Report writing

WRITING IT REPORT

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/information-technology/report/index.xml

Starting the assignment

When you receive an assignment topic, it is important that you understand what you are required to do. Your assignment will be assessed in relation to how well it answers the question. Your first step should therefore be to analyse the question.

This analysis will assist you to:

· determine how you should approach the task

· clarify your thoughts on the topic

· provide a starting point for a preliminary plan

· identify what information is appropriate and relevant to the topic

· provide an answer which is relevant to the topic

Report writing

A report differs from an essay. The typical report is organised logically, structured in sections and subsections with headings, and uses decimal numbering.

1. Where should you obtain information to complete this assignment?

The assignment description states that you should use articles from a range of different journals and internet sites published over the last two years which provide reliable information relevant to one of the four areas of computer technology listed: primary memory, touch screens, hard disk drives, or scanners. As part of the assignment, you are expected to find articles in computer magazines, for example PC World or Computer World, and academic journals, for example publications by the IEEE Computing Society or the Association for Computing Machinery (AMC). Magazine articles will provide you with opinions about individual products in an area of computer technology. In contrast, articles in academic journals will provide you with a more in-depth analysis or overview of an issue such as an area of computer technology, future developments, etc. You may also use textbooks for background information and definitions. You are recommended not to use several articles from the same journal or by the same author.

2. How should you include information you have read in journal articles and internet sites in the assignment?

The assignment requires you to gather current facts and well-informed opinion, and to summarize these ideas. You will therefore need to analyse the ideas and to consider how they relate to each other. It will be easier to do this if you summarize each author's ideas in your own words.

The assignment description emphasises that it is important to always indicate to your reader where the information you have used comes from, that is, acknowledge the source of the information. You are asked to do this by using the Harvard Referencing System.

3. In what format should you present the assignment?

The assignment description states that you are required to present the assignment in the form of a report as opposed to an essay. You will therefore need to become familiar with a typical report format which will involve the division of your assignment into appropriate sections and subsections. These sections should be organised logically and given clear section headings. They may also numbered using a decimal numbering system. You are directed to complete the assignment on a word-processor and to edit the assignment for correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar (see Writing the Assignment for further information).

Дата добавления: 2015-10-21