ÇANKAYA UNIVERSITYForeign Languages Unit

RTW405- Report Writing

Basics about the Instructor

Name & Surname:

Office:

Office Number:

E-mail address:

Course Description

RTW 405 is a report writing course designed to help

students acquire necessary skills of writing a report required for academic studies and professional purposes.

LENGTH & PERIOD: 2 hours per week; 14 weeks and 28 hours in total

http://rtw405.cankaya.edu.tr/

COURSE PACKYou have to bring your book to follow the course. Where can you buy the book?

• The copy center

ATTENDANCE

•Students are required to attend classes and examinations. Minimum required attendance is 80% for class sessions per semester, which makes up 6 hours of absence at most.

•Students who miss an exam will not be given a make-up exam unless they submit an approved medical report or any other official document proving their excuse.

ATTENDANCE

•Students can bring documents for the classes if they have problems such as▫Illness (copy of doctor’s report within 15

days)▫Clash (copy of student’s program)▫Excuses related to Çankaya (document

from the university)▫Working (any document)

•All documents about absence will be given to the instructor

GRADING

MIDTERM: 20%FINAL: 25%TERM PROJECT (portfolio): 40 %OVERALL IN-CLASS PERFORMANCE: 10

%TEACHER ASSESSMENT: 5 %

TERM PROJECT

PORTFOLIO :

Portfolio Assessment (40%)The portfolio tasks and their points are listed below:

Task 1 : Making Situational Analysis (5 pts) Task 2 : Making the outline (5 pts) Task 3: Writing the “Introduction” part of the report (10 pts) Task 4: Writing the “Body” part of the report (10 pts) Task 5: Final draft of the report (10 pts)

TERM PROJECT

Portfolio Assessment Policy

•You will write at least 2 drafts for your portfolio tasks.•Then, their individual scores will be added together and

the total score will be obtained. •This total score will be divided by 2 in order to have your

score for that particular portfolio task.

TERM PROJECT

Portfolio Assessment Policy • You have to write the first draft of the portfolio tasks in

the classroom and you must submit it to the course instructor at the end of the lesson.

• If you don’t submit it, you will lose half of the points assigned to that task and you have to write it in the next writing lesson.

TERM PROJECT

Portfolio Assessment Policy • If you fail to be in the classroom on the portfolio day

without an official written excuse(e.g. a health report), you will lose the half of the points assigned to the task and you have to write your first draft in the next writing lesson.

• If you fail to be in the class without an official written excuse again in the next writing lesson, your score for that task will be 0.

TERM PROJECT

Portfolio Assessment Policy Late Submissions Policy

• If you fail to submit the final draft of the portfolio task on the due date, you will be able to submit it in “ The Late Submission Period” in return for the half of the points assigned to that task.

• “The Late Submission Period” ends in 7 days starting from the due date. If you fail to submit your task within “The Late Submission Period”, your score for that assignment will be 0.

TERM PROJECT

Turnitin

You need to upload your 4th task to Turnitin.

So, create an account as soon as posible.

Any questions?

Now answer these questions What is the website of the course? What is the limit of absenteeism in this course? What happens when you exceed the limit of absenteeism? In case of missing an exam, how can you take a make-up

exam? What is the percentage of porfolio? What happens if you don’t write the 1st drafts in the

classroom? How long does “late submission period” take? What is the expectation of the instructor from you

throughout the course? How can you contribute to the course during the lesson?

Let’s start with the course!Fundamentals of Technical Writing

Technical vs. Non-technical Writing

What do you know about technical writing?•Technical writing is different from non-

technical writing such as fiction and essays.

•It is writing that deals with science and technology.

•Although technical writing is primarily used in engineering, it is involved in all areas of physical, natural, and social sciences.

Have you ever written technical reports thus far?

How is technical writing different from non-technical writing?

•Accuracy is more important than style.

•Its purpose is to transmit information.

Report vs. Essay

How is a report similar to an essay?

•Formal style•Introduction, body, & conclusion•Analytical thinking•Careful proof-reading & neat presentation

How is a report different from an essay?•Presents information, not an argument•Is meant to be scanned quickly by the reader•Uses numbered headings and sub-headings•Uses short, concise paragraphs and dot-points•Uses graphics•May need an abstract/executive summary•Always needs references and bibliography•Is often followed by recommendations and/or

appendices

Reports vs. Essays

•A common problem in report writing is that students transfer what they have learned about essay writing to report writing.

•However, there are some essential differences between the two.

REPORT ESSAY

Presents information Presents an argument/opinion

Is meant to be scanned quickly by the reader

Is meant to be read carefully

Uses numbered headings and sub-headings

Uses minimal sub-headings, if any.

Always needs references and bibliography/reference list

May not need references and bibliography/reference list

Uses short, concise paragraphs and dot-points where applicable

Links ideas into cohesive paragraphs, rather than breaking them down into a list of dot-points

Uses graphics wherever possible (tables, graphs, illustrations)

Rarely uses graphics

May need an abstract (sometimes called an executive summary)

Will only need an abstract if it is very long, or if your lecturer asks for one specifically

May be followed by recommendations and/or appendices

Seldom has recommendations or appendices

Task 1Complete the table by putting characteristics into the correct column and row.

A report An essay

Topic 1. 2.

Purpose 3.4.

5.

Reader 6. 7.

Format 8. 9.

Style 10. 11.

Assessment 12. 13.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G H

J

K

L

IM

What are some types of reports?•Recommendation report •Feasibility report•Informational report•Progress report•Trip report

Reports•Reports are written for specific audiences

and this results in certain characteristics in terms of style and format.

•The aim is to present information clearly. As a result, there are seperate sections with a heading and a numbering system.

•These sections are shown in the «Table of Contents» part.

•See the example on page 20.

Reports•You need to repeat information in seperate

sections of the report because reports are not usually read from cover-to-cover by one person.

•Different people focus on different parts of it.•For instance, a manager may read the

abstract.•A technical officer may read only the section

that explains how things work.•A personnel officer may read the conclusions

and recommendations part that directly affects his working area.

Basic Characteristics of Reports•Technically accurate•Useful•Concise•Complete•Clear•Consistent•Correct in spelling, punctuation, grammar•Targeted•Well-organized

Guidelines for Effective Technical Writing1. Write short sentences (of 12 to 25 words)2. Use active voice3. Use parallel structure4. Avoid strings of choppy sentences5. Aavaid redundant phrases6. Use «there are» sparingly7. Avoid run-on sentences8. Avoid sentence fragments9. Use headings to clarify parts See p. 22 for example headings

2. COMPARISONS BETWEEN iOS AND ANDROIDIn this part of my report, I will compare iOS and Android in many aspects like their operating system, history, features and market value.2.1 Introducing the Operating System

2.1.1 iOS operating systemIt is a mobile operating system developed by Apple and

distributed exclusively for Apple hardware. The operating system is based on the Macintosh OS X. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's iDevices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Designed for use with Apple’s multi-touch devices, iOS supports input through direct manipulation. The system responds to various user gestures, such as pinching, tapping and swiping (Rouse, 2013, para. 2).

2.1.2 Android operating systemAndroid is an operating system. It is created by Google Teams for

use on device such as smartphone and tablet. It is an operating system that is available on devices made by various manufacturers, giving you more choices of device style and pricing. Also, the Android operating system allow you can customize your devices in many different ways (Google, 2014, para. 3).

As the Foreign Languages Unit,

We wish you a happy and

successful semester