CO1010IT Skills in Science

Lecture 3: Good Practice in Report Writing

Outline

• Points to consider in writing technical information• General considerations • Help in writing project report• What makes a good document• Consideration of the audience• How to plan your writing• Graphical communication• Using a computer

Characteristics of a good document

• Meets the audience’s needs• Well organised• Appropriate jargon & humour• Readable

Aim

• What is the purpose of your document?• What you trying to achieve?

Audience

• Document must meet the audience’s needs• So:

– Who are the audience– What do they know about the subject– What do they need to know– What will they do with the information

Who is the audience?

• Peers• Students• Teachers• Management• Experts• Computer-phobics• Home computer users• A combination

What do they know?

• What do they know already• How much background is necessary

What do they need to know?

• What information does your audience need• How should it be slanted -

– informative– instructional– technical

What will they do with the information?

• Perform tasks• Increase their knowledge

Humour

• Can make a difficult subject easier to understand• Can get in the way of the subject• Your sense of humour may not be the same as the

reader’s

Jargon

• What does the audience understand?• Explain terms when first introduced• Expand abbreviations at least once• Examples:

Email stands for electronic mail, and describes personalised messages sent between computer users.

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a popular subject nowadays. There are many HCI courses taught at UK universities.

Organisation

• Most difficult part is getting started• Due to difficulties getting organised• So,

– Plan the layout of your document– Plan the layout of each section– Start writing

Why plan?

• Easier to start writing• Provides a framework for the document• Helps you get organised• Can be in sentences, words, diagrams

What is NT?

Desktop

Start menu

IconsRight click menusTaskbar

Document layout

• Beginning– Title– Contents– Introduction

• Middle– Chapters cover sub-topics– Each chapter has a beginning, middle & end

• End– Conclusion &/or summary– References– Appendices

Writing

• Write a draft first• Only writer needs to be able to understand it• Edit it later

(leave for a day or two, if possible)• Correcting:

– Logic & Organisation– Style & Clarity– Spelling

Spelling

• Spelling is incredibly important!• USE your spellchecker• Dobn’t just ignor wiggley red liunes, they are there for a

reason.

Readability

• Sentence length• Word length• Sentence structure• Tests may oversimplify the issue• If reader has to re-read to understand,

then the less readable (and usable) your document is

Grammar

• Grammar checker: use with care• “Technical” setting

Gunning ‘Fog Index’

• Just a guideline• Take a sample piece of writing (100 words)• Calculate average words per sentence• Count words with 3 or more syllables

– Except capitalised words– Except combinations of easy words, e.g. bookkeeper – Except words ending -ed, -es

• Add the two numbers & multiply by 0.4

Readability Score

5 fairly easy

7,8 standard

9-11 fairly difficult

12-15 difficult

17 or over very difficult

Graphical Communication

• Tables & figures• Everything that is not a table is a figure• Can carry more information per space than the

same amount of text• Only if clearly explained in the text• Types of graphics:

– Data displayed in table form– Graphs: line, bar, pie– Drawings– Diagrams– Photographs

Data in table form

Table 1: Pollution data from some UK rivers

Lead Cadmium Arsenic

(ppm) (ppm) (ppm)Tay 112.35 25.12 45.63

Tweed 95.21 25.00 84.52Don 78.63 36.74 96.36Earn 65.77 58.59 84.21Clyde 156.25 86.54 57.54

Data in graphical form1: Bar charts

River Pollution

0.0020.0040.0060.0080.00

100.00120.00140.00160.00180.00

Tay

TweedDon

Earn

Clyde

Broth

ock

River

par

ts p

er m

illi

on

Lead

Cadmium

Arsenic

Data in graphical form2: Line graphs

Unemployment in Dundee

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

1979 1982 1987 1992 1997

Air Pollution

0.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

m g/l

itre

0.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

120.00

pp

m µg/litre

ppm

Data in graphical form3: Combinations

Data in graphical form4: pie charts

Where our students come from

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Other UK

Other EU

Overseas

Drawings & diagrams

Photographs

Placement of graphics

• As close as possible to the text which refers to it• Conventionally at the top or bottom of the page (unless

very small)• In formal writing, don’t wrap text round graphic• If only included for accuracy, may be put in an appendix

instead

Figure Captions

• ALWAYS include a figure caption• Simple explanation of what the figure (or table shows)• Give the source of data (e.g., data from Smith et al., 1986)

or the figure (e.g., after Jones et al, 1997)

Writing using a computer

• Easy to produce good quality-looking documentation on a computer

• But, easier to read and edit on paper• Don’t forget a back-up of each version, so you can change

your mind• Use Word Outline to plan sections, then fill in details

References

• Use Harvard system: Library worksheets• Always cite sources

– Be careful of web sources

• Plagiarism = cheating – DON’T cut-and-paste– Give references

Writing using a computer

• Word processed documents NEED TO BE CHECKED• Remember WP guidelines -

don’t dazzle readers with the output of your technology• May be more appropriate to produce on-line rather than

paper document!

Proof reading

• Re-read your document, preferably aloud• Note changes to spelling, use of words, grammar• Use spell checker (carefully)• Use grammar checker (carefully)• Often good to ask someone else to read it (if time permits)

Summary

• Guidelines for writing• Remember to consider the audience• A well planned document helps you to

write it and the reader to read it• Checking cannot be overstated• Don’t forget any additional rules given, such as

assessment guidelines, or exam question