ANSI Example

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An Example Report Written in theANSI/NISO Z39.18-1995 Standard

Formatby

Robert A. Paz


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An Example Report Written in the ANSI/NISOZ39.18-1995 Standard Format

Robert A. PazKlipsch School of Electrical and Computer EngineeringNew Mexico State UniversityLas Cruces, NM

Prepared forEngineering Students

8/8/2005

Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer EngineeringNew Mexico State UniversityBox 30001, MSC 3-OLas Cruces, NM 88003-8001


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ABSTRACT

Writing a project report, like any technical report, requires more than just scribblingdown a few paragraphs and tacking on a graph and a program listing. The reportrequires that attention be given to the format as well as the content. Good structure and

organization is needed. Thorough discussion of difficult or important points is vital.Explanation of results is critical. Only when these things are included will the reportcommunicate effectively.

I know of no person so perfectly disagreeable and even dangerous as an author.William IV


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CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 21.1 Statement of the Subject..................................................................................... 21.2 Purpose............................................................................................................... 21.3

Scope.................................................................................................................. 2

1.4 Topic Development ............................................................................................. 21.5 Intended Audience.............................................................................................. 2

2 METHODS, ASSUMPTIONS, AND PROCEDURES................................................. 32.1 Investigation Procedure ...................................................................................... 3

2.1.1 The Introduction............................................................................................ 32.1.2 The Body of the Paper.................................................................................. 3

2.2 System of Measurement ..................................................................................... 42.2.1 Formatting Components............................................................................... 4

2.3 Investigation Instruments or Apparatus............................................................... 62.3.1 Technical Paper Equivalents of Instruments................................................. 6

2.4

Precision of Instruments...................................................................................... 6

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................. 73.1 Analysis of Plots, Charts and Figures ................................................................. 7

4 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................ 85 REFERENCES.......................................................................................................... 96 APPENDICES ......................................................................................................... 107 LIST OF SYMBOLS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND ACRONYMS................................... 118 WRITTEN REPORT EVALUATION.........................................................................12


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List of Figures

No. Title page

1 The Step Response of a Linear System 8


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List of Tables

No. Title page

1 Report Elements 11


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SUMMARY

Scientific and technical reports convey the results of basic or applied research andsupport decisions based on those results. A report includes all of the essentialinformation necessary for interpreting, applying, and reproducing the results or

techniques of an experiment or investigation. The primary purposes of such a report areto communicate and pass on the results of scientific and technical research and torecommend any appropriate actions.

Thus, the task of writing a report is an important skill to learn. The following descriptionof a technical report contains all the essential components of an actual technical report.It is written in the basic format of a technical report. It is written in the style of atechnical report. It is thus intended to serve as an exemplar of a technical reportexcept that no actual, technical content is contained here.


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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Statement of the Subject

The purpose of reports in engineering courses is to enhance the technical writing skillsof the student. It is not intended to be a punishment for mortal sins, even if it feels like it.Good communication skills are essential in an engineer's career, and too many studentsexit without having really exercised them. The goal of good writing is communication.Since many engineering problems are of an abstract nature, clear communication isessential to convey the ideas.

1.2 Purpose

The report criteria considered here reflects the importance of various parts of the report.They are not intended to be the outline of your report. All reports should have an

introduction, a body and a conclusion. These should be part of your outline, but thebody, for example, should not be called Body, The Body etc. The project itself willusually have various parts that furnish the sections needed in the body of the report.

1.3 Scope

This paper describes a typical report that may be written for a project at theundergraduate or graduate levels. The basics for both reports are the same. Thispaper does not cover all possible styles of technical reports, nor does it cover literaryaspects of reports. Grammar, style or composition are not specifically delved into.What is covered are the overall bare-bones essentials of the report.

1.4 Topic Development

In this report, we discuss the various components of a paper. Section 2 describes all theimportant components for readable papers. It discusses the Introduction of a paper.Since a good introduction is so vital to a report, it is given high emphasis. Section 2 alsopresents formatting properties of a good report, as well as the various parts of the Bodyof a report (here referred to as Methods, Assumptions and Procedures). Since eachreport will be on a different topic, these criteria will be general in nature, applying to allsections of the body. In Section 3 the results of the investigation and a discussion oftheir relevance is made.

In Section 4, the conclusion is discussed. The conclusion provides closure. Since itties all the loose ends together, a good conclusion is important. Sections 5-7 discussthe remaining items that are important to the overall completeness of the paper.

1.5 Intended Audience

All communication has an intended audience. In an engineering firm, the audience maybe your boss, the head design engineer, etc. It may be helpful in writing the report in an


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engineering course, to picture an engineering supervisor having handed the project toyou, and you must report your findings.

2 METHODS, ASSUMPTIONS, AND PROCEDURES

2.1 Investigation Procedure

In a general report, each part of the project may require a different approach. It mayrequire the use of MATLAB, simulations, hand calculation, circuit design andimplementation, C language programming, or analytical derivation. Whatever the case,a careful explanation should be given. What new features are being applied in theprocess of fulfilling the requirements of the project? Discuss any problems encounteredand alternate approaches needed. This section should explain exactly what theexperiment should produce.

In Appendix A, a Table of the Basic Elements of a report in the ANSI format areincluded for Completeness.

Where does one begin to describe how the project came to be? This is the subject ofthis section. In this paper, it begins with a Discussion of the Introduction and the Body.

2.1.1 The Introduction

The introduction should be a one to two page summary of the entire paper. Theintroduction should include all the essential information of the paper. The first paragraph

of the introduction should capture the reader's attention. The introduction shouldintroduce the problem or project to be solved, including motivation for the project'sgoals. The purpose of the introduction is to provide a brief, but fairly completedescription of the entire project. For the purposes of engineering reports, theintroduction should be no longer than two pages, and preferably be one page.

The introduction should explain the structure of the paper, and thus should mentioneach part of the project. In discussing each part of the project, a brief explanationshould be given. For each part, a summary of the approach taken is needed. If somenew features of a C program, for example, are included in this project a descriptionshould be given. Some sections may have new results, some may not. For those

sections that have new results, a summary should be given of the results.

2.1.2 The Body of the Paper

The body of the report contains the meat. The introduction is the top part of the bun, theconclusion is the bottom part, but the body is the burger. As such it should be thelongest. In general, each project will have several parts. These parts must fit together inthe body of the report. The text should flow in a logical form, with no unnecessary


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breaks. Pictures, tables, flowcharts, program code and other inclusions in the report thattake up a lot of space and interrupt the flow of the report should be placed in an

Appendix. If they are small enough, they may be included in the Body. Equations shouldbe word processed if possible.

2.2 System of Measurement

2.2.1 Formatting Components

Formatting is a necessary evil. Since good communication depends not only on what issaid, but how it is said, this cannot be overlooked. These format components are helpfulin finding things in the report. It is good to get into the habit of including all of these intoany written work.

Title PageThe title page may have many purposes. The title page should obviously state the title.

The writer may also wish to use it to grab the attention of the reader. The Title Pageshould not be numbered. The title page may contain the Abstract.

AbstractThe abstract is a one-paragraph summary of the whole report. It is intended to capturethe basic message of the report, and is often written to be readable to someone not inthe field. It may be included on the Title Page, or a page of its own. It should beincluded before the Table of Contents, and not listed there.

Table of Contents

The table of contents should appear before the numbered pages and not be counted

among them. All the sections and any subsections should be listed along with the(correct) page numbers.

Page NumbersPages should be numbered consecutively, with numbers located placed in the upperright, lower right, or lower middle of the page. They may be included in a header or afooter. The Introduction should begin on page 1. Any pages that appear before page 1may be numbered with lower case Roman numerals. (The Title Page would be page i ifit were numbered - which it is not) All additional pages or appendices should also benumbered consecutively following the main text.

Graph, Figure and Flowchart NumbersMost reports will require some illustrations. Illustrations are helpful since "a picture isworth a thousand words." Including illustrations in a document, however, is tricky.Modern word processing has facilitated this somewhat. Pictures are only useful in theproper context. A copy of the Mona Lisa may not be needed, for example in any of thereports. Indeed, unnecessary pictures clutter a report. Too few pictures, on the otherhand, make the communication much more challenging. The figures must be reachable.


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Numbers must be provided to quickly identify the figure. Each should have a uniquenumber. A caption may be included along with the figure number.

OrganizationThe organization of the report is very important. A well-organized paper is easy to read

because the reader doesn't have to flip back and forth to find the desired information. Awell-organized paper can be read straight through. Each part should flow smoothly intothe next part. Parts of the report are broken up into logical sections. Data, charts,graphs and program listings that are cumbersome are placed in appendices. Smallpictures, or figures are placed near the place in the text where they are referenced.Important equations are numbered for easy reference. Descriptive titles and subtitlesare chosen and placed in the proper places.

AppearanceThe report should be word-processed. Equations may be hand-written, but it ispreferable that they be typed. Some word processors (Word Perfect, MS Word, Ami-

Pro, etc.) have built-in equation editors. Departmental computer labs have suchcapability, and there are other computers accessible on campus that also do. Forexample, if we wished to examine the Laplace transform of a signal, we could includethe basic formula for the Laplace transform

U s( ) = u t( )e! stdt0

"

# (2.1)for the signal u t( ) . It is customary to have the equation number to the right of the

equation. Sometimes a longer derivation is used. For example, if the signal u t( ) is a

unit step function, i.e., u t( ) =0 , for t< 0 , and u t( ) =1for t! 0 , then we can compute

the Laplace transform as

U s( ) = 1( )e!stdt0

"

# =

e! st

!s0

"

= 0 ! e

!0

!s=

1

s

(2.2)

where we have assumed the region of convergence Re s( ) >0 . Note in this case the

entire derivation has its own equation number. It is also useful at times to labelindividual lines in a derivation if a certain intermediate step is to be referred to.

Graphics should be crisp and well defined. If possible, bold or larger type should beused to set off titles or subtitles. Margins should be one inch all around except possibly

when headers or footers are used. This includes program listings. Use 12 point fonts ifpossible for the main text, with at least 1 1/2 line spacing (double spacing is fine).Margins may be justified if desired, but this is not necessary.

Clarity of PresentationThe writing should be in good English. Care should be taken to use proper spelling andgrammar. Some computer programs have built-in spelling and grammar checkers (e.g.MS Word, Word Perfect, etc.). All pertinent issues in the project should be addressed


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thoroughly. Being too wordy is not helpful. Concise statements are often more readablethan verbose. Plain vocabulary is often more expressive than flowery language.

2.3 Investigation Instruments or Apparatus

If there are physical instruments, such as oscilloscopes, D/A and A/D converters,function generators, spectrum analyzers etc., it is important that the reader of the reportbe able to understand enough about the equipment to repeat the experiments.

2.3.1 Technical Paper Equivalents of Instruments

Theoretical DerivationsNot all projects or parts of projects have theoretical derivations. If they do, step-by-stepderivations should be given. Assumptions should be clearly stated. The properties usedin the derivation should be given. Figures may be necessary to explain the result. Thederivation should be self-explanatory.

Software DocumentationThe report should contain a "user's manual" for whatever software is written for theproject. This should include a well-commented source code listing, and flow charts.User instructions for executing the program should be given, along with the inputrequirements (e.g., parameters, file names, data types, etc.) Any special techniques thatwere used in the programs should be explained. Long software codes should not beincluded here, but put into the Appendices. However, any special coding instructions,flow charts or other unique aspects of the code should go here.

2.4 Precision of InstrumentsIf actual measuring instruments are to be used in the report, the precision of themshould be included. This will aid in determining the overall effectiveness of theexperiments results. The used of significant digits based on the precision of thedevices should be employed. The measurement tolerance may also be expressed inplots using error bars.


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3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Analysis of Plots, Charts and Figures

Projects will usually generate data that may be "visualized" in graphical form. Careshould be chosen to include plots that clearly represent the data and the results of theproject. Each figure should be referred to in detail, with salient portions thoroughlydiscussed. No figure should be included without an accompanying explanation.

For example, Figure 1 shows a plot of a step response of a given system. From this plotwe see that the settling time is approximately 7.5 seconds with 30% overshoot. Thisresponse is not particularly astounding, but it must be compared with the designspecifications to see if it is truly an acceptable response. Labeled axes are important ina plot, and gridlines can be useful in providing visual clues to the plot.

Figure 1: The Step Response of a Linear System

Explanation of ResultsThis is the "punch-line" of the paper. How did it turn out? Was it as expected? Did it turnout according to the theory? What were the sources of error? Were the resultsrepeatable? Do not understate the significance of the results. After reading this section,

the reader should know exactly what happened and why. If this is not clear, then theentire paper has been in vain.


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4 CONCLUSIONSThe conclusion of the paper is the part of the paper that fills in any blanks left over. Itshould tie together any loose ends. It should summarize all that took place in the body.There should be a brief, general restatement of the goals of the project. There should

be a restatement of the approach taken. There should be a restatement of the resultsand their relevance. The conclusion should also extrapolate to other possibleapplications for the technology employed in this project.

Writing a paper is not as simple as reading it. Planning and foresight must go into it inorder for good communication to take place. The factors of Format, Organization, and

Analytical Discussion each have their contribution. Following the principles of this paperwill enable the writer to have a good start in preparing a technical report. It should benoticed that the principles that are described in this handout are also applied. Each ofthe points has been followed in order to provide the reader help in understanding eachpoint. These principles would also be a good basis for more advanced writings such as

theses, technical reports or conference papers.


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5 REFERENCESSome General References for Technical writing are:[1] Eisenberg, A. (1998),A Beginner's Guide to Technical Communication, Boston, MA:McGraw-Hill.

[2] Findelstein, L. Jr. (2000), Pocket Book of Technical Writing for Engineers andScientists, Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.[3] (1993) The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed., Chicago, IL: University of ChicagoPress.[4] Swanson, E. (1979), Mathematics into Type: Copyediting and Proofreading ofMathematics for Editorial Assistants and Authors. Rev. ed. Providence, RI: AmericanMathematical Society.[5] (1984) U.S. Government Printing Office. Style Manual. Rev. ed. GPO S/N 2100-0068. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1984.

The folks at ANSI have put out a slew of standards relating to technical documents:

[6] ANSI Z39.4-1984, Basic Criteria for Indexes[7] ANSI Z39.14-1979 (R1986), Writing Abstracts[8] ANSI/NISO Z39.23-1990, Standard Technical Report Number (STRN) Format andCreation[9] ANSI Z39.29-1977, Bibliographic References[10] ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992, Permanence of Paper for Printed Publications andDocuments in Libraries and Archives

[11] ANSI/NISO Z39.72-199X, Format for Submission of Data for Multimedia CD-ROMMastering(draft standard)[12] ANSI/IEEE 268-1982 (R1992), Metric Practice[13] NISO/ANSI/ISO 9660, Volume and File Structure of CD-ROM for Information

Exchange[14] NISO/ANSI/ISO 12083, Electronic Manuscript Preparation and Markup

And finally, the source of that unusual quote:[15], Ziegler, P (1971), Quoting William IV in, King William IV, New York: Harper & Row


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6 APPENDICES


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7 LIST OF SYMBOLS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND ACRONYMS

For specialized reports, various math notations, abbreviations of concepts or phrasesand any acronyms are to be included here.


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8 WRITTEN REPORT EVALUATION

Student/Team:

Logistics (40 points)

SuggestedPoint

Values CriteriaPointsEarned

(5) Spelling, punctuation and grammar

(5) Appearance of report: font, margins, page numbering

(5) Writing is concise and clear

(5) Length of Report

(5) Figures, graphs and tables labeled

(5) Figures, graphs and tables explained in the document

(10) All appropriate parts are present: Title page, abstract, table

of contents, list of symbols and acronyms, appendices etc.

Informational Content (60 points)

SuggestedPoint

Values Criteria

Points

Earned(5) Project summary/ abstract

(10) Introduction: Description of problem, requirements,

specifications, assumptions

(20) Methods/Procedures: System design, construction and

testing. Appropriate information contained in the appendices

(10) Results/Discussion: Analyze and interpret the data, tests.

(10) Conclusion/Recommendations

(5) References: Complete

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