Guidlines
Your report needs to accurately and consistently describe the
steps you took in answering the questions asked. This report should
have the look and feel of a technical paper. Presentation and clarity
are very important.
- Absolutely make sure your recitation number is on your submitted report.
- Start with an introduction that describes what you will discuss
in the body of your document. A brief summary of important concepts
that you will be using in your discussion could be useful here as well.
- Finally, you should summarize what you have accomplished in a
conclusion. No new information nor new results should appear in your
conclusion. You should only review the highlights of what you wrote
about in body.
- Always include units in your answers
- Always label plots and refer to them in the text
- The main body of your paper should NOT include lengthy
calculations. These can be included in an appendix, and referred to
in the main body. It is not neccesary to provide all of your code and output in the appendix. We don't need 60 page appendices.
- Labs must be typed. Including the equations in the main body
(part of your learning experience is to learn how to use an equation
editor). An exception can be made for lengthy calculations in the
appendix, which can be hand written (as long as they are neat and
clean), and minor labels on plots, arrows in the text and a few
subscripts.
- Your report doesn't have to be long. You need quality, not
quantity of work. Of course you cannot omit any important piece of
information, but you need not add any extras.
- DO NOT include print outs of computer software screens. This will
be considered as garbage. You simply need to state which software you
used in each step, and what it did for you.
- You must include any plot that supports your conclusions or gives you insight in your investigations.
- Write your report in an organized and logical fashion. Section
headers such as Introduction, Background, Problem Statement,
Calculations, Results, Conclusion, Appendix, etc... are not mandatory,
but are highly recommended. They not only help you write your report,
but help the reader navigate through your paper, besides giving it a
cleaner look.
- DO NOT submit labs with bulky binding. This means no three ring
binder, or any other heavy/thick covers. Simply stapling is preferred.