COMSATS University Islamabad, Virtual Campus

HUM102 Report Writing Skills

Assignment # 3 (Project)
Fall 2018

Instructions
• Your assignment should be submitted as a MS Word document.
• The answer should be in proper English. Be careful of grammar. Avoid the use of
ungrammatical expressions within your answer.
• There is a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism. Assignments found with copy pasted
material or copied from fellows will not be accepted.
• Your overall answer should be between 1500-3000 words.
• Submit your assignment on your CU Online LMS portal within the given time frame.
Emailed assignments will not be entertained.

Semester Project

Syllabus: Lectures 1-16 Total Marks: 30 (CLO5-A2)

Assignment # 03 is your semester project. You are expected to make an Informational

Report of a selected topic (A list of suggested topics is given in the end).

Once you choose your topic, you are to have it approved from your moderator before you start
working on your report.

Informational Report
An informational report explains a topic using facts. It should not persuade the reader or
argue a point, and it should avoid using any opinion. 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.

An information report:
• uses facts to explain something
• gives details about a topic
• does not contain personal views

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Report Structure
Front Pages
First, begin with the title page, table of contents and Executive summary. Some details,
although covered in Lectures 03 and 04, are given below, for your ease:

• Your report should include a Title page with the following components:
o Title of the report
o Date of submission
o Prepared for
o Prepared by
• Your report should also include an Executive Summary with sections which were
covered in your report. An outline is given below for your guidance:
o Aims
o Objectives/Methods
o Findings
o Conclusions
o Recommendations
• 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 are a sequential
reporting of your document’s organizational structure. Make sure to list first, second
and third level headings properly.

Next comes the ‘Introduction’ section of your report. The structure of the report is as
follows:

1.1. Introduction
Introduce the topic briefly. Describe the events leading up to the problem that you are
investigating in your report.

1.1.1. Statement of the Problem

State the purpose of your report.

1.1.2. Introduction
Introduce the topic briefly.

1.1.3. Background Information

Describe the events leading up to the problem that you are investigating in your report.

1.1.4. Statement of the Problem/Purpose

State the purpose of your report

1.1.5. Significance of the Study

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

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1.1.6. 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.

1.1.7. Methods of the Study

• Explanation and use of data source (both primary and secondary)
• The basis of your sample selection
• Any statistical methods that you apply

1.1.8. Scope of the Study

Clarify the boundaries of the report, defining what will be included or excluded.

1.1.9. Limitations of the Study

Mention the shortcomings, and conditions that were beyond your control but influenced
your study.

1.1.10. Organization
Preview the major sections of the report to follow, thus providing coherence and transition
for the reader.

You may not be able to compose ‘Methods of the Study’ or ‘Limitations’ at this stage in their
entirety. Don’t worry; you can go back to modify these sections after you are done
composing the rest of the report.

2.1. Discussion/Analysis
This part presents the critical analysis of your data. It should be a compilation of the facts
written in your own words. When you take a larger source and condense it down to a
shorter passage in your own words, you are summarizing. You can use this throughout
the report, and it's a great way to take many different sources and combine them. Do not
forget to cite the sources you consult. You can also use paraphrasing that involves taking
a short passage from a source and presenting it in your own words. You may use a
combination of all three (Quote, Summary & Paraphrasing) in your report.

3.1. Results/Findings
Outline the results of your study in this heading. 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’.

4.1. 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.

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5.1. Recommendations
Recommendations can be made concerning any one of the following:

o the implementation of your results in a situation

o deciding a course of action
o suggestions of topics for further research

References
The list should provide readers a proof that the sources you used are authentic. Follow
the APA 6th format 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.

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.

The formatting for your report should be as follows:

- Font style should Times New Roman throughout
✓ Font size should be 20pt for Title
✓ 16pt for Heading 1
✓ 14pt for Heading 2
✓ 12pt and bold for Heading 3
✓ 12pt and italicized for Heading 4
✓ and 12 pt for all the rest of the text.

- Double line spacing throughout.

- 1” margin on all sides. Align your content with the left margin.
- Page numbers should be included in the footer on the right.
- Follow APA 6th for citing all references.
- All references in Works Cited list should have ½” hanging indent

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Suggested Topics
Here are suggested topics for your project. They are separated according to Subjects. You may
pick a topic from this list or suggest one yourself. Just be sure to have your topic approved by
your Moderator before starting your report.

General
• Effects of Social Media on Students’ Academic Performance
• Lack of Wi-Fi In the Campus
• Plagiarism and Its Role in Academia
• The Future of Artificial Intelligence
• AI and Unemployment
• Effect of Playing Sports on Students’ Performance
• The Impact of Effective Communication Skills on Career Growth
• English as a Tool of Neocolonialism
• Need of Dress Code in Academic Institutions
• Second Life and The Future of Virtual Reality
• Grades as a Measure of Intelligence
• Emotional Intelligence and Personal Growth
• The Impact of Proactivity on Career Growth
• Nepotism: A Growing Practice in Pakistan
• Need of Customer Rights in Pakistan
• The Diminishing Habit of Book Reading Among Students
• The Menace of Electricity Load Shedding in Pakistan
• Brands and Consumer Identity
• The 4th industrial revolution
• Feminism, Then and Now
• The Role of Advertisements in Sustaining Cultural Stereotypes
• Quality of Café Food and Its Effects on Students’ Health

Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Bots and their use in criminal activities
• Cyber security
• Cyber warfare
• Data privacy
• Cambridge Analytica scandal
• Cloud computing
• Virtual reality and human-computer Interaction
• Intrusion detection
• Digital forensics
• Information security
• The Internet of Things (IoT)
• Digital Currencies (Bitcoin)
• Smart cities
• Accelerators and energy efficiency
• Game theory

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Bioscience
• Genetic engineering
• The future of cloning
• Gene regulation
• Abuse of anti-biotics
• The utility of transgenic animals
• Bioimaging
• Immunology
• Biosensors and their application
• Metabolomics
• Proteomics
• Biofuel and environment
• Novel methods of enhancing agricultural productivity
• Organic vs processed food

Mathematics
• The Cobordism Hypothesis
• Twin Prime Conjecture
• Fermat’s last theorem

Electrical Engineering/Electronics
• Smart grids
• Large capacity batteries
• Wireless power transfer
• Personal flying cars
• High Efficiency Photovoltaic Cells
• Green Energy Electrical Power Converter
• Eye Tracking Technology
• Wireless Wearable Tech
• Graphene
• 40GB Wi-Fi
• Solar thermal power generation
• Power generation and environment sustainability
• Nanotechnology
• Super lubricity and energy efficient devices
• Recycling batteries into solar cells for environment conservation
• Artificial Leaf Energy

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 Marking Scheme
Your formal report will be assessed for the following components:

- Structure of the report

- Language (Grammar, spellings, sentence structure etc.)
- Style (7 C’s, appropriate vocabulary)
- Consistent tone of writing according to a determined audience level
- Formatting
- Referencing
- Plagiarism

Content
4 marks Citations in APA style and References
2 marks Use of figures and tables
4 marks Use of appropriate headings and sub-headings
6 marks Relevant content under each heading
3 marks Overall consistency of tone, depending on type of report
Formatting
2 marks Report Formatting
2 marks Table of Content
1 mark Title Page
3 marks Executive Summary
3 marks Language

Note: Plagiarized submissions will be rejected.

Good luck!

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