This document outlines the objectives and topics of a course on report writing. The course aims to prepare students to write assignments in report form, teach report organization and structure, improve writing style, and develop logical thinking and online research skills. The professor presents their background and lectures will cover topics like report sections, writing style, letters, online resources, and communication skills. Students will have assignments involving collecting report parts, writing a report on a chosen topic, and analyzing a classmate's report. Related topics will also be discussed like types of reports, critical thinking, reading, terminology, and scientific writing.

1. Presented by: Prof. Taymoor Nazmy

2. Presenter Info.
Who Am I?
Prof. in computer science, faculty of computer and information
science.
What Do I Know?
Image and pattern recognition, computation and programming
techniques, artificial intelligent techniques.
What Do I Do?
Vice dean faculty of computer and information sciences, Ain
Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

3. Course Objectives
• Prepare the students for writing their assignments
work in report form.
• To know the possible organization of reports.
• To be able to organize and write correctly the contents
of a report sections.
• To improve the writing style of a report.
• To practices preparing and analysis the contents of a
report.

4. (Additional related objectives)
• To get the concepts of improving the writing
skills is a part of the communication skills.
• To implement the logical thinking through
the writing process.
• To know some advanced methods for
search digital resources online.

5. Assignments
1- Collect specific parts of reports papers, such as
abstracts, introductions, conclusions
2- Start to get resources to write a report and to
present it, in any subject related to writing report
field. The report should be ready after 2 weeks
from now, with the presentation.
3- Write an analysis report on one of your colleges
reports. To be submitted after the mid term.

6. Related topics
- Types of reports
- Critical and logic thinking
- Reading skills
- Searching online
- Soft skills
- Typing & word processors
- Terminology & plain language
- Scientific writing
- Writing style

7. The Lectures topics
• 1- Introduction
• 2- Report sections-1
• 3- Report sections-2
• 4- Writing style-1
• 5- Writing style-2
• 6- Letters writing
• 7- Searching for online resources
• 8- Communications skills (presentation)

10. Chinese Wisdom
• I Read I Forget
• I Write I Remember (Summaries & Mind-Maps)
• I Do I Understand (Problem Solving ..)

11. Defining “Soft Skills”
Soft skills (or employability skills) can best be
defined as skills which allow students to become
more effective learners and workers. They can
include:
 communication skills
 time management
 organizational skills
 analytical, problem solving, and reflective
thinking

12. Communication Skills
These skills can include:
 listening, speaking
 reading, written,
 Non verbal langauge
 presentation skills
 documentation
 teamwork
 customer service
 professional behaviour

13. Why Do We Care?
These skills are key to succeeding
 Many students have no idea how to function in
the real world
Many computer science students mistakenly
believe that technical skills are the only skills
that are important
 It makes life in the classroom more civilized and
you can get more of the curriculum covered!

14. Writing is learned by writing
• Practice, practice, practice
• Choose good role models
• Study good examples
• But there are also techniques and rules
to learn

15. Listening, Speaking,
Reading, and Writing
Communicators are paired:
• speaker-listener
• writer-reader
•If only half the pair operates effectively,
something is lost in the communication process.

16. Critical Thinking & Writing
• To develop your critical written analysis,
remember the following strategies:
• Question or “interview” the idea or topic.
• Use an outline, a cluster, or flowchart to
organize your analysis.
• • Use appropriate diction & academic tone.

19. How to be a good writer
- Search and learn how to find resources for your topic.
- Read as you can in the interested and related fields of the selected
subject.
- Use the critical thinking if you are looking for improve the knowledge.
- Focus on the style of sentences and the common terminologies of the
subject.
- Write down short notes for the coming idea during reading, as well as
guided paragraph.
-Begin writing before the research is finished. Writing should force you to
strengthen your arguments.

20. Characteristics of Good Writing
• Completeness: all information needed is provided
• Correctness: relevant and precise information
• Credibility ‫:مصداقية‬ support your argument
• Clarity: reader decides what is vague, confusing,
ambiguous
• Conciseness ‫:ايجاز‬ get to the point
• Consideration: anticipate the reader’s reaction

21. The essential steps
before start writing
• 1- Gathering the Basic information & Data
• 2- Analyzing and Sorting the Results
• 3- Outlining the Report

22. The Writing Process
• Planning:
– Keep objectives in mind and research the topic
– Think about the audience
– Outlining helps organize thoughts
• Writing:
– Follow your outline, use your handbook
– Inspiration is acceptable but must be carefully reviewed
– Use the interview approach to supplement the outline who,
what, where, when, how)
• Quality control:
– Reread your work
– Be critical of your own work

23. Tell a Story
• Humans communicate through storytelling
• We are fascinated by stories
• Pose the problem, ask a question, pose a
solution, note problems that arise, address
them.

24. Scientific writing differs from other kinds of writing
Subject Matter Writing Constraints
audience
purpose
occasion
Purpose of Writing
To inform
To persuade
[Franklin,
1952]
Writing Style
[Peterson, 1987]

25. You should begin the writing process by
analyzing your constraints
Purpose
Audience
Occasion
Format
Formality
Politics and ethics
Process and deadline
Who they are
What they know
Why they will read
How they will read
To inform
To persuade

26. Three aspects of writing affect the way that
readers assess your documents
Content
Style
Form

27. Style is the way you communicate
the content to the audience
Structure
wordswordswords
wordswordswords
wordswordswords
wordswordswords
words
wordswords
wordswordswords
wordswordswordswords
Language
style
Illustration
[Peterson, 1987]

28. Form embodies the format and mechanics
of the writing
format
typography
layout
mechanics
grammar
usage
punctuation
spelling

29. Types of Writing
• E-mail
• Letters and Memos ‫مذكرات‬
• Agendas
• Reports
• Academic Documents
• Research (scientific) manuscripts
• Continuing education papers

30. Report writing
• Reports communicate information which
has been compiled as a result of research
and analysis of data and of issues.
• Reports can cover a wide range of topics,
but usually focus on transmitting
information with a clear purpose, to a
specific audience.

32. • Good reports are documents that are
accurate, objective and complete.
• They should also be well-written, clearly
structured and expressed in a way that
holds the reader's attention and meets
their expectations.

33. Different types of report
• Scientific/lab
• Technical
• Business
• Research
• Academic overview
All vary slightly in their purpose & structure.
What kind of report are you writing?

34. Types of reports
• At university, you may be required to write several
different types of reports:
• Technical and Business disciplines with an applied focus
such as Engineering, Information Technology,
Commerce, Accounting and Finance, will set report
writing assignments that simulate the process of report
writing in industry.
• Assignments are set in the form of a problem or a case
study. The students research the problem, and present
the results of the research in a report format to an
imaginary client.

35. Sample

37. Writing stages
Writing is a staged process
1. Review/design/planning (prewriting)
2. Experimenting/research
3. Writing
4. Rewriting
Easy to emphasize writing stage &
de-emphasize other stages
Leads to poor communication

38. Key components of effective
writing/presenting
• The structure and content
• – Is it focused?
• – Is it logical? Is the thinking clear and concise?
• – Does it answer the question(s) in the reader’s mind?
• – Is it easy for the reader to understand?
• The ‘look’ of the document
• – Does it look professional?
• – Has consideration been given to highlighting structure?
• – Is the document well referenced?
• The style of writing and presenting
• – Type of introduction and conclusion
• – Use of stories, open questions
• – Use of visuals, supporting documentation

39. Improve your technology skills
(Word processor skills)
• One of the important issues for writing a
report by your own , is knowing how to use
the whole features of the used word
processor, e.g. insert equations, objects, page
format, as well as have a appropriate typing
skills in the both languages (Arabic/English).
• (office 2007 tutorials)
• http://www.fgcu.edu/support/