Style Guide for Report Writing

The draft of technical writing for a project report is as much a part of the project as doing
the allocated work for the internship. However excellent and original the project may be,
unless the entire process of conducting it and its results can be communicated to other
people effectively, it may as well not have been done! Communicating the project in a
clear and useful way is key, and is the reason for devoting a lot of effort to this aspect.

The following notes provide a guideline to report writing, and more generally to writing a
scientific article. Please take the time to read them carefully.

Paper

Size: The size of the paper shall be standard A4

Text: The standard font shall be Times New Roman – 12 points with 1.5line spacing.

Left & Right margins: Single sided printing; left margin 1.5 inches, right margin 1 inch.

Pagination:

Page numbering in the text of the project report shall be Hindu Arabic numerals at the
centre of the footer. Page number ‘1’ for the first page of the Introduction chapter shall
not appear in print; only the second page will bear the number ‘2’ and it continues.

Page numbering for pages before Introduction chapter shall be in lower case Roman
numerals (ii, iii, etc.)

Paragraph: The vertical space between paragraphs shall be about two line spacing. Do not
indent the first line of each paragraph.

Title: A brief, clear description of the subject of the report. Please follow the template
given for the title page (Appendix 1).
Chapter and section format:

Chapter: Each chapter shall begin on a fresh page. With an additional top margin of about
60 mm. Chapter number in Hindu Arabic numeral (e.g.: Chapter 2) Title shall be printed
at the centre of the line, in 18 point size in bold face using upper & lower case ( all caps
or all small caps shall not be used). A vertical gap of about 2 line spacing shall be left
between the Chapter number and Chapter title lines and between chapter title line and
first line of the paragraph.

Sections & sub-sections:

A chapter can be divided into Sections (16-point font size), Sub-section (14-point font
size) & Sub-subsections. Sections & subsections can be numbered using decimal points.
E.g. 2.2 for section in chapter 2 and 2.2.4 for 4 th subsection in 2nd section of chapter 2.
Sections and subsections should be included in the content page with page numbers
flushed to the right. Further subsections need not be numbered, nor included in the
contents. Sections and subsections shall be written in bold face, flushed to the left (not
centred).

Table & Figure format:

Small size table & figure (less than half of the writing area of the page) shall be
incorporated within the text, with larger ones presented on separate pages. Table and
figures shall be numbered chapter wise.

Example: 7th figure in chapter 3 will bear the number 3.7

Table number and title (10-point font size) shall be placed above the table and figure
number and caption shall be placed below the figure.
Abbreviation notation & nomenclature:

A complete and comprehensive list of all abbreviations, notations and nomenclature

including Greek letters with superscripts & subscripts shall be provided after the list of
tables & figures.

References:

 Use an alphabetical bibliography

 Each listed reference must be cited in the text of the report

Examples of citations:

1. Article with doi (digital object identifier):

Laplante, J. P., & Nolin, C. (2014). Consultas and socially responsible investing in
Guatemala: A case study examining Maya perspectives on the Indigenous right to free,
prior, and informed consent. Society & Natural Resources, 27, 231–248.
doi:10.1080/08941920.2013.861554
Toren, Z., & Iliyan, S. (2008). The problems of the beginning teacher in the Arab schools
in Israel. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 1041–1056.
doi:10.1016/j.tate.2007.11.009
2. Article with URL:
Eaton, T. V., & Akers, M. D. (2007). Whistleblowing and good governance. CPA
Journal, 77(6), 66–71. Retrieved from http://www.cpajournal.com/
3. Book: Put the edition number in parentheses after the title if the book has multiple
editions. (If the book does not list any edition information, do not include an edition
number.) The edition number is not italicized.
American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd
ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.
Weinstein, J. A. (2010). Social change (3rd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
4. E-books:
Lencioni, P. (2012). The advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything else in
business [Kindle version]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com
5. Chapter in book:
Poe, M. (2017). Reframing race in teaching writing across the curriculum. In F. Condon
& V. A. Young (Eds.), Performing antiracist pedagogy in rhetoric, writing, and
communication (pp. 87–105). Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.
6. Magazine article retrieved online:
Clay, R. (2008, June). Science vs. ideology: Psychologists fight back about the misuse of
research. Monitor on Psychology, 39(6). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/
7. Newspaper article retrieved online:
Baker, A. (2014, May 7). Connecticut students show gains in national tests. New York
Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/nyregion/national-
assessment-of-educational-progress-results-in-Connecticut-and-New-Jersey.html
Appendices: Put hard copies of computer outputs (tables, figures, etc.) Each appendix
should have a number and title & referred to in the body of the report

Structure of the Report: The report shall be arranged in the following order:

1. Title Page
2. Certificate (from the organization)
3. Acknowledgement
4. Executive Summary
5. Content
6. List of Figures
7. List of Tables
8. Body of the Project (Introduction, Company Profile… etc)
9. References
10. Appendices

The title page format is given as appendix. The certificate given by the organization on
the completion of the project shall be affixed next. Acknowledgement and Executive
Summary of the project will follow the certificate page. In the content page that comes
next, the content as suggested in Appendix 2 shall be detailed with appropriate page
numbers. Following it will be the list of figures and tables. Then comes the body of the
project report, which shall be followed by the references page and the necessary
attachments as appendices.

Please see in the Appendix 2 to get an idea of the report format.

Appendix 1
 SOCIAL INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT

Appendix 2 (Suggested Template 1)

Title:
Household Survey of Water Needs in the XYZ Panchayath and Implementation of Safe
Drinking Water Campaign in the Village
Table of Contents
Certificate
Acknowledgement
Executive Summary
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1.0 Introduction to Project
1.1 The Water Resource Context
1.2 Water Related Challenges in the State and Region
1.3 Scope of the Projects and Activities
1.4 Organization of this report
2.0 The Internship Context
2.1 Brief Introduction to the Organization (Domain, Outreach, Programs, Impact)
2.2 Vision and Mission
2.3 Spread of Work and Scope of Project
2.4 Approach to Work (Organizational Structure, Verticals, Programs and
Projects and Work Process)
2.5 Funding and Resource Context and the Business Model
3.0 Details of Project/s & Activities
3.1 Brief Description to Projects and Activities Assigned
3.2 Activity/Project Wise Details with Objectives and Outcomes
3.3 The Learnings and Limitations to the Work Undertaken
3.4 Challenges Faced
4.0 Implementation of Design Thinking (DT)
4.1 Stakeholder Identification: stakeholders and their connection with the NGO
4.2 Empathize:
4.2.1 Empathy Maps
4.2.2 Problem identification for the end customer
4.3 Define the problem
4.4 Ideate
4.4.1 Problem solving technique used
4.4.2 Solutions identified
4.5 Prototype
4.5.1 Development of prototype
4.5.2 Checking the Protype
4.6 Testing
4.6.1 NGO Feedback on Testing
 4.6.2 Strategies for Scaling

5.0 Conclusions
6.0 Reference
7.0 Appendices

Appendix 2 (Suggested Template 2)

Title:
Participation in Intervention for Improved Education in Municipal Schools of XYZ Taluka,
ABC State & Development of Curriculum Improvement Plan for the Physically Challenged
Students
Table of Contents
Certificate
Acknowledgement
Executive Summary
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1.0 Introduction to Project
1.1 The Primary Education Context
1.2 Primary Education Scenario in the State and the Region
1.3 Scope of the Activities and Projects
1.4 Organization of this report
2.0 The Internship Context
2.1 Brief Introduction to the Organization (Domain, Outreach, Programs, Impact)
2.2 Vision and Mission
2.3 Spread of Work and Scope of Project
2.4 Approach to Work (Organizational Structure, Verticals, Programs and
Projects and Work Process)
2.5 Funding and Resource Context with Business Model
3.0 Details of Project/s & Activities
3.1 Brief Description to Projects and Activities Assigned
3.2 Activity/Project Wise Details with Objectives and Outcomes
3.3 The Learnings and Limitations to the Work Undertaken
3.4 Challenges Faced
4.0 Implementation of Design Thinking (DT)
4.1 Stakeholder Identification: stakeholders and their connection with the NGO
4.2 Empathize:
4.2.1 Empathy Maps
4.2.2 Problem identification for the end customer
4.3 Define the problem
 4.4 Ideate
4.4.1 Problem solving technique used
4.4.2 Solutions identified
4.5 Prototype
4.5.1 Development of prototype
4.5.2 Checking the Protype
4.6 Testing
4.6.1 NGO Feedback on Testing
4.6.2 Strategies for Scaling
5.0 Conclusions
6.0 Reference
7.0 Appendices