 Background Information

___ Methodology

___ Scope

___ Recommendations

Introduction

This should include your thesis statement as well as an overview of how the report is organised.[3]

Main sections of the report

Your report will probably consist of two main sections (for and against, two pages for each side of the argument) with several subsections for each.

Conclusion

This includes a summary of your arguments. This involves bringing the whole report together by asking the simple question ‘why did you write this report?’

References

Remember to only include references referred to in the report. Use the IEEE system.

Conclusion

A conclusion basically answers the question ‘what were the reasons for me writing this?’ Ask this question before you begin writing the conclusion.

This report has laid out the etiquette of report writing. It contains clear guidelines on what should be included and the order that the information should be presented. Formatting is also covered. It also includes information on how to write an abstract, a table of contents and a conclusion.

Remember that you will lose 10% for each day that you are late handing in your portfolio, so make sure that you plan your time well and that you do not miss the deadline.

Treat this report as a model. It is expected that your own work will look very much like this one. It is important that you adhere strictly to the guidelines.