Objectives:
To establish criteria for lab report preparation.
To establish criteria for lab report preparation.
Tasks:
- 1) Read lab report guidelines available on Moodle site.
- 2) Type up a list of important requirements for the section Analysis & Conclusions.
- 3) Read the three reports provided on the attached file. Record your comments on each one regarding format, composition, content and tone. Assign each a grade. Type up the comments and include them with your list from Task 2.
Deliverables
Turn in the typed list of section requirements that you prepared individually (10 points).
Turn in your typed comments on the three papers. The extent of your review efforts and thoroughness will be assessed by the grader (10 points).
DEPARTMENT OF
CIVIL AND
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
WRITING RESOURCE GUIDE
(Disclaimer: The Writing Resource Guide (WRG) is under
construction. It is intended as a guide
for students to prepare technical reports in the field of Civil and
Environmental Engineering. Revised
updates will be distributed as they are completed.)
Draft
(Last Revision Date:2/8/2010)
Table of Contents
Page
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Section1: Writing
Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 3
Ethics
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 3
Types
of Technical Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Grammar,
Style and Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Team
Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 8
Section 2: The
Lab Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 10
Report
Style Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 10
Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Table
of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 14
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Analysis and Conclusions . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
References . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Figures
and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 25
Section3: The
Technical Memorandum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 33
Section 4: Report-Writing
Evaluation guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Section 5: Environmental
Specific Reports (future section). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Section 6: Geotechnical
Specific Reports (future section). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Section 7: Structure
Specific Reports (future section). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Section 8: Transportation
Specific Reports (future section). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Section 9: Writing
Resource Guide References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Introduction
“Engineering
is the application
of scientific and mathematical principles to practical ends such as the design,
manufacture, and operation of efficient and economical structures, machines,
processes, and systems.” (The American Heritage
Dictionary 2009)
This definition of the
engineering field focuses on (1) engineers’ ability to use judgment to perform
cognitive tasks and (2) their responsibility to society. Engineers must not
only design, but also communicate to society the justification, functions and purposes
of their designs. Would you offer an employer an engineering design that lacked
clarity, contained countless errors, and wasted time and material? Your answer
is likely: certainly not! – but what about your writing? Unfocused ideas,
excess words, and poor grammar can cloud an engineer’s written message. Leaving
such impressions can hurt business just as poor design work can. A survey of
civil engineering firms nationwide (Civil Engineering July 1995) showed that
for both principals and project managers, communication skills ranked first out of 20 skills considered most critical for
long-term profitability. This skill led problem solving, business/technical
knowledge, leadership, creativity, and personal adaptability.
The Department of Civil Engineering offers writing
intensive courses to help our students learn to write effectively. This manual
was developed and revised to help students learn to write technical laboratory
reports and Memorandums. It consists of
nine sections, however, sections 5 through 8 are reserved for future additions.
Section 1 describes the required form and content of all laboratory reports
submitted in Civil Engineering laboratory courses. Section 1 is a summary of
technical writing basics. Section 2
outlines the formatting specifications that are to be used in the reports. Section
3 outlines the typical technical memorandum and the contents of the
letter. Section 4is a writing resource
guide to obtain further information on technical writing. Section 9 is the report-writing evaluation
guidelines and criteria that will be used in the Civil Engineering Labs.
The report grades will typically be
weighted 60% for technical content and 40% for technical writing. Each
instructor will decide and announce how much the technical reports will count
toward the overall course grade.
Section 1: Writing Basics
Ethics
As a Civil
Engineer, you will be faced with making decisions where there may not be a
“standardized” solution. Quite often,
you will be faced with recommending to a client or government organization a
solution to a particular problem based on the data or testing that was
performed. This requires the engineer
to use sound engineering principles and judgment in your decisions. Ultimately, you will be required to document
your work, findings and decisions.
Ethics in
technical writing can be viewed in several aspects. First, it is the obligation of the author to
be truthful and honest in reporting data and making recommendations based on
the supporting data. Second, the author
should not use technology to misrepresent information. The following is a list of guidelines for
the technical writer to follow (Finkelstein 2008):
·
Technical writers must be accurate in their work
·
Technical writers must be honest is their work
·
Technical writers must always honor their obligations
·
Technical writers must not substitute speculation for fact
·
Technical writers must not hide truth with ambiguity
·
Technical writers must not use the ideas of others without
giving proper credit
·
Technical writers must not violate copyright laws
·
Technical writers must not lie with statistics
·
Technical writers must not inject personal bias into their
reports.
Plagiarism is
another issue that needs to be addressed.
Plagiarism is the use of someone’s work or idea and you represent it as
your own work or idea. If you use
someone else’s work in your report, you must acknowledge the source of the
work. This is usually done by a
reference in the text (author date) and by placing a full citation of the
source in the reference section of your report.
Types of Technical Documents
There are many
types of technical documents. One style
of a technical document may or may not fit the broad discipline of Civil Engineering. The type of technical document format that
you choose will depend on your audience and level of detail that is needed for
your audience.
Below is a
list of technical documents that you may encounter in your career as a Civil
Engineer.
·
Technical Memorandum
·
Laboratory and Project Reports
·
Business Letter
·
Abstract
·
Proposals
·
Progress Reports
·
Feasibility and Recommendation Reports
·
Investigative Reports
·
Instructions and Manuals
·
Research Reports
·
Technical Briefings
In the four
core labs, you will focus your writing on Technical Memorandums and Laboratory
Reports. The outline of these type of
documents can be used in most of the documents mentioned above.
Grammar, Style and Punctuation
As future Civil Engineers,
there will often be a need to publish information concerning projects or
specific design issues. ASCE had
developed specific writing style guidelines.
The following sections under Grammar, Style and Punctuation are taken
directly from the ASCE Writing Guidelines, 2010.
Active versus Passive Voice
Wherever possible, use active verbs that demonstrates
what is being done and who is doing it.
Example: Instead of: The bridge was built by James Eads. Use: James Eads built the bridge. Instead of: Six possible causes of thefailure were identified in
the forensic investigation. Use: The
forensic investigation identified six possible causes of thefailure.
Direct versus Indirect Statements
Direct statements are clear, concise, and do not wear
on your reader. Indirect statements are those that begin with phrases such as “it
should be noted that…” or “it is common that….” Other types of indirect
statements may begin with “to be” statements such as “there are” or “it was.”
Example: Instead of: It should be noted that the flow was interrupted by a surge… Use: A surge interrupted the flow… Instead of: It is common that the
steel rebars are weakened by oxidation… Use:
Oxidation commonly weakens steel rebars… Instead of: There are many reasons that concrete may fail… Use: Concrete may fail for many
reasons… Instead of: There are
three kinds of bolt that can be used in these circumstances… Use: Three kinds of bolt can be used
in these circumstances.
Use of “I” and “We”
While the use of
first-person pronouns (I, we, my, our) should be sparing in technical
material, the use of “I” and “we” is preferable to awkward constructions such
as “the authors” or “this researcher.”If you are the sole author, use “I” to
indicate your actions or opinions.
If you are working
with coauthors, use “we” to refer to your collective actions or opinions. Use
last names to refer to the actions or opinions of individual coauthors. If you
use “we” to refer to yourself and your coauthors, avoid the use of “we” in
other contexts, such as referring to other people or humankind in general.
Inclusive Language
Writing without bias may
feel stiff or unnatural at first, but usually results in greater precision and
consideration for your readers. Therefore, avoid language that arbitrarily
assigns roles or characteristics or excludes people on the basis of gender;
racial, ethnic, or religious background; physical or mental capabilities;
sexual orientation; or other sorts of stereotypes.
·
Avoid using man or men to refer to groups containing both sexes.
Substitute words and phrases such as humankind, humanity, people, employees,
workers, workforce, staff, and staff hours.
·
Avoid the use of masculine pronouns to refer to both sexes. Use
plural pronouns, a locution that carries no bias, imperative verb forms, or
second-person pronouns.
Example: Instead of: When an engineer begins to design an overpass, he should
consider… Try: When engineers
begin to design overpasses, they should consider…Or: When beginning to design an overpass, an engineer should
consider…
Instead of:
A manager should not assume that his
staff will alert him to potential problems. Try: As a manager, do not assume that staff will alert you to
potential problems. Or: As a
manager, you should not assume that your staff will alert you to potential
problems.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
An abbreviation is a
shortening form of a word or phrase, such as “Jan.” for “January”, “U.S” for
“United States” and “ASCE” for “American Society of Civil Engineers.” An
acronym is formed when the abbreviation forms a pronounceable word, such as
“NATO” for “North Atlantic Treaty Organization” or “AASHTO” for "American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials."
·
Abbreviations and acronyms in text must be spelled out the first
time that they appear in each chapter or paper, with the shortened form
appearing immediately in parentheses. Thereafter, the shortened form should be
used throughout the chapter.
·
Several very common abbreviations (U.S. and U.K. as adjectives; DNA
and PVC for nouns) do not need to be spelled out on first usage.
·
Basic units of measure do not need to be spelled out on first usage.
These include: ft, in., lb (customary) and m, mm, kg (SI).
Team Writing
Team writing,
or otherwise referred to as group writing, is often difficult for the Civil
Engineering Student to master. Most
courses in the Civil Engineering major require individual work and writing
assignments. When team writing is
required, most groups or teams will resort to one student will do most of the
writing. However, this is not
necessarily the case in the industry.
Often each engineer will be responsible for writing the technical
information for their portion of a project.
Therefore, team writing is a process where two or more individuals work
together to produce a document for a specific project.
To be
successful at team writing, the Team must follow a fairly rigid outline to
accomplish this task. Team writing can
be divided into three main tasks:
Assignment/requirements, Initial assignments and Document production.(Finkelstein
2008)
The first task,
assignment/requirements, may be outlined for you by the instructor. However, it is always a good idea to define
the problem that has to be solved, determine the information needed for the
project and determine the document type.
The Second
task, initial assignments, is where a team leader is designated and given the
authority to set the schedule and responsibilities of all of the other team
members. Along with this task,
resources for the project or report should be identified and roles of each team
member should be established.
The Third
task, Document Production, is where the actual writing starts and the Team
Leader should have identified deadlines for each team member. The team leader should hold the master
document and it is the responsibility of the team leader to send out the master
document for proofreading and editing.
It is the responsibility of all of the team members to provide input on
the editing of the document, since it is a “Team” project.
In student
team writing exercises, it is critical that the Team Leader have enough
authority to make tough decisions and to keep the other student team members on
track.
SECTION 2: THE LAB
REPORT
The purpose of
each lab report is to document and explain what was done during one or more
laboratory sessions you attended. You should assume your “audience” or reader
is someone who is not necessarily familiar with your discipline, so that
acronyms and highly technical terms will need to be explained. Likewise, the
theory behind procedures should also be presented along with general
information about the equipment and tests used. All reports should include the
following:
·
CE Laboratory Report Cover
·
Executive Summary
·
Table of Contents
·
Introduction
·
Procedure
·
Results
·
Analysis and Conclusions
·
References
Report Style Specifications
Major Heading
Center
major headings and use Times New Roman 14 point bold font. Capitalize all
significant words. Start major headings on a new page. Space one line after each major heading. Also, keep in mind that all headings should
be on the same pages as their text.
Sub Heading
Set
sub headings flush to the left with one blank line before and after each
subheading. Use Times New Roman 12 point bold font.
Sub-Sub Headings
Underline
sub-sub headings and align flush with the left margin. Leave one blank line before each heading. Use Times New Roman 12 point bold font.
Text
Indent
the first line of each paragraph 0.5 inches from the left margin. Use “Times
New Roman” 12 point font with double spacing. Set margins at 1” on the left and
1” on the right side of the page. Please “justify” all text to create a smooth
left and right margin of text.
Equations
Equations are set off as shown below. To insert an equation with
Microsoft Word, use the Insert Object function and Microsoft Equation Editor.
To access the Equation Editor, place the cursor beside the equation and select
Edit--Equation Object. Indent the equation 1” from the left margin, and place
the equation number in parenthesis flush with the right page margin. Space 1/2
line (6 points) before the equation.
V t I t LC ( ) cos( . ) max 400 0 2 (1)
Page Numbers
Insert
page numbers in the lower right hand corner of the page. The report cover, executive summary and
table of contents should be listed with page numbers in lower case Roman
numeral. The Introduction should start
as page 1. Appendices should start with
page number 1 as well.
Title Page
Reports must
be submitted with a cover sheet (Title Page).
Cover sheets can be obtained via the following web link (TBA). The cover sheet should include the following
information:
·
Course Number and Section
·
Date Performed
·
Date Submitted
·
Laboratory Instructor
·
Report Number
·
Report Title
·
Group Members
·
Signed Statement of Academic Integrity
o I
have committed no violations of the UNCC Code of Student Academic Integrity in
preparing and submitting this report. (Include signature and date signed)
Executive Summary
Most formal
reports are of significant length and the intended reader or audience may only
have a limited amount of time to review the report. Therefore, an executive summary or an
abstract may be written that is a brief summary of the report and is written after
the rest of the report has been completed.
There
are some subtle differences in abstracts and executive summaries. Abstracts may be descriptive or
informative. A descriptive abstract
summarizes the structure of the report, but does not have the technical details
of the report. Descriptive abstracts
are used quite frequently in research and journal listings and searches and may
be only 50 to 100 words in length.
Informative abstracts is a summary of the report and highlights the
important technical information in the report.
Informative abstracts can be stand alone documents and are usually about
one page in length.
An
executive summary is essentially an extended abstract. Executive Summaries are stand alone
documents. The executive summary allows
the reader to understand the objective, procedures, results, analysis and
conclusions found in the report. Therefore, the report includes the following:
the objectiveof experiment,
the procedure(s)used, the resultsof the experiment, and an analysis
and key conclusions that
emerged from an analysis of the results.
Think of the executive summary as a mini-version of the entire
report. Executive summaries should be
well written, due to decision makers and business leaders may make decisions
based solely on reading the executive summary.
As a general rule of thumb, an executive summary should:(Finkelstein
2008)
·
Be one page in length
for every 10 pages of the report
·
Present only
information that is already contained in the report
·
Provide enough details
for the reader to make an informed decision without reading the entire report
·
Appear on its own page
following the coversheet
Table of Contents
The table of
contents should list all of the major sections of your report and indicate the
page on which each section begins. If
the report is of significant length (10+ pages), then you may need to add
subheadings to the table of contents.
The table of contents should only include sections that appear after the
Table of Contents. Please refer to the
Table of Contents of this document as an example.
Introduction
The
purpose of the introduction is to give the reader background information that
is helpful in understanding the experiment. The introduction describes the subject of the report. Next, the
introduction includes the scope
of the work performed (what you did and
what you did not do). Usually the scope includes some background information
leading to a statement of how a question or problem was addressed through the
experiment(s) or tasks performed and described in the report.
For
example, if there are several ways to investigate organic content, and this
report describes the use of one of them, the subject would be measurement of
organic content, and the scope of the report would be to measure it using the
particular method you used on a particular set of samples.
Background
information should include some description of how or where such tests (or
procedures or programs) are applied, what the particular advantages or
disadvantages of the test are (compared to other methods used to get similar
information). For example, you might discuss how organic content is an
important parameter in measures of water pollution, soil pollution, and
microbial biomass. You might discuss how the test you studied is most often
used, etc.
The
names of any standard test procedures employed are named in the introduction,
but details of the procedure are left for the procedure section. A common student error is to be very vague in
this part of the report because the reader has just been told in the Executive Summary why the report was prepared. However, the Executive Summary is a summary,
whereas the introduction explains in detail what topic is being addressed, why
it is significant, and what plan was followed to expore this topic.
Procedure
The
procedure gives the reader a step-by-step description of how the tasks were
performed or it directs the reader to where they can find a step-by-step
description that is standard for a given test. If certain standard tests were
employed, then you must name the procedures used and reference them. Referencing
requires two things: (l) the reference
must include title, author, publisher, year published, and the section or page
numbers; and (2) you must state any deletions, additions, or modifications that
were made. If there are options in the
procedure, or if you varied any of the specifications, then you must describe
those features in such detail that another experimenter can duplicate your
work.
|
Where
appropriate, a procedure section might include a list of the equipment used,
the source and or nature of the samples tested, how many replicates of each
sample were tested, a description of the kinds of measurements recorded, and
sample calculations. You always use the past tense to describe the work that
has already been done.
The procedure section might also include some
explanation of the theory behind the procedure. For example, if dissolved
oxygen was measured with a meter, you might provide a brief overview of the
principle behind the meter operation. If alkalinity was measured, you might
present the chemical equations for acid-base neutralization.
If
the goal of your report was to develop a computer program, then you would use
the procedure section to explain what steps you took to design the program,
what features are included, what assumptions were made, the sequence of steps
in the programming, the names of all the variables or symbols, which input data
were used and the like. If the report
describes the use of an
already developed program, then you would describe what variables were input,
the sources of your data, and so on.
It
is often helpful to use subheadings to separate various components of the
procedure section, e.g. materials and supplies, sample source and handling,
testing procedure, theory, etc. Not all of these sections may be needed in
every case.A typical excerpt from a procedure section would be very similar to
the following:
|
Results
This section of the report should describe but not interpret your
results. Begin with a sentence that states the results of the experiment. Your
goal here is to pick out the most striking or important items to highlight in
this written section. You have to use your judgment about whether it would be
appropriate to state each individual data point, summarize the range of the
data, or simply send the reader to a table. For example, rather than indicate
that the samples had pH values of 6, 9.5, 11, 3, and 4.9, you might report that
the pH values ranged from 3 to 11, as indicated in Table l. [Alternately, you
might report that the pH values ranged from 3 to 11 (Table 1).] The procedure
describes what mathematical steps you used to process your data. However, if
you manipulated your data in any way -- dropped doubtful data points, averaged
multiple trials, grouped certain data -- you would note and explain that here
in the results. The results should NOT simply show your "raw data."
―Raw datashould be put in the Appendix section. You should put your data into
numbered tables or graphs (figures) wherever appropriate because it helps the
reader digest your findings. Write something in the text of your results that
introduces and explains what is shown or compared in each table or graph before
it is presented; tables and figures should always follow some
introductory text about them and be referred to by number.
Example: The
pH values ranged from 3 to 11, as indicated in Table 1. [Alternately, you might report that the pH
values ranged from 3 to 11 (Table 1).]
Tables and
graphs should be placed immediately following their written introduction or, if
there is not room, they should appear at the beginning of the next page. Detailed guidelines and examples are provided
in Section 2 of this manual.
Analysis and Conclusions
The analysis is the most important part of your report because it
explains to the reader what the results mean. It is never enough to simply
state the results. The analysis section explains, in detail, the significance
of the results. Avoid summarizing the information you presented in the
Introduction, Procedure, and Results sections. Assume the reader has read those
sections and use the analysis section to deal specifically with the data you
presented in your results section. Before you write the Analysis section and
draw conclusions, you must have a clear understanding of the meaning of the
data you collected and how it applied to the subject of the report.
The analysis allows the writer to explain his/her own insights. The
analysis should describe any knowledge that you gained by doing the procedure
or experiment. If you were checking a stream for organic content, here is where
you tell the reader whether or not the stream was polluted and to what degree.
Were the results reasonable? Were the values within an expected range or much
higher or lower? Were the results conclusive or were there sources of error
that prevent certainty? What are the limitations of this type of test or
procedure? Could you have gotten as good an estimate with an alternate test?
Better? Would other tests be easier, faster but with other tradeoffs? This
section should end with some key findings or conclusions you can state based on
the results obtained. (Finkelstein 2008)
Reminder : All reports must be your
own work. Copying from another student's work, copying from a previous
student's work, copying sentences word-for-word or paraphrasing large passages
from another source without referencing is cheating.
References
Most students
have a difficult time with referencing information in technical documents. To make it as simple as possible, anytime
you use information from a source (journal, book, website, interview, etc.) you
will need to acknowledge your source.
There are many different ways of referencing sources. In this writing resource guide, the
standard practice will be to use the American Society of Civil Engineers
(ASCE).
The following
web link is to the ASCE site for information on referencing: (http://www.pubs.asce.org/authors/index.html)
(Jan. 26, 2007).
At the end of
the report, list the references used in alphabetical order, by author. Examples
of some reference citations are shown below. When information from a reference
is used in the text of your report, follow it with the name/date of the
reference it was taken from. If the information is quoted, include the page
number as well. How to reference is taken from ASCE. (The following information
was modified from ASCE. (n.d.) "ASCE 'Authors' Guide."
<http://www.pubs.asce.org/authors/index.html> (Jan. 26, 2007).
All factual
material that is not original with you must be accompanied by a reference to
its source. ASCE books and journals prefer the author–date system of referencing.
This system has two parts, the text citation and the reference list.
The text citation appears where the material to be cited is presented. The
citation refers readers to a source in the reference list by the author’s name
and the year of publication. Often, the author and date appear in parentheses; a
comma is not placed between them.
·
For two authors give
both authors names i.e. (Marks and Smith 2002)
·
Use the first author’s name
followed by ―et al.‖ in citations for publications with three or more authors.
(Chouinard et al. 2009)
·
When the researcher is part of
the sentence, the last name does not need to be repeated.
·
The reference list appears at
the end of each paper or chapter (when chapters are by different authors) or in
a separate section at the end of the book.
·
References begin with the names
of the author(s), last name first for all authors, followed by the year of
publication in parentheses. See the Quick Guide to Common Types of Referenced
Materials for guidance on punctuation and formatting.
·
References by the same author(s)
published in the same year are designated with lowercase letters: 2004a,
2004b.
·
Every reference must have a
text citation and every text citation must have a corresponding reference.
Examples:
·
One recent report (Carson 2006) finds evidence that…
·
…yielded varying results (Jones 2005; Marks and Smith
2004a,b).
·
Carson (2006) finds evidence that…
·
….passenger cars sold in 1997, based on 1997 LDT sales (Automotive
1998). ….crossed the stop-line, Branston and van Zuylen (1978) obtained a heavy-vehicle
PCE value of 1.74
·
….note that the Canadian Capacity Guide for signalized
intersection (Miller 1968) relies on the results of a least-squares
optimatizion procedure.
·
…… both in a December 9, 1997, memo from the U.S. Department
of Transportation (USDOT) (1997).
·
….. with regular meetings and discussions with mentors
(Ithaca Evaluation Group 2000).
Journal References
Include year, volume, issue, and page numbers. Stahl, D. C., Wolfe,
R. W., and Begel, M. (2004). ―Improved analysis of timber rivet connections.‖J. Struct. Eng., 130(8), 1272-1279.
Conference Proceedings and
Symposiums
Include the sponsor of the conference or publisher of the
proceedings, AND that entity’s location—city and state or city and country.
Garrett, D. L. (2003). ―Coupled analysis of floating production systems.‖Proc., Int. Symp. on Deep Mooring Systems, ASCE, Reston, Va., 152-167.
Books
Include
author, book title, publisher, the publisher’s location, and chapter title and
inclusive page numbers (if applicable). Zadeh, L. A. (1981). ―Possibility
theory and soft data analysis.‖Mathematical frontiers of
the social and policy sciences, L. Cobb and R. M. Thrall, eds., Westview, Boulder,
Colo., 69-129.
Reports
Same as for books, as above. For reports authored by institutions:
spell out institution acronym on first use, and follow with acronym in
parentheses, if applicable. If subsequent references were also authored by that
same institution, use only the acronym. For reports authored by persons,
include the full institution name—no acronym—and its location.
Unpublished Material
Unpublished material is not included in the references but may be
cited in the text as follows: (John Smith, personal communication, May 16,
1983; J. Smith, unpublished internal report, February 2003).
Web Pages
Include author, copyright date (usually at the bottom of a webpage),
title of ―page,‖ Web address, and date material downloaded or viewed by you. [If no
date can be found use n.d.]
Burka,
L. P. (1993). ―A hypertext history of multi-user dimensions.‖MUD history, <http://www.ccs.neu.edu>
(Dec. 5, 1994).
CD-ROM
Include authors, copyright date, titles, medium, and
producer/publisher and its location. Liggett, J. A., and Caughey, D. A. (1998).
―Fluid statics.‖Fluid mechanics (CD-ROM), ASCE Press, Reston,
Va.
Theses and dissertations
Include
authors, copyright date, title, and the name and location of the institution
where the research was conducted. Note that some institutions use specific
terminology; for example, "doctoral dissertation" rather than
"PhD thesis." Sotiropulos, S. N. (1991). "Statis response of
bridge superstructures made of fiber reinforced plastic." MS thesis, West
Virginia Univ., Morgantown, W.Va.
Appendices
Function:
An Appendix
contains information that is non-essential to understanding of the paper, but
may present information that further clarifies a point without burdening the
body of the presentation. An appendix is an optional part of the paper,
and is only rarely found in published papers.
Headings:
Each Appendix
should be identified by a Roman numeral in sequence, e.g., Appendix I, Appendix
II, etc. Each appendix should contain different material.Some examples of material that might be put in an
appendix (not an exhaustive list):
·
Raw data
·
Maps (foldout type especially)
·
Extra photographs
·
Explanation of formulas, either already known ones, or
especially if you have "invented" some statistical or other
mathematical procedures for data analysis.
·
Specialized computer programs for a particular procedure
·
Full generic names of chemicals or compounds that you have
referred to in somewhat abbreviated fashion or by some common name in the text
of your paper.
·
Diagrams of specialized apparatus.
Figures and Tables
Once your statistical analyses are complete, you will need to
summarize the data and results for presentation to your readers. Data summaries
may take one of three forms: Text, Tables and Figures.
Text
Contrary to
what you may have heard, not all analyses or results warrant a Table or Figure.
Some simple results are best stated in a single sentence, with data summarized
parenthetically:
“Seed production was higher for plants in the full-sun
treatment (52.3 +/-6.8 seeds) than for those receiving filtered light (14.7+/-
3.2 seeds, t=11.8, df=55, p<0.001.) “
Tables
Tables present
lists of numbers or text in columns, each column having a title or label. Do
not use a table when you wish to show a trend or a pattern of relationship
between sets of values - these are better presented in a Figure. For instance,
if you needed to present population sizes and sex ratios for your study
organism at a series of sites, and you planned to focus on the differences
among individual sites according to (say) habitat type, you would use a table.
However, if you wanted to show us that sex ratio was related to
population size, you would use a Figure.
Each table
should be labeled with a number and a descriptive title (not “Data” or
“Data from Load Test”) and set off with lines as shown below. Table numbers and
titles should be above the tables and centered. With more complicated
tables, use internal divider lines to aid the reader’s eye. Unit labels should
be included with the value label and not written beside each number. Values
should be reported with the appropriate number of significant digits. If a
table is inserted sideways, the top of the table should be near the binding.
Table 1. Measured and calculated deformations at different load
levels
|
Load Level (lbs.)
|
Measured Deformations
(in.)
|
Calculated Deformations
(in.)
|
|
400
|
0.020
|
0.025
|
|
800
|
0.050
|
0.058
|
|
1200
|
0.080
|
0.092
|
Figures
Figures are
visual presentations of results, including graphs, diagrams, photos, drawings,
schematics, maps, etc. Graphs are the most common type of figure and will be
discussed in detail; examples of other types of figures are included at the end
of this section. Graphs show trends or patterns of relationship.
Center figures between the margins and frame with a line. If a
figure is inserted sideways, the top of the table should be near the binding.
To insert an Excel graph into a Microsoft Word document, use the Copy command
in Excel for the selected graph, and Paste the object in Word. Finally, change
the size of the graph to fit the page.
To insert an
AutoCAD drawing, first open the CAD file and select the object you want to
insert. Then select File--Export, and enter a new file name; the *.wmf
extension will be automatically selected by the software for the Windows
Metafile. In Microsoft Word go to Insert--Picture-- From File and select the
metafile just created. Again, crop and resize the drawing to fit the space
within the report. The same method can be used to insert pictures (scanned
photographs or images from digital camera).
Figure numbers and captions should be below the figures. Left
justify captions below the figure and set in Times New Roman 12 point
font. Capitalize only the first word and
proper nouns in the figure caption. If a figure caption is more than two lines
long, indent the second line ½ inch from left.
Once you have
done your analyses and decided how best to present each one, think about how
you will arrange them. Your analyses should tell a "story" which
leads the reader through the steps needed to logically answer the question(s)
you posed in your Introduction. The order in which you present your results can
be as important in convincing your readers as what you actually say in the
text.
How to refer to Tables and Figures from the text:Every Figure and Table included
in the paper MUST be referred to from the text. Use sentences that draw the
reader's attention to the relationship or trend you wish to highlight,
referring to the appropriate Figure or Table only parenthetically:
“Germination rates were significantly higher after 24
h in running water than in controls (Fig. 4).DNA sequence homologies for the purple gene from the four congeners
(Table 1) show high similarity, differing by at most 4 base pairs.”
Avoid sentences that give no
information other than directing the reader to the Figure or Table:
Abbreviation
of the word "Figure": When referring to a Figure in the text, the word
"Figure" is abbreviated as "Fig.", while "Table"
is not abbreviated. Both words are spelled out completely in descriptive
legends.
How to
number Tables and Figures: Figures and Tables are numbered independently, in the
sequence in which you refer to them in the text, starting with Figure 1
and Table 1. If, in revison, you change the presentation sequence of the
figures and tables, you must renumber them to reflect the new sequence.
Placement
of Figures and Tables within the Paper: In manuscripts (e.g. lab papers,
drafts), Tables and Figures are usually put on separate pages from text
material. In consideration of your readers, place each Table or Figure as near
as possible to the place where you first refer to it (e.g., the next page). The
Figures and Tables may be embedded in the text, but avoid breaking up the text
into small blocks; it is better to have whole pages of text with Figures and
Tables on their own pages.
The
"Acid Test" for Tables and Figures: Any Table or Figure you present must
be sufficiently clear, well-labeled, and described by its legend to be
understood by your intended audience without reading the results section, i.e.,
it must be able to stand alone and be interpretable. Overly complicated Figures
or Tables may be difficult to understand in or out of context, so strive for
simplicity whenever possible. If you are unsure whether your tables or figures
meet these criteria, give them to a fellow biology major (not in your course)
and ask them to interpret your results.
Descriptive Legends or Captions: To pass the "acid test"
above, a clear and complete legend (sometimes called a caption) is essential.
Like the title of the paper itself, each legend should convey as much
information as possible about what the Table or Figure tells the reader:
·
What results are being shown in the graph(s) including the
summary statistics plotted
·
The organism studied in the experiment (if applicable),
·
Context for the results: the treatment applied or the
relationship displayed, etc.
·
Location (ONLY if a field experiment),
·
Specific explanatory information needed to interpret the
results shown (in tables, this is frequently done as footnotes)
·
Culture parameters or conditions if applicable (temperature,
media, etc) as applicable, andsample sizes and statistical test summaries as
they apply.
The
Anatomy of a Table
Table 4 below
shows the typical layout of a table in three sections demarcated by lines. (Anderson
2009)Tables are most easily constructed using your word processor's table
function or a spread sheet such as Excel. Gridlines or boxes, commonly invoked
by word processors, are helpful for setting cell and column alignments, but
should be eliminated from the printed version. Tables formatted with cell
boundaries showing are unlikely to be permitted in a journal.
Example 1: Courtesy of
Shelley Ball.
The Anatomy of a Figure
The sections below show when and how to use the four most common Figure
types (bar graph, frequency histogram, XY scatterplot, XY line graph.) The
final section gives examples of other, less common, types of Figures.
Parts of a
Graph: Below
are example figures (typical line and bar graphs) with the various component
parts labeled in red. Refer back to these examples if you encounter an
unfamiliar term as you read the following sections.(Anderson 2009)
Section 3: The
Technical Memorandum
Most letters
and memorandums in technical writing have the same basic format with only minor
differences. Below is an example
outline of a technical memorandum that may be used for internal correspondence
for a project. Indention of paragraphs
is not necessary since a double space is used between paragraphs. Also notice that single spacing is used in
the paragraphs. Text font type and size
is Times New Roman and 12 point.
Occasionally,
you may need to add an attachment to a memo for support or technical data to be
reviewed. If this is the case, after
the final paragraph of the memo double space and include “Attachment: The Name
of the Attachment”.
You do not
need to put a salutation or close at the end with your signature. This was done at the beginning of the memo
format.
Letterhead (Business Name, address, phone #’s, logo)
Date: (Use date the letter
is sent out)
To: (Recipient’s name, title,
organization, mailing address if appropriate)
From: (Sender’s
name(s) and organization/office; the senders always initials or signs beside
their name(s))
Subject: (Refers to the subject or purpose of the
memo)
First paragraph provides a summary about what will
follow in the memo. This should be 3
to 5 sentences. If you have made a
specific recommendation that is the overall context for the memo, then you need
to indicate what that recommendation is in this paragraph. The subsequent paragraphs will support your
decision.
Second/Third/etc. paragraphs should provide supporting
materials and detailed explanations. I
have asked that you include the follow in your memo. Some of these items may be able to be
consolidated into one paragraph.
a) Description of your design
b) Type of parking (angle, 90 degree,
parallel, compact spaces, etc.)
c) Total Number of Spaces
d) Number of trees required
e) Number of lights
f) Cost Estimate (land, design and
construction costs)
g) 20-year Break Even Analysis at a ROR of 6%
(you will need to determine the monthly fee per parking space)
You can use bullet points, charts, graphs in your
memo. You can also add subheadings and
sub-subheadings if you will have multiple paragraphs concerning one area. (i.e., Design
Description) The subheadings and
sub-subheadings should follow the same format as discussed in section two.
The final paragraph shall provide a final pitch for
your recommendation. It can sometimes
be used for a summary, if you are not making a recommendation. This paragraph is also used to request a
response. (i.e., “We respectfully
request your opinion on this matter by the end of the week.”)
Section 4: Report-Writing Evaluation Guidelines
|
Lab Experiment/Project:
|
|
|
Course:
|
|
|
Semester:
|
|
|
Submitted By and Date:
|
|
|
Reviewed By:
|
|
“X” denotes an area of deficiency.
General/GrammarDoes your
report….
_____ 1)
Follow the formatting guidelines?
_____ 2)
Present all sections with neatly typed text, figures, and tables?
_____ 3)
Show evidence of editing, spellchecker use, and proofreading?
_____ 4)
Show proper use of grammar (complete sentences, proper use of
commas and apostrophes?
_____ 5)
Use the appropriate reference
style as explained in the manual?
_____ 6)
Reference any information you obtained from online or printed
materials?
_____ 7)
Organize each paragraph with a main topic sentence and
support sentences?
_____ 8)
Contain sentences that are clear and written with appropriate
word choices?
_____ 9)
Use abbreviations only after you have told the reader what
the term means. For example,
“Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)…”?
_____ 10)
Define any terms the reader may
not know?
_____ 11)
Have a technical tone and avoid the use of slang terms?
_____ 12)
The Executive Summary appears on its own page following the
cover sheet?
_____ 13)
The Introduction tells the reader what the
subject of your report is?
_____ 14)
The procedure uses past tense to describe what
was done?
_____ 15)
Include statements that lead the reader to each table and
figure?
_____ 16)
Contain a signed integrity
statement?
|
|
Comments
|
Grade
|
|
Technical
Writing (40%
|
|
|
Executive SummaryDoes your Executive Summary section….
_____ 1)
State
the goals/objectives of the
experiment or task?
_____ 2)
Name or
summarize the tests or activities performed?
_____ 3)
Report
and comment on some of the specific data obtained?
_____ 4)
Mention
the significance of the findings and/or conclusions that can be drawn?
_____ 5)
Include
only material that can also be found in the body of the report?
Introduction
Does your
introduction section….
_____ 1)
Tell
the reader what the subject of your
report?
_____ 2)
Tell
the reader about the scope of the report?
i.
Give
some background information related to the subject of your report?
ii.
Describe
the significance of the topic?
iii.
Briefly
tell the reader the name of or type of procedure used?
iv.
Explain
how is information from this kind of procedure is typically used?
Procedure
Does your
Procedure section:
_____ 1)
Tell
the reader the name of the procedure used?
_____ 2)
Tell
the reader the source and number of samples tested?
_____ 3)
Describe
how samples were collected, prepped and stored if appropriate?
_____ 4)
Describe
the procedure or direct the reader to where they can find a description?
_____ 5)
Explain
all modifications, additions or deletions to a standard procedure?
_____ 6)
Include
an equipment and supplies list if appropriate?
_____ 7)
Explain
the theory behind the procedure?
_____ 8)
Offer
sample calculations and explanations of the mathematical steps or statistics
used to process the data?
_____ 9)
Explain
spreadsheet logic, tasks, symbols, and input data if appropriate?
_____ 10)
Provide
headings and subheadings that help guide the reader through the process you
used to complete the experiment or task?
Results Does your results section….
_____ 1)
Include
a statement that summarizes your results?
_____ 2)
Describe
any data manipulations that were performed to analyze the data?
Analysis and Conclusion Does your analysis and conclusion section…
_____ 1)
Show
that you have a clear understanding of the material?
_____ 2)
Provide
a clear statement of the significance of the results (what do they mean?)
_____ 3)
Interpret
the results for the reader, explaining whether values are as expected,
reasonable, or atypical?
_____ 4)
Describe
and discuss likely sources of error?
_____ 5)
Describe
insights gained from conducting the experiment or solving the problem with a
computer program?
_____ 6)
Discuss
the advantages or limitations of the experimental procedure or program?
_____ 7)
Conclude
with a summary of the key conclusions drawn from the results?
_____ 8)
Raise
unanswered questions or offer suggestions for future changes or improvements on
the procedure?
|
|
Comments
|
Grade
|
|
Technical Content (
60 %)
|
|
|
|
Overall Grade
(Technical Writing + Technical Content)
|
|
|
SECTION 5: ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFIC REPORTS (FUTURE
SECTION)
SECTION 6: GEOTECHNICAL SPECIFIC REPORTS (FUTURE
SECTION)
SECTION 7: STRUCTURE SPECIFIC REPORTS (FUTURE
SECTION)
SECTION 8: TRANSPORTATION SPECIFIC REPORTS (FUTURE
SECTION)
SECTION 9: WRITING RESOURCE GUIDE REFERENCES
ASCE Survey, July
1995, Civil Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Virginia.
Anderson, G.,
2009, Writing Resources, http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWtoc.html
Finkelstein, Leo,
2008, Pocket Book of Technical Writing for Engineers and Scientists, McGraw
Hill Higher Education, New York.
Pennsylvania State
University, 2009, Center for Excellence in Writing – Undergraduate Writing
Center, http://www.psu.edu/dept/cew/writingcenter/UWC/index2.htm
Purdue University
Online Writing Laboratory, English Department, 2008, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
The American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2009, 4th edition,
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.
University of
Wisconsin-Madison Writing Resource Center, 2010 – The Writers Handbook, http://writing.wisc.edu/
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