report writing
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TRANSCRIPT
1Module LCT1023
Module LCT1023 Core SkillsSession 2
1. Review of last week
2. Technical report writing
3. Style guides
4. What is plagiarism, and how to avoid it
5. Referencing
2Module LCT1023
• Introduced the module and its main themes
• Explored the university web site and located:- module database- study guides- past exam papers
• Time management
Review of last week
3Module LCT1023
• Identify your personal goals.
• Relate what you do to your personal goals
• Tree analogy: each goal is like the trunk of a treekey areas are the branches; tasks are the twigs;activities are the leaves
• Prioritise according to urgent/not and important/not
Do first: urgent and important
Do next: non-urgent and important
• Video: Randy Pausch
Time Management Summary
4Module LCT1023
Look up “Technical report “ in Wikipedia
The entry illustrates the report style of writing
Introductory paragraph
Contents
Main body or article
Clear headings (it’s not an essay)
References
Use of numbers for referencing
Technical Report Writing
5Module LCT1023
Look up wikipedia entry for “essay”
See definition: “a prose composition with a focused subject of discussion" or a "long, systematic discourse
Essay
6Module LCT1023
Essay
• Continuous writing in prose
• Text only
• Not intended to lead to decisions
Essay vs Technical Report
Technical Report
•Formal structure to aid understanding
•Tables, graphs, diagrams, images, all welcome
•Recommendations for decisions
7Module LCT1023
• Be written in a style appropriate for its recipients• Be clear and concise• Follow a logical structure, with clear section
headings• Be arranged according to a standard format• Provide one or more recommendations• Have appendices attached as sources of additional
information.
A good report should ...
8Module LCT1023
• The summary at the beginning tells the reader what you are going to say
• Then you tell them in the main body
• Then you tell them what you have already told them in the conclusions and recommendations.
A report is deliberately repetitive
9Module LCT1023
Report Writing- a guide to organisation and style
30pence from Library and Learning resourcesor download PDF or audio file FREE from:
http://www.bolton.ac.uk/Students/StudyResources/ Library/HelpGuides/StudySkills/Home.aspx
Help Guide: Technical Report Writingby David Rudd, University of Bolton
10Module LCT1023
• Title• Summary or Abstract• List of contents• Introduction• Main body of report (inc. Findings)• Conclusions• Recommendations• References• Appendices
Technical Report Writing
11
Every publisher has a house style, as defined in their
Style Guide
Example
Go to www.bolton.ac.uk Click on staff, then University Style Guide.
www.bolton.ac.uk/StaffPortal/StyleGuide/Home.aspx
This is based on the style guide for the Guardian Newspaper.
Style Guide for text
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Look up items of interest, for example:•Kissogram•Stiletto swinging 60s•enrol, enrolling, enrolment knowledgable•it's, its •italics•quotation marks•billion•Nigerian names•Netherlands
Style Guide for text. UoB example
program programme
titles
universities
affect / effect
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Yahoo www.gamestyleguide.com
Google University of Oxford
Apple Nokia
Reuters The Economist
The Guardian / Observer The Independent
British Computer Society (BCS)
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style
The Financial Times / The Times
BBC News (see www.bbctraining.com)
American Psychological Association. Publication Manual
Style Guide for text. More examples
14
Example
University of Bolton. Refer to PDF document
Style Guide for Corporate Identity
Contents• Elements of the brand• On screen (powerpoint and website)• Literature• Signage• Promotional / other• Advertising
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Firefox
BMW
NHS
Toyota
Orange
Vodafone
Rolex
Pepsi
Coke
Brand Guidelines. Corporate
AppleSkypeSony EricssonAsda
16Module LCT1023
Find the Wikipedia entry
a) Read the first paragraph
b) Jump down to 3.2 Sanctions for student plagiarism
What is Plagiarism?
17Module LCT1023
David A. Kolb (born 1939) is an American educational theorist whose interests and publications focus on experiential learning, the individual and social change, career development, and executive and professional education
In the early 1970s, Kolb developed the Experiential Learning Model (ELM),[1] composed of four elements: The LSI is designed to determine an individual's learning preference.[2] The Kolb Learning Style Inventory (version 3.1) is available exclusively through Hay Group
Example from a poor assignment
18Module LCT1023
Unfair Means Regulations and Procedures 2008/09See section 2.2 (ix)
http://www.bolton.ac.uk/Quality/QAEContents/APPR/Documents/pdf/UnfairMeansRegs2008-09(ExExamTaught).pdf
http://www.bolton.ac.uk/Quality/QAEContents/APPR/Documents/pdf/UnfairMeansRegs2008-09(ExExamTaught).pdf
Plagiarism and how to avoid it
19Module LCT1023
Look up “Harvard Referencing” in Wikipedia
(it jumps to “parenthetical referencing”)
When was it introduced?
Is it mainly UK?
What is the link with Harvard University?
Is there a British Standard or International Standard?
If finished, look up “citation” in Wikipedia
Referencing
20Module LCT1023
http://www.bolton.ac.uk/Students/StudyResources/Library/HelpGuides/StudySkills/Home.aspx
Important
Develop the habit of clearly identifying everything you copy, and the source.
Help Guide: Cite me, I’m Yours - Harvard version
by David Rudd, University of Bolton
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Technical report writing
Style guides for text printed media and online
Brand guidelines for corporate identity
Plagiarism
Referencing – Harvard method
Summary