Guidelines
The following elements must appear in this order:
Cover
Title page
Table of contents
Table of Illustrations *
Informative Abstract
Introduction
Collected Data
Conclusion
Glossary *
Works Cited
Appendix *
Starred items are optional and are included only if they are necessary to your report. Not everyone will have the tables and figures that might be included in illustrations or have enough technical terms to define to need a glossary. This information supplements that found in the text.
Cover
The report should be presented in an appropriate cover. (No clear plastic covers, please. They are full of static electricity.)
Title page
The title should be informative, accurate, and limiting. Center it on the title page, using all capitals and a large type size (ex. 24 point). Also include the reader's name and position, the writer's name and position, and the date.
Table of contents
List the page numbers for all headings in the report. The heading hierarchy used in the body of the report should be reflected in the table of contents' format so that the audience can distinguish the major and minor sections of the report at a glance. The page numbers for the front matter (table of contents through the informative abstract) should be lower case Roman numerals (i, viii, etc.)
List of Illustrations (or List of Tables or List of Figures)
On the page after the table of contents, create a list of all graphics you use in the report, numbering each one (Figure 1, Table 2, etc.) and indicating the corresponding page number. If you have fewer than five graphics, this section is unnecessary. Use the headings in parentheses if you have only one type of graphic: figures or tables.
Informative abstract
This is the summary of the work you did for this report. Write this after you have finished the report itself. Some readers will have time for just the abstract, so make sure it states briefly all the key points from the report, and includes your conclusions and recommendations. The abstract begins on the page after the table of illustrations.
Introduction
Begin the introduction on a new
page.
It should cover the following:
1. definition, description, and background
of the question, issue, problem, or item.
2. purpose of the report and intended
audience
3. sources of information
4. working definitions (if too few for the
glossary)
5. scope: the limitations of the study
(what you will and will not cover: you might be analyzing a small
number of products or you might have a budget ceiling that you need to
include.) Page numbers beginning with this section of the report
are regular numbers (1,2, etc.)
Collected data
This section divides the subject into related topics and subtopics, ranked in order of importance (ascending or descending). Begin this section on a new page. You can also think of this section as the introduction and body of the report itself. The introduction section provides more of an overview than a start of the actual discussion.
Describe the results of your investigation objectively. Include the evidence which supports your conclusions. After discussing each possible solution to the problem, evaluate the findings and then interpret them.
You may need to use a variety of rhetorical techniques in this part of the report: description, definition, cause/effect, comparison/contrast, etc.
Conclusion
This section includes a summary of the findings presented in the Collected Data section along with a comprehensive interpretation of the findings and your recommendations. Be sure that the recommendations are courses of action, stated directly and objectively.
Give the best advice you can, even if the advice is to do nothing. If you have a number of recommendations, present them in list form.
Glossary
Begin on a new page. The glossary is the place for technical terms that you need to define for your audience. If you have four or fewer terms, place the definitions in the introduction. Five or more terms require a separate glossary. Place an asterisk after the first defined term that you use in the paper, and explain where the definitions are located. ex. byte* (all terms followed by an asterisk are defined in the glossary, p. 14.)
Works Cited
Begin references on a new page. Include all works cited in the report and any other significant ones. The order of your items depends on whether you choose the author-year or numerical designation system for in-text citations. You do not need to include personal interviews among your works cited unless the text of the interview is in the appendix of your report.
You can consult The
Columbia Guide to Online Style for the format for documenting
electronic
sources in humanities or scientific styles, ex. MLA, APA. The guide
also contains information about evaluating the credibility of the
sources you locate on the WWW.
Appendix
Begin the appendix on a new page.
The appendix is a convenient way to convey information that is too bulky for the main report or is of interest to a small number of readers.
The following items belong in appendices:
1.texts of
interviews (If the entire interview
is long, condense it to the material that you actually cited within the
text.)
2.maps
3.large technical diagrams or charts
4.computer printouts
5.test data
Letter rather
than number the appendix entries.
Give each appendix a title.
ex. APPENDIX A: Interview with Harlan
Jones
APPENDIX B: FLOWCHART
Graphics
1. Are all
graphics introduced in the report?
2. Are the graphics appropriate?
3. Have you interpreted the graphics?
4. Have you clearly identified the graphics
by using numbers and/or headings? Each graphic should be labeled
Figure (or Table) # and given a title or caption. ex. Figure
1.
Side view of revolver
5. Are all parts of the graphics (axes,
lines, bars, etc.) clearly labeled?
6. Are the graphics accurate, uncluttered,
and simple?
Format
1. Do the headings form a consistent and complete pattern? The wording and placement of equivalent headings should be parallel and consistent. For example, center major headings and place minor headings at the left margin. Major headings (sometimes called first level headings) should be in capital letters and underlined. The more functions you add to the major headings, the more you can remove, one by one, to show the importance level of the minor headings. Skip a line both before and after headings.
2. Are the headings informative?
Be sure to
proofread your final draft carefully.
There will be an evaluation group for the rough draft. Bring a
typed
draft of the report so that group members can help you locate all
mechanical
and typographical errors as well as problems with content, structure,
and
style. Check the date for the evaluation group on the syllabus,
and
set your deadline for having the rough draft completed.
The final draft should have NO errors in spelling, punctuation,
grammar, or typing.