GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING PS II REPORT

A: GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF A PROJECT REPORT

A.1 INTRODUCTION

A project report is one of the components of evaluation in Practice School. After the
completion of a project, a student submits a report on the project carried out by him. This report is
usually termed as project report. The weightage given to this component of evaluation is 25%.
Writing a report is an art. It is a written presentation of the work, which tells about the
project, method of attack, final results, etc. It is not a document, which is meant only for the author.
It is a valuable record, which is often referred to by persons working in that area. It is written to
inform the reader and acquaint him with the results arrived at and the conclusions reached. It is
therefore essential that the report is written and organized in such a manner that a reader has no
difficulty in understanding it.
All the students who are doing the Practice School have already done a course in report
writing and comprehension. So there is no use telling them in detail what a report is and how to
write it.
Here in this note we give a format and a structure and certain guidelines on writing a report
on a Practice School project or assignment. There are many forms of the report. We have chosen
the one, which is usually called a ‘formal’ report. After considering all aspects involved, we have
arrived at these guidelines, the format and structure. It is therefore expected that all the reports
submitted by the PS students should conform to the suggested format and structure.

A.2 PHYSICALAPPEARANCE

The size of the report should be such that it is easy to use, handle, and preserve the report.
Also, the writing should be such that a reader is able to read it with ease.
For this purpose, please note the following:
(a) Size 9” x 11”, which is called the quarto size and is usually known as the “thesis size” (A4).
(b) Writing of the report: The report should be written or typed in double space on one side of the
sheet and the pages should be numbered serially.
(c) Margin: About 1” on all the four sides of the sheet.
(d) No. of copies: One plus as many as the authors need in case of PS-I. In case of PS-II, it is 3+
as many as authors need.
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(e) Distribution: PS-I: One to each author, if required. One to Practice School Faculty (Practice
School Faculty will submit this copy to the Practice School Division).
PS-II: One to each author, if required. One to the host organization, two to PS
faculty, who will retain one copy and send one copy to the PS Division. For midsem report one
copy to the faculty which will be returned after evaluation.

A.3 INNER MATTER

Apart from the top cover, which may be either hard or soft, the report should contain the
following:
(a) Cover page(outer, inner)
(b) Title page
(c) Response Option sheet
(d) Acknowledgements
(e) Table of Contents
(f) Introduction
(g) Main Text
(h) Conclusions and/or Recommendations
(i) Appendices(if necessary)
(j) References
We now elaborate these items in some detail.

(a) Cover page(outer, inner)

These are the first pages of the report. It should contain the title of the report, name(s) of
the author(s), name of the organization and the name of the institute. The format of these pages
should adhere to the specifications. Title should not exceed 100 characters including blanks,
etc.

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(b) Acknowledgements
There are many persons who may have helped a student during the work carried out by
him in his project. It is one’s duty to acknowledge it and thank them for their help. It is done
on the fifth page of the report. Some prefer to do it at the end, but as far as possible, one should
do it on the fifth page.
Customarily, thanks are due to the following in the order given below:
(i) Head of the organization
(ii) Co-ordinator of the PS programme at the organization.
(iii) Professional expert in charge of the project
(iv) Practice faculty
(v) Other persons(form the organization and/or outside the organization, etc)

(c) Title page

This is the third page of the report. It is one of the important pages. A reader, on
going through it, should be able to know what the project is, who wrote it and under whose
supervision, what has been done (in brief), how it has been done, what the main results are,
etc. A format of this page is given. Student should give two extra copies of this page duly
filled.
This page contains the abstract. Every report must have it. The abstract is written
to allow the reader to determine what kind of information is given in the report and to point
out its key features. It is never intended as a substitute for the original document, but it
must contain sufficient information to allow the reader to ascertain his interest. The abstract
should be concise. Only in unusual case should it contain more than 200 words. The
nomenclatures used should be meaningful, that is, only standard terminology should be
used. The response option sheet should follow the title page.

(d) Table of Contents

The table of contents is in the same form as it is found in any book. The main
divisions as well as the subdivisions should be listed together with the number of the first page on
which it appears. It actually serves as the list if addresses of each content (article).

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For example:

CONTENTS page no.

Introduction 5
1.1 … 5
1.2 … 6

(e) Introduction
In this the problem is introduced. So, the introduction should contain the purpose of the
report, sufficient background material, including literature survey to present the reader a clear
picture of the work. An outline of the work should also form a part of the introduction.
The purpose of writing the introduction is to arouse the curiosity of the reader in
the report. Therefore, a proper and interesting introduction should include a brief history of the
topic coupled with the statement of the immediate problem, the reasons for interest in it and a
discussion of the method of attack or treatment. Generally, an introduction is not more than one
page. Therefore, a proper and interesting introduction should include a brief history of the topic
coupled with the statement of the immediate problem, the reasons for interest in it and a discussion
of the method of attack or treatment. Generally, an Introduction is not more than one page.

(f) Main Text

In this the work, the method of treatment and the results are presented. It may run into one
or more than one chapters/section under different headings and sub-headings.
It contains the experimental work/data collection, the survey done, a description of
activities, the results obtained/illustrations, the discussion and interpretations, etc.
Significant discrepancies in results should be called to the reader’s attention, even when it
is admitted that no reasonable explanation can be offered. If the reader himself discovers these
discrepancies which have not been mentioned, the technical credibility of the report will plummet!

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(g) Conclusions and/or Recommendations (if any)

The conclusions and recommendations are based on the discussions and interpretations of
the results obtained. It would be helpful to the reader if other possibilities pertaining to the stated
conclusions and recommendations are discussed.

(h) Appendices (if necessary)

The contents of an appendix are essentially those that support or elaborate the matter in the
main text. The matter, which is essential but which will unnecessarily divert the attention of the
reader from the main problem, is generally put into the Appendix. We give below some items,
which normally form part of the appendix. These are:
(i) Calculation Sheets.
(ii) Lengthy derivations of mathematical formulae (if that is not the project itself).
(iii) Supplementary details of instructions.
(iv) Flow charts
(v) Computer programs.
(vi) Questionnaires.
(vii) Large maps.
(viii) Samples of the work done (in case of Languages Practice School).
(ix) Nomenclature, etc.
If the project itself is to make a computer program of some problem, then flow
charts and the computer program have to be in the main body. One is expected to decide
according to ones own needs.

(i) References
All the references should be given in the section called References. We cite below two
examples of writing references.
Suppose we have to refer to a paper entitled An Integral Equation Satisfied by the Square
of Webers’ Parabolic Cylindrical Function, whose author is S.C. Mitra and which appeared in the
Journal of the London Mathematical Society whose volume is 11, the year of publication 1936,
and the article is published on pages 252 to 256. We shall write it as follows:

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1. Mitra, S. C., “ An Integral Equation Satisfied by the Square of Webers’ Parabolic

Cylindrical Function” Jour. Lond. Math. Soc., 11 (1936), pp. 252-256.

Suppose we have to refer to a book called An Introduction to Linear Algebra by Dr. V.

Krishnamurty and others which was published by Affiliated East West Press Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
in the year 1976. This we shall write as:

1. Krishnamurty, V. & others, An Introduction to Linear Algebra Ist edition, Affiliated

East West Press, New Delhi (1976).

A.4 WRITING THE REPORT

The first draft is written in an expanded format. Reasonable care should be taken in the
choice of words and sentence structure.
In Practice School it usually happens that different members of the group draft different
sections of the report. This is acceptable but the sections must then be integrated into a final report
and a single writer who can easily spot repetition, redundancy, and omission to make sure that the
message flows smoothly best does this. The integration of the sections and polishing of the style
is essential. Avoid unnecessary words and phrases. Present this draft to the faculty and also to the
expert who will return it to the authors after making the necessary corrections and suggestions.
In the light of these corrections and suggestions, prepare your second draft and now see
that it is in the desired format and structure. Having done so, send it for typing.

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[Specimen cover]

A REPORT

ON

(Title of the Project in Capital Letters)

By

Name (s) of the student ( s) ID No.(s)

-------------------------------- --------------------------

-------------------------------- --------------------------

AT

(Station Name and Centre)

A Practice School II Station of

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI

(Month, Year)

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[Specimen of Title Page]

A REPORT

ON

(Title of the Project in Capital Letters)

By

Name of the student (s) ID No.(s) Discipline(s)

________________ ________________ ________________

________________ ________________ ________________
________________ ________________ ________________

Prepared in the partial fulfillment of the

Practice School II Course

AT

(Station Name and Centre)

A Practice School II Station of

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI

(Month, Year)

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Appendix A to Encl 4

Format of an Abstract Sheet

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

PILANI (RAJASTHAN)

Practice School Division

Station:…………………………………………Centre:…………………………………

Duration: …………………………………… Date of Start: …………………………

Date of Submission:….………………………………..………………………………….

Title of the Project:

ID No./Name(s)/:
Discipline(s) of the
Student(s)

Name(s) and:
Designation(s)
of the expert(s)

Name(s) of the:
PS Faculty

Key Words:

Project Areas:

Abstract:

Signature(s) of Student(s) Signature of PS Faculty

Date
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Appendix B to Enclosure 4

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

PILANI (RAJASTHAN)

PRACTICE SCHOOL DIVISION

Response Option Sheet

Station: ____________________________________Center: _____________________

ID No. & Name(s): ______________________________________________________

Title of the Project: ______________________________________________________

Usefulness of the project to the on-campus courses of study in various disciplines. Project should
be scrutinized keeping in view the following response options. Write Course No. and Course
Name against the option under which the project comes.
Refer Bulletin for Course No. and Course Name.
Code No. Response Option Course No.(s) & Name
1. A new course can be designed out of this
project.
2. The project can help modification of the
course content of some of the existing
Courses
3. The project can be used directly in some of
the existing Compulsory Discipline Courses
(CDC)/ Discipline Courses Other than
Compulsory (DCOC)/ Emerging Area (EA),
etc. Courses
4. The project can be used in preparatory
courses like Analysis and Application
Oriented Courses (AAOC)/ Engineering
Science (ES)/ Technical Art (TA) and Core
Courses.
5. This project cannot come under any of the
above mentioned options as it relates to the
professional work of the host organization.

_________________ ________________
Signature of Student Signature of Faculty
Date: Date:
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