GeneralGuidelines

Thesearesomegeneralthingsyoushouldknowbeforeyoustartwriting.Iwilltrytoanswerthequestionsofthepurposeofreportwriting,andthe
overallapproachaswell.
Purposeofareport:writingtoberead
Akeythingtokeepinmindrightthroughyourreportwritingprocessisthatareportiswrittentoberead,bysomeoneelse.Thisisthecentralgoalof
reportwriting.Areportwhichiswrittenforthesakeofbeingwrittenhasverylittlevalue.
Beforeyoustartwritingyourreport,youneedtohaveinmindtheintendedaudience.Inthenarrowestofpossibilities,yourreportismeantfor
readingbyyourselves,andbyyouradvisor/instructor,andperhapsbyyourevaluationcommittee.Thishasvalue,butonlyshortterm.Thenext
broaderpossibilityisthatyourreportisreadablebyyourpeersoryourjuniorsdowntheline.Thishasgreatervaluesincesomeoneelsecancontinue
onyourworkandimproveit,orlearnfromyourwork.Inthebestcasepossibility,yourreportisofpublishablequality.Thatis,readableanduseful
forthetechnicalcommunityingeneral.
Overallapproach:topdown
Takeatopdownapproachtowritingthereport(alsoappliestoproblemsolvingingeneral).Thiscanproceedinroughlythreestagesofcontinual
refinementofdetails.
1. Firstwritethesectionleveloutline,
2. Thenthesubsectionleveloutline,and
3. Thenaparagraphleveloutline.Theparagraphleveloutlinewouldmoreorlessbelikeapresentationwithbulletedpoints.Itincorporatesthe
flowofideas.
Onceyouhavetheparagraphlevelflowofideas,youcaneasilyconvertthatintoafullreport,bywritingouttheflowofideasinfullsentences.
Whiledoingtheparagraphleveloutline,thinkalsoabout(a)figures,(b)tables,and(c)graphsyouwillincludeaspartofthereportatvariousstages.
Youwillfindthatmanythingscanbebetterexplainedbyusingsimplefiguresatappropriateplaces.
Anotherthingtonaildownwhiledoingtheparagraphleveloutlineistheterminologyyouwillbeusing.Forinstance,namesofvarious
protocols/algorithms/stepsinyoursolution.Ornames/symbolsformathematicalnotation.
Theoverallapproachalsoincludesmultiplestagesofrefinement,andtakingfeedbackfromothers(peers/advisor/instructor).Iwilltalkaboutthesein
moredetailaftertalkingabouttheoverallreportstructure.

Structureofareport
Thefollowingshouldroughlybethestructureofareport.Notethatthesearejustguidelines,notrules.Youhavetouseyourintelligenceinworking
outthedetailsofyourspecificwriting.
Titleandabstract:Thesearethemostreadpartsofareport.Thisishowyouattractattentiontoyourwriting.Thetitleshouldreflectwhatyou
havedoneandshouldbringoutanyeyecatchingfactorofyourwork,forgoodimpact.
Theabstractshouldbeshort,generallywithinabout2paragraphs(250wordsorsototal).Theabstractshouldcontaintheessenceofthereport,
basedonwhichthereaderdecideswhethertogoaheadwithreadingthereportornot.Itcancontainthefollowinginvaryingamountsofdetail
asisappropriate:mainmotivation,maindesignpoint,essentialdifferencefrompreviouswork,methodology,andsomeeyecatchingresultsif
any.
Introduction:Mostreportsstartwithanintroductionsection.Thissectionshouldanswerthefollowingquestions(notnecessarilyinthatorder,
butwhatisgivenbelowisalogicalorder).Aftertitle/abstractintroductionandconclusionsarethetwomainlyreadpartsofareport.
Whatisthesettingoftheproblem?Thisis,inotherwords,thebackground.Insomecases,thismaybeimplicit,andinsomecases,
mergedwiththemotivationbelow.
Whatexactlyistheproblemyouaretryingtosolve?Thisistheproblemstatement.
Whyistheproblemimportanttosolve?Thisisthemotivation.Insomecases,itmaybeimplicitinthebackground,ortheproblem
statementitself.
Istheproblemstillunsolved?Theconstitutesthestatementofpast/relatedworkcrisply.
Whyistheproblemdifficulttosolve?Thisisthestatementofchallenges.Insomecases,itmaybeimplicitintheproblemstatement.In
others,youmayhavetosayexplicitlyastowhytheproblemisworthyofaBTech/MTech/PhD,orasemesterproject,asthecasemaybe.
Howhaveyousolvedtheproblem?Hereyoustatetheessenceofyourapproach.Thisisofcourseexpandeduponlater,butitmustbe
statedexplicitlyhere.
Whataretheconditionsunderwhichyoursolutionisapplicable?Thisisastatementofassumptions.
Whatarethemainresults?Youhavetopresentthemainsummaryoftheresultshere.
Whatisthesummaryofyourcontributions?Thisinsomecasesmaybeimplicitintherestoftheintroduction.Sometimesithelpstostate
contributionsexplicitly.
Howistherestofthereportorganized?Hereyouincludeaparagraphontheflowofideasintherestofthereport.Foranyreportbeyond
45pages,thisisamust.
Theintroductionisnothingbutashorterversionoftherestofthereport,andinmanycasestherestofthereportcanalsohavethesameflow.
Thinkoftherestofthereportasanexpansionofsomeofthepointsintheintroduction.Whichoftheabovebulletsareexpandedintoseparate
sections(perhapsevenmultiplesections)dependsverymuchontheproblem.
Background:Thisisexpandeduponintoaseparatesectionifthereissufficientbackgroundwhichthegeneralreadermustunderstandbefore

knowingthedetailsofyourwork.Itisusualtostatethat"thereaderwhoknowsthisbackgroundcanskipthissection"whilewritingthis
section.
Past/relatedwork:Itiscommontohavethisasaseparatesection,explainingwhywhatyouhavedoneissomethingnovel.Here,youmusttry
tothinkofdimensionsofcomparisonofyourworkwithotherwork.Forinstance,youmaycompareintermsoffunctionality,intermsof
performance,and/orintermsofapproach.Evenwithinthese,youmayhavemultiplelinesofcomparisonfunctionality1,functionality2,
metric1,metric2,etc.
Althoughnotmandatory,itisgoodpresentationstyletogivetheabovecomparisonintermsofatablewheretherowsarethevarious
dimensionsofcomparisonandthecolumnsarevariouspiecesofrelatedwork,withyourownworkbeingthefirst/lastcolumn.Seetherelated
worksectionofmyPhDthesisforanexampleofsuchatable:).
Whileingeneralyoutrytoplayupyourworkwithrespecttoothers,itisalsogoodtoidentifypointswhereyoursolutionisnotsogood
comparedtoothers.Ifyoustatetheseexplicitly,thereaderwillfeelbetteraboutthem,thanifyoudonotstateandthereaderfiguresoutthe
flawsinyourworkanyway:).
Anotherpointiswithrespecttotheplacementofrelatedwork.Onepossibilityistoplaceitinthebeginningofthereport(after
intro/background).Anotheristoplaceitintheendofthereport(justbeforeconclusions).Thisisamatterofjudgment,anddependsonthe
followingaspectofyourwork.Iftherearelotsofpastworkrelatedverycloselytoyourwork,thenitmakessensetostateupfrontastowhatthe
differenceinyourapproachis.Ontheotherhand,ifyourworkissubstantiallydifferentfrompastwork,thenitisbettertoputtherelatedwork
attheend.Whilethisconveysastrongermessage,ithastheriskofthereaderwonderingallthroughthereportastohowyourworkisdifferent
fromsomeotherspecificrelatedwork.
Technicalsections:Themainbodyofthereportmaybedividedintomultiplesectionsasthecasemaybe.Youmayhavedifferentsections
whichdelveintodifferentaspectsoftheproblem.Theorganizationofthereporthereisproblemspecific.Youmayalsohaveaseparatesection
forstatementofdesignmethodology,orexperimentalmethodology,orprovingsomelemmasinatheoreticalpaper.
Thetechnicalsectionisthemostworkspecific,andhenceistheleastdescribedhere.However,itmakessensetomentionthefollowingmain
points:
Outlines/flow:Forsectionswhichmaybehuge,withmanysubsections,itisappropriatetohavearoughoutlineofthesectionatthe
beginningofthatsection.Makesurethattheflowismaintainedasthereadergoesfromonesectiontoanother.Thereshouldbenoabrupt
jumpsinideas.
Useoffigures:Thecliche"apictureisworthathousandwords"isappropriatehere.Spendtimethinkingaboutpictures.Wherever
necessary,explainallaspectsofafigure(ideally,thisshouldbeeasy),anddonotleavethereaderwonderingastowhattheconnection
betweenthefigureandthetextis.
Terminology:Defineeachterm/symbolbeforeyouuseit,orrightafteritsfirstuse.Sticktoacommonterminologythroughoutthereport.

Results:Thisispartofthesetoftechnicalsections,andisusuallyaseparatesectionforexperimental/designpapers.Youhavetoanswerthe
followingquestionsinthissection:
Whataspectsofyoursystemoralgorithmareyoutryingtoevaluate?Thatis,whatarethequestionsyouwillseektoanswerthroughthe
evaluations?
Whyareyoutryingtoevaluatetheaboveaspects?
Whatarethecasesofcomparison?Ifyouhaveproposedanalgorithmoradesign,whatdoyoucompareitwith?
Whataretheperformancemetrics?Why?
Whataretheparametersunderstudy?
Whatistheexperimentalsetup?Explainthechoiceofeveryparametervalue(range)carefully.
Whataretheresults?
Finally,whydotheresultslookthewaytheydo?
Theresultsareusuallypresentedastablesandgraphs.Inexplainingtablesandgraphs,youhavetoexplainthemascompletelyaspossible.
Identifytrendsinthedata.Doesthedataprovewhatyouwanttoestablish?Inwhatcasesaretheresultsexplainable,andinwhatcases
unexplainableifany?
Whiledescribingatable,youhavetodescribeeveryrow/column.Andsimilarlywhiledescribingagraph,youhavetodescribethex/yaxes.If
necessary,youhavetoconsidertheuseoflogaxes.
Ifyouarepresentingalotofresults,itmaybeusefultosummarizethemaintakeawaypointsfromallthedatainaseparatesubsectionatthe
end(orsometimesevenatthebeginning)oftheresultssection.
Futurework:Thissectioninsomecasesiscombinedalongwiththe"conclusions"section.Hereyoustateaspectsoftheproblemyouhavenot
consideredandpossibilitiesforfurtherextensions.
Conclusions:Readersusuallyreadthetitle,abstract,introduction,andconclusions.Inthatsense,thissectionisquiteimportant.Youhaveto
crisplystatethemaintakeawaypointsfromyourwork.Howhasthereaderbecomesmarter,orhowhastheworldbecomeabetterplace
becauseofyourwork?

Refinement
Noreportisperfect,anddefinitelynotonthefirstversion.Wellwrittenreportsarethosewhichhavegonethroughmultipleroundsofrefinement.
Thisrefinementmaybethroughselfreadingandcriticalanalysis,ormoreeffectivelythroughpeerfeedback(orfeedbackfromadvisor/instructor).
Herearesomethingstoremember:

Startearly,don'twaitforthecompletionofyourworkinitsentiretybeforestartingtowrite.
Eachroundoffeedbacktakesaboutaweekatleast.Andhenceitisgoodtohavearoughversionatleastamonthinadvance.Giventhatyou
mayhaverun/rerunexperiments/simulations(fordesignprojects)afterthefirstroundoffeedbackforagoodqualityreport,itisgoodtohave
aroughversionatleast2monthsinadvance.
Feedbackshouldgothroughthefollowingstagesideally:(a)youreadityourselffullyonceandreviseit,(b)haveyourpeersreviewitandgive
constructivefeedback,andthen(c)haveyouradvisor/instructorreadit.

Feedback:evaluatingsomeoneelse'sreport
Evaluationofareportyouyourselfhavewrittencangivebenefits,butitusuallyislimited.Eveninagroupproject,itisnotgoodenoughtohaveone
personwritethereportandtheotherpersonreadit.Thisisbecauseallthegroupmembersusuallyknowwhattheprojectisabout,andhencecannot
critiquethepaperfromoutside.
Itisbesttotakefeedbackfromyourpeer(andofcoursereturnfavours!).Thefeedbackprocedureisquitesimple.Theonereadinghastocritically,
andmethodicallyseeifeachoftheaspectsmentionedaboveinthe"structureofthereport"arecovered.Itmayevenhelptohaveachecklist,
althoughwithexperiencethisbecomesunnecessary.
Checkifthetitle/abstractmakesense,areeffective/eyecatching.
Arealltherelevantquestionsansweredintheintroduction?
Istheoverallstructureoftherestofthesectionsmeaningful?
Isthedifferencefromrelated/pastworkcrispandmeaningful?
Arethetechnicalsectionsunderstandable?Arethefigures/tablesexplainedproperly?Istheterminologyclear?Arethesymbolsuseddefined
appropriately?
Aretheresultsexplainedproperly?Aretheconclusionsdrawnfromthegraphs/tablessound?Oraretheretechnicalholes/flaws?Dotheresults
showhowtheworkpresentedisbetter/worsethattheothercasesofcomparison?
WhenIgivefeedbackonapeer'sreportorastudent'sreport,Iusuallytakeaprintoutandmarkupatvariouspointsinthepaper.Youmayfollowa
similarprocedure,orsomethingsuitedtoyou.Beascriticalaspossible,butwiththeviewthatyourpeerhastoimprovehis/herwork,notwiththe
viewofputtinghim/herdown.Yourcommentshavetobeimpersonal.Likewise,whiletakingfeedbackfromapeer,takethecommentsontheir
technicalmerit.

Recommendedstrategyforproducingahighqualityreport
Basedontheabove,Irecommendthefollowingstrategyforstudentswhowanttoproduceahighqualityreport,whichwouldthenhaveahigh
potentialforbeingturnedintoapublication:

Thinkthroughtheoutlineofthereportevenasyouareworkingonthedetailsoftheproblem.Suchthinkingwillalsolendfocustoyourwork
andyouwillendupoptimizingthereturnsonthetimeinvested.
Twomonthsbeforetheactualdeadline,youhavetohaveatleastaparagraphleveloutlineofthereport,withalldetailsworkedout.
Afteroneroundofcriticalanalysisbyyourselves(orbyyourgroup),haveanotherstudentoranothergroupreviewit,perhapsinexchangefor
youreviewingtheirwork.Havethemcheckyourflowofideas.Whileitmaybegoodtogetsomeoneworkinginthesamearea,formuchofthe
feedback,thismaynotreallybenecessary.
Nowyouareprobablyabout67weeksfromthedeadline.Atthispoint,haveyouradvisor/instructorgivefeedbackontheparagraphlevel
outline.Gettingthisearlyisimportantsince,basedonthis,youmayhavetoreorganizeyourreport,reworkyourtheorems,orrerunyour
experiments/simulations.
Haveaprefinalversionofthereportready2weeksbeforethedeadline.Again,gothroughoneroundofself/peerfeedback,andthen
advisor/instructorfeedback.
Withthese34roundsofrevisionandcriticalanalysis,thequalityofyourreportisboundtoimprove.Andsincemanyofthestudentthesesare
ofgoodquality,qualityofwritingdramaticallyimproveschancesofpublication.
BhaskaranRaman
Lastmodified:MonMay1511:04:13IST2006