writing echnical eports - bangladesh university of...
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WRITING TECHNICAL REPORTS
K. M. Tanvir Ahmmed
OVERVIEW
Technical writing
Purpose and planning of a report
Presentation of a report
Format of a report
Conclusion
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
TECHNICAL WRITING
Dissertation
Journal Paper
Thesis
Report
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
PURPOSE
To communicate the results of their work
Inform readers of the research results concisely
and specifically
Keep in mind the needs and interests of the
anticipated readers of the report
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
PLANNING
Before writing, consider:
Why you are writing this report?
Who are your readers?
What do you want to achieve?
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
PRESENTATION OF A REPORT
Appearance
Organization
Languages
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APPEARANCE
May be typewritten, otherwise neatly handwritten
No handwritten correction is acceptable in a
typewritten report
Use Equation editor
Report should have a cover page
All pages should be numbered
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DO NOT USE “PURPLE PROSE”
Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1830), Paul Clifford:
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”
“That night in London there was a storm.”
LANGUAGE: SOME POINTS TO PONDER
End of thinking creatively (E.T.C.). Avoid using "etc.”
“Unique”: This result is more unique than the
previous one.
Do not use "hopefully" unless you state exactly who is
doing the hoping. Avoid all "...fully" words if you do
not specify who is doing the action.
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
FORMAT
Title page
Summary
Table of contents
Introduction
Theory
Experimental
Summary of Observations
Treatment of data
Results
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FORMAT (CONTD.)
Discussions
Conclusions (and recommendations, if any)
Literature cited
Nomenclature
Appendices (if any)
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SUMMARY
Always comes first
Microcosm of entire work – contains key information
from each section
Contains essential information only – it is brief!
Covers research highlights
Gives the research problem and/or main objective of
the research
Indicates the methodology used
Presents the main findings and conclusions
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
PREPARATION OF TABLES
Each table should have a proper descriptive title
and be numbered
Columns should be properly titled
Units should be clearly stated
Each table must be referred to and explained in
the text
Orientation
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FIGURES
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Fig. heat transfer coefficient versus x/D
PREPARATION OF FIGURES
Each figure should have a proper descriptive title
and be numbered
Place Figure No. at the bottom of the figure
Units should be clearly stated
The ordinate and abscissa should be clearly
shown
Data points and lines should be clear and bold
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
FIGURES
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Fig. The effective thermal conductivity influence on the
convective heat transfer of nanofluids
RULES FOR ROUNDING OFF NUMBERS
(1) If the digit to be dropped is greater than 5, the last retained digit is increased by one. For example,
12.6 is rounded to 13.
(2) If the digit to be dropped is less than 5, the last remaining digit is left as it is. For example,
12.4 is rounded to 12.
(3) If the digit to be dropped is 5, and if any digit following it is not zero, the last remaining digit is increased by one. For example,
12.51 is rounded to 13.
(4) If the digit to be dropped is 5 and is followed only by zeroes, the last remaining digit is increased by one if it is odd, but left as it is if even. For example,
11.5 is rounded to 12, 12.5 is rounded to 12.
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SIGNIFICANT FIGURE
(1 (1) All nonzero digits are significant:
1.234 g has 4 significant figures,1.2 g has 2 significant figures.
(2) Zeroes between nonzero digits are significant:
1002 kg has 4 significant figures,3.07 mL has 3 significant figures.
(3) Leading zeros to the left of the first nonzero digits are not significant; such zeroes merely indicate the position of the decimal point:
0.001 oC has only 1 significant figure,0.012 g has 2 significant figures.
(4) Trailing zeroes that are also to the right of a decimal point in a number are significant:
0.0230 mL has 3 significant figures,0.20 g has 2 significant figures.
(5) When a number ends in zeroes that are not to the right of a decimal point, the zeroes are not necessarily significant:
190 miles may be 2 or 3 significant figures,50,600 calories may be 3, 4, or 5 significant figures.
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
RULES FOR MATHEMATICAL OPERATIONS
(1) In addition and subtraction, the result is rounded off so
that it has the same number of decimal places as the
measurement having the fewest decimal places (or
digits to the right). For example,
100 (assume 3 SF) + 23.643 (5 SF) = 123.643,
which should be rounded to 124 (3 significant figures).
(2) In multiplication and division, the result should be
rounded off so as to have the same number of significant
figures as in the component with the least number of
significant figures. For example,
3.0 (2 SF ) × 12.60 (4 SF) = 37.8000
which should be rounded to 38 (2 significant figures).
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
LITERATURE CITED
Citing:
Shows your credibility as a researcher
Gives proper credit to authors and researchers
Protects you from accusations of plagiarism
In the text
Listing:
Finnemore E. John and Franzini Joseph B. (2002) Fluid Mechanics
with Engineering Applications, 10th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York.
Asian Institute of Technology Language Center. (2003).
Writing Up Research Guidebook. Asian Institute of
Technology. Retrieved June 9, 2005 from
http://www.clet.ait.ac.th/el21open.htm
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
THE JOB IS NOT FINISHED
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Until the paperwork is done…….
CONCLUSION
Content of a report vary depending on subject
matter. But the basic structure, presented here,
is all the same.
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET
REFERENCES
www.scn.org/cmp/
http://Owl.english.purdue.edu
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BUET