Concordia Co-op ENCS - Work Term Report Instructions

7/26/2019 Concordia Co-op ENCS - Work Term Report Instructions

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Updated July 4, 2014

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE FOR CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION

Guidelines for Writing a Work Term Reportfor Students in Undergraduate

Engineering and Computer Science Co-op Programs

March 1, 2013

Please see your respective Work Term Report Guidelines

if you are an Arts & Science, Fine Arts, JMSB or Translation student


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE.... iii

PART I GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS1.

Purpose of the Work Term Report ....12.

Length, Setup and Style ....13.

Plagiarism ..24.

Developing Your Report . .25. Confidential Information ..3 6.

Submission of the Report .4 7.

Evaluation of the Report .5

PART II CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK TERM REPORT1.

Scope of the Report 72.

Organization of the Report .7 2.1

Title Page .8

2.2

Submittal Form 82.3

Abstract ...82.4 Table of Content .8 2.5

List of Figures/List of Tables ...92.6

Preface (optional) 92.7

Body of the Report .92.7.1

The Introduction .92.7.2 Literature Review 102.7.3

Discussion/Solution .102.7.4

Conclusions .112.8 List of References 11

2.9

Appendices .113.

Some Final Points ...12

PART III APPENDICESAppendix A: Employers Evaluation of Work Term.....13Appendix B: Work Term Report Evaluation Form ..14Appendix C: Sample Title Page .15Appendix D: Submittal Form .16 Appendix E: Sample Abstract ....17Appendix F: Sample List of Figures/ List of Tables ...18Appendix G: Sample List of References 19


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PREFACE

The Guidelines for Writing a Work Term Report for Students in Engineering and Computer Science Co-opPrograms, Concordia University,is adapted from the following documents:

Guidelines for Writing a Work Term Report for Engineering. Engineering & Computer Science Co-operative Education, Dalhousie University.http://engandcompscicoop.dal.ca/co-op_students.php?sub=cs/guidelines_eng.2013.

Instructions for Writing a Work Term Report. Institute for Co-operative education, ConcordiaUniversity. July 2012.

Guidelines for Writing Work Term Reports. Barbara Trotter, Ric Soulis & Clay Morgan. Department ofCivil and Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo. Revised December 2010.

Form & Style: The Guide to Writing a Technical Report for Students in Engineering and Computer Science

281 and Engineering 410. 4

th

Edition. Patrick McDonagh & Jack Bordan. Concordia University. May2000.

Thanks are due to the authors of the above documents and to all Co-op staff and Engineering andComputer Science Co-op Academic Directors who have contributed ideas and feedback to thisdocument.

Institute for Co-operative Education

Concordia UniversityJanuary 2013
http://engandcompscicoop.dal.ca/co-op_students.php?sub=cs/guidelines_enghttp://engandcompscicoop.dal.ca/co-op_students.php?sub=cs/guidelines_enghttp://engandcompscicoop.dal.ca/co-op_students.php?sub=cs/guidelines_enghttp://engandcompscicoop.dal.ca/co-op_students.php?sub=cs/guidelines_enghttp://engandcompscicoop.dal.ca/co-op_students.php?sub=cs/guidelines_enghttp://engandcompscicoop.dal.ca/co-op_students.php?sub=cs/guidelines_eng


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PART I GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. Purpose of the Work Term Report

According to the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (2012), the graduates of anaccredited engineering program must possess various attributes, including communication skills:An ability to communicate complex engineering concepts within the profession and with societyat large. Such ability includes reading, writing, speaking and listening, and the ability tocomprehend and write effective reports and design documentation, and to give and effectivelyrespond to clear instructions.The development of communication skills has always beenemphasized by the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute for Co-operative Education at Concordia University.

The individual who is a competent writer has a distinct advantage in today's competitive society.It is essential that professionals learn how to prepare reports on work-related activities. A reportthat is well written can be a stepping stone in your career, whereas one that is poorly written can

cast a shadow on the credibility of your work.

Report writing is a skill that is best acquired through practice. The purpose of writing a workterm report is, first of all, to learn how to communicate effectively in writing. It is an exercise incollecting, organizing, and presenting your work term information in a logical and concise fashionthat is readily understood by the reader. It is more than an accumulation of a certain amount ofknowledge. Your work-term report should be a professional-quality report that containstechnical/analytical content. It should communicate to the reader useful information, arguments,opinions, evidence, recommendations, etc. Through your work term report, you are trained toeffectively impart your knowledge in a written form.

2.

Length, Setup and Style

Excluding front and end matter of a report such as the title page, table of contents, etc., thebody of the work term reportmust be about 10 to 15 pages. It must be typewritten, doublespaced on 8 1/2" x 11" paper, with margins of one inch all around.

Your work term report is expected to be a piece of clear and accurate writing. Follow the rulesof essay writing and limit each paragraph to one idea. Every paragraph should contain anintroductory sentence to alert the reader to the main idea that will be presented. A finalsentence should provide a succinct summary. Use a thesaurus and a good dictionary.

Here are some key points to keep in mind when you are preparing your report:

(a) Do not use the first person (i.e. I, me, we, us, our, ours) in the body of the report. Use thethird person or the impersonal it.

(b) Be consistent in tense throughout the report.(c) Avoid the use of technical jargon unless it is explained.(d) Do not use slang or colloquialisms.(e) Be specific - avoid the use of vague references to quantity or to comparisons, e.g. to state


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this innovation has enabled the company to save $100, 000 every year is preferable tosaying this innovationhas enabled the company to save lots of money every year.

(f) Only use illustrations, graphs, and tables if they assist the reader to better understand itemssuch as equipment, processes, plant layouts, and experimental results.

(g) Proofread and spell-check your report. Keep in mind that a spell-check cannot find alltypographical errors or differentiate between grammatical errors such as misuse of their,they'reor there.

3. Plagiarism

Your work must be your own; otherwise, it is classified as plagiarism. Concordia Universitydefines plagiarism as the presentation of the work of another person, in whatever form, as onesown or without proper acknowledgement. (Article 16a,Academic Code of Conduct)

Plagiarism could be material copied word for word from books, journals, Internet sites,professors course notes, fellow studentswork, etc. It could be material that is paraphrased buttoo closely resembles the original source. Plagiarism can also refer to copying images, graphs,

tables, ideas, oral presentations, etc. without proper citation. If you translate someones workfrom one language to another without citing the source, it is also regarded as plagiarism.Therefore, whenever you write a research paper using someone elses idea or words, it isimportant that you explain where the information comes from by citing the source correctly. Tolearn more about correct citation, visit theConcordia Library Citation Guideswebsite.

Plagiarism is a serious form of academic misconduct, which violates academic integrity. Onewould face serious penalties if found to have plagiarized. For complete information onAcademicIntegrity and the Academic Code of Conduct, please review Section 17.10 of the 2012-2013Undergraduate Calendaror visithttp://registrar.concordia.ca/calendar/17/17.10.html.

4.

Developing Your Report

Treat the preparation of the report as an on-going aspect of your work term.

It is recommended that you meet with your job-site supervisor within the first two weeks ofyour work term to go over theEmployers Evaluation of Work Termand complete SECTION1: WORK TERM OBJECTIVES: Performance Objectives and Professional/Personal Objectives(See Appendix A). This is also a good time to explore possible topic areas with your supervisorand to discuss whether or not they will require a copy of your final report.

It is also your responsibility to ensure that the employer is familiar with Concordias Co-op work

term requirements and expectations as outlined insection 3.10 and 3.11 of theCo-opHandbook.

Prepare a schedule of activities necessary for completing your report. Keep an organizednotebook containing your observations, meetings you attended, and discussions you had withyour supervisor and/or co-workers. Record any unexpected observations. Things seemingunimportant at the time may prove to be useful for inclusion in your report.
http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/citations.htmlhttp://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/citations.htmlhttp://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/citations.htmlhttp://registrar.concordia.ca/calendar/17/17.10.htmlhttp://registrar.concordia.ca/calendar/17/17.10.htmlhttp://registrar.concordia.ca/calendar/17/17.10.htmlhttp://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/documents/EMPLOYEREVALUATIONENGLISH2009.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/documents/EMPLOYEREVALUATIONENGLISH2009.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/documents/EMPLOYEREVALUATIONENGLISH2009.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/documents/EMPLOYEREVALUATIONENGLISH2009.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/documents/FINALCOO-OPHANDBOOKDECEMBER72012_000.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/http://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/http://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/http://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/http://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/http://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/http://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/documents/FINALCOO-OPHANDBOOKDECEMBER72012_000.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/documents/EMPLOYEREVALUATIONENGLISH2009.pdfhttp://registrar.concordia.ca/calendar/17/17.10.htmlhttp://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/citations.html


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A well-thought out and well-organized plan will make your report writing easier. Prepare anoutline of topics and subtopics in a logical order and keep adding short notes to each as moreideas come in. Choose an appropriate title for your report and keep adding pertinentinformation. Re-read and revise your outline before starting to draft your report. You may wishto start with the introduction, or you may feel more comfortable beginning with one of thetopics in the main body of the report. After completing the first draft of the report, put thereport aside for a while and reflect on the material as well as the flow of the report. Go back torevise it, making sure that you have followed your outline, kept the reader in mind, and notmissed out any important or pertinent information you wanted to include.

5. Confidential Information

If the work that you are undertaking has elements that are confidential, you must respect theemployers wishes and keep the information confidential. This can be undertaken in differentways. One common method is to remove any sensitive data from the report. For example, thesentence Technology Solutions current market share represents 35% of the industrys normcontainssensitive information; thus, it should be removed from your report. Or, you can remove the

name of the company/person to make it anonymous (e.g.: Company ABC or Ms. A) or to replacethe statistical information with fictional figures.

In either case, you should verify with your supervisor that any sensitive data removed from yourreportand that your gutted reportmeets his/her satisfaction. Keep in mind that your workterm will be uploaded on COMPASS, so it is accessible to other people besides you yourself.In some instances, the work term report may contain information which is deemed strictlyconfidentialand cannot be shared. In such circumstances, upon pre-approval by your Co-opProgram Coordinator, the work term report can be evaluated by your job-site supervisor, whowill be advised to submit the work term report grade to the Co-op Office. In such cases, you areonly required to upload the Title Page, Submittal Formand Table of Contentson COMPASS.

In short, students must comply with employers rules and regulations governing confidentialinformation and intellectual property. Students are encouraged to consult with their respectiveCo-op Program Coordinator and Co-op Academic Director on such a matter.

6. Submission of the Report

All co-op students in Engineering and Computer Science on Work Term I and II are required tosubmit a work term report for each four-month work term. If you are doing a double work termback to back for 8 months, whether it is with the same employer or whether you are performingthe same tasks, you are required to submit a report after each four-month period.

For Work Term 3, Computer Science students are required to write a work term report, but

Engineering students are required to do a presentation in lieu of the work term report. In rare

cases where students do an extra work term, a presentation is required. The presentations are

normally held at the end of the work term. Follow the presentation schedules prepared by your

Co-op Program Coordinator and review thoroughly theInstructions for Work Term

Presentationavailable on Co-ops website and in the Resourcessection on COMPASS.
http://coop.concordia.ca/documents/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/Instructions_for_Work_Term_Presentation.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/documents/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/Instructions_for_Work_Term_Presentation.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/documents/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/Instructions_for_Work_Term_Presentation.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/documents/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/Instructions_for_Work_Term_Presentation.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/documents/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/Instructions_for_Work_Term_Presentation.pdfhttp://coop.concordia.ca/documents/currentco-opstudents/formshandbooks/Instructions_for_Work_Term_Presentation.pdf


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Your work term report or presentation, along with your Employers Evaluation, must beuploaded on COMPASS on or before the last day of classes in your work term semester, which isstipulated in Concordias Academic Calendar Dates.

Here are the steps for uploading your work term documents on COMPASS.

a) Log into COMPASS via your MyConcordia portalb) Click on Student Servicesc) Click on Co-op COMPASS/COMPASSd) Click on the Work Term tabe) Click on Show My Postingsf) Find the proper session/work term and press EDIT (next to ACTIONS), as if you were

inputting your Work Site Visit informationg) Scroll down to the fourth section called Tracking of Work Term Requirements and upload

your work term report, where indicated to do soh) In the same area, right underneath, upload your EmployersEvaluation, where indicated to do

soi) Scroll down to the bottom of this page and press on SUBMIT WORK TERM RECORD

In addition to uploading the work term reports or presentations on COMPASS, co-op students inElectricaland Computer Engineeringprograms must also submit one hard copyof the

work term reportto the Co-op Office on or before the last day of classes(See the table belowfor program-specific requirements). All students are advised to keep a personal copy for futurereference. A report that does not conform to the required format will not be accepted.However, in the case where the employer insists on a unique (different) format, the employer'sformat requirement may be used with the consent of your Co-op Academic Director.

Program-specific requirements for submission of work term reports

Undergraduate ENCS Co-op and INEX ProgramsPrograms Upload the Report

on COMPASSHand in a Hard Copy of

the Report at Co-op OfficeWork-Term

Presentation

Work Terms 1 & 2

Building Yes No N/ACivil Yes No N/A

Computer Engineering Yes Yes N/A

Electrical Yes Yes N/A

Industrial Yes No N/A

Mechanical Yes No N/ASoftware Yes No N/A

Computer Science Yes No N/A

Work Term 3

*All third (3rd) Work-term EngineeringCo-opstudents

Yes (upload presentation) No Yes


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7. Evaluation of the Report

Your Co-op Academic Director will evaluate your work term report according to the criteria onthe attached Evaluation Form (Appendix B). Some Co-op Academic Directors may choose toprovide specific comments on a separate sheet. They normally have two to three weeks toevaluate the reports and notify students whose work is deemed unsatisfactory and must beresubmitted. Students have two weeks to revise and resubmit the report. The Co-op AcademicDirector will then re-evaluate the report and notify the Co-op Office of the final grade for thework term.

Your work term report is one component of your work term course requirements. For each ofyour work term courses (CWT courses), you receive a grade of PASS, PDIST (Pass withDistinction) or FAIL.

The PASS grade is assigned to students who meet the following conditions:

1.

Uploaded the report/presentation and Employers Evaluation as well as submitted a hard copy

of each (if required by your programsee the table on Page 8) on or before the last day ofclasses

2.

Received an evaluation of Marginal Pass or higher on the work term report/presentation3.

Received an overall performance evaluation of NeedsImprovementor higher from theemployer

The PDISTgrade is assigned to exceptional students. To be eligible for PDIST, you must meetthe following conditions:

1. Uploaded the report/presentation and EmployersEvaluation as well as submitted a hard copyof each (if required by your program -see the table on Page 8) on or before the last day of

classes2.

Received an evaluation of Excellent on the work term report/presentation3.

Received an overall performance evaluation of Excellent from theemployer

The FAILgrade is a permanent grade on a students record and leads to automatic withdrawal ofthe students from Co-op. A FAIL grade is assigned to students who:

1.

Were dismissed from their work term by the employer; or2.

Terminated their work term without the permission of the Institute for Co-operativeEducation; or

3.

Failed to submit the work term report and failed to upload it on COMPASS; or

4.

Submitted a work term report that does not meet the co-op requirement.


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PART II CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK TERM REPORT

1. Scope of the Report

Your work term report should deal with a specific topic and must be of a technical/analyticalnature. It is not a mere description of what you did, or a simple description of what you learnedduring your work term, or a summary of someone elses technical paper. All students, whetheryou performed technical tasks or administrative or project management tasks during your workterm, are expected to produce a report that draws on your engineering or computer scienceknowledge and should involve an analytical approach on your part, with observations,conclusions, and recommendations as appropriate.

If you worked on a technical project, you should discuss your accomplished project or choose atopic related to your project, research on it, cite a range of references, provide a critical reviewof these references, recommend solutions to problems if any or recommend measures forimprovement. Keep in mind that your work term report is essentially what the company (theemployer) is interested in. Therefore, your report should provide useful information and well-

defined procedures for others in the company to verify and possibly to follow or reproduce.

Occasionally, students work term may not yield a suitable topic for the work term report. Forexample, students may not have been directly engaged in technical tasks but have performed theresponsibilities of a project manager, sales engineer, supervisor, helpdesk analyst, etc. If this is thecase with you, you can still write how you can improve peoples skills in these areas.Usereferences, especially books, on how to perform such tasks well. You can research onimprovement of workplace culture, processes and procedures, customer service, communicationeffectiveness, etc. The report must contain significant analytical content related to your programof study.

Make your report totally objective. Any personal observations and comments about your role,your experience, your accomplishments, etc. should be placed in an appendix, thus separating andkeeping your technical/analytical piece of work distinct.

2. Organization of the Report

Your report will contain the following elements, in the order listed. Each element is explainedbelow.

Front Matter Title PageSubmittal Form

AbstractTable of ContentsList of Figures/List of TablesPreface (optional)

Main Content: Body (Text) of the Report

End Matter: List of references


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Appendices

2.1 Title Page

The title page, the first page of the Front Matter of the report, is not counted as part of thebody of the report and is not numbered. See Appendix Cfor a sample title page.

2.2

Submittal Form

The Submittal Form allows you to include essential information related to your work term toorient the reader and provide the reader with a direction of where you did your work term,who your supervisor was, at what work term level you were, etc. There is also a section on

Acknowledgment,in which you have the opportunity to recognize those who have helped youwith the successful completion of your work term and your work term report (seeAppendixD).

2.3Abstract

The abstract explains in a concise way the objective and scope of the report and itsconclusions. It is normally between 100-200 words long in one paragraph. The abstract shouldfocus on accuracy. It should outline the situation you are confronting, the problem arisingfrom the situation, the solution you are proposing, and the expected outcome or deliverablesresulting from your solution. Your abstract must be able to stand on its own apart from thefull report (see Appendix E for a sample abstract), and it must include the following headings:

ABSTRACTTitle of ReportAuthors Name

2.4 Table of Contents

The table of contents lists the entries of each section or subsection. The content and typestyle of your entries must agree with those in the headings of your text. Include chapterheadings as well as first and second-level (and possibly third-level) sub-headings. Use theTable of Contents in this document as your guide in constructing your own Table ofContents.

2.5List of Figures/List of Tables

For your List of Figures, include figure numbers, captions, and page numbers. For your List ofTables, include table number, headings and page numbers. Normally, a separate page is

devoted to List of Figures and List of Tables respectively, but if there are few entries, both listsmay be put on the same page. Ensure that the numbers, captions/headings and page numbersin the List of Figures and List of Tables conform to those in the body of the report. SeeAppendix Ffor a sample List of Figures.

2.6 Preface (Optional)


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The Preface of the report is optional. Include it only if you wish to thank specific people fortheir assistance in the production of your report or if you wish to discuss a point that may berelevant to the report but which cannot fit comfortably in the body of the report or appendix.

2.7Body of the Report

Again, keep in mind that in technical writing, the writing style is impersonal, i.e. you do not usethe first person (i.e. I, me, we, us, our, ours). For personal reflections on what you have done orlearnt or accomplished, you can use a more personal style, but this information should becontained in an appendix, not in the main body of the report.

2.7.1 The Introduction

The introduction is the first main section of the report. It typically begins with somebackground information that will put your project into proper context. This will make it easierfor your reader to appreciate the reasons for your activities, solutions and recommendations.When your introduction is complete, your reader will know what project you have completed,

the problems you have encountered, and why a solution is important.

It must be reiterated that your report must be of a technical or analytical nature. If yourwork term project is not of a technical nature, identify a problem/situation in the

company, discuss its positive and negative effects, and suggest possible solutions.Your report should not be a personal account of what you do on a daily basis during yourwork term. This personal reflection should be included in an appendix.

In the Introduction section, include your statement of the problem, which defines more fullythe object of your study, the problem you addressed, and your solution. For example, you willneed to define why your observed problem/situation is worth the research and discussion,

why your conception of the problem is a correct one, why your proposed solution isimportant and makes sense. Your statement of the problem will orient your Co-op AcademicDirector to your technical descriptions that follow.

2.7.2 Literature Review

The literature review section provides an overview of work relevant to your project that hasbeen accomplished previously. A good literature review sheds light on the issues you arediscussing and supports your work with scientific references. Inadequate use of reliablescientific references may indicate that you have not researched/studied the topic sufficiently.While literature review of classic works adds weight to your report, it is vital that more

current recognized research and studies are adequately reviewed and referenced to makeyour report up to date. With regard to making references to the research and studies cited inyour report, make sure that you visithttp://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdffor the IEEE Editorial Style Manual It is preferable to use journal/conference papers and textbook sources; however, the use of

online sources may be relevant to some programs, for example, the Software Engineeringprogram.
http://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdfhttp://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdfhttp://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdfhttp://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdf


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2.7.3 Discussion/Solution

Having identified the problem/situation and presented relevant literature, you now turn to thediscussion of and solution to the problem.

You can proceed with your discussion chronologically (what steps to complete first, second,etc.) or by function (what things to do). The level of detail you provide will depend on thesophistication of the problem/situation as well as the length of your report. You shouldconsider the way in which your employer will utilize your project. This is crucial to tailoringyour discussion of your solution to be maximally useful.

You should describe any trade-off analysis carried out during your evaluation of alternativesolutions to the problems outlined above. Within the practice of software engineering, asoftware engineer often has to choose between two or more competing solutions to aproblem. The outcome of these choices is determined by the software engineers professionalevaluation of the risks, costs, and benefits of alternatives, in cooperation with stakeholders.The software engineers evaluation is called trade-offanalysis. (Software Engineering

Professional Practice, Chapter 11, Swebok,http://computer.centraldesktop.com/swebokv3review/)

2.7.4 Conclusion

Finally, your conclusion should be a summary of the materials presented, one or moreconclusions drawn from your research, and/or one or more recommendations. Depending onthe subject of your report, you can use as your concluding section1)

Summary - if your report is descriptive; or2)

Conclusions- if your report is on a research or development project; or3) Recommendations - if your report calls for an investigation to determine a course of action.

Do not introduce new material or ideas in your conclusions. Make your conclusion clear andconciseyou want to leave your readers with a solid understanding of what you have beendiscussing in the report including important results/findings, problems (with solutions) andrecommendations.

2.8List of References

The conclusion is normally followed by the reference section. The reference list identifies allsources from which you have taken information, either as directly quoted text, paraphrasedstatements, or graphic material. You should use an accepted citation format; the IEEE format iscommonly used in engineering reports. Double-check your references to be sure that page

numbers, URLs, and other details are correct. Missing or incomplete citations prevents yourreaders from locating material of interest and also undermines their opinion of yourprofessionalism.

A List of References is not a chapter, so it does not require a chapter number. Failure toacknowledge the work of others is unethical and illegal, both in the academic and professionalmilieu.
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2.9Appendices

An appendix is for added material that may be relevant to your report, but which cannot beplaced comfortably in the body of the report. If placed in the body of the text, it will interruptthe flow. For example, your reflection of your work term experience, your completecomputer programme, or a survey questionnaire should be included in the appendix.

Include in an appendix a page or two of your evaluation of your work term experience. Thismight include some of the following:1) What you did on a daily basis2)

What you accomplished3)

How your work related to your academic training4) How your work contributed to what you learned technically, professionally and personally5)

Describe some of the strengths and weaknesses of your work-term6)

Whether your experience in the field suggested that changes should be made to youracademic program, and if so, what you would recommend adding/changing

3.

Some Final Points

Maintain your professionalism and positive attitude at all time. When discussing an undesirableissue or situation, always direct at the issue itself rather than finger-point at anyone. Do not badmouthyour employer or your co-worker, and do not use an accusatory tone in your report.This, however, by no means precludes your critical thinking. What is expected is yourconstructive feedback and positive input.

As a future engineer or computer scientist, it is important for you not only to be able tocommunicate effectively in writing, but also to be familiarized with the standard for publications inEngineering and Computer Science. Refer to the course syllabus of ENCS 282 Technical Writing

and Communicationas well as the IEEE Editorial Style Manualhttp://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdfto equip yourself with the knowledge and skillsfor preparing professional reports in your field.
http://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdfhttp://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdfhttp://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdf


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PART III APPENDICES

Appendix A- Employers Evaluation of Work Term


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Appendix B: Work Term Report Evaluation Form

Students Name: Date Received:Students ID#: Employer:Program: Report Reviewed by Employer: Yes NoWork Term: 1 2 3 4 Students Job Title:Work Term Report Title:

FORMAL ELEMENTSFail Marginal Pass Satisfactory Very Good Excellent N/A

Title Page & Submittal Form

Abstract

Table of ContentsUse of Tables/Graphs/Illustrations/FiguresBibliography/Appendices

TECHNICAL CONTENT

Fail Marginal Pass Satisfactory Very Good Excellent N/A

Background Research

Context & Relevance

Clarity of Purpose/ThemeUse of Technical/Theoretical DataFindings/AnalysisClarity of Conclusions/Recommendations

COMMUNICATIONS - STYLE (Format, Delivery)

Fail Marginal Pass Satisfactory Very Good Excellent N/A

Summary

Introduction

Objective/PurposeOrganization

Spelling

Grammar & SyntaxCohesiveness

Writing Style

OVERALL WORK TERM REPORT RATING

Evaluators Signature Fail Marginal Pass Satisfactory Very Good Excellent

Must re-submit

May not re-submit

COMMENTS:________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________


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Appendix C: Sample Title Page

Building Retrofit and Energy Efficiency

By

Jane Doe

ID #: 1234567Mechanical Engineering Co-op

Work Term #2

A Reportsubmitted in partial fulfilment

of the requirements for winter 2013 Co-op Work Term

at Bombardier Aerospace

Concordia University

April 2013


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Appendix E: Submittal Form

Student ID

StudentsName

Co-op Program

Work Term Level1, 2, 3 or 4

Work Term / Year Fall, Winter, Summer or Fall 2014

Organization/Dept.

Address

Name of Supervisor

Phone Number

Title of Report

Date Submitted

WORK-TERM HISTORY

WORK-

TERMEMPLOYER SEMESTER/YEAR

indicate if consecutive

REMARKS

Job title, change of major,

international wk.-term, etc.

1 Bombardier Fall 201X Software Analyst

2

3 PPT Presentation(if applicable)

4 PPT Presentation

(if applicable)

Acknowledgement of assistance in the preparation of this report:

StudentsSignature: ______________________________________________________________


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Appendix E: Sample Abstract

Abstract

(Title of Your Report)(Your Name)

It is essential that professionals learn how to prepare reports on work-related activities. A reportthat is well written can be a stepping stone in ones career. Writing effectively and professionallyis a skill that can be developed. This document aims at helping students in Engineering andComputer Science to successfully complete, after each work term, a professional-quality workterm report that meets the requirements of the Institute for Co-operative Education, ConcordiaUniversity. The document is divided into three parts: 1) General Instructions, 2) Content andOrganization of the Work Term Report; and 3) Appendices. In Part I, the purpose, length, set-up,

submission and evaluation of the work term report are explained. These are particular to theInstitute for Co-operative Education at Concordia University. The topics of plagiarism andconfidentiality are also dealt with. Part II presents the norms of a technical writing piece andprovides a visual template for students to adapt to for their own technical/analytical writingproject. Finally, the Appendices section provides samples that students can follow in their workterm report. Students are advised to familiarize themselves with the standard for professionalreports in Engineering and Computer Science.


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Appendix F: Sample List of Figures/List of Tables

List of Figures

Fig. 1 A Triumph T110 motorcycle ..... 5

Fig. 2 Number of motorcycles vs number of cars by country..... 12

Fig. 3 Racing motorcycles............. 18

List of Tables

Table 1 Top 20 countries with the most motorcycles .... 6

Table 2 Comparison between electric motorcycles and 20thcentury motorcycles.... 20

Table 3 Comparison of motorcycle accidents and car accidents in the United States overthe last 5 years.............. 25


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Appendix G: Sample List of References (extracted fromthe IEEE Editorial Style Manual)(Please refer to the next page for the basic form corresponding to each of the numbered references.)

[1] R. E. Kalman, New results in linear filtering and prediction theory, J. Basic Eng., ser. D, vol. 83,pp. 95-108, Mar. 1961.

[2] B. Klaus and P. Horn, Robot Vision. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1986.

[3] E. E. Reber, R. L. Michell, and C. J. Carter, Oxygen absorption in the earths atmosphere,Aerospace Corp., Los Angeles, CA, Tech. Rep. TR-0200 (4230-46)-3, Nov. 1988.

[4] Transmission Systems for Communications, 3rd ed., Western Electric Co., Winston-Salem, NC,1985, pp. 4460.

[5] G. R. Faulhaber, Design of service systems with priority reservation, in Conf. Rec. 1995 IEEEInt. Conf. Communications, pp. 38. *** If the year is given in the conference title, it may be omitted

from the end of the reference as shown here.***

[6] M. Mayer, presented at the 4th Congr. Permanent Magnets, Grenoble, France, Mar. 1995.

[7] J. P. Wilkinson, Nonlinear resonant circuit devices, U.S. Patent 3 624 125, July 16, 1990.

[8] J. O. Williams, Narrow-band analyzer, Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elect. Eng., Harvard Univ.,Cambridge, MA, 1993.

[9] A. Harrison, private communication, May 1995.

[10] S. Khutaina. (1995, Aug. 15). EMBASE handbook (3rd ed.) [Online]. 3(21). Available: KnowledgeIndex File: EMBASE Handbook (EMHB)

[11] J. Bourke. (1995, Mar.). A comparison of RF electrode models.J. Phys. [CD-ROM]. 32(4), RD2-RD3. Available: JPY File: Science Periodicals Ondisc Item: 95-76401

[12] S. Fujii and Y. Mikami. (1991, Apr. 20). Construction aspects of intelligent buildings. IEEECommunications Mag. [CD-ROM]. pp. 50-57. Available: UMI File: IPO (IEEE/IEE PublicationsOndisc) Item: 3939837


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Here are the basic formats that correspond to the numbered references in the previous page:

[1] Periodicals:J. K. Author, Name of paper, Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx-xxx, Abbrev. Month,year.)

[2] Books:

J. K. Author, Title of chapter in the book, in Title of His Published Book, xth ed. City of Publisher,Country if not USA: Abbrev. of Publisher, year, ch.x, sec.x, pp.xxxxxx.

[3] Reports:J. K. Author, Title of report, Abbrev. Name of Co., City of Co., Abbrev. State, Rep.xxx, year.

[4] Handbooks:Name of Manual/Handbook,x ed., Abbrev. Name of Co., City of Co., Abbrev. State, year, pp.xxx-xxx.

[5] Conference proceedingsJ. K. Author, Title of paper, in Unabbreviated Name of Conf., City of Conf., Abbrev. State (if given),year, pp.xxx-xxx.

[6] Papers Presented at ConferencesJ. K. Author, Title of paper, presented at the Unabbrev. Name of Conf., City of Conf., Abbrev.State, year.

[7] PatentsJ. K. Author, Title of patent, U.S. Patentx xxx xxx, Abbrev. Month, day, year.NOTE: Use issued date if several dates are given

[8]Theses and DissertationsJ. K. Author, Title of dissertation, Ph.D. dissertation, Abbrev. Dept., Abbrev. Univ., City of Univ.,

Abbrev. State, year.

[9] UnpublishedJ. K. Author, private communication, Abbrev. Month, year.J. K. Author, Title of paper, unpublished.

[10] Books, MonographsJ. K. Author. (year, month day). Title (edition) [Type of medium]. volume(issue). Available: site/path/file

[11]Journal ArticlesJ. K. Author. (year, month). Title. Journal [Type of medium]. volume(issue), paging if given. Available:site/path/file

[12] Magazine ArticlesJ. K. Author. (year, month day). Title. Magazine [Type of medium]. paging if given. Available:site/path/file

Concordia Co-op ENCS - Work Term Report Instructions

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