Announcements

1. Announcements • Open Lab Next Monday • Lab will be available to finish your towers • Performance testing next week • Prepare Material for Oral Presentations and Written Reports

2. Tips for Great Written Reports ENGR 10 March 4, 2015

3. Technical Writing is Everywhere • Annual Report: 12-month summary and evaluation of finances and activities • Environmental Impact Report (EIR) • Feasibility Study: consequences of possible actions • Final Report: results of completed work

4. Lab Report: results of experiments, procedures • Incident Report: description of injury or hazardous material spill • Justification Report: explanation for actions taken • Maintenance Report: product repair and service record for a given period • Meeting Minutes

5. Personnel Report: evaluation of an employee's work • Preliminary Report: task analysis • Progress Report: work accomplished to date • Research Report: summary of research completed • Sales Report: sales figures for a given period • Trip Report: expenses and activities

6. ENGR 10 Reports Solar Cell Laboratory Report Wind Turbine Design and Performance Robot Design and Performance

7. Goal of your reports • Reader could replicate what you did without having to talk with you in person • Synthesize and summarize what you have learned • An important part of the learning process

8. Getting Started Writing or Speaking • Determine your purpose What’s my purpose? • Determine your audience Who is my audience?

9. What is my purpose? • Informative • Persuasive • Analysis • Instructional

10. Who is my audience? • Business • Technical • General Public • Age Group • Gender • Culture

11. Write to your Audience Aim a report you write in this class toward a fellow engineering student. Provide enough detail so that an engineering student who hasn’t take ENGR 10 could replicate what you have done.

12. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction (what and why) • Theory • Experimental Setup (how) • Results (what you found) • Conclusions (what it means) • References • Appendix

13. Title Page • Title page lists at minimum: • Title of the project (descriptive and specific) • Entity • San José State University, Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering, E10 Introduction to Engineering • Names of the team members • E10 section number and team number • Name of Lab Instructor • Date of submission

14. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction (what and why) • Theory • Experimental Setup (how) • Results (what you found) • Conclusions (what it means) • References • Appendix

15. Summary/Abstract • This section goes after the title page but before the table of contents • Designed for the busy person • Succinctly introduce project (what it is, what you did) • Summarize key results (performance data) • Summarize what you learned

16. Clicker question Which might be a good first sentence of your summary? • In the beginning the we sat at a computer station and brainstormed ideas about the design of our turbine blades. • The purpose of the project was to construct and model a wind turbine by designing our own blade to harness the maximum wind power and a lightweight support structure, stiff enough to resist deflection. • First we used the glue to attach PVC pipe to the standard wood base that we were given.

17. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction • Theory • Experimental Setup (Design Procedures) • Results • Conclusions • References • Appendix

18. Table of Contents • Comes after the Summary • Start Page 1 as the Introduction page • Title page has no number • Other pages before Introduction can be numbered i, ii, iii, etc. • It should include all the sections / subsections headings with the starting page number for each.

19. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction • Theory • Experimental Setup (Design Procedures) • Results • Conclusions • References • Appendix

20. Introduction Describes relevant background information (1 to 2 pages). • What the project was about, first in general • Then present the specific objectives that your design addresses. • Make sure that you include sufficient sketches, drawings, and/or photographs and verbiage • To clearly explain to someone unfamiliar with this project what it is all about. • You may use sketches from the Project Guidelines, but cite your source. • Refer to the Project Description regarding goals and specifications found on pages 1-2, Wind Turbine Design Project.

21. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction • Theory • Experimental Setup (Design Procedures) • Results • Conclusions • References • Appendix

22. Theory Describe briefly the theory(ies) that apply to your project, including any applicable formulas. Examples: Bernoulli, Betz’ Limit, Power Theorem,…

23. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction • Theory • Experimental Setup (Design Procedures) • Results • Conclusions • References • Appendix

24. Experimental Setup • You are answering the question HOW • Use relevant sketches, drawings, pictures • Type, shape and dimensions (and possibly cost if known) of the materials used • Name/describe the major tools used during the “Build” cycle • Describethe type of tests performed on the project, the purpose of each test andits outcome • Name/describe the major tools/measuring equipment used during testing

25. State Your Reasoning • No clear reason • We decided to create a three blade rotor because we believed this would give us the best possible results. • Clear reason • We decided to create a three blade rotor because a three blade configuration is the most stable (Jones, 2008).

26. Use Equations Instead of a sentence like this: The factors of the power include voltage (volts), which is equal to the current (amperes) multiplied by the resistance. Just write: Power (watts) is calculated using the following equation: P=VxI (Eq. 1) where V is voltage (volts) and I is current (amperes).

27. Use pictures/sketches • Here is the description from a report: We took a geometric view on the matter and decided to construct a 90 degree angle using simply two sets of wooden beams after measuring the angles of each beam. We set them parallel to one another to maximize the strength of our design. • Can you figure out what the structure looked like?

28. Using Figures to Clarify As shown in Figure 1, the support structure consisted of a right triangle made of two wood pieces to provide stiffness in the direction of the wind. In addition, two small triangular elements were installed at the base in the perpendicular direction to resist potential loads from the side and minimize oscillation. Note figure caption and its location Figure 1: Turbine support structure provides resistance to loads in two perpendicular directions.

29. Use Headings and Subheadings 3. Design and Construction Blah blahblah 3.1 Turbine Blade Design Blah blahblah 3.2 Support Structure Design Blah blahblah 3.3 Construction sequence Blah blahblah

30. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction • Theory • Experimental Setup (Design Procedures) • Results • Conclusions • References • Appendix

31. Results • Include tables of key data and graphs of key results • MUST include text to describe what is in each of the tables. • Data plots for the following parameters and briefly discuss the performance. • Turbine Stiffness • Voltage vs. Current • Power vs. Current • Compare the actual power generated versus the theoretical power, and calculate the efficiency. • Create a graph of your load and deflection data, and use Excel curve fitting techniques to determine the stiffness.

32. A Table is NOT a Figure Table1: Displacement Data for Turbine Support Tower Note Title Location Figure 1: Displacement Data for Turbine Support Tower Incorrect

33. Clicker Question-What does this results graph represent? • I have no idea • Voltage vs. current • Voltage vs. power • Current vs. power • Power vs. blade speed

34. Can you figure it out now? Figure 1: Turbine power generally decreased with increased voltage. The circled voltage readings are suspect.

35. What is wrong with this stiffness graph? • Nothing • Load and displacement axes are reversed • Load is in kg • Scale on x-axis is not proportional to values • b, c, and d

36. The same data plotted correctly Stiffness = 1.1N/mm

37. Be Concise – Eliminate Unnecessary Words • Wordy: • In the graph that shows load against displacement (Figure 1) displays the stiffness of the structure where the displacement increases as the load increases. The stiffness that we got from our project is 6.08 N/mm. • Concise • The calculated stiffness was 6.08 N/mm, which is slope of the linear relationship between load and displacement in Figure 1.

38. Write in the Third Person Instead of • We found • Our choice of … • When plotted, we see that • We used a 75 W lamp as the source • Our tasks were to… • In this lab we derived… Try • Results indicated • The choice of … • Plots of the data show • A 75 W lamp served as the source • Tasks included … • The purpose of this lab was to derive …

39. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction • Theory • Experimental Setup (Design Procedures) • Results • Conclusions • References • Appendix

40. Conclusions • Summarize • The work done • What was learned • Explanation of any anomalies, errors • The outcomes of the project, • Such as how well it worked or didn't work • How did the efficiency of your turbine compare with the efficiency of typical turbines in use today?

41. Recommendations • Could be a subheading under Conclusions • What would you do if you had more time • What would you do differently, given what you know now • Give specific recommendations

42. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction • Theory • Experimental Set up OR Design Procedure • Results • Conclusions • References • Appendix

43. Reference List • APA Style • Alphabetize by author • If there is no author, use title to alphabetize Examples Cunningham, W., & Cunningham, M. (2006). Principles of environmental science: Inquiry and applications. New York: McGraw Hill. National Renewable Resource Laboratory (NREL). (2006). U.S. PV Cell Costs. Retrieved September 27, 2008 from Data360 Web site http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=605 Wind Energy FAQ. (2009). Retrieved January 27, 2009 from American Wind Energy Association Web Site http://www.awea.org/faq/rsdntqa.html

44. Cite Reference in Text • According to Betz’ Law, only 59% of the kinetic energy in the wind can be converted to mechanical energy using a wind turbine (“Betz’,” 2003). Reference List Betz’ Law. (2003). Retrieved October 28, 2008 from Danish Wind Industry Association website http://www.windpower.org/en/tour/wres/betz.htm

45. Parts of a Report • Title Page • Summary/Abstract/ Executive Summary • Table Of Contents • Introduction (what and why) • Theory • Experimental Setup (how) • Results (what you found) • Conclusions (what it means) • References • Appendix

46. Appendices Contains any other information that might help someone trying to do a similar project (data sheets, catalog pages, etc.). Required appendix elements Appendix A - Original data sheet used in the laboratory Appendix B - Evaluates teamwork by answering questions

47. Pitfalls to Avoid • Extremely Long Paragraphs • A paragraph that is one page long is likely too long • Identify the main points you are trying to make • Use the main points as topic sentences • Use three or four sentences in paragraph to build on topic sentence. • One sentence paragraphs • You can not fully develop an idea in one sentence

48. Spellcheck Your Report I have a spelling checker.It came with my PC.It plainly marks four my revuemistakes I cannot sea.I’ve run this poem threw it.I’m sure your please too no.Its letter perfect in its weigh—My checker tolled me sew.

49. Proofread Your Report Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch sduty at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what order the ltteers in a word are, the only iprmoetnt thing is that the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the word as a wlohe.

50. Good, Solid Tech WritingHelps You: • Earn better grades • Get the job you want • Receive promotions • Communicate for a safer world