Writing a Scientific Report

SIMPLE GUIDLINE FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Student Name
ID | SUBMISSION DATE:
YOUR GUIDLINE to write a scientific report.

Scientific report is an important component for the development

of scientific thinking. As an engineering student you are required to write several
scientific reports. This guideline provides a general guide to writing reports about
scientific research that will take part of your journey as an engineer.

How do you start?

To begin with, you have to understand and observe the task you’re required to do,
in order to achieve the best results possible. READ, READ AND READ.

A draft is always a good idea to start with; as it helps you to sum up your
information about the topic. Take a look at the elements of a scientific report, and
include them in your draft.
 Title Page
 Table of Contents
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods (Experimental)
 Results
 Discussion
 Conclusion
 References

NOTE: We’ll be discussing a simple example and will walk you through
the steps of writing a scientific report.

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Scenario: You’re asked to write a scientific report about the effect of static
electricity by the experiment of charging a balloon by rubbing it.

*Applying the elements of a scientific report:

Title Page:
Make sure to have a short, clear title which clearly indicates what the report is
about. The title page will normally include the submission date and who the report
is for.
e.g.:

Table of contents:

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A table of contents is a shortcut to the reader. Show the reader where the various
sections of your report are located and include the page numbers of each section
within the report and any appendices that are attached to it.

e.g.:

Table of Contents
I. Introduction................................................................................................................................
II. Body...........................................................................................................................................
Main Point 1...................................................................................................................................
Examples/Details/Explanations:.................................................................................................
Main Point 2...................................................................................................................................
Examples/Details/Explanations:.................................................................................................
Main Point 3...................................................................................................................................
Examples/Details/Explanations:.................................................................................................
III. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................
IV. References...............................................................................................................................

Abstract:
Give a brief overview of what you’ve done (description of the procedure,
materials and methods and conclusion). In addition, summarize the major aspects
of the entire report in a prescribed sequence.
**Although the abstract comes first in a report, it is best to write it last, after you have the
results and conclusions.

e.g.:

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In this experiment, we could see the effect of static energy, by using a balloon and
a piece of wool. The balloon was rubbed by the wool and as a result the balloon
got charged by adding a surplus of electrons (negative charges) to the surface of
the balloon. After that, the balloon was faced to the wall, the wall is now more
positively charged than the balloon, so the balloon got stuck into it for amount of
time.

Introduction:
 Start with an attention grabber: a short story, example, statistic, or historical
context that introduces the report topic.
(Have you ever wondered why rubbing a balloon on your head makes your
hair stand up?)
 Tell what the overall report will focus on.
(How is the static electricity made, and why does it make your hair stand on
end?)
 Briefly outline the main points in the report
 Give an overview of any issues involved with the subject
 Define of any key terminology need to understand the topic.
(e.g. static electricity)
The Introduction should not include any results or conclusions.

Materials and Methods (Experimental):

Now that you've hooked your reader with a good introduction, you'll start getting
into the details about how you performed your study or experiment. But make sure
you don't include so much detail that it becomes overwhelming! It's very
important that in the Materials and Methods section you write only what you did,
not what results you got. (Materials include what equipment you’ve used).

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e.g.:

Materials
1. Balloon
2. An object made out of wool (such as a sweater, scarf, blanket or ball of yarn)
3. A wall

Methods

•    Hold the balloon in a way that your hand covers as little of its surface area as
possible, such as by using only your thumb and pointer finger or by gripping the
balloon by its neck where it is tied off.
•    Rub the balloon on the woolly object once, in one direction.
•    Hold the balloon up on the wall with the side that was rubbed against the wool
facing the wall, then release it.

Results:
The results section summarizes the findings of your study, and the aim of it must
be achieved in this section. While performing your results, always be creative; use
different sources and methods that include visual data, such as pictures, graphs,
tables, etc.

e.g.:
The balloon got stuck to the wall for amount of time.

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Discussion:
The purpose of the discussion is to interpret and describe the significance of your
findings in light of what was already known about the research problem being
investigated, and to explain any new understanding or fresh insights about the
problem after you've taken the findings into consideration.

e.g.:
Wool is an electro conductive material, which means it readily gives away its
electrons. Consequently, when you rub a balloon on wool, this causes the electrons
to move from the wool to the balloon's surface. The rubbed part of the balloon now
has a negative charge it will be attracted to the wall.

Conclusion:
• Restate your research from the introduction in different words
• Briefly summarize each main point found in the body of the report
• Give a statement of the values of implementing your idea the way you
proposed, why you selected to implemented that way, what is the
benefits.
• End with a strong conclusion statement that ties the whole point of the
report together.
(e.g.: A static electric charge can be created whenever two surfaces
contact and separate, and at least one of the surfaces has a high resistance
to electric current.)

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REFERENCES:
list all the sources you've used in your report with the appropriate method.
Preferably, use the Harvard referencing system, including the bibliography.
**What Harvard referencing system?
Harvard is a style of referencing, primarily used by university students, to cite
information sources.
You can use this website: https://www.mybib.com/#/projects/jyOmqO/citations

e.g.: (Reference used in our scenario)

Buddies, S. (2019). Attraction with Static Electricity. [online] Scientific
American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-
science-home-static-electricity-attraction/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2019].

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