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how to do
Tools
There are tools available for writing reports, especially reports containing mathematical formulas and program lists. The key to success is called LaTeX . There is also a newer program called LyX that could be useful. Follow the links to the left to learn more.
General advice
1. Don't split your work into many files.
2.Consider using the tools described below.
3.Don't just send m-files and expect the teacher to run them.
4.Make sure you have good comments in any program code that you show in your report.
5.We prefer to receive your reports on paper. If we have to check e-mail and print reports it takes more time.
6.Spend some time on the writing of the report. It will make the report better, and it will give you a self-check, did I really understand this.
7.Make sure that you explain your thoughts in the text. Try to answer questions like: why did you take that approach to solve the problem, and not another approach?
8.Don't send a lot of code to the teacher unless told otherwise. There is no way to check all your code, so just show important parts, and add comments.
General structure:
1. Title: This should be short, but precise, and convey the point of the report. It could be either a statement or a question. For example, a title like "Voltage-current relationship of a transistor" is good, as is "Does the transistor obey Ohm's Law?". But simply "The transistor" is too vague and is not a good title.
2. Abstract: The abstract summarizes, in a couple of sentences, the content of the report. It provides a brief (5-10 lines outline of what the report is about; it should include a statement of what it is you measured and its value (Warning! -- students often make abstracts too long -- note that an abstract is not an introduction.
3. Introduction: The role of this section is to state why the work reported is useful, where it fits in the bigger picture of the field (or of science in general , and to discuss briefly the theoretical hypotheses which are to be tested (e.g. for the Absolute Zero experiment, state the meaning of absolute zero and how it is to be measured, mention the equation PV = nRT and discuss its verification, and under what circumstances you expect it to be valid .
4. Experimental Method: Describe the apparatus and procedure used in the experiment. Remember that a picture (or simple diagram is often worth a thousand words! Enough details should be provided for the reader to have a clear idea of what was done. But be careful to not swamp the reader with insignificant or useless facts.
5. Results and Discussion: In this section, you present and interpret the data you have obtained. If at all possible, avoid tables of data. Graphs are usually a much clearer way to present data (make sure axes are labeled, and error bars are shown! . Please make sure the graphs and diagrams have concise figure captions explaining what they are about! Do not show the details of error calculations. The derivation of any formulae you use is not required, but should be referenced. Explain how your data corroborates (or does not corroborate the hypotheses being tested, and compare, where possible, with other work. Also, estimate the magnitude of systematic errors which you feel might influence your results (e.g. In the Absolute Zero experiment, how big is the temperature correction? Does this alter your results significantly? .
6. Conclusion: In a few lines, sum up the results of your experiment. Do your data agree (within experimental error with theory? If not, can you explain why? Remember that the conclusion is a summary; do not say anything in the conclusion which you have not already discussed more fully earlier in the text.
7. References: In this section of the report list all of the documents that you refer to in your report. We recommend numbering the references sequentially in the text, in their order of appearance, and listing them in the same order in the references section.
