UNIT III

Thesis/ Project Writing

A Project or Thesis involves research carried out by an individual or a team. It is a planned

activity that spans over a short or long period of time. For instance, a student may take two
years to complete a research project on setting up a biogas plant on her university campus
while she may take five years to complete her thesis on a topic. However, irrespective of
whether it is a project or thesis, she needs to present her research analysis and findings in
writing for the following reasons:

To inform others about the research

To record the research process and results
To provide a detailed insight into the various concepts and steps involved
To publish the report to get approval from experts
To ensure that the research is not reproduced
To enable the readers to pursue further research

Though the project report or a thesis may vary in length, the style of writing involved is the
same—factual, precise, concise, clear, well-structured, free from grammatical and
syntactical errors and supported by appropriate illustrations. Hence, the project report and
thesis strictly adheres to the elements of effective technical writing.

Let’s look into the steps involved in writing a Project and a Thesis:

Project Writing:

Steps Involved/ Structural elements

Problem / Need for the project/ Background

Literature Review
Description of the project
Summary, Conclusions and
Recommendations References

Problem / Need
Introduction, Statement of the problem, Purpose & Scope, Limitations, Concept/
definition, Significance

Introduction
This section provides a general introduction to the project topic. It throws light on the
answers to the following questions:

What is the need for this project or why is this project important?
What is the problem involved?
What are the objectives?
What is the scope and what are the limitations?
What concepts and definitions does the topic area involve?

Statement of the problem

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Here you need to be very specific to the problem. Focus on the significance of the problem
or how it impacts the environment. For instance, if you are taking up a project on setting up
solar water systems for various hostels in your campus, the problem would be—the
difficulties faced on campus with frequent power cuts, the increasing electricity charges,
maintenance of geysers, etc. All problems need to be described in detail. If your pursue a
project on some research topic, you need to explain the problems that the existing research
are posing and the need for looking into the topic from a different angle.

Purpose, Scope and Limitations

Very important part of your report, this topic requires your clear and sound thinking to arrive
at the project objectives. You can write down questions or statements to tell the readers
what your project aims at. Keep in mind the following:

Emanate from your reading of previous works on the topic in hand

Clarify the problem statement stated in the previous section
Are clear and unambiguous
Are specific and not repeated
Are verifiable
Are completely relevant to the topic without any deviation

Scope and Limitations refer to the range covered by the project and why the entire range
can’t be covered in the project. Assume that ten hostels should get solar systems but the
project can take up only six hostels at present because of lack of resources—time, funds or
manpower. In this case, the project scope of ten hostels may not be fulfilled because of
these limitations.

Concept definition

Most of the academic research projects involve various terms and concepts. Analyze and
define each one of them in simple terms. A project on biogas plant installation may involve
concepts and terms such as renewable energy, sustainable investment, anaerobic digester,
landfill gas, etc. Definitions enable the readers understand the project in its true perspective.

Significance

Every project should have some value and should be useful to the society, industry or
academia. The introductory section of your project ends by stating the significance, value or
usefulness of your project—how it is going to help your organization or how it can enrich the
knowledge on a particular topic.

Literature Review

The term Literature Review refers to the process of reading, analyzing, evaluating and
summarizing scholarly materials pertinent to the project topic. In other words, it is an account
of what has been published on the topic by reputed scholars and researchers. It is the first
step in your project research and helps you formulate your research questions which
eventually turn into your project objectives. Answer the following questions while conducting
literature review:

What—exact views of the author on the topic

Why—reasons for the views or opinions
Where—context in which the views are expressed

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For instance, when you are taking up a project on setting up a biogas plant on your campus,
you need to go through the books, journals, newspaper articles, reports, etc., to understand
what concepts are involved, why the system is beneficial, what are the difficulties involved,
etc., so that you can come up with some remedies through your project thus helping future
researchers.

Description of the project

Describing the project details, include Design, Target population, Project evaluation and
Timeline. Design refers to the plan and its specifications. For example, the design for a
project on Biogas system installation would give a detailed explanation of the steps involved
with detailed illustrations—flowcharts, diagram, pictures, etc. In fact, the design serves as a
roadmap for the readers to understand the various steps, equipment, process, end product,
etc., clearly. If necessary, you can also include the relevant detailed documents in the
Appendix part of your report.
Discuss how your project would benefit your target audience. In case of biogas installation,
for instance, you need to discuss how your campus residents would get benefitted and how
the environment would become more hygienic with the recycling of waste. Justify that your
project is effective and efficient by comparing your product with the other popular products.
Also include the timeline or time taken to complete your product.

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

The summary section gives an overall view of the entire process and procedures you had
discussed. You need to draw inferences from your project evaluation and present them
logically as conclusions. Use the recommendations section to give some suggestions to
modify or improve upon the product/ system.

References

All research-based writing such as project writing, dissertation and thesis writing include a
References section which informs the readers the sources you have consulted and used in
your research. Sources, as you are aware may be books, journals, newspaper articles,
government reports, web sources, etc.

Thesis Writing

Thesis is a long research report. The report concerns a problem or series of problems in
your area of research and it should describe what was known about it previously, what you
did towards solving it, what you think your results mean, and where or how further progress
in the field can be made. A thesis is not an answer to an assignment question. One
important difference is this: the reader of an assignment is usually the one who has set it.
She/he already knows the answer (or one of the answers), not to mention the background,
the literature, the assumptions and theories and the strengths and weaknesses of them. The
readers of a thesis do not know what the ‘answer’ is. If the thesis is for a Ph.D., the
university requires that it make an original contribution to human knowledge: your research
must discover something hitherto unknown.

Obviously your examiners will read the thesis. They will be experts in the general field of
your thesis, but on the exact topic of your thesis, you are the world expert. Keep this in mind:
you should write to make the topic clear to a reader who has not spent years thinking about
it.

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Your thesis will also be used as a scientific report and consulted by future workers in your
laboratory who will want to know, in detail, what you did. Theses are occasionally consulted
by people from other institutions, and the library sends electronic versions if requested. More
commonly theses are now stored in an entirely digital form. These may be stored as .pdf
files on a server at your university. The advantage is that your thesis can be consulted easily
by researchers around the world.
It is often helpful to have someone other than yourself to read some sections of the thesis,
particularly the introduction and conclusion chapters. It may also be appropriate to ask other
members of staff to read some sections of the thesis which they may find relevant or of
interest, as they may be able to make valuable contributions. In either case, only give them
revised versions, so that they do not waste time correcting your grammar, spelling, poor
construction, or presentation.

The discussion that follows provides you a guide to thesis writing: on the problems of getting
started, getting organized, dividing the huge task into less formidable pieces, and working on
those pieces. It also explains the practicalities of surviving the ordeal. It includes a
suggested structure and a guide to what should go in each section:
_ Organization
_ Timetable
_ Iteration
_ Style
_ Presentation
_ Structure

When you are about to begin, writing a thesis seems a long, difficult task. That is because it
is a long, difficult task. Fortunately, it will seem less daunting once you have a couple of
chapters done. Towards the end, you will even find yourself enjoying it—an enjoyment
based on satisfaction in the achievement, pleasure in the improvement in your technical
writing, and of course the delight of approaching the end. Like many tasks, thesis writing
usually seems worst before you begin; so let us look at how you should make a start.

Outline
First, make up a thesis outline: several pages containing chapter headings, subheadings,
some figure titles (to indicate which results go where) and perhaps some other notes and
comments. There is a section on chapter order and thesis structure at the end of this
discussion. Once you have a list of chapters and, under each chapter heading, a
reasonably complete list of things to be reported or explained, you have struck a great blow
against writers’ block. When you sit down to type, your aim is no longer a thesis—a
daunting goal— but something simpler. Your new aim is just to write a paragraph or section
about one of your sub-headings. It helps to start with an easy one; this gets you into the
habit of writing and gives you self-confidence. Often the Materials and Methods chapter is
the easiest to write—just write down what you did, carefully, formally, and in a logical order.

How do you make an outline of a chapter? Assemble all the figures that you will use in it and
put them in the order that you would use if you were going to explain to someone what they
all meant. You might as well rehearse explaining it to someone else—after all you will
probably give several seminars based on your thesis work. Once you have found the most
logical order, note down the key words of your explanation. These key words provide a
skeleton for much of your chapter outline. Once you have an outline, discuss it with your
supervisor or guide. This step is important: she/he will have useful suggestions, but it also
serves notice that she/he can expect a steady flow of chapter drafts that will make high
priority demands on his/her time. Once you and your supervisor have agreed on a logical
structure, she/he will need a copy of this outline for reference when reading the chapters,
which you will probably present in a messy bulk.

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Organization
It is encouraging and helpful to start a filing system. Open a word -processor file for each
chapter and one for the references. You can put notes as well as text in these files. While
doing something for Chapter n, you will think ‘Oh I must refer back to/discuss this in Chapter
m’ and so you put a note to do so in the file for Chapter m. Or you may think of something
interesting or relevant for that chapter. When you come to work on Chapter m, the more
such notes you have accumulated, the easier it will be to write.

Keep a back- up of these files and do so every day at least. You should also have a physical
filing system: a collection of folders with chapter numbers on them. This will make you feel
good about getting started and also help clean up your desk. Your files will contain not just
the plots of results and pages of calculations, but all sorts of old notes, references,
calibration curves, suppliers’ addresses, specifications, speculations, letters from
colleagues, etc., which will suddenly strike you as relevant to one chapter or other. Stick
them in that folder. Then put all the folders in a box or a filing cabinet. As you write bits and
pieces of text, place the hard copy, the figures, etc. in these folders as well. If any of your
data exist only on paper, copy them and keep the copy in a different location. Consider
making a copy of your lab book. This has another purpose beyond security: usually the lab
book stays in the lab, but you may want a copy for your own future use.

Further, scientific ethics require you to keep lab books and original data for at least ten
years, and a copy is more likely to be found if two copies exist. While you are getting
organized, you should deal with any university paperwork. Examiners have to be nominated
and they have to agree to serve. Various forms are required by your department and by the
university administration. Make sure that the rate-limiting step is your production of the
thesis, and not some minor bureaucratic problem.

Timetable
Consult your supervisor and make up a timetable for writing your thesis: a list of dates on
which you will give the first and second drafts of each chapter to your supervisor. This
structures your time and provides intermediate targets. If you merely aim ‘to have the whole
thing done by [some distant date]’, you can deceive yourself and procrastinate more easily.
If you have told your supervisor that you will deliver a first draft of chapter 3 on Wednesday,
it focuses your attention. You may want to make your timetable into a chart with items that
you can check off as you have finished them. This is particularly useful towards the end of
the thesis when you find there will be quite a few loose ends here and there.

Iteration
Whenever you sit down to write, it is very important to write something. So write something,
even if it is just a set of notes or a few paragraphs of text that you would never show to
anyone else. It would be nice if clear, precise prose leapt easily from the keyboard, but it
usually does not. Most of us find it easier, however, to improve something that is already
written than to produce text from nothing. So put down a draft (as rough as you like) for your
own purposes, then clean it up for your adviser to read. Word-processors are wonderful in
this regard: in the first draft you do not have to start at the beginning, you can leave gaps,
you can put in little notes to yourself, and then you can clean it all up later.

Your supervisor will expect to read each chapter in draft form. She/he will then return it to
you with suggestions and comments. Do not be upset if a chapter—especially the first one
you write—returns covered in red ink. Your adviser will want your thesis to be as good as
possible, because his/her reputation, as well as yours, is affected. Scientific writing is a
difficult art, and it takes a while to learn. As a consequence, there will be many ways in
which your first draft can be improved. So take a positive attitude to all the scribbles with
which your supervisor decorates your text: each comment tells you a way in which you can
make your thesis better. As you write your thesis, your scientific writing is almost certain to

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improve. Even for native speakers of English who write very well in other styles, one
notices an enormous improvement in the first drafts from the first to the last chapter written.
The process of writing the thesis is like a course in scientific writing, and in that sense, each
chapter is like an assignment in which you are taught, but not assessed. Remember, only
the final draft is assessed: the more comments your supervisor adds to first or second draft,
the better.

Before you submit a draft to your supervisor, run a spell check so that she/he does not
waste time on those. If you have any characteristic grammatical failings, check for them.

Style
The text must be clear. Good grammar and thoughtful writing will make the thesis easier
to read. Scientific writing has to be a little formal—more formal than this text. Native
English speakers should remember that scientific English is an international language.
Slang and informal writing will be harder for a non-native speaker to understand.

Short, simple phrases and words are often better than long ones. On the other hand, there
will be times when you need a complicated sentence because the idea is complicated. Some
lengthy technical words will also be necessary in many theses. Do not sacrifice accuracy for
the sake of brevity. Sometimes it is easier to present information and arguments as a series
of numbered points, rather than as one or more long and awkward paragraphs. A list of
points is usually easier to write. You should be careful not to use this presentation too much:
your thesis must be a connected, convincing argument, not just a list of facts and
observations.

One important stylistic choice is between the active voice and the passive voice. The active
voice (‘I measured the frequency...’) is simpler, and it makes clear what you did and what
was done by others. The passive voice (‘The frequency was measured...’) makes it easier
to write ungrammatical or awkward sentences. If you use the passive voice, be especially
wary of dangling participles. People generally avoid active voice in a thesis because of two
reasons: (i) many theses are written in the passive voice, and (ii) the use of ‘I’ is considered
to be immodest.

But there is no harm in using the first person singular when reporting work that you
did yourself.

Presentation
There is no need for a thesis to be a masterpiece of desk- top publishing. Your time can be
more productively spent improving the content rather than the appearance. In many cases, a
reasonably neat diagram can be drawn by hand faster than with a graphics package, and
you can scan it if you want an electronic version. Either is usually satisfactory. A one-bit (i.e.
black and white), moderate resolution scan of a hand-drawn sketch will be bigger than a line
drawing generated on a graphics package, but not huge. While talking about the size of files,
we should mention that photographs look pretty but take up a lot of memory. There is also
another important difference. The photographer thought about the camera angle and the
focus, etc. The person who drew the schematic diagram thought about what components
ought to be depicted and the way in which the components of the system interacted with
each other. So the numerically small information content of the line drawing may bear much
more useful information than that in a photograph.

Another note about figures and photographs—in the digital version of your thesis, do not
save ordinary photographs or other illustrations as bitmaps, because these take up a lot
of memory and are therefore very slow to transfer. Nearly all graphics packages allow you
to save in compressed format as .jpg or .gif files.

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Further, you can save space and speed things up by reducing the number of colours. In
vector graphics (as used for drawings), shades of grey is often produced by black and white
pixels, so one-bit colour is adequate. In general, students spend too much time on
diagrams—time that could have been spent on examining the arguments, making the
explanations clearer, thinking more about the significance, and checking for errors in the
algebra. The reason, of course, is that drawing is easier than thinking.

There is no strong correlation between length and quality. There is no need to leave big
gaps to make the thesis thicker. Readers will not appreciate large amounts of vague or
unnecessary text.

Structure
The list of contents and chapter headings given in the next page is appropriate for some
theses. In some cases, one or two of them may be irrelevant. Results and Discussion are
usually combined in several chapters of a thesis. Think about the plan of chapters and
decide what is best to report your work. Then make a list, in point form, of what will go in
each chapter. Try to make this rather detailed, so that you end up with a list of points that
corresponds to subsections or even to the paragraphs of your thesis. At this stage, think
hard about the logic of the presentation: within chapters, it is often possible to present the
ideas in different order, and not all arrangements will be equally easy to follow. If you make a
plan of each chapter and section before you sit down to write, the result will probably be
clearer and easier to read. It will also be easier to write.

Title page
This may vary among institutions; for example: Title/author/A thesis submitted for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Science/The University of Rajasthan/date.

Declaration/Certificate
Check the wording required by your institution, and whether there is a standard form. Many
universities require something like: ‘This is to certify that the thesis on the topic … submitted
by … embodies his/her original work supervised by me. (signature/name/date).’

Acknowledgements
Most thesis authors put in a page of thanks to those who have helped them in scientific
matters, and also indirectly by providing such essentials as food, educational resources,
genes, money, help, advice, friendship etc. If any of your work is collaborative, you should
make it quite clear who did which sections.

Table of Contents
If the introduction starts on page 1, the earlier pages should have Roman numerals. It helps to
have the subheadings of each chapter, as well as the chapter titles. Remember that the thesis
may be used as a reference in the lab, so it helps to be able to find things easily.

Abstract
Of all your thesis, this part will be the most widely published and most read because it will be
published in thesis abstracts. It is best written towards the end, but not at the very last
minute because you will probably need several drafts. It should be a distillation of the thesis:
a concise description of the problem(s) addressed, your method of solving it/them, your
results and conclusions. An abstract must be self-contained. Usually it does not contain
references. When a reference is necessary, the relevant details should be included in the
text of the abstract. Check the word limit.

Introduction
What is the topic and why is it important? State the problem(s) as simply as you can.
Remember that you have been working on this project for a few years, so you will be very

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close to it. Try to step back mentally and take a broader view of the problem. How does it fit
into the broader world of your discipline?

Especially in the introduction, do not overestimate the reader’s familiarity with your topic.
You are writing for researchers in the general area, but not all of them need be specialists in
your particular topic. It may help to imagine such a person— think of some researcher whom
you might have met at a conference for your subject, but who was working in a different
area. She/he is intelligent, has the same general background, but knows little of the literature
or tricks that apply to your particular topic.

The introduction should be interesting. If you bore the reader here, then you are unlikely to
revive his/her interest in the Materials and Methods section. Go to the library and read
several thesis introductions.
This section might go through several drafts to make it read well and logical, while keeping
it short. For this section, it is a good idea to ask someone who is not a specialist to read it
and to comment. Is it an adequate introduction? Is it easy to follow? There is an argument
for writing this section—or at least making a major revision of it—towards the end of the
thesis writing. Your introduction should tell where the thesis is going, and this may become
clearer during the writing.

Literature Review
Where did the problem come from? What is already known about this problem? What other
methods have been tried to solve it? Ideally, you will already have much of the hard work
done, if you have been keeping up with the literature as you vowed to do at the beginning
of your study, and if you have made notes about important papers over the years. If you
have summarized those papers, then you have some good starting points for the review.

How many papers? How relevant do they have to be before you include them? Well, that is
a matter of judgement. About a hundred is reasonable, but it will depend on the field. You
are the world expert on the (narrow) topic of your thesis: you must demonstrate this.

Middle Chapters
In some theses, the middle chapters are the journal articles of which the student was the
major author. There are several disadvantages to this format. One is that a thesis is both
allowed and expected to have more details than a journal article. For journal articles, one
usually has to reduce the number of figures.

In many cases, all of the interesting and relevant data can go in the thesis, and not just
those which appeared in the journal. The degree of experimental details is usually greater in
a thesis. Often, a researcher requests a thesis in order to obtain more details about how a
study was performed.

Another disadvantage is that your journal articles may have some common material in the
introduction and the Materials and Methods sections. The exact structure in the middle
chapters will vary among theses. In some theses, it is necessary to establish some theory to
describe the experimental techniques, then to report what was done on several different
problems or different stages of the problem, and then finally to present a model or a new
theory based on the new work. For such a thesis, the chapter headings might be: Theory,
Materials and Methods, {first problem}, {second problem}, {third problem}, {proposed
theory/model}, and then Conclusions. For other theses, it might be appropriate to discuss
different techniques in different chapters rather than to have a single Materials and Methods
chapter.

Here are some comments on the elements Materials and Methods, Theory, and Results
and Discussion which may or may not correspond to thesis chapters.

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Materials and Methods
This varies enormously from thesis to thesis and may be absent in theoretical theses. It
should be possible for a competent researcher to reproduce exactly what you have done
by following your description. There is a good chance that this test will be applied:
sometimes after you have left, another researcher will want to do a similar experiment
either with your gear, or on a new set-up in a foreign country.

Please write for the benefit of that researcher. In some theses, particularly multi- disciplinary
or developmental ones, there may be more than one such chapter. In this case, the different
disciplines should be indicated in the chapter titles.

Theory
If your thesis belongs to science category, you should include one chapter for discussing the
basic theory on which your thesis is built. Of course this chapter is not exclusive for science
subjects alone. For example when you write a thesis on any management topic, you can as
well include this section explaining the basic concepts and theories involved in your detailed
research.

Results and Discussion

The results and discussion are very often combined in theses. This is sensible because of
the length of a thesis: you may have several chapters of results, and, if you wait till they are
all presented before you begin discussion, the reader may have difficulty remembering what
you are talking about. The division of Results and Discussion material into chapters is
usually best done according to subject matter. Make sure that you have described the
conditions which obtained each set of results. What was held constant? What were the
other relevant parameters? Also make sure that you have used appropriate statistical
analyses. Where applicable, show measurement errors and standard errors on the graphs.
Use appropriate statistical tests. In most cases, your results need discussion. What do they
mean? How do they fit into the existing body of knowledge? Are they consistent with current
theories? Do they give new insights? Do they suggest new theories or mechanisms?

Try to distance yourself from your usual perspective and look at your work. Do not just
ask yourself what it means in terms of the orthodoxy of your own research group, but also
how other people in the field might see it. Does it have any implications that do not relate
to the questions that you set out to answer?

Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Work

Your abstract should include your conclusions in a very brief form, because it must also
include some other material. A summary of conclusions is usually longer than the final
section of the abstract, and you have the space to be more explicit and more careful with
qualifications. You might find it helpful to put your conclusions in point form.

It is often the case with scientific investigations that more questions than answers are
produced. Does your work suggest any interesting further avenues? Are there ways in
which your work could be improved by future workers? What are the practical implications of
your work? Usually, this chapter should be reasonably short—perhaps a few pages. As with
the introduction, I think that it is a good idea to ask someone who is not a specialist to read
this section and to comment.

References (See also under Literature Review)

It is tempting to omit the titles of the articles cited, and the university allows this, but think of
all the times when you have seen a reference in a paper and gone to look it up only to find
that it was not helpful after all. Include all the important sources you have consulted, used, or
quoted in your thesis. Use any of the standard formats discussed under Research Papers.

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Appendices
If there is material that should be in the thesis but which would break up the flow or bore the
reader unbearably, include it as an appendix. Some things which are typically included in
appendices are: important and original computer programs, data files that are too large to
be represented simply in the results chapters, and pictures or diagrams of results which are
not important enough to keep in the main text.

Report:
The word report has been derived from the Latin word ‘reportare’ which means to
bring back to someone who was not present, the description of an event.
Generally speaking, a report means, to give an account of something seen, heard,
done etc.
J. Staneley Jones, while defining a report says, “A report is a special form of narrative
which aims chiefly at conveying information based upon facts”.
Thus report is a type of narration, but of a special type.
Generally in simple narratives the writer wants to attract the readers’ attention by
adopting certain ways. But in report writing, the main thrust of a writer is to provide
information in a scientific way. There is no place for exaggerated or hyperbolic expressions
(make something seem greater or more important than it really is).

Q.3. Write Characteristics of a good Report.

Characteristics of a good Report:

A report is used for various purposes by various departments such as industry, government,
business or in the projects of science, engineering, medicine, research and space.
The aim of a report is to convey information. This implies that facts should be imparted in
direct, straight forward style.
The important features of a good report can be summed up under the following points-
(i) Brevity – Brevity is the soul of wit’, said Shakespeare.
(ii) Clarity- Use of simple words and sentences.
(iii) Accuracy – Correctness of expression
(iv) Based on Facts
(v) Objectively written (free from personal bias)
(vi) Logical arrangement of ideas, where one idea leads to another

Q.4. What are the points you will bear in mind while writing a report?

Report writing is an art. There are certain points which a report writer must bear in mind
while writing a report. Some of which are as following:
i) At the outset reporter should note the purpose of the report.
ii) He should also see to whom the report is to be submitted.
iii) The time limit, within which he will have to prepare the report, should be kept in mind.
iv) What will be the impact of the report on the business and the businessman should
also be kept in mind.
v) Whether it is a newspaper report or a formal report, the reporter should have in mind
the image of report’s formal format, which should include the following:
a) Title of the report
b) Introduction
c) Procedure used to find facts
d) Findings of the report
 e) Conclusion or recommendations or suggestions

Q. 5. Differentiate between Summary and Abstract.

i) Summary and abstract are miniature versions of a report.
ii) Both summary and abstract contain the main points and basic details of the entire
report.
iii) Broadly speaking, the two terms - Summary and abstract are considered synonyms
yet there is a fine difference between a summary and an abstract.
iv) Summary is little larger than abstract.
v) Both summary and abstract are short restatements of another document.
vi) A summary restates major findings, conclusions and support data found in a
document.
vii) An abstract is generally the shorter version of a journal article.
viii)An abstract is little more concentrated form of a report than the summary.

Q. 6. Explain various types of reports.

Types of Reports:
Reports are of various kinds, some of them are as following:
(i) Annual Reports
(ii) Census / Survey Reports
(iii) Special Reports
(iv) Confidential Reports
(v) Market Reports
(vi) News Paper Reports
(vii) Project Reports
(viii) Reports on Seminars & Debates
(ix) Memorandum Report (Memo)
(x) Blank Form Report

(i) Annual Reports:

Annual reports may be called periodic reports because at the end of the year,
business organizations publish their reports on the routine activities and future policies of
the organization. Generally such reports are used to inform the share holders, directors or
members of the organization.
(ii) Census / Survey Reports:
Census or survey reports are used to find the consensus or mandate of the people on
various issues related to them. Also to find the population of countries these reports are
prepared.
(iii) Special Reports:
The special reports are the formal reports submitted by certain individuals or
committees. Special reports are not only statements of facts but they include the opinion of
the writer. Writer gives his recommendation/conclusion at the end.
(iv) Confidential Reports:
These reports are also special reports indirectly, written by the superiors about the
work and conduct of their juniors.
Such reports deal with facts as well as opinions.
(v) Market Reports:
The reports which are given by the experts who are constantly in touch with the
prevailing market conditions are called market reports.
(vi) News Paper Reports:
The real time reports on different aspects of life are known as News paper reports.
The journalists report the situation objectively.
(vii) Project Reports:
Project reports are reports mentioning the details of various projects. These may be
prepared for various purposes such as to win contract for carrying out various work services
or on completion of various project works mentioning all the details of the project.
(viii) Reports on Seminars and Debates:
These reports are prepared on the proceedings of seminars and debates for the
purpose of publication.
(ix) Memorandum Report: (Memo)
Memorandum is a kind of report that circulates within and among various
departments of a company or organization.
In more simple terms, a memo may be known as an Inter-office Communication.
The day to day operations of a company depends on memos. Hence writing memos is an
important job responsibility. Memos report everything from results to announcement of
meetings.
Hence, memos should be written quickly and clearly.
A memo includes the following chief headings-
Date, To, From, Subject and Main body
As a memo is a brief report, brevity or conciseness is one of its essential qualities.
(x) Blank Form Report:
A blank form report simply refers to a blank prescribed form which is periodically presented
by filling that blank form. Thus, an appraisal report if presented only by filling a blank
prescribed form is too known as the Blank Form Report.

Q.7. Write the significance of report writing.

SIGNIFICANCE OF REPORT WRITING:

1. Reports give consolidated, factual & updated information

A report provides consolidated, factual and an up-to-date information about a particular
matter or subject. Information in the report is well organized and can be used for future
planning and decision making.

2. Reports as a means of internal communication

A report acts as an effective means of communication within the organization. It provides
feedback to employees. It is prepared for the information and guidance of others connected
with the matter / problem.

3. Reports facilitate decision making and planning

Report provide reliable data which can be used in the planning and decision making process.
It acts as a treasure house of reliable information for long term planning and decision
making.
4. Reports disclose unknown information
Reports provide information, which may not be known previously. The committee members
collect data, draw conclusions and provide information which will be new to all concerned
parties. Even new business opportunities are visible through unknown information available
in the reports.
5. Reports give Information to employees
Reports are available to managers and departments for internal use. They are widely used
by the departments for guidance. Report provide a feedback to employees and are useful
for their self-improvement.

6. Reports give reliable permanent information

The information provided by a report is a permanent addition to the information available
to the office. We have census reports (prepared since last 100 years) which are used even
today for reference purpose.

7. Reports facilitate framing of personnel policies

Certain reports relating to employees are useful while preparing personnel policies such as
promotion policy, training policy and welfare facilities to employees.

8. Reports give information to shareholders

Some company reports are prepared every year for the benefit of shareholders. Annual
report for example, is prepared and sent to all shareholders before the AGM. It gives
information about the progress of the company.

9. Reports give information to the Secretary/Registrar

Annual report and annual accounts are sent to the Secretary / Registrar every year for
information. Such reports enable the government to do supervision of the companies.

10. Reports help in solving the problems

Reports are useful to managers while dealing with problems faced by the company. They
provide guidance while dealing with complicated problems.

11. Reports help directors to take prompt decisions

Company reports relate to internal working of the company and are extremely useful to
directors in decision making and policy framing. Reports give reliable, updated and useful
information in a compact form.

Q.8. Write the structure of a report.

REPORT: STRUCTURE
A report is said to have three parts, namely:
a. Front Matter b. Main Body c. Back Matter

a. Front Matter:
1. Cover Page: Title of report, name of writer and date
2. Title Page: Title of the report, name of writer and approved by
3. Copyright notice: © 2022 by ABES Engineering College. All rights reserved.
This material may not be duplicated for any profit driven enterprise.
4. Table of Contents: Lists various sections of the report and page numbers on which
that appear. Lists of headings and subheadings into which the content of the report has
been organized.
5. Acknowledgements: In this section the writer expresses his thanks to those persons
who have been helpful to him in the preparation of the report. He will mention the
name and designation of those persons.
6. Summary / Abstract: Summary or abstract is the shorter version of the report.

b. Main Body:
 1. Introduction: Purpose of the report, scope of investigation, procedure adopted for
investigation, back ground of the project.
2. Discussion: This section of the report includes detailed description of the report and
also a discussion of the problem in detail.
3. Conclusion: Consists of most significant data and ideas of the report.
4. Recommendations: This section consists of recommendations and suggestions made
by the investigating persons for improvement, but all formal reports does not make a
recommendation.

c. Back Matter:
1. Appendices: Supplementary information of highly technical nature which cannot be
placed in the main body of the report e.g. tables, data, figures etc.
2. Notes and References: This section consists of use of actual ideas or words of others
using MLA (Modern Language Association) & APA (American Psychology
Association) formats.
MLA Format: (Modern Language Association)
After the quotation cite the source of information parenthetically. [Author’s Name,
Book Name, Page No.],
e.g. [Elson, Post War British Theatre, P.85]
APA Format: (American Psychological Association)
After the quotation cite the source of information parenthetically. [Author’s Name,
Book Name, Year of Publication, Page No.],
e.g. [Elson, Post War British Theatre, 1981, P.85]

3. Bibliography: This section consists of alphabetized list of sources on the final page
of the report. These sources may include a list of books, periodicals, interviews etc.
and citation of these references is known as bibliography.
4. Glossary: This section consists of list of unfamiliar words or uncommon technical
terms which are beyond the understanding of a common reader.
5. Index: In long reports index includes the words or the technical terms and also
different page numbers on which that word appear.

Q.9. Write a Memorandum report.

A Sample Memorandum (Memo) Report

To: Ministry of Commerce and Industry No.
98371-II-2022
From: Ramesh Singh (Under Secretary to GOI) 09
May, 2022
Subject: Shri M K Kapoor’s Memorial
In returning the application of Shri M K Kapoor’s memorial dated 09 May, 2022, the
sender is directed to say that the Government of India absolutely declines to consider an
application couched in such an impertinent language.
Shri Kapoor is, however informed that if he desires the matter to be considered by
the Government of India, he must alter the tone of his letter and resubmit the same through
proper channel through the Government of U.P.
-sd-
XYZ
Under Secretary
to GOI
Q.10. Write a reprinted or blank form report.

A SAMPLE BLANK FORM REPORT or REPRINTED FORMAT REPORT

Proforma for Appraisal Report of a Senior Research Fellow working on a project

Name:
Designation:
Date of Birth:
Academic Qualification:

Name of the Subject Percentag

Year of Passing Division
Degree s e

Title of the Project:

Details of Data Collection:
Details of the findings:
Recommendations:
Time taken in the completion of the Project:
Remarks:
I certify that the information given above is correct to the best of my knowledge.

Signature
Q.11. What do you mean by proposal?

Proposal:
The word proposal has been derived from the word ‘propose’ that means to offer or
put forward for consideration- a suggestion, plan or scheme.
Proposal thus means ‘something proposed’: plan or scheme. It is often defined as a
plan or scheme that persuades its readers to accept the writer’s idea.
In other terms, a proposal is a properly conceived idea or plan, an action oriented
report. But it is different from a report. The proposal is a suggestive plan of future task
where the proposer aims at getting the acceptance or the approval of the authorities but a
report deals with what has already been done.

Q. 12. Explain various types of proposals.

Types of Proposals:
Proposals are written for business enhancement, scientific enquiry, and technical
knowledge and so on. Some of the main types of proposals are mentioned below:
1. Business Proposals: Proposals dealing with any aspect of business, trade and commerce
are called business proposals.
2. Research Proposals: Proposals concerned with a project requiring scientific enquiry or
systematic investigation are known as research proposals.
3. Technical Proposals: Proposals relating to technical knowledge and skills are known as
Technical Proposals.

Proposals related to an organization may be categorized in to following two types:

1. External Proposal: A proposal written by a firm in order to win contracts for work is
called External Proposal.
2. Internal Proposals: The writer prepares an internal proposal with a motive to convince
the person or group in authority to allow him to implement his ideas. Internal proposals
are thus, submitted within a company.

All the above proposals may be broadly classified into following two categories:
1. Solicited Proposal:
When a proposal is prepared in response to an invitation from a firm or some
government or non government organization, it is known as solicited proposal.
In such forms of proposals, the proposer receives a form from the firm inviting the
proposals. The writer is required to supply the relevant particulars as demanded by the
firm. Solicited proposals are generally prepared in response to some advertisement.
2. Unsolicited Proposal:
Sometimes a proposer prepares a proposal about the solution of a problem. This type of
proposal is developed by an individual without being asked or without any external
encouragement. Such proposals are commonly known as unsolicited proposals where
the proposer tries hard to rouse the interest of the people to whom he has sent his
proposal.

Q.13. What do you mean by RFP or EOI? Write a request for proposal inventing the
necessary details yourself.
Answer:
RFP – ‘Request for Proposal’ or ‘Statement of Request’:
The RFP - Request for Proposal or the statement of Request forms the main body of the
proposal. Often a request for proposal is issued by some Government Agency or small and
large corporation. This RFP explains the project details and also its significance precisely.
The companies that receive RFP now work hard to find out the ways to develop the project.
After developing the project the companies reply the RFP sent by various organizations by
their RFP, which helps them to win the contract for the Project.

EXAMPLE OF RFP- REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OR EOI– EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Global Computer Solutions

Plot No. 24, Sector 32
Noida, U.P.,
0120348449
Globalcomputers@gmail.com

09 May, 2022

The Director
Institute of Management Studies
Plot No. 10, Sector – 62
Noida, U.P.

Subject: SETTING UP OF COMPUTER LABORATORY

Dear Sir,

1. In response to your advertisement published in The Times of India dated 06 May, 2022, I
would like to submit a proposal enclosed herewith.

2. I shall be very grateful to you, for an early reply at your end.

Yours faithfully,

-sd-
XYZ
Senior Manager

Encl: Proposal

Q.14. What are the qualities of a good proposal?

Qualities of a good proposal or Factors to be considered for writing a good proposal:

Following points should be followed for writing a good proposal:

1) Proposer should keep in mind his customer’s needs as well as his own product or
service.
2) Proposer should suggest the benefits, likely to accrue to the customer.
3) Certain visual aids may be appropriately used by the proposer to present his proposal in
an effective way.
4) Proposer should describe the approach to solve the problem.
5) The proposer must explain the expertise of the people responsible for the project.
6) Time and money required for the execution of the proposed project should be estimated
and clearly mentioned.
7) Proposals should be written in simple language.

Q.15. Write the significance of proposal writing.

Ans:
Proposals are important for the progress of any profession and professional. The progress of
any organization to a great extent depends on good proposals. Some of the advantages of
good proposals are as following:
i) Good Proposals win contracts for work: Good Proposals help to win contracts for
carrying out various project and infrastructure works
ii) Increases Business Activity: Proposal improves the business activity as it is written in
order to propose a product or service to a prospective customer or buyer. It helps
businesses to compete without even needing to send marketers or representatives
physically to the prospective customers to pitch or to try and sell their products or
services. The business proposal, if written very well would on its own be able to do all
the promotion and selling.
iii) Offer solution to problems: Business proposals are written in order to offer solutions to
the problems faced by prospective customers.
iv) Improves Interpersonal Communication Skills: The proposal writers better their
interpersonal communication skills by writing various types of proposals.
v) Enhances Personal Growth: The good proposal writer gets appreciated by the
authorities which fetches him better pay and promotions.
vi) Saves Time: The project work is executed in a well planned manner through proposals
which saves the man hours in the project completion.
vii) Saves Money: The execution of projects through well planned proposals saves money
by employing only required human resource on the project.

Q. 16. Write the structure of a proposal.

PROPOSAL: STRUCTURE / FORMAT

The structure of a proposal is determined according to the type of proposal, if it is solicited

or unsolicited, internal or external. The structure of the solicited proposal is determined by
the organization inviting it.
A good proposal however, has four important parts:
a. Front Matter
b. Technical Section
c. Managerial Section
d. Financial Section

a. Front Matter:
It includes the following elements:
1. Cover Page: Title of Proposal, Name of Proposer, Address & Date
 2. Title Page: Title of Proposal, Name of Proposer, Date & Company Name
3. Table of Contents: It lists various sections of the proposal and page numbers on
which that appear. Lists of headings and subheadings into which the content of the
proposal has been organized.
4. Abstract or Summary: Summary or abstract is the shorter version of the proposal.

b. Technical Section:
In this section the proposer highlights two things: (i) Problem and (ii) Its solution.
The writer should organize the proposal around four questions:
1. What is the problem?
2. What is the solution?
3. Can the solution be implemented?
4. Should the solution be implemented?
c. Managerial Section:
The managerial section describes the personnel who will work directly on the project. All the
details such as their qualifications, achievements and experiences are mentioned in this
section.
d. Financial Section:
It includes a chart of anticipated expenditure. The estimate should be realistic and
complete. There should be a detailed account of the amount required for several items such
as equipment, lab testing, salaries of personnel, office contingencies and infrastructural
facilities such as building, water, electricity, machines and so on.

Elements of Speech Delivery.

 Quality
 Volume
 Rate/Pace
 Pitch
 Articulation
 Pronunciation
 Voice Modulation
Pauses

• Quality – It distinguishes one’s voice from another. While the quality

of one’s voice cannot be changed, it can be trained for optimum
impact. It may be rich and resonant, soft and alluring, thin and nasal.
• Volume – The loudness or softness of voice. If your volume is too
high one may sound boorish and insensitive, whereas if it is too low
one may convey an impression of timidity.
• Pace/Rate – The number of words per minute. It varies from 80 to
250 words per minute. The normal rate is from 120 to 150 words.
• Pitch – It refers to the number of vibrations per second of one’s voice.
The rise and fall of voice conveys various emotions. Lowness of pitch
can indicate sadness, shock, dullness, guilt, etc. If one is excited,
joyous, ecstatic and even angry, then the pitch automatically
becomes high.
• Articulation – Speakers should be careful not to slop, slur, chop,
truncate or omit sounds between words and sentences. Lazy
articulation, slurred sounds, or skipping over words will lower the
credibility of the speaker.
• Pronunciation – If articulation means speaking out all the sounds
distinctly, then pronunciation requires us to speak out sounds in way
that is generally accepted. We should use a standardized
pronunciation so that our words are easily comprehensible.
• Voice Modulation – Modulation pertains to the way we regulate, vary,
or adjust the tone, pitch and volume of the sound or speaking voice.
Modulation of voice brings flexibility and vitality to one’s voice. It can
make a presentation very interesting.
• Pauses – A pause is a short silence flanked by words. A pause in
speaking lets the listener reflect on the message and digest it
accordingly. However we should use it judiciously to make it effective

How to Pitch an idea

• An idea pitch is when you present a business idea to others. You
may be pitching in a more formal capacity, where you deliver a full
presentation, or you may be pitching a simple idea about how to
improve processes to a colleague in an informal setting.

The 8 Key Elements of Highly Effective Speech Delivery

 1. Gentle eye contact

 2. Kind facial expression
 3. Warm tone of voice
 4. Expressive hand and body gestures
 5. Relaxed disposition
 6. Slow speech rate
 7. Brevity
 8. The words themselves

Benefits of pitching an idea

• Creating improvements: If you have an idea for how to improve

something, whether it's a product already in existence of a system,
delivering your pitch successfully can help you achieve that objective.
• Generating revenue: In some cases, the pitch may allow a company
to generate more revenue. For example, you could be pitching a
potential new customer or pitching your manager on an idea that
creates more revenue for your company.
• Developing relationships: If you're working on a startup, developing
a strong idea pitch can allow you to develop relationships with
potential partners, which could ultimately help you procure more
resources for the business.
 • Think through your idea
• Before you pitch your idea to anyone, the first step you need to take
is to think through the details. The idea you share with others should
be both specific and actionable. As you think through your idea, ask
yourself what problem the idea solves and whether the problem is
significant enough to justify the cost of your solution.
• 2. Consider the scope of the idea
• The next step you should take is to consider how big your idea is, as
the size of the idea impacts the amount of preparation you need to
do, the number of pitches you need to make, the decision-makers
you need to reach and the amount of time you can expect it to take to
reach your goal.
• Identify the decision-maker
• The next step you need to take is to identify which person has the
ability to approve your idea. If the scope of your idea is very small,
this could mean you or even a peer within your company has the
power to approve your idea. If the scope is large, you may need to
get approval from a manager or even executive in your company.
• 4.Consider the other person's perspective
• As you're starting to think through your pitch, it's a good idea to start
by considering the perspective of the person to whom you're making
your pitch. For example, you should consider why they are going to
be interested in your idea and what their primary concerns are. You
should also take into consideration the number of unsolicited pitches
they receive each day. The better your pitch fits the perspective,
needs and interests of the person you're pitching, the more effective it
will be.
• 5.Plan your pitch
• The next step is to plan your idea pitch. It's a good idea to have
three variations: a five-second version, a 30-second version and
a five-minute version. The five-second version should consist of
a single sentence that concisely conveys your idea. That
sentence should, in very simple terms, express both the
problem and the solution. For example, "I'm proposing that we
start doing group training sessions over one-on-one training to
increase camaraderie among new hires and save the manager
time."
• Practice your pitch
• After your idea is fully vetted and your pitch is complete, the final step
is to practice your pitch for others who can give you honest feedback.
Constructive feedback can help you improve upon your idea and how
you present it to others so it has an even greater impact. You can
also use these practice sessions to create a list of questions that you
may be asked when you're pitching your idea.

Tools To Help You Be More Confident And Effective Poise

• Poise means ease and dignity of manner, and balance and stability of
carriage as in bearing of the body and head
• A poised speaker is a relaxed speaker, calm, composed, and
confident because of thorough preparation and control
• The ability to be ill at ease inconspicuously
• Poise is about keeping calm and in control while under fire or under
pressure.
• Poise comes from being focused on the audience and being of
service to your audience. For example, Emotional balance.

Tools To Help You Be More Confident And Effective Passion

• Passionate speakers look confident, and passion helps you to build
trust and connect with your audience
• Passion is not just about raising your voice and having animated
gestures.
• Passion is having that absolute conviction in, and alignment with
your message and your purpose.
• Passionate people come across as authentic and genuine and their
focus is on helping their audience in one way or another.
• If confidence and effectiveness are two of your goals in public
speaking and you are clear on your message and why it matters,
then Poise, and Passion will go a long way to helping you get there.
• To help you along in preparing that passion-filled presentation, here
are three simple tips-
• Speak with Energy, Confidence and Power
• Layer Your Content With Achievements, Accolades and Aspirations
• Showcase Your Story Journey – How Did You Overcome Your
Conflict?

Tools To Help You Be More Confident And Effective

Illustration
• Illustration is the use of examples to make ideas more concrete and
to make generalizations more specific and detailed.
• Examples enable speakers not just to tell but to show what they
mean.
• For example, a speech on recently developed alternative sources of
energy becomes clear and interesting with the use of some examples
—say, solar energy or the heat from the earth's core. The more
specific the example, the more effective it is.
• Along with general statements about solar energy, the speaker might
offer several examples of how the home building industry is installing
solar collectors instead of conventional hot water systems, or building
solar greenhouses to replace conventional central heating

• Here are eight steps you can use to compose an effective

speech for any situation:
1. Choose an important topic.
2. Consider your audience.
3. Prepare a structure.
4. Begin with a strong point.
5. Use concrete details and visual aids.
6. Include a personal element.
7. Consider rhetorical devices.
8. End memorably.

References
• Technical Communication, (Second Ed.); O.U.P., Meenakshi Raman
& S.Sharma New Delhi,
• 2011.
• 2. Business Communication for Managers, Payal Mehra, Pearson,
Delhi, 2012.
• 3. Personality Development, Harold R. Wallace et. al, Cengage
Learning India Pvt. Ltd; New Delhi
• 2006.
• 4. Practical Communication by L.U.B. Pandey; A.I.T.B.S. Publications
India Ltd.; Krishan Nagar,
• Delhi 2013.
• 5. Personality Development & Soft Skills, Barun K.Mitra, Oxford
University Press, New Delhi, 2012.