HUM102 Report Writing Skills (Hybrid Course) Assignment

In the semester project, you are expected to make a formal Report. A report:

• uses facts to explain something
• gives details about a topic
• avoids personal views

A report explains a topic using facts. The main goal is to inform readers on a topic. Direct quotes are great for presenting a specific statistic or an expert opinion, but your report should not just be a series of quotes.

SELECTION OF TOPIC

For the semester project, make a group of 3 to 5 students and p i c k a topic relevant to your field/area of interest. As a first step, you must get the topic approved from your concerned moderator.

Once approved, you may start working on your project/report in the format given below

COMPONENTS OF REPORT

First, begin with the ‘Introduction’ section of your report. Do not include a title page and executive Summary for now. The structure of Report may be as follows:

1) Introduction

Introduce the topic briefly. This section includes the following subheadings

a. Background Information: Describe the events leading up to the problem that you are investigating in your report.

b. Statement of the Problem/Purpose: State the purpose of your report

3. Significance of the Study: Tell how your study would help relevant people or how will it add to the existing body of relevant knowledge.

4. Scope of the Study: Clarify the boundaries of the report, defining what will be included or excluded.

5. Limitations of the Study: Mention the shortcomings, and conditions that were beyond your control but influenced your study.

2) Review of Related Literature

Cite articles, books, authentic webpages or other credible resources to review the existing information on your topic. This should tell the readers what has already been done in your area of research.

3) Methods of the Study o Explanation and use of data source (both primary and secondary) o The basis of your sample selection o Any statistical methods that you apply

4) Results and Discussion

Outline the results of your study in this heading followed by a critical analysis of your findings. If you are using quantitative data, you may prepare tables, bar charts, pie charts, flowcharts, or graphs to present your findings. You should also present evidence to establish your findings as ‘reliable’ and ‘significant’.

5) Conclusion

The conclusion sums up the whole report comprehensively. If the report has been largely informational, it should end with a summary of the data presented. If the report analyzes statistical findings, then it should end with conclusions drawn from the analyses. At any rate, your conclusion should end with a statement which will lead to the recommendations section.

6) Recommendations

Recommendations can be made concerning any one of the following:

1. The implementation of your results in a situation
2. Deciding a course of action iii. Suggestions of topics for further research 7) References

The list should provide readers a proof that the sources you used are authentic. Follow the APA 6^th Edition carefully to cite your sources. Do include the author, title, publication, date of publication, page number, and other significant data for all sources used in your report. You may take help from a website like https://www.citefast.com/?s=APA to prepare the list.

8) Appendices

If your report contains supplementary material to clarify the report, include an appendix or appendices at the end. Questionnaires and long complex table of figures may be attached as appendices at the end of your report.

FRONT PAGES

When you are done composing the above, the next task is to compose the title page, table of contents and Executive summary. Some details, although covered in Lectures 03 and 04, are given below, for your ease:

1. Your report should include a Title page with the following components:
   • Title of the report
   • Date of submission
   • Prepared for
   • Prepared by
2. Your report should also include an Executive Summary with sections which were covered in your report. An outline is given below for your guidance:
   • Aims
   • Objectives/Methods
   • Findings
   • Conclusions
   • Recommendations
3. Finally, your report should also include a Table of Contents and, if applicable, list of figures and a list of tables. As discussed in the lectures, these lists provide the sequence of your document’s organizational structure. Make sure to list first, second and third level headings properly.