1. Hanson CTC Writing Consultant
Mark Isham
Hanson CTC Writing Consultant

2. Lab Reports and Independent Project
Emphasize clarity.
Write to specific audiences.
Organize coherently.
Write unified and coherent paragraphs and use strong subjects and verbs in sentences.
Cite your sources and include a reference page.
See ( for evaluation sheets for each assignment.

3. Who Do We Write to and Why?
The lab reports measure your individual understanding of the labs and your individual ability to communicate your understanding of the labs to others.
Write lab reports that colleagues and supervisors can easily understand. Clear writing is an essential engineering skill. You must present the material in a coherent manner so that any engineering colleague can easily duplicate the experiment. To that end, organize your lab report by sections in the following manner: Abstract, Introduction and Background, Experimental Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Appendices.
See ( for specific instructions.

4. Remember Emphasize clarity Write to specific audiences
Organize coherently
Write unified and coherent paragraphs and use strong subjects and verbs in sentences.
Cite your sources and include a reference page.
Tell what you did, how you did it, and why you did it. Your audience wants both clarity and analysis.

5. Who Do We Write to and Why?
The project proposals address clients’ needs and offer solutions to their problems. You must present the material in a coherent manner so that clients can see answers to their questions about the soundness of your project and your ability to complete it. The proposal also offers a roadmap to the project. To that end, organize your proposals by sections in the following manner: Cover Sheet, Project Summary, Research Plan, Specific Aims, Background and Significance, Research Design and Methods, References.
See ( for specific instructions.

6. Who Do We Write to and Why?
Write final reports that colleagues and supervisors can easily understand. You must present the material in a coherent manner so that any engineering colleague can easily duplicate the experiment To that end, organize your lab report by sections in the following manner: Abstract, Introduction and Background, Experimental Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Appendices.
See ( for specific instructions.

7. You Must Convince Your Audience That You…
Define a problem.
Offer a practical solution.
Explain your procedure so that some one can duplicate it.
Answer audience questions.
Tell what you did, how you did it, and why you did it.
Your audience wants both clarity and analysis.

8. Avoid Plagiarism
Although you may do the work of the labs with others, you must write a report on your own.
Copying the written work of others or any collaboration with others on writing the report may mean that you receive no credit for the lab. In addition, you may be charged with plagiarism and your teacher or the University may take further action.

9. Cite Sources. Use a Reference Page.
When you do your labs or do your project, copying the written work of others or using any information without citing the source and listing that source on a reference page constitutes plagiarism.
This may mean that you receive no credit for the assignment. In addition, you may be charged with plagiarism and your teacher or the University may take further action. Plagiarism may leave a permanent mark on your record and harm your credibility as a professional.

10. Cite Sources. Use a Reference Page.
Last semester some students working together on the final project used over a page of information, quoted word for word, without citing their source. Was that plagiarism?

11. How does the University of Iowa define plagiarism?
The University of Iowa has strict guidelines on plagiarism. See the Student Academic Handbook, which is posted on the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences web site (
Presentation of the ideas of others without credit to the source
Use of direct quotations without quotation marks and without credit to the source
Paraphrasing without credit to the source
Participation in a group project which presents plagiarized material

12. How does the University of Iowa define plagiarism?
The University of Iowa has strict guidelines on plagiarism. See the Student Academic Handbook, which is posted on the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences web site (
Failure to provide adequate citations for material obtained through electronic research
Downloading and submitting work from electronic databases without citation
Submitting material created/written by someone else as one's own
Accepting credit for a group project without doing one's share
Submitting the same paper in more than one course without the knowledge and approval of the instructors involved

13. How to avoid plagiarism?
A source for sources. The Hanson CTC uses the American Psychological Association (APA) documentation style for all the written assignments we evaluate. No style is "better" than the other; be it MLA or APA, the key is to stay consistent and give credit where credit is due.

14. Using APA: sample of in-text and Reference List citations
Such a bridge is said to be in equilibrium, meaning that the net result of the forces and moments acting on the structure are equal to zero (Hibbeler, 2004).
Reference list:
Hibbeler, R.C. (2004). Engineering Mechanics: Statics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

15. How to avoid plagiarism?
"Quotations." Any time you use more than three words in a row from another source, you must put those words in quotes. Follow that quotation with a citation.

16. How to avoid plagiarism?
Paraphrasing means that you have taken someone else's ideas, concepts or language and put them in your own words. Since writers often build on other people's ideas or borrow from other people's work to support their own scholarship, this practice is perfectly acceptable.
HOWEVER, you must give credit where credit is due. If you use someone else's material and rewrite it in your own words, you must provide a citation after that paraphrased information every time you paraphrase.

17. How to avoid plagiarism?
Material on the Internet often seems to be whirling anonymously through cyberspace. Nevertheless, it belongs to someone--an individual, a publication, or an organization. Therefore, you must acknowledge any material you take from the Internet.
Check out the APA guideline link on CTC's web site for information on correctly citing Internet material.

18. How to avoid plagiarism?
Any time you use someone else's design, graphics, illustration, or photograph, you must cite that material, too. Cite the source next to the caption that describes the graphic.

19. How to avoid plagiarism?
If you have any questions about documenting or citing material, ask questions, you can check with the CTC. They have individuals who can help you with documentation and citation questions.
A final thought. Better to cite too often than not often enough. The road to academic hell is paved with plagiarized papers.

20. Visit the Hanson Center for Technical Communication
Questions?
Visit the Hanson Center for Technical Communication
You can find the assignments, evaluation sheets, discussions of plagiarism, and other useful stuff on the Center’s web site at
Hours: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Sunday 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: SC (in the Student Commons area)
Scheduling: Appointment sign-up sheet posted on window outside door of 2224 SC

21. Thank You