1. How to write up a project
MSc project co-ordinator (old):
Dr Jim Briggs
Phone: (023)
Office: BT1.08
MSc project co-ordinator (new):
Dr Matthew Poole
Phone: (023)
Office: BK 1.??
BSc project co-ordinator:
Mrs Penny Hart
Phone: (023)
Office: BT1.19
How to write up a project

2. How to write up a project
Project deliverables
Artefact to solve a problem
Requirements document
Design document
Test results
Survey results
Report (the only one that is directly assessed)
How to write up a project

3. The assessment schedule
Deadline is:
Wednesday 4th May 2005 (MSc May)
Friday 6th May 2005 (BSc)
Friday 16th September 2005 (MSc Sept)
Friday 2nd December 2005 (BSc February entry)
Before then - write it, print it, bind it
How to write up a project

4. The assessment process
Assessed by two markers
Third marker/external examiner may arbitrate
Good ones (60%+) go in Frewen library (see past ones there!)
List at
How to write up a project

5. Assessment categories
Statement of project's context, aims and objectives
Critical review of relevant literature
Methodological approach
Specification and discussion of the requirements (E)
Primary research and results (if any) (S)
Analysis and discussion of the IT design (E)
Content (S)
Discussion of implementation (E)
Originality (S)
Discussion of verification and validation (E)
Evaluation against requirements (E)
Evidence of project planning and management
Attributes of the solution (E)
Summary, conclusions and recommendations
Structure and presentation
Overall understanding and reflection
(E) = Engineering only (S) = Study only
How to write up a project

6. How to write up a project
Assessment criteria 1
Good things:
work of publishable standard;
clearly defined aims and objectives;
clear statement of requirements of artefact;
well-reasoned explanations for design;
perceptive analysis;
interesting conclusions;
answers the question definitively
development of high quality artefacts;
work that was challenging;
good quality presentation
PJE*, PJ45/60P: Note also requirements set by BCS accreditation
How to write up a project

7. How to write up a project
Assessment criteria 2
Bad things:
errors of fact;
vague aims and objectives;
vague requirements for artefacts;
unexplained or ill-judged design decisions;
little or no analysis, solely descriptive;
trite conclusions;
misinterpretations of literature;
has no question or doesn't answer it
development of poor quality artefacts;
work that was facile;
little evidence of work done by the student;
spelling mistakes, poor grammar, lousy structure, crazy layout
How to write up a project

8. How to write up a project
Common problems
Inadequate critical literature review (quantity and quality)
Descriptive/superficial vs. deep understanding/critique
No discussion of design decisions and alternatives
Failed to justify why the approach taken was the best one
Did not take an “engineering approach”
Failed to use methods
“Closed mindset”
Only looked at solutions close to home
Students who think this summary is all they need to read on how to write their report
NOT AN INSURMOUNTABLE PROBLEM…
non-“complete” artefact
How to write up a project

9. How to write up a project
Planning your report
Plan it well in advance of submission
Outline
Chapter headings
Section headings
Identify what you have done and what you still have to do
Write one bit at a time (like developing a program procedure by procedure)
How to write up a project

10. An example of an outline
1. Introduction
1.1 background to the project
1.1.1 history and context
1.1.2 organisational structure
1.2 aims and objectives
1.3 constraints
1.4 structure of the rest of the report
2. Review …
How to write up a project

11. How to write up a project
Practical issues
Word-processing: use
paragraph styles
automatic numbering
tables of contents, etc.
spell checkers, etc.
Beware lab congestion
Covers will be available 2-3 term weeks before deadline
Binding (comb or perfect) is your responsibility
Normal coursework rules apply
How to write up a project

12. Regulations for reports
Guideline word count (excluding appendices):
20/30pt: 10,000-12,000
40/45/60pt: 12,000-15,000
A4 paper, one side only
Recommend for text:
12pt typescript
Times-roman or Arial font
Single-spaced [change]
At least 9pt for diagrams, etc.
Margins >= 20mm
Number chapters and sections to <= 3 levels Page numbers at bottom
First page is special
No need to submit floppy disk
How to write up a project

13. How to write up a project
Write with style
Think of your audience (fellow students)
Cheque speling and gramer; read your work
Be concise and clear
break down complicated bits
Use diagrams, pictures, graphs (but don’t over-use)
Use numbers/bullet pts
Think up clear chapter and section headings
Emphasise but DON’T over-emphasise
Link sections together
Be accurate, concise, interesting, relevant, incisive, discriminating
How to write up a project

14. How to write up a project
Structure of a report
Usually 6 areas to address: introduction, review, design, implementation, evaluation, conclusions
Order is indicative rather than mandatory
May re-arrange according to aspects of project
Make sure you talk about requirements
Make sure you talk about your question
How to write up a project

15. How to write up a project
1. Introduction
Context of project (where did it come from?)
broad statement then refine it down
why is it an interesting/relevant problem?
what is the academic question you are trying to answer?
Aim & objectives (what did you set out to do?)
broad single aim and several specific objectives
Constraints (what limited what you could do?)
time, money, equipment available, your skills, etc.
Lead-in to rest of report
How to write up a project

16. How to write up a project
2. Review
What else has been written:
about your problem?
about possible solutions to it?
Reader needs:
background to be able to tell whether your approach was valid or best.
to know you considered all possible solutions
Read/review widely; academic focus – quality, currency
Be relevant and explain how and why it is
use examples to illustrate important points
be “critical” in the positive sense of the word
How to write up a project

17. How to write up a project
3. Design
Address issues such as:
Why did you do X that way?
Why did you do Y but not Z?
What was important and what not?
Relate back to objectives and requirements
show completeness and correctness
Show process
What, HOW, WHY
How to write up a project

18. How to write up a project
1/2/3 requirements
Building an artefact => have “requirements”
Given by customer / elicited as part of project
Detail in an appendix - must write them down
Discuss somewhere relevant:
“introduction” if given them
“design” if yours but small
separate chapter if yours but big
How to write up a project

19. How to write up a project
4. Implementation
Address:
tools/methods used
difficulties encountered; how you overcame them
how you tested your artefact as you built it
NOT internal documentation (that’s an appendix)
More important to be interesting than complete
Arrange by project stages or by major components
If design only, consider future implementation issues
How to write up a project

20. How to write up a project
5. Evaluation
Compare
what you did with objectives
i.e. has customer got what they wanted?
what you did with something else that does same
is what you’ve done better than the other thing?
Involve customer and/or users
Structured evaluation best; not simply word of mouth
Again, interesting stuff only - leave mundane detail in appendix
How to write up a project

21. How to write up a project
6. Conclusions
How did what you did contribute to objectives?
Sum up key bits of evidence
What is the answer to the academic question?
Evidence needs to hang together to make a case
Loose ends are OK (suggestions for future work)
Reflection
Apply to context (opposite of introduction)
start specific and become more general
How to write up a project

22. Non-standard report structures
Projects of many small (independent?) parts
one chapter per part?
Entirely review (PJS* only)
review of X; review of Y; …; summing up
Scientific experiment/survey:
hypothesis (and justification); experiment (explain how you carried it out); control; results (what did you observe?)
How to write up a project

23. Choosing a title for your report
Limited space
Avoid noise phrases (e.g. “A report into”)
What differentiates your project from all others?
Most important words first
Problems not usually solutions
The question you attempted to answer or the problem you attempted to solve
How to write up a project

24. How to write up a project
Appendices
Things not important or interesting enough to be in main body of report
Examples:
program listings
requirements / design specifications
documentation
test case results
data
How to write up a project

25. How to write up a project
References
Citations in text, either
numeric 1, or
labelled [Briggs99]
List of references contains full bibliographic details of what you have referred to
Example:
[Barnes98] Barnes, J.P.G., Programming in Ada 95, Addison-Wesley, 2nd edition 1998.
See “How to cite references and avoid plagiarism” ( for full details
How to write up a project

26. When to cite a reference
All direct quotes must be cited (and placed either inside quotation marks or indented paras)
Preferable to paraphrase (translate author's words into your own) but must still give credit
If something is “common knowledge” (referred to in many sources), no need to cite
Everything else is assumed to be your idea
How to write up a project

27. How to write up a project
Plagiarism
Examples:
Using directly quoted material without marking it (e.g. by placing it within quotation marks or indented paragraph) and citing it
Paraphrasing the work of an author and attempting to pass it off as your own by not including a citation
Submitting the work of another student as if it is your own
Plagiarism is a serious matter
How to write up a project

28. How to write up a project
Abstract
Abstract is a summary (précis) of the entire report (introduction, review, design, …, conclusions)
Must be able to stand entirely on its own
Our regulations require it to be words and on first page
How to write up a project

29. Lifecycles and your report
What lifecycle model did your project adopt/follow? (Was this what you expected?)
One chapter per stage?
One chapter per cycle?
Chronological vs. other logical structures
How to write up a project

30. How to write up a project
Bibliography
Christian W. Dawson. The essence of computing projects: a student's guide. Prentice Hall, ISBN X. Publisher's price £16.99.
Gavin Fairbairn and Christopher Winch, Reading, writing and reasoning - a guide for students, Open University Press, 2nd edition 1996.
Phyllis Creme and Mary Lea, Writing at university - a guide for students, Open University Press, 1997.
H.W. Fowler and Robert Burchfield, The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage, Oxford University Press, 1996
How to write up a project

31. How to write up a project
Penultimate words
The only final-year project you’ll ever do!
Do it right
Think about the problem and how you solved it (practically)
Present your work in the best possible light compatible with reality
How to write up a project

32. How to write up a project
Last words
Think about your audience
There are no right answers, only wrong ones
Be honest and fair in your judgements
Don’t take credit for what you didn’t do
Make sure you take the credit for what you did
Be proud of your accomplishment
How to write up a project