Suggested Format for

Senior Design Final Report

The final report is the main report by which people will judge your work on your project. It should be complete without be verbose. It should thoroughly explain what you did and how you accomplished your goal.

Format for the report should generally follow a typical technical report format. Include a title page with title an project members and date. It is suggested to double space the main text in the report with not less than 12-point font and number all pages. A table of contents at the beginning is also suggested. All figures should have descriptive captions below them. It is standard practice to put captions for tables above the table.

Below is a list of suggested sections in the report. There are many ways to organize a report do these sections may from report to report. Seeing that your technical advisor is going to rate you largely on your report, it is suggested to check to see if this format is agreeable to your advisor.

I. Abstract

This part should encapsulate the whole project. It should summarize the objectives of your project and how they were accomplished in one or two paragraphs. Do not confuse this with an introduction which sets the background for the project. The abstract is a very important part of the report because often people will decide on whether to read the rest of the report based on what they read in this section. Although it comes first in the report it is often written last so the author can be sure of what is written in the report before summarizing it.

II. Introduction

This part should give the background for the proposed project. It should describe the goal of your project. It should give information on what similar designs are available and what you expect to do that is different or better.

III. Design Method

This part should discuss your design method and how you solved the problems encountered in your design. What was your design procedure and what problems did you encounter? An analysis of the design is often included here.

IV. Results

This part should discuss how well the design worked. It should give results of any simulations and laboratory tests. Verification the overall system design and its major subcomponents are meeting design goals should be done here.

V. Conclusion

Summarize conclusions and results made in the rest of the paper. No information not previously introduced should be included in this section. Answer questions about how well your design met its goals. Suggest possible design improvements (this could be a separate section depending on how many improvements you would like to suggest).

Remember the above format is only a suggestion. Headings of the various sections of the report do not have to match those given above. Because of the wide variety of designs, the final reports will also vary widely.