How to write a project report

It is essential that you write a good project report to get a good grade. Even if you have done significant work, but have not been able to write well, then it will reflect poorly. It is important to demonstrate your ability to write clearly about the subject. A Generic Structure of Project Report While the structure of the report may be different for different UG / PG programs / courses, typically the report should contain the following: Title: Title should convey the area and scope of the project and it should not be too short or too long. Abstract: Abstract is to provide a summary of the report, which can contain brief statements of the problem addressed, methodology used, findings and conclusions obtained from the study. Many researchers will read only the abstract of the report, and not the other chapters and hence it should be a self- contained one. Acknowledgements: The supervisor and all others who have helped during the course of the project work are to be acknowledged, including the grant received if any to support the research. Table of Contents: Should list all materials following it, as well as any materials which precede it. List of Tables: Should have exactly the same captions as they appear above the Tables in the text. List of Figures: Should contain exactly the same captions, as they appear below the figures in the text. List of Symbols and Abbreviations: They should be the standard ones. Chapter I - Introduction: The chapter on introduction should highlight the topic and its importance. The underlying concepts of the work are to be outlined, starting off with some general principles and going to the specifics. Introduction should lead the readers gently from the known to the unknown. Chapter II - Review of Literature: This chapter should provide information on the work done on the topic by previous researchers. Care should be taken to see that the work done on the topic by the potential examiners or employers are not omitted. Most of the examiners normally scan the references looking for important works in the field. Chapter III - Methods and Materials / Methodology: The results of the report are judged on the quality of the methodology employed. Typically, this chapter will contain description of the experiments, data collection procedure, statistical methods adopted, etc. This chapter is rather like an instruction manual, showing as to how one has proceeded. Chapter IV - Results and Discussion: This section will contain the data collected following the procedures in the methodology section, describing the conditions, which is obtained for each set of results, including appropriate statistical analyses. The results are tabulated or presented in the form of graphs/ histograms / Pie Charts etc. The results are discussed and the observations / measurements made are related to the proposed objectives furnished in the chapter on Introduction.

Chapter V - Summary and Conclusions: The main outcome of the report is brought into sharp focus in this chapter. The findings should be clear, concise and easy for the reader to extract. The practical implications of the work and the recommendations for future research are also included in this chapter. Appendices: Appendices are the section used for giving supplementary information, thereby not to cluster the main chapters. Typically, experimental observations, sample calculations, computer programs, questionnaire, maps, specification of instruments, etc., are furnished in appendices. References and Bibliography: References are works directly referred to or quoted from in the text of the report, while Bibliography is the list of works consulted or used for the project work. Normally project report will contain the References and not the Bibliography. References need to be cited in two different places, viz ., (i) in the text of the project report and (ii) at the end of the report in the chapter on References. Citation in the Text: All statements, opinions, conclusions etc. taken from other authors work should be cited, whether the work is directly quoted, or summarised. Font and layout: It is best to choose one font for the entire report, preferably Times Roman, Palatino, Bookman old style. Font size 12 is ideal for the main body of the text, larger for headings and chapter titles. Appendices: Should have page numbers in sequence with main body of the report. Spacing: one-andahalf References / Bibliography: single-spaced. - All pages must be numbered consecutively as follows: Lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.) are used for preliminary pages. Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc) are used for the body of the Project Report. All Tables, Figures and Equations should be numbered serially. Size of the Project Report should be about 60 to 80 pages. V.V. Sreenarayanan, Principal, Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi