ÇANKAYA UNIVERSITY
Foreign Languages Unit
RTW405- Report Writing
Basics about the Instructor
Name & Surname:
Office:
Office Number:
E-mail address:
Course Description
RTW 405 is a report writing course designed to help
students acquire necessary skills of writing a report
required for academic studies and professional
purposes.
LENGTH & PERIOD: 2 hours per week; 14 weeks and
28 hours in total
http://rtw405.cankaya.edu.tr/
COURSE PACK
You have to bring your book to follow
the course.
Where can you buy the book?
• The copy center
ATTENDANCE
• Students are required to attend classes and
examinations. Minimum required attendance is 80%
for class sessions per semester, which makes up 6
hours of absence at most.
• Students who miss an exam will not be given a makeup exam unless they submit an approved medical
report or any other official document proving their
excuse.
ATTENDANCE
• Students can bring documents for the classes if they
have problems such as
▫ Illness (copy of doctor’s report within 15 days)
▫ Clash (copy of student’s program)
▫ Excuses related to Çankaya (document from the
university)
▫ Working (any document)
• All documents about absence will be given to the
instructor
GRADING
MIDTERM: 20%
FINAL: 25%
TERM PROJECT (portfolio): 40 %
OVERALL IN-CLASS PERFORMANCE: 10 %
TEACHER ASSESSMENT: 5 %
TERM PROJECT
PORTFOLIO :
Portfolio Assessment (40%)
The portfolio tasks and their points are listed below:
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Task 1 : Making Situational Analysis (5 pts)
Task 2 : Making the outline (5 pts)
Task 3: Writing the “Introduction” part of the report (10 pts)
Task 4: Writing the “Body” part of the report (10 pts)
Task 5: Final draft of the report (10 pts)
TERM PROJECT
Portfolio Assessment Policy
• You will write at least 2 drafts for your portfolio tasks.
• Then, their individual scores will be added together and
the total score will be obtained.
• This total score will be divided by 2 in order to have your
score for that particular portfolio task.
TERM PROJECT
Portfolio Assessment Policy
• You have to write the first draft of the portfolio tasks in
the classroom and you must submit it to the course
instructor at the end of the lesson.
• If you don’t submit it, you will lose half of the points
assigned to that task and you have to write it in the next
writing lesson.
TERM PROJECT
Portfolio Assessment Policy
• If you fail to be in the classroom on the portfolio day
without an official written excuse(e.g. a health report),
you will lose the half of the points assigned to the task
and you have to write your first draft in the next writing
lesson.
• If you fail to be in the class without an official written
excuse again in the next writing lesson, your score for
that task will be 0.
TERM PROJECT
Portfolio Assessment Policy
Late Submissions Policy
• If you fail to submit the final draft of the portfolio task
on the due date, you will be able to submit it in “ The
Late Submission Period” in return for the half of the
points assigned to that task.
• “The Late Submission Period” ends in 7 days starting
from the due date. If you fail to submit your task within
“The Late Submission Period”, your score for that
assignment will be 0.
TERM PROJECT
Turnitin
You need to upload your 4th task to Turnitin.
So, create an account as soon as posible.
Any questions?
Now answer these questions
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What is the website of the course?
What is the limit of absenteeism in this course?
What happens when you exceed the limit of absenteeism?
In case of missing an exam, how can you take a make-up
exam?
What is the percentage of porfolio?
What happens if you don’t write the 1st drafts in the
classroom?
How long does “late submission period” take?
What is the expectation of the instructor from you
throughout the course?
How can you contribute to the course during the lesson?
Fundamentals of Technical Writing
What do you know about technical
writing?
• Technical writing is different from non-technical
writing such as fiction and essays.
• It is writing that deals with science and
technology.
• Although technical writing is primarily used in
engineering, it is involved in all areas of
physical, natural, and social sciences.
Have you ever written technical
reports thus far?
How is technical writing different from
non-technical writing?
• Accuracy is more important than style.
• Its purpose is to transmit information.
How is a report similar to an essay?
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Formal style
Introduction, body, & conclusion
Analytical thinking
Careful proof-reading & neat presentation
How is a report different from an
essay?
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•
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Presents information, not an argument
Is meant to be scanned quickly by the reader
Uses numbered headings and sub-headings
Uses short, concise paragraphs and dot-points
Uses graphics
May need an abstract/executive summary
Always needs references and bibliography
Is often followed by recommendations and/or
appendices
Reports vs. Essays
• A common problem in report writing is that
students transfer what they have learned about
essay writing to report writing.
• However, there are some essential differences
between the two.
REPORT
Presents information
ESSAY
Presents an argument/opinion
Is meant to be scanned quickly by the
reader
Uses numbered headings and subheadings
Is meant to be read carefully
Always needs references and
bibliography/reference list
May not need references and
bibliography/reference list
Uses short, concise paragraphs and
dot-points where applicable
Links ideas into cohesive paragraphs,
rather than breaking them down into
a list of dot-points
Rarely uses graphics
Uses graphics wherever possible
(tables, graphs, illustrations)
May need an abstract (sometimes
called an executive summary)
May be followed by recommendations
and/or appendices
Uses minimal sub-headings, if any.
Will only need an abstract if it is very
long, or if your lecturer asks for one
specifically
Seldom has recommendations or
appendices
Complete the table by putting characteristics into the correct
column and row.
A report
An essay
Topic
1. M
2. I
Purpose
3. D
4. F
5. B
Reader
6. G
7.
H
Format
8. L
9.
A
Style
10. K
11. C
Assessment
12.
13. J
E
What are some types of reports?
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Recommendation report
Feasibility report
Informational report
Progress report
Trip report
Reports
• Reports are written for specific audiences and
this results in certain characteristics in terms of
style and format.
• The aim is to present information clearly. As a
result, there are seperate sections with a heading
and a numbering system.
• These sections are shown in the «Table of
Contents» part.
• See the example on page 20.
Reports
• You need to repeat information in seperate
sections of the report because reports are not
usually read from cover-to-cover by one person.
• Different people focus on different parts of it.
• For instance, a manager may read the abstract.
• A technical officer may read only the section that
explains how things work.
• A personnel officer may read the conclusions
and recommendations part that directly affects
his working area.
Basic Characteristics of Reports
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Technically accurate
Useful
Concise
Complete
Clear
Consistent
Correct in spelling, punctuation, grammar
Targeted
Well-organized
Guidelines for Effective Technical
Writing
1. Write short sentences (of 12 to 25 words)
2. Use active voice
3. Use parallel structure
4. Avoid strings of choppy sentences
5. Aavaid redundant phrases
6. Use «there are» sparingly
7. Avoid run-on sentences
8. Avoid sentence fragments
9. Use headings to clarify parts
See p. 22 for example headings
2. COMPARISONS BETWEEN iOS AND ANDROID
In this part of my report, I will compare iOS and Android in many
aspects like their operating system, history, features and market value.
2.1 Introducing the Operating System
2.1.1 iOS operating system
It is a mobile operating system developed by Apple and
distributed exclusively for Apple hardware. The operating system is
based on the Macintosh OS X. It is the operating system that powers
many of the company's iDevices such
as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Designed for use with Apple’s
multi-touch devices, iOS supports input through direct manipulation.
The system responds to various user gestures, such as pinching,
tapping and swiping (Rouse, 2013, para. 2).
2.1.2 Android operating system
Android is an operating system. It is created by Google Teams
for use on device such as smartphone and tablet. It is an operating
system that is available on devices made by various manufacturers,
giving you more choices of device style and pricing. Also, the Android
operating system allow you can customize your devices in many
different ways (Google, 2014, para. 3).
As the Foreign Languages Unit,
We wish you a happy and
successful semester 