The school requirements are described in the document
entitled "YOUR M.ENG. DESIGN PROJECT". Here I list
a few other items that I look for in my students'
project reports.
Specific requirements:
Report acceptance and grading:
Since I must sign your abstract page, the report must
demonstrate a minimal level of competency. If this
level is not reached, a failing grade will be given.
(MEng only.)
The highest grades go to those students whose final
version of their report demonstrates a clear
understanding of the project and its implementation
as documented by precise technical writing and figures.
Grades are not affected by the quality nor content of
your first partial or complete draft.
I do not like to give C grades or lower, but I do.
I generally will want at least one bound copy and one
unbound copy of your report. Assume this unless otherwise
informed. In many cases I will also want an electronically
readable version (e.g., on a CD).
Proceedures:
I will not guarantee to read and grade any final report
handed in to me less than one week before the school's
deadline. The school deadlines are as follows:
January degree: 2002 January 11
May degree: 2002 May 17
August degree: 2002 August 16
December degree: 2002 December
It is unlikely that you will be able to finish a final
version if I get your first version less than 4 weeks
prior to the school's deadline. Expect that the first
one to three drafts of an MEng project report will be
unacceptable. This is different from a term paper or
a senior project where you have no chance of further editing
after submission.
English matters. If your first language is not English,
you may want to get someone to help edit your report.
Your Table of Contents, an example:
Title Page.
Abstract.
Executive Summary.
Acknowledgements.
Table of Contents.
List of Figures.
List of Tables.
Introduction.
Theory of Operation.
Functional Description.
Results/fault analysis.
Operation Instructions.
Conclusions.
state of final design, results summary.
recommendations for future improvements, etc.
Appendix.
Schematics (list).
Program source listings (list).
Parts list.
Part specifications.
Abstract versus an Executive Summary--See school requirements--
these are not quite the same thing and must not merely say the same
things.
Drawings/Figures:
Must be clear and readable; computer drawn.
No less than 1" margins.
Text fonts large enough to be easily read.
Everything must be labelled.
Sensible use of line weights.
Insert figure after first reference in text (unless part of appendix).
Don't use color if the same information can be delivered in
black-and-white; i.e., different line types are
generally just as good as different line colors.
Direct comments to
Wes Swartz.
Last modified on 2001/8/1.