English 2053: Research Report

Preparatory Reading
Before completing this assignment, read pages 80-108 ("Research Report") and pages 166-189 ("Research Methods").

Objective
The assignment is designed to introduce you to the various elements of a formal research report.

Important Reminder: This assignment counts for 25 percent of the course grade. Your grade on this assignment is most affected by the extent to which you adhere to the formatting rules described and modeled in the text. Therefore, (1) be sure that your report includes all of the required parts (See page 72). (2) Be sure that your report paginates pages correctly. (3) Be sure that the headings in your Table of Contents and Table of Tables and Figures are identical to the headings in the text. (4) Be sure that at least three sources are cited in the text and that all sources listed on your Refernces or Works Cited page are cited in the text. (5) Be sure that you consistently follow one of the documentation styles described in the text. (6) Be sure that your table and graphics have proper labels, titles and source notes. (7) Finally, if you are uncertain about any of this, please call me before sending in your report.

Tip on pagination: In order to create separate pagination for the front matter and the body of your research report in Microsoft Word, insert a non-continuous section break after the front matter. By using the View Header and Footer command, you can create small Roman numeral pagination foir the front matter and Arabic pagination restarting at 1 for the body of your report. Remember to select Different First Page so that you numbers will not appear on the title page or the first page of your body text.


Click to view my video comment on this assignment in Quicktime (.mov) or Windows Media (.wmv)

Due Date
The due date for the Formal Research Report is listed on the syllabus.

Additional Examples

Tip: The student research reports listed below are good examples but the formatting was disrupted when I transferred them to these web pages, so be sure to check your formatting against the printed examples in the text.

Submission Method

I should be able to read a word processing document with graphics that is sent as an attachment to an email. Be sure that the attached file has a distinct name by using the following naming convention where the x's stand for your three initials.

xxx15
 

Return to course syllabus

Contact instructor about this assignment cbrucker@atu.edu

updated: June 12, 2009