Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University

Dr. Amit Gefen Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University

0555.1151 Introduction to Biomedical Engineering General Notes on Report Writing:

1. Reports must be prepared using a word processor. Use 1.5 spacing for the text. 2. Graphs must be of good quality. Use your spreadsheet program to produce the graphs, and print the graphs directly from the spreadsheet. You may import the graphs into your word processor, but if you do, the graphs must be large enough for convenient use by the reader. Choose the scales carefully. Sometimes, it is useful to insert gridlines, for example, when presenting calibration charts. 3. Using a spreadsheet is advisable for most calculations. Apart from the benefits gained in the calculation itself, and the opportunities for 'what if' analysis, the production of tables of data and graphs, is greatly simplified. 4. The Discussion section must refer to the evidence, and the conclusions must be reached on the basis of the evidence. This means that the evidence must be presented in a manner that will clearly support the point being made. The reader should not have to sift through the data to find what you are referring to. Think of the Discussion as presenting a case. 5. When you compare results, make your comparison quantitative. Do not use "lower," "much lower," "fairly close to," etc., when you can report a percentage difference. Predictions from empirical correlations always have uncertainty associated with them, as do experimental observations. Take this into account when comparing results. The extent of the experimental uncertainty can be obtained from repeated runs. Make these a part of your experimental strategy. Estimate the magnitude of your measurement error. 6. A "sample calculation" showing the entire calculation for one run may be included in an appendix. The sample calculation must be easy to follow, i.e. it must be easy for the reader to check your logic, assumptions and calculations. Checking is a basic part of engineering work, and the originator of the work is expected to set out the work to facilitate checking. The sample calculation must be an actual set of calculations for a specific run. It is not a summary of calculations made elsewhere. Other materials, like raw data and derivation of certain equations, may also be included in appendices. Note, however, that no important or vital materials should be placed in appendices. 7. Your first priority is to complete the task set, i.e. to meet the objectives. However, this is seldom all that there is to an engineering job. Ask yourself how the analysis or the experimental work can be extended or what additional contributions can be made within the time deadline of the job?

1 Dr. Amit Gefen Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University Self Evaluation of Report Writing:

Read your report several times before submitting it and evaluate it according to the criteria detailed below (Note: I will be using these criteria to grade your report):

 Ovaerall Quality (layout of report, clarity of diagrams and tables, logical development of arguments, report of findings and conclusions, convincing recommendations...)

 Analysis (is your literature review adequate, have you thought of other options, did you discover the potential problems, are the objectives clear...)

 Organization (each sentence should follow logically from the preceding sentence; separate sections for separate topics; separate interpretations from facts - by placing them in separate sentences, or better, in a separate section, i.e. Discussion; ask yourself after each sentence – “did I gave the reader ALL the information he needs to understand this sentence someplace previously in the paper?”…)

 Quality of Graphics (label all axes with name and units, use large enough letters, symbols and line width…)

IF SELECTING TO WRITE YOUR REPORT IN ENGLISH, VERIFY THAT YOU ARE USING

- only the singular form of a noun as an adjective, e.g. pressure distribution, not pressures distribution - the natural form of verb, e.g., not “measurements were made of the force” – instead “the force was measured”. Mostly use natural English word order: Subject, Verb, Predicate - ‘ data’ is plural, and thus, “data were analyzed” and not “data was analyzed”

Some points to be considered (learnt from previous experience of students) -

Sometimes, it could be forgotten that the reader of your reports has nowhere near the same intimate knowledge of the subject that you have (given that you have been working on it for the several weeks or months). You must explain yourself, knowing that the reader knows none of the background that you have. You must develop your arguments and analyses in a way that can be understood by the layperson. This is especially important with design and research reports, since they may often go to non- technical people or to people from a different discipline for reading. However, DO NOT leave out the technical details. As an engineer you must be able to explain yourself to someone who does not have the same training as you do. But the same report must be robust against a technical analysis by someone trying to find mistakes and errors in it.

2 Dr. Amit Gefen Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University

Generally, there is a real hesitancy among students as to the analysis of results. As an engineer this is the most important part. A technician can make measurements, at far less cost (i.e. salary), the engineers are being used because of their expertise at understanding the results and drawing conclusions and recommendations from them.

Do not forget a conclusions and recommendations section. Many reports seemed to end abruptly, before they should have, without any real ending.

Try reading your reports from the perspective of someone who has never seen it and never heard of what you are doing. Does it still make sense, can you understand it, are the conclusions still logical...

The cardinal rule of report writing is to give the person you are submitting the report to what they like to see. Each person to whom you give a report will have different expectations. You have to figure these out. Most of them will not provide handouts with some instructions and hints …

3 Dr. Amit Gefen Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University

USEFUL TIPS FOR BETTER ENGLISH WRITING

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects 2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. 3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. 4. Avoid clichés like the plague (they're old hat) 5. Be more or less specific. 6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary. 7. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies. 8. No sentence fragments. 9. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used. 10. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. 11. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous. 12. One should NEVER generalize (never say never!). 13. Comparisons could be as bad as clichés. 14. Don't use no double negatives. 15. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. 16. One-word sentences? Eliminate. 17. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. 18. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. 19. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice. 20. Kill all exclamation points!!! 21. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them. 22. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas. 23. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed. 24. Eliminate quotations ("I hate quotations. Tell me what you know…") 25. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly. 26. Puns are for children, not groan readers. 27. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. 28. Who needs rhetorical questions? 29. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.