Writing a FORMAL REPORT

WRITING A FORMAL REPORTCHEMICAL ENGINEERING 4903

AMY BINGHAMCLEAR Writing Specialist

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What is your history with writing?

How you will use your writing skills:

•GRE•Resumes/Cover Letters•Emails•Workplace Business

ADVICE FROM VAN HALEN

Does it have to be either/or?

Creative Mind Scientific Mind

Why Being Organized Helps

1.Promote readability

2.Reader will scan, sometimes give up

3.First Impressions

INTRODUCTION

Here at the institute for computer research, me and my colleagues have created the SUPERGP system and have applied it to several toy problems. We had previously fumbled with earlier versions of SUPERGPSYSTEM for a while. This system allows the programmer to easily try lots of parameters, and problems, but incorporates a special constraint system for parameter settings and LISP S-expression parenthesis counting.

The search space of GP is large and many things we are thinking about putting into the supergpsystem will make this space much more colorful.

INTRODUCTION

Here at the institute for computer research, me and my colleagues have created the SUPERGP system and have applied it to several toy problems. We had previously fumbled with earlier versions of SUPERGPSYSTEM for a

while. This system allows the programmer to easily try lots of parameters, and problems, but incorporates a

special constraint system for parameter settings and LISP S-expression parenthesis counting.

The search space of GP is large and many things we are thinking about putting into the supergpsystem will make this space much more colorful.

Purpose of Introduction1. Indicate the background of the

project and the reasons for undertaking it.

2. Introduce the problem and outline the solution.

3. A clear statement of why the problem is interesting. (Why do we care?)

4. Your reader should have a clear understanding about what you’re going to talk about for the rest of the report.

5. Make sure your reader knows what the paper is about, not just how important your general area of research is.

GOOD INTRODUCTIONS

• 1. Pinpoint the problem you’re addressing• 2. Give an overview of your approach and/or

contributions• 3. Set up the readers expectations for the rest

of the paper. (Provide Preview.)• 4. Orient the person reading your report to the

subject using a concise review of relevant literature.

• Be sure the literature is specifically relevant to the content of your paper.

• Cite your sources properly!

BAD INTRODUCTIONS

• Avoid stock and cliché phrases• “Recent advances in XYZ. . .”• “Through the growth of the Internet. . .”• “Throughout the history of time. . .”

•Repeat information found in other parts of your report verbatim.

•Do not make it long or long-winded.

Organization of Your Introduction Begin with a main idea. The rest of the paragraph will

explain and support this idea.

Everything in the paragraph should have a reason for being there.

Should be easy to follow and understand.

Moved on to another idea? START A NEW PARAGRAPH!

According to de Nevers (1970), the orifice meter is used widely as a device for measuring the flow rate of a fluid in a pipeline. Compared with other head meters, such as the venturi meter and the nozzle, the orifice meter is less expensive to fabricate and install; however, the permanent energy loss is relatively high. According to Sakiadis (1984), the orifice plate can have a square edged or sharp-edged hole. For measurement of the pressure drop across the orifice, the pressure taps can be at corner, radius, pipe, flange, or vena contracta locations. The direction of flow through the orifice can be horizontal, vertical, or inclined. The measured pressure drop across the orifice is related to the flow rate by means of an orifice coefficient, which accounts for friction, as defined in the next section of this report. Extensive research on and development of orifice meters has resulted in a standard orifice-meter design and standard correlations for the orifice coefficient, as reported in a booklet by the ASME Research Committee on Fluid Meters (1971). By proper application of the ASME standards, flow rates can be determined reproducibly to within 1 to 2 percent from measurements of orifice-meter pressure drop. Nevertheless, it is common practice to calibrate an orifice meter before it is actually used in research, development, or production. The purpose of this project was to calibrate a sharp-edged orifice meter provided with corner taps for water flow in a Schedule 40 one-inch steel pipe and to compare the measured orifice coefficients with literature values. A calibrated rotameterwas used to measure the actual water flow rate, which was varied over more than a three-fold range.

POINT OF VIEW

third person

n.

1. The grammatical category of forms that designate a person or thing other than the speaker or

the one spoken to.

first′ per′son

n.

1. the grammatical person used by a speaker in statements referring to

himself or herself or to a group including himself or herself.

2. a pronoun or verb form in the first person, as I, we, or am, or a set of such

forms.

Not “I think. . .”

Active vs. Passive

Noun 1. active voice - the voice used to indicate that the

grammatical subject of the verb is performing the action or

causing the happening denoted by the verb

The study revealed that three underground storage tanks had leaked unleaded gasoline into the soil.

Noun 1. passive voice - the voice used to indicate that the

grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source)

of the action denoted by the verb

The fact that three underground storage tanks had been leaking unleaded gasoline into the soil was revealed in the study.

Present vs. Past Tense

pres·ent tense  (prznt)

n.

The verb tense expressing action in the present time, as in She writes; she is writing.

Use Present Tense for Theory and Known Facts

past tense

n.

A verb tense used to express an action or a condition that occurred in or during the past. For example, in While she was sewing, he read aloud, was sewing and read are in the

past tense.

Use Past Tense for Describing Procedures

Theory Section

1. In a few pages, give the reader theoretical and experimental background necessary to understand the science and engineering involved.

2. Provide theoretical background and assumptions for the equations and correlations used to analyze the data.

3. Number all equations

4. Give your references to pertinent papers or books.

5. Avoid extraneous theory, but focus on theory pertaining to YOUR experiment and explain it clearly.

6. Assume the reader is technologically proficient.

REVIEW SAMPLE INTRO/THEORY TOGETHER

Teamworking Assignment: Due Next Class

DUE BEGINNING OF NEXT CLASS

1. What is a team?

2. What should a team do?

3. What type of teamwork experience do you want in this class?

Write your answers in clear, concise sentences.

If you want to use bullet-points, that is fine, but the points have to be complete sentences. For example, unacceptable answers to question 1 would be "a group" or "a group of people”.