Arrange contents list, index. Leave the completion of an index if one is required

8.2 Writing and structuring reports 193 Avoid jokes and personal asides. Avoid shortened forms such as ‘isn’t’ instead of ‘is not’ unless you feel that the report will not flow well without these forms. Make sure you know how to use apostrophes – for example, ‘John’s computer’ rather than ‘Johns’ computer’ or ‘Johns computer’. Finally, make sure that you use a spell checker; sloppy spelling puts many reports into a bad light. Chinneck 1999 notes two further tips when writing reports: n Avoid terms like ‘clearly’ or ‘obviously’. You might understand the fact to which you are referring but it may not be clear to the reader. The reader may also feel they are being ‘stupid’ if they don’t see the point clearly or obviously. n Avoid red flags. These are claims that are your personal opinion rather than accepted facts supported by the literature. For example, ‘requirements capture is the longest stage of the software development process’. You should make sure that if you include these kinds of claims you support them with either an appropriate reference or a ‘caveat word’ such as ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’. For example, the previous statement could be reworded as ‘requirements capture is often the longest stage of the software development process’. Moving away from basic grammar, the third style to consider when writing project reports is overall content structure. This was discussed in detail in the previous section but remember, at the top level, your report should be constructed so that it has a: Beginning – the introduction and literature review which set the scene; Middle – the bulk of your report where the main component of your project is dis- cussed; and End – conclusions, summary, recommendations and future work. This kind of structure should also be evident within individual chapters of your report. They too should have an introduction possibly a chapter overview, the main body of the chapter, and an end possibly a chapter summary or conclusions from the chapter.

8.2.7 Word processing

For computing students it almost goes without saying that the best way to produce your report is with a word processor of one kind or another. These packages are far more effective than typewritten or hand-written work alone. Almost all word processors these days come with dictionaries and a thesaurus facility built in. In addition, many are equipped with equation editors that can help you produce neat equations embedded within your text. Alternatively, equation editors are available that can be used to ‘con- struct’ equations before pasting them into your report. The following is an example of an equation that has been pasted into the text this was produced using Microsoft Equation 3.0 which was installed in Microsoft Word. Notice how this equation has been given a reference number 8.1 in this case which you must always include to uniquely identify each equation you incorporate in your report. f N = 8.1 ∑NN − 1 S 2 N − 1 194 Chapter 8 n Presenting your project in written form Be careful when using in-built spell checkers. Many are based on American dictio- naries and will change words to their American equivalent; for example ‘center’ instead of ‘centre’ or vice-versa if you are an American reader. Spell checkers might also change spelling ‘errors’ within verbatim quotes you have used from other authors. Grammar checkers should also be used with caution. What might appear an elegant, well-constructed sentence to you might be changed automatically by a grammar checker. However, if you feel that your grammar is weak, these facilities are invaluable. While most students will use a WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get word processor for example, Microsoft Word for their reports, for those undertaking more technical reports with lots of mathematical equations, a text formatter such as LaTeX pronounced LayTech may be more appropriate. LaTeX is a text formatting tool that takes a text document prepared by you and converts it into a form that can be printed. The text document is encoded in a similar way to HTML in that different markers within the document format the text in different ways when it is printed out. LaTeX has facilities for automatically numbering chapters, sections, equations, etc. It is mainly used within the computer science and mathematics fields and by professional publishers. Oetiker et al. 2008: 3–4 list the following advantages of LaTeX over conventional word processors: n The documents produced are ‘professionally crafted’ and look as if they have been ‘printed’; n Mathematical formulae are easily typeset; n You only need to learn a few commands that specify the structure of the document; n Footnotes, references, contents tables, etc. can be easily generated; n It encourages users to write well-structured reports because this is how LaTeX works; and n The tool is free and portable between systems. For those of you using Linux or UNIX, the chances are that your system already has LaTeX installed speak to your supervisor or technical staff for help. For those with Windows-based systems you can use a system called MiKTeX which can be downloaded from http:miketex.org . Macintosh users can use a similar system called OzTeX which is also freely available from numerous sites on the Internet.

8.2.8 Tips

This section on report writing will conclude with a few report writing tips to help you. Bell 2005: 245–247 identifies a number of points that can help you discipline yourself and improve your writing skills: n Set deadlines. Your report will take a long time to produce. If you do not set yourself deadlines and stick to them, you will not finish on time. Using a report breakdown structure can help you to plan your time commitments more accurately. n Write regularly. Find your best time of day for writing and your favourite location. In other words, make sure that you ‘write when your mind is fresh’ and ‘find a regular writing place’ Saunders et al., 2007: 520–521. People often find they cannot write with distractions or when they are over-tired.