Formal reports submitted in ECE 614 are expected to adhere to the following format. Note: there is no required page limit. You should write enough to cover the information required for each section as described below. (Don't over do it! Quality counts over Quantity).
If you have never written a formal technical report or if you feel that you need additional help with technical writing please read the online reference "Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students". This link is an outstanding technical writing guide maintained by technical writing experts at Virginia Tech.
In addition to using the writing guide mentioned above, please feel free to seek help from the course coordinator.
Format Details
Title Page - contains the project title, author name, names of team members (if any), course name, date.
Abstract - a 1 page summary of the report.
Introduction - This section is comprised of two important sub-sections
Problem Statement - A complete description of the project including project objectives and performance criteria.Methods and Procedures - This section is comprised of Three important sub-section
Background Information - Important background material necessary for understanding the project
Project Sequence - A substantive discussion of the steps required to implement the project. Don't type out the lab manual. Instead give me a description in you own words.Results and Discussion - This section contains the following components
Project Diagram/Schematic - Provide sketches, diagrams, schematics that help illustrate the operation of the optical system(s) you build and demonstrate.
Theoretical Analysis - Description of technical analysis done to evaluate the performance of the optical system(s) you demonstrate. This section should include any equations pertaining to the project, any computer analysis and any simulations.
Results - Include graphs, wave form photographs, etc. that show the optical system(s) in operation.References - Don't forget to reference any materials that you found useful during the implementation of your optical system(s). If you supplemented the lab project books with information you found in a book, magazine, friends brain, etc. make sure you reference where it came from.
Discussion - A description of how well the actual optical system(s) operates compared to simulation and how well the optical system(s) performance meets the objectives outlined in the Problem Statement.
Appendix - This is where you put all of the bulky stuff that would break up the flow of your report if included in body of the report. For example: data sheets, application notes, volumes of tabular data etc.