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SIA General Report Writing Guides

The document provides guidelines for students at the National University of Science and Technology on writing Industrial Attachment Reports, emphasizing the importance of structure, clarity, and critical self-evaluation. It outlines specific sections to include, such as an abstract, acknowledgments, and a description of the organization, while also advising on the use of diagrams and appendices for technical details. Overall, it encourages early drafting and a focus on personal contributions and reflections on the attachment experience.

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6 views3 pages

SIA General Report Writing Guides

The document provides guidelines for students at the National University of Science and Technology on writing Industrial Attachment Reports, emphasizing the importance of structure, clarity, and critical self-evaluation. It outlines specific sections to include, such as an abstract, acknowledgments, and a description of the organization, while also advising on the use of diagrams and appendices for technical details. Overall, it encourages early drafting and a focus on personal contributions and reflections on the attachment experience.

Uploaded by

tereraishemahupa938
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Informatics and

Analytics

Report Writing Guidelines

These notes are intended for guidance of students in the Department of


Informatics and Analytics, NUST, in writing their Industrial Attachment Reports.
Some general report writing guidelines are also included which should be
relevant in other contexts, e.g. writing up reports on final year undergraduate
projects, or course assignment essays.

GENERAL REPORT-WRITING GUIDELINES

1. Have a structure. Even a short essay should include an identifiable


introduction, main argument, and conclusions.

2. Be critical of your own work. Reread it, and be prepared to rewrite it.
Sharpen your critical faculties by judging other reports, even
newspaper articles, against these guidelines. Study and learn the
techniques used by skillful writers.

3. Use simple language: simple words and short sentences.

4. Be concise and precise. Say exactly what you mean but don't waste
words and avoids repetition. Aim for quality rather than quantity.

5. Avoid vague phrases such as "quite..." or "fairly...".

6. Avoid colloquial language.

7. Break up your argument into steps, and your essay into paragraphs,
each focused on a particular point.

8. Make the text flow smoothly, for example by using linking phrases that
connect a paragraph to the preceding one, or refer back to the
introduction.

9. Use concrete examples effectively to illustrate key points.

10. Leave space - a blank line - between paragraphs, whether typed or hand-
written.

11. If you can, use a spell-checker.


GUIDELINES FOR INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORTS

A separate handout specifies the formal details of the required layout of the report
(spacing, margins etc).

Remember this report is the major, permanent record of your Industrial Attachment.
Its primary purpose is to describe clearly what you did. At the same time it
should demonstrate what you have learned, what problems you encountered
and hopefully overcame, and what your reflections are on the attachment.

1. The Abstract is a summary of your report in less than one page.


Abstracts are written by and for researchers. The main purpose of the
abstract is to enable a busy researcher to decide whether or not he or
she wishes to read the full report. It should therefore state as clearly
and concisely as possible what the report is about.

2. Acknowledgments is where you thank anyone who has helped you in


your work, whether with supervision, technical assistance, advice,
typing or whatever.

3. Your report should include a description of the organisation you were


working in. This should show that you have understood the
organisation's structure, market (for a commercial company),
sources of funding (if relevant), etc. The section you were
attached in should be described in some detail, including team
organisation, technical standards, level of supervision, etc.

4. Make it clear what you personally did, i.e. describe this in the first
person ("I designed, wrote and tested the xxx..."; "My responsibilities
included ..."). If you encountered problems, describe how you
overcame these. Highlight what you learned, both technically (e.g.
software packages, hardware diagnosis) and more widely (e.g. about
the commercial world of IT).

5. If relevant, compare the theory (as taught to you at NUST) with the
practice you have observed in the real world. Where they don't seem to
correspond, be prepared to discuss why. This could include suggestions
for changes to the taught curriculum.

6. Use diagrams if helpful to clarify the text. Make sure they are clearly
identified and referred to in the text. If you have difficulty incorporating
diagrams then a possible resort is the old-fashioned method of scissors
and paste.
7. Don't clutter the text with technical details. Place these in Appendices
and just refer to them as necessary in the main text. It is not
necessary to reproduce complete technical documents (e.g. system
designs), just adequate examples to illustrate what you did and the
technical standards applied.

8. Start drafting your report as early as possible, even if it is only a


skeleton with chapter headings. Fill in bits when you have free
time. Then the time before
submission date can be used to polish it up, instead of a mad rush to throw it
all together.

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