GUIDELINES for Co-op Technical Report
for Civil Engineering Technician Students Registered
CWA100-3 Co-op Course / Work Term
1.
INTRODUCTION (Report length: not less than 20 pages)
Work Term Reports form an integral part of the learning and evaluation processes in
Cooperative Education. These guidelines are typical of those expected on a technically-based
narrative for a Co-op Work Term. Reports help students develop and polish the skills needed to
prepare a report of professional quality to engineering / industry standards.
In the work environment, a report may be a student’s only contact with an organization’s senior
levels. A professional report must communicate a clear understanding of the data, observations
and reasoning used to reach conclusions and make recommendations. A well-presented, easyto-read, professionally-written report is a valued and permanent record of a student’s work and
capabilities. The Work Term Report is required as part of the student’s co-op academic
evaluation; however, it is expected that the report may also be of value to the employer.
2.
SUBJECT MATTER
The report should be directly related to student’s duties OR a topic of interest and value to
student and employer. Student has a broad scope of possible topics from which to choose. For
example, student involved in routine office or lab activities may opt to describe all the
company’s operations in the report and offer recommendations as to their improvement. The
report must not simply describe what was done on the work term; rather, it must have an
identifiable analytic component. It will contain critical analysis of why work was performed,
what was learned, and how the work fits into the broader scheme of things. When selecting the
topic, student should remember the report is evaluated as to its professional quality and must
contain objectives, constraints and data, analyses, conclusions and recommendations.
Although the topic does not have to be original, the report must be the student’s work. Subjects
of a confidential or proprietary nature must be approved in advance by the employer.
Students should refer to CMM210 material/ teacher for “Technical Report Writing”.
3.
REPORT FORMAT (Attachment #1)
Organized into five sections:
a)
Preliminaries
b)
Summary
c)
Main Body
d)
Conclusions and Recommendations
e)
Reference Material
Preliminaries
Have a significant impact as the first part of Report. Capture the reader’s attention in this
section. Preliminaries have the following:
a)
Title Page
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b)
c)
d)
Letter of Transmittal
Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Title Page (Attachment #2)
Presents the following in order: Note: Title Page is not numbered.
a)
Sault College
b)
Student’s Program
c)
Report Title
d)
Name and Location of the Student’s Employer (name of business not supervisor)
e)
Student’s Name and Academic Term
f)
Completion Date of Report
Letter of Transmittal (Attachment #3)
In the format of a standard business letter, must contain the following:
a)
Report Title
b)
Course Number (CWA100-3)
c)
Company / Department Name
d)
Academic Term in which work was completed (i.e. Summer 2014)
e)
Name(s) of Supervisor(s)
f)
Department(s) in which the student worked
g)
Main activity of the employer and department
h)
Purpose of Report
i)
Acknowledgement of assistance
j)
Statement of endorsement by employer of Work Term Report content
k)
Co-op student’s name and signature
Table of Contents (Attachment #4)
Lists all main sections of Report and subsections with headings. Use same numbering system in
Table of Contents as used in main section of Report.
Lists of Tables & Figures (Attachment #5)
These two lists are part of the Table of Contents but listed on separate pages following the
Table. Identify components by number, title and page number. Do not list any Tables or Figures
that are to be found in the Appendix.
Summary
Often the only part read by management. Therefore, it must be able to stand alone and be
understood by a knowledgeable reader. It is written after completing report. Restricted to one
page of about four paragraphs presenting the following:
a)
Purpose and scope of Report
b)
Major points contained in the body of Report
c)
Highlights of conclusions
d)
Highlights of recommendations
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MAIN BODY OF REPORT
Introduction
First section in Report body and should not be confused with Summary. Introduction outlines
background for the study, provides clear statement of objectives and briefly outlines methods
used. May also outline study’s scope and limitations. Background briefly describes employer’s
operations and may contain any pertinent information leading up to the study. Reader should
be able to anticipate objectives of study from second part of background and description of
methods. Outline of methods used must be brief since details are provided in later sections.
Main Section
Having stated the problem or project in Introduction, Main Section explains how student
studied this problem, what the findings were and what they mean. Main body is divided into
sections and, where necessary, subsections. Each section has a heading. Headings are useful
references to guide reader through Report, including a description of methods used to acquire
data, a summary of data obtained and, finally, discussion of interpretation of data.
Tables & Figures
Provided, where appropriate, to clarify explanations. Tables with large numbers of entries or
diagrams which cannot be located conveniently in the text should be in the Appendix. A
summary table located in the body will provide a useful quick reference to reader.
a) Tables (Attachment #6)
Each Table is word processed on a separate page with table number and title above it. Tables
should be neatly presented with consistent row and column labels and all units identified.
a) Figures (Attachment #7)
Each Figure should be word processed on a separate page with figure number and title below it.
If Figure is a graph, the axes must be labelled properly and with consistent units.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions are statements derived from research and investigations described in Report body.
Recommendations are comments designed to assist future study of the topic. Conclusions and
Recommendations are written as a sequence of brief paragraphs. These one- or two-sentence
paragraphs deal with only one aspect of the study. Each item discussed must be fully supported
and follow logically from the description in the Report’s main body. Conclusions and
Recommendations have distinct purposes. They appear on separate pages of the Report.
Reference Material (also applies to information gathered from Internet)
Reference Material consists of three components presented in following order at end of Report:
a)
The References
b)
The Bibliography
c)
The Appendices
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References / Endnotes (Attachment #8)
Materials from authors or resource persons who have been cited directly and diagrams that
have not been drawn should be acknowledged explicitly when first used in Report.
Bibliography (Attachment #8)
List all books, journals / magazines / periodicals and reports that provided general reference
material. List only publications actually used. List items in alphabetical order by author.
Glossary and Nomenclature
May be necessary to include both a Glossary and Nomenclature in Report. They follow
References and Bibliography and precede Appendices.
Nomenclature
May be required if large number of symbols are used repetitively throughout Report. List in
alphabetical order. Use standard symbols and abbreviations in both the Nomenclature and Main
body of Report. SI units are used, unless student’s technical studies were done using other
units.
4.
PRESENTATION
A neat, well-organized and accurate Report receives a reader’s sympathetic response. It is word
processed and if asked to submit hard copy is laser-printed on white bond paper (8 ½” x 11”)
and must be professional-looking.
The following layout requirements are expected:
Covers
If asked to submit hard copy; bound in transparent covers. Do not staple Report.
Margins
Left
Right
Bottom
Top
4 cm (1 ½ inches)
2.5 cm (1 inch)
4 cm (9 word-processed line spaces)
5 cm from top of page
Spacing
Double space body of Report but single space footnotes or long quotations. All paragraphs are
separated by a clear visual space provided by an extra “Enter” computer keyboard function.
Page Numbering
Assign number to each Report page except cover or blank pages and title page. Number
preliminary pages with small Roman numerals beginning with “ii” on page following Title Page.
Centre Roman numerals are at bottom of each page. Number pages of text consecutively
including Appendix. Place Arabic numeral in top right corner of page, seven spaces below top of
page and in line with right margin.
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Sections
Begin each main section listed in Table of Contents on a separate page. Be consistent in style of
headings or subheadings.
Attachment # 9 – “Co-op Work Term Report Evaluation” – Student’s reference copy. Professor
Sparrow (or someone else selected by Program Chair) will follow this form to mark reports.
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