INTRODUCTION TO REPORTS AND THESIS

1.0 INTRODUCTION A report is a manuscript that illustrates the process, progress, or results of research. A report is good when it is easy to recognize, title is precise and informative. The layout and format are well organized. The binding is trouble-free to handle and open. Reading a well written report is pleasurable, if, the style is accurate, fluent and concise, with headings to indicate the content of each section. There are no absolute rules about the details of report production, because every report must be totally adapted to the needs of its reader. A longer report will be politically more expedient. However, opinions can be broken only on the basis of knowledge, and expertise. Each of the report writing salient points is as follows: 1. The reader is the most important person. 2. Keep the report as short as possible. 3. Organize for the convenience of the report user. 4. All references should be correct in all details. 5. The writing should be accurate, concise and unobtrusive. 6. The right diagram with the right labels and tables should be in the right place. 7. Review and give the whole picture in minuscule. 8. Reports should be checked for technical errors, typing errors and inconsistency. 9. The report should look as high-quality as it is possible. 10. The reader is the most important person. Therefore it should be user oriented with simple and understandable words. Flexibility and adaptation may be useful, but only to make the report more accessible to the reader. All other considerations, even saving time and money, are in the end counter-productive. 1.1 TECHNICAL REPORT A technical report, also referred as scientific report, is a document that describes the process, progress, or results of technical or scientific research or the state of a technical or scientific research problem. It might also include recommendations and conclusions of the research. Unlike other scientific literature, such as scientific journals and the proceedings of some academic conferences, technical reports rarely undergo comprehensive independent peer review before publication. Where there is a review process, it is often limited to within the originating organization. Similarly, there are no formal publishing procedures for such reports, except where established locally.