ENCLOSURE 4
A: GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF A PROJECT REPORT
A.1 INTRODUCTION
A project report is one of the components of evaluation in Practice School. After the completion of a project, a student submits a report on the project carried out by him. This report is usually termed as project report. The weightage given to this component of evaluation is 25 . !riting a report is an art. "t is a written presentation of the wor#, which tells about the project, method of attac#, final results, etc. "t is not a document, which is meant only for the author. "t is a valuable record, which is often referred to by persons wor#ing in that area. "t is written to inform the reader and ac$uaint him with the results arrived at and the conclusions reached. "t is therefore essential that the report is written and organi%ed in such a manner that a reader has no difficulty in understanding it. All the students who are doing the Practice School have already done a course in report writing and comprehension. So there is no use telling them in detail what a report is and how to write it. &ere in this note we give a format and a structure and certain guidelines on writing a report on a Practice School project or assignment. There are many forms of the report. !e have chosen the one, which is usually called a 'formal( report. After considering all aspects involved, we have arrived at these guidelines, the format and structure. "t is therefore e)pected that all the reports submitted by the PS students should conform to the suggested format and structure. A.2 PHYSICALAPPEARANCE The si%e of the report should be such that it is easy to use, handle, and preserve the report. Also, the writing should be such that a reader is able to read it with ease. *or this purpose, please note the following+ ,a- Size ./ ) 00/, which is called the $uarto si%e and is usually #nown as the 1thesis si%e/,A2-.
,b- Writing of the report+ The report should be written or typed in double space on one side of the sheet and the pages should be numbered serially. ,c- Margin+ About 0/ on all the four sides of the sheet. ,d- No. of copies+ 3ne plus as many as the authors need in case of PS4". "n case of PS4 "", it is 56 as many as authors need. ,e- Distribution+ PS4"+ 3ne to each author, if re$uired. 3ne to Practice School *aculty ,Practice School *aculty will submit this copy to the Practice School 7ivision-. PS4""+ 3ne to each author, if re$uired. 3ne to the host organi%ation, two to PS faculty who will retain one copy and send one copy to the PS 7ivision. *or midsem report one copy to the faculty which will be returned after evaluation.
A.3 INNER MATTER Apart from the top cover, which may be either hard or soft, the report should contain the following+ ,a- 8over page,outer, inner,b- Ac#nowledgements ,c- Abstract sheet ,d- 9esponse 3ption sheet ,e- Table of 8ontents ,f- "ntroduction ,g- :ain Te)t ;iterature Survey<=ac#ground study :ethodology 9esult,if any-
,h- 8onclusions and<or 9ecommendations ,i- Appendices,if necessary,j- 9eferences !e now elaborate these items in some detail. (a) Cover page(outer, inner) These are the first pages of the report. "t should contain the title of the report, name,s- of the author,s-, name of the organi%ation and the name of the institute.
The format of these pages should adhere to the specifications. Title should not e)ceed 0>> characters including blan#s, etc.
,b- Acknow e!ge"ents There are many persons who may have helped a student during the wor# carried out by him in his project. "t is one(s duty to ac#nowledge it and than# them for their help. "t is done on the fifth page of the report. Some prefer to do it at the end, but as far as possible, one should do it on the fifth page. 8ustomarily, than#s are due to the following in the order given below+ ,i,ii,iii,iv,v&ead of the organi%ation 8o4ordinator of the PS programme at the organi%ation. Professional e)pert in charge of the project Practice faculty 3ther persons,form the organi%ation and<or outside the organi%ation, etc,c- #it e page This is the third page of the report. "t is one of the important pages. A reader, on going through it, should be able to #now what the project is, who wrote it and under whose supervision, what has been done ,in brief-, how it has been done, what the main results are, etc. A format of this page is given. Student should give two e)tra copies of this page duly filled. This page contains the abstract. ?very report must have it. The abstract is written to allow the reader to determine what #ind of information is given in the report and to point out its #ey features. "t is never intended as a substitute for the original document, but it must contain sufficient information to allow the reader to ascertain his interest. The abstract should be concise. 3nly in unusual case should it contain more than 2>> words. The nomenclatures used should be meaningful, that is, only standard terminology should be used. The response option sheet should follow the title page. ,d- #ab e of Contents The table of contents is in the same form as it is found in any boo#. The main divisions as well as the subdivisions should be listed together with the number of the first page on which it appears. "t actually serves as the list if addresses of each content ,article-.
*or e)ample+
CONTENTS page no.
"ntroduction 0.0 @ 0.2 @ ,e) $ntro!uction
5 5 A
"n this the problem is introduced. So, the introduction should contain the purpose of the report, sufficient bac#ground material, including literature survey to present the reader a clear picture of the wor#. An outline of the wor# should also form a part of the introduction. The purpose of writing the introduction is to arouse the curiosity of the reader in the report. Therefore, a proper and interesting introduction should include a brief history of the topic coupled with the statement of the immediate problem, the reasons for interest in it and a discussion of the method of attac# or treatment. Benerally, an introduction is not more than one page. Therefore, a proper and interesting introduction should include a brief history of the topic coupled with the statement of the immediate problem, the reasons for interest in it and a discussion of the method of attac# or treatment. Benerally, an $ntro!uction is not more than one page. ,f- Main #e%t "n this the wor#, the method of treatment and the results are presented. "t may run into one or more than one chapters<section under different headings and sub4 headings. "t contains the e)perimental wor#<data collection, the survey done, a description of activities, the results obtained<illustrations, the discussion and interpretations, etc. Significant discrepancies in results should be called to the reader(s attention, even when it is admitted that no reasonable e)planation can be offered. "f the reader himself discovers these discrepancies which have not been mentioned, the technical credibility of the report will plummetC
2 ,g- Conc usions an!&or 'eco""en!ations (if an() The conclusions and recommendations are based on the discussions and interpretations of the results obtained. "t would be helpful to the reader if other possibilities pertaining to the stated conclusions and recommendations are discussed. ,h- Appen!ices (if necessar() The contents of an appendi) are essentially those that support or elaborate the matter in the main te)t. The matter, which is essential but which will unnecessarily divert the attention of the reader from the main problem, is generally put into the Appendi). !e give below some items, which normally form part of the appendi). These are+ ,i,ii,iii,iv,v,vi,vii,viii,i)8alculation Sheets. ;engthy derivations of mathematical formulae ,if that is not the project itself-. Supplementary details of instructions. *low charts 8omputer programs. Duestionnaires. ;arge maps. Samples of the wor# done ,in case of ;anguages Practice School-. Eomenclature, etc. "f the project itself is to ma#e a computer program of some problem, then flow charts and the computer program have to be in the main body. 3ne is e)pected to decide according to ones own needs. (i) 'eferences All the references should be given in the section called 'eferences. !e cite below two e)amples of writing references. Suppose we have to refer to a paper entitled An $ntegra )*uation Satisfie! b( the S*uare of Webers+ ,arabo ic C( in!rica -unction, whose author is S.8. :itra and which appeared in the Fournal of the ;ondon :athematical Society whose volume is 00, the year of publication 0.5A, and the article is published on pages 252 to 25A. !e shall write it as follows+
0. :itra, S. 8., 1 An "ntegral ?$uation Satisfied by the S$uare of !ebers( Parabolic 8ylindrical *unction/ .our. /on!. Math. Soc., 00 ,0.5A-, pp. 252425A. Suppose we have to refer to a boo# called An $ntro!uction to /inear A gebra by 7r. G. Hrishnamurty and others which was published by Affiliated ?ast !est Press Pvt. ;td., Eew 7elhi in the year [Link]. This we shall write as+ 0. Hrishnamurty, G. J others, An $ntro!uction to /inear A gebra "st edition, Affiliated ?ast !est Press, Eew 7elhi ,[Link]-.
A.4 WRITING THE REPORT The first draft is written in an e)panded format. 9easonable care should be ta#en in the choice of words and sentence structure. "n Practice School it usually happens that different members of the group draft different sections of the report. This is acceptable but the sections must then be integrated into a final report and a single writer who can easily spot repetition, redundancy, and omission to ma#e sure that the message flows smoothly best does this. The integration of the sections and polishing of the style is essential. Avoid unnecessary words and phrases. Present this draft to the faculty and also to the e)pert who will return it to the authors after ma#ing the necessary corrections and suggestions. "n the light of these corrections and suggestions, prepare your second draft and now see that it is in the desired format and structure. &aving done so, send it for typing.
KSpecimen coverL
A REPORT ON (T !"e o# !$e P%o&e'! n Cap !a" Le!!e%() *+
Eame ,s- of the student , s44444444444444444444444444444444 4444 44444444444444444444444444444444 4444 "7 Eo.,s4444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444
AT
(S!a! on Na,e an- Cen!%e) A P%a'! 'e S'$oo" II S!a! on o#
*IRLA INSTITUTE O. TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE0 PILANI
(Mon!$0 Yea%)
KSpecimen of Title PageL
A REPORT ON (T !"e o# !$e P%o&e'! n Cap !a" Le!!e%() *+
Eame of the student ,s"7 Eo.,s7iscipline,s-
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Prepared in the partial fulfillment of the Practice School "" 8ourse
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,Station Eame and 8entreA Practice School "" Station of
*IRLA INSTITUTE O. TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE0 PILANI
,:onth, Near-
Appendi) A to ?ncl 2
Format of an Abstract Sheet
*IRLA INSTITUTE O. TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE PILANI (RA1ASTHAN) P%a'! 'e S'$oo" D 2 ( on S!a! on3@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Cen!%e3 @@@@@@@@@@@@@ D4%a! on3 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Da!e o# S!a%!3 @@@@@@@@@@ Da!e o# S45, (( on3@.@@@@@@@@@@@@.. @@@@@@@@@@@@@. T !"e o# !$e P%o&e'!3 ID No.6Na,e(()63 D (' p" ne(() o# !$e S!4-en!(() Na,e(() an-3 De( gna! on(() o# !$e e7pe%!(() Na,e(() o# !$e3 PS .a'4"!+ 8e+ Wo%-(3 P%o&e'! A%ea(3 A5(!%a'!3
Signature,s- of Student,s7ate
Signature of PS *aculty
Appendi) = to ?nclosure 2
*IRLA INSTITUTE O. TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE PILANI (RA1ASTHAN) PRACTICE SCHOOL DI9ISION
Re(pon(e Op! on S$ee!
Station+ MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM8enter+ MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM "7 Eo. J Eame,s-+ MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Title of the Project+ MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Osefulness of the project to the on4campus courses of study in various disciplines. Project should be scrutini%ed #eeping in view the following response options. !rite 8ourse Eo. and 8ourse Eame against the option under which the project comes. 9efer =ulletin for 8ourse Eo. and 8ourse Eame. 8ode Eo. 9esponse 3ption 0. A new course can be designed out of this project. 2. The project can help modification of the course content of some of the e)isting 8ourses 5. The project can be used directly in some of the e)isting 8ompulsory 7iscipline 8ourses ,878-< 7iscipline 8ourses 3ther than 8ompulsory ,7838-< ?merging Area ,?A-, etc. 8ourses 2. The project can be used in preparatory courses li#e Analysis and Application 3riented 8ourses ,AA38-< ?ngineering Science ,?S-< Technical Art ,TA- and 8ore 8ourses. 5. This project cannot come under any of the above mentioned options as it relates to the professional wor# of the host organi%ation. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Signature of Student *aculty 7ate+
8ourse Eo.,s- J Eame
Signature of 7ate+