This task is intended to
• get you to report on what you have done, the problems you have faced (and overcome), and where you think your project will go from here;
• give you an opportunity to practice, and get feedback on, your report writing skills
Prepare a written report on the progress you have made. In it you are expected to describe what you have done so far and what you need to do to complete your project. Further information about the structure and content of the Interim Progress Report are on page 2 of this document.
It should only take you about 4 - 6 hours to write your Interim Progress Report. Please note that the Interim Progress Report is an individual piece of work.
a) Your report should contain the sections described in detail on page 2.
b) The report should be word processed and in the following format:
12 point Times or Times New Roman
font (except for mathematical formulae, where you may use whichever font
is most appropriate).
Single spaced text, with 6 points of extra space after each paragraph (like
this document).
Margins: 30mm left; 20mm right; 20mm top and bottom.
No more than eight pages in length, excluding the cover page and appendices,
with pages numbered in one continuous sequence.
Stapled in the top left corner, with the supplied front cover completed
in your own handwriting.
This piece of work is worth 9% of the total marks for the course.
You are required to submit two copies of your Interim Progress Report for assessment
at Engineering and Information
Sciences Reception
by 1600 hrs
on Tuesday 11 January 2004
You should also keep a copy for yourself. No late work can be accepted.
a) Quality of your work in writing the report (80%)
Quality of work done as a result of the literature search, as presented in the report (and substantiated in the list of references); Quality and amount of work done on the project itself, as judged from report (and from any relevant evidence provided in appendices); Quality of discussion of issues relating to work done and planned to be done on project (including possible problem areas).
b) Quality of report (20%)
Report structure & coherence. Grammar, spelling, style, readability, and consistency.
Your Interim Progress Report will be assessed by the second marker (also known as the moderator) of your project. Keep in mind that you want the second marker of your project to be able to assess how good the project is and how good your execution of the project looks likely to be.
We will expect the front cover of your Interim Report to be an official cover sheet, filled in and signed by yourself. The Official cover sheet is attached.
The report should form a coherent document covering the following areas:
Section 1: 1/2 to 1 page long (add an appropriate section heading and any necessary sub-headings)
• Details
of the particular problem that you have set out to address in your project.
Describe the problem your project sets out to address (including specific background and technical nature) in a form which would be clear to a technical reader new to your project.
• Precise objectives of your project and the product(s) which will be submitted for assessment.
This information will have been in the project proposal, but needs to be briefly repeated, as this interim progress report is addressed to a different audience.
Section 2: 1 to 2 pages long (add an appropriate
section heading and any necessary sub-headings)
• The
academic context to your project
For example, if you are doing a project on computer security, you will need to give details of this academic field, including what you have found out so far from your literature search and what you still need to research. Link this to the list of references in the appendix to the report.
Section 3: 3 to 4 pages long (add an appropriate section heading and any necessary sub-headings)
• An
account of the progress you have made so far i.e. what you have done.
Be specific. Detail how far you have got and why you have done it - including what you have completed and what still needs to be done. Show how this relates to your project and what you need to achieve. Discuss problems encountered or anticipated and steps taken/to be taken to solve them. Even if you have not managed to do any programming yet, you should give an account of the design you have done (producing ERMs, screen designs, formal specifications etc.). You may also briefly mention any skills learned for your project.
Provide supporting evidence for the work done e.g. on design and practical work, by referring the reader to the appropriate appendix of your report for examples of any ERMs, screen shots, formal specifications, code, questionnaires etc., making clear what you are referring to and why.
Section 4: 1/2 to 1 page long (add an appropriate section heading and any necessary sub-headings
• A brief description of what you need to do to complete the project (including what is involved in evaluating the project and its products and writing the final report).
Appendices: these should be numbered (Appendix 1, Appendix 2 etc.) and each given a heading.
• Appendix 1. References (list of books, journals, web pages etc.)
These should be referred to from any section of your report that is drawn from books, journals, WWW etc., particularly sections summarising material from your literature search. Use the Harvard system of referencing both for citing sources in the main report and to draw up the list of references.
• Appendix 2,3 etc. as needed. Evidence and examples of design and practical work (e.g. ERMs, screen shots, formal specifications, code, questionnaires, etc.)
The appendices will not be formally assessed in themselves, but will contribute to the assessment of the report by providing supporting evidence for claims made.