|
|
Your final report should be
both interesting and brief. As a rough guideline, 3-4
double-spaced pages or 8-10 PowerPoint briefing slides should suffice unless
you have done a great deal of research, in which case you may need some
supporting tables and diagrams. Figures and tables should be numbered (Fig.
1, Fig. 2, Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and must be mentioned in the text in the
same order in which they appear. Any items presented in landscape format must
be bound into the report so that the reader turns the report clockwise to view them.
Hard copy submission is required. Electronic submissions will not be
accepted.
If you have raw data, include a table of raw data, with one row for each
person who was used as a subject. Subjects should be identified by subject
number, not by name. Anything taken from other sources (tables, graphics,
quotations, etc.) must be footnoted. Any footnoting system that you wish to
use is acceptable, as long as the system is consistent throughout the
document.
If you used a survey or an experimentation script, include a blank copy with
your submission. Label this as a figure or as an appendix (your choice).
Proofread your report carefully. Grammar, spelling, neatness, and formatting
count. Use white space, subheadings, and other reader-friendly techniques to
make your report attractive. Avoid passive voice to the extent possible. You
may use the phrases “we observed,” “we concluded,” and other active
constructions in order to avoid the stilted use of the passive voice. Color
graphics are a negative unless the color is necessary. (In PowerPoint slides,
color is considered necessary to keep the viewer’s attention, but in a Word
document, color is usually gratuitous.) On your title page, include the names
of your group members, with the group leader’s name underlined.
The last page of the report should be a group leader report, in which the
group leader writes a paragraph (3-4 sentences) recommending a point split
and summarizing what each person did. The group leader’s signature is
required. It is not enough simply to say, “Everyone worked equally and
deserves an equal share of the points.” You must actually describe what each
person contributed to the project. If the group leader report is missing,
each member of the group will lose 5 points in the scoring. If the group
leader report is present but inadequate, only he will be penalized. If the
group leader forgets or refuses to write a group leader report, the remaining
members may jointly write a substitute group leader report and sign both of
their names to it, and in that case the 5-point penalty would apply only to
the group leader.
I know what you’re thinking: What if the group leader and one other member
forget or refuse to write a group leader report? In that case, you don’t
really have a group at all, and the 5-point penalty is appropriate for
everyone, even if the third member manages to cobble together a point-split
justification. A substitute group leader report, if used, must be signed by both remaining members.
If you wish, you may submit your final report as a PowerPoint briefing. That
way, the document you submit to me could be the same document you use for
giving your oral presentation to the class. Please note that complete
sentences are neither required nor expected in a PowerPoint briefing.
|