Reports

(Being This page gives the details of assignments and reports in the different classes I teach. Just look for your class, the item you require and voilà! This information is also on your class home page.

__Assignment 1__ Processes -Give a 1 min presentation of a process __Assignment 2__ -Write and CV and covering letter __Assignment 3__ -Make a video film of no more than 2 mins selling a cause or idea __Assignment 4__ Reading Science -Choose an article in your domain of science -Give a short presentation of the article to other members of the class -Upload interesting vocabulary onto the wiki __Assignment 5__ -Following the news. -Each week for 6 weeks to follow a particular news item, sending the news item to me every Friday. -Make up a dossier containg the news item you have chosen each week and to make a summary of the development of the chosen piece.
 * CPE3 **
 * Semester 5**

__Assignment 6__ Multiculturalism -to make a poster on the world of work in a foreign country -to give a 5 minute presentation on the world of work in a foreign country __Assignment 7__ -to write a CV and covering letter __Assignment 8__ PCE -to give a 5 min presentation (with PPP) of your idea
 * Semester 6**
 * **Business Plan**

Setting up a successful business requires careful preparation and planning but also involves a degree of risk-taking. There are a number of questions that all entrepreneurs must ask themselves concerning the products or services that they intend to sell, the competition that they will face, the structure of the business itself and the sources of finance that they will need to open their new venture. This means that all of these parameters must be defined in a business plan: a document that shows how the entrepreneur will organise his or her business, how much he or she expects to sell and where the capital will come from. Once this information has been put down on paper the entrepreneur can then choose an appropriate form for the company, register it with the authorities and open for business. 1 Details of the business Name of business Type of business Format (limited company, partnerships, etc) 2 Personal Details Relevant work expérience 3 Personnel/staff Number of people/job function 4 Product/Service Description 5 Market Describe your market Who are your customers? Is your market growing, static or in décline? Who are the main competitors? What are thé advantages of your product or service over thé compétition? 6 Marketing What sort of marketing or advertising do you intend to do? 7 Premises/Machinery/Vehicles Where do you intend to locate thé business and why? What sort and size of premises will you need? What machinery/vehicles do you require? 8 Objectives What objectives do you hâve for thé business? Short term Médium term Long term ||

Semester 7 & 8 There are 3 parts to this assignment: Semester 7 & 8 There are 3 parts to this assignment: __Semester 9__ How to write the mini report: As you know, you have both a written report and an oral presentation to do in English for your PFE. Your English report must be handed in to Christine Liatard, and it should be bound and be visually attractive.
 * CPE4 Speaking out **
 * participation in class
 * presentation of a country
 * a written document about the country you have chosen
 * CPE4 Science in the movies **
 * participation in class
 * presentation of a film making sure you bring out a scientific point
 * a written document giving a review of 4 of the films presented, not your own. Have a look at [|this link]
 * CPE5 **
 * ** HOW TO WRITE YOUR PFE REPORT **

The report should be 2000 - 2500 words long and have clear illustrations (all of which should be numbered and have a title). This number of words includes the title page and a contents page, but not the appendices.
 * How long should the report be? **

Your report should clearly explain the context of the project, why it was carried out, what you did and the results of the work. Divide it up as follows:
 * What should the report contain? **
 * 1) ** Title ** (on the title page)
 * 2) ** Contents page: ** just list all the different parts of your report here. Don’t, whatever you do, include the contents page in the contents page.
 * 3) Masters students should include an abstract. Abstracts are a one-paragraph summary of what was done and the findings. PFE students don’t need to include an abstract.
 * 4) ** Introduction ** : context (where you were, why the work was important, specific objectives)
 * 5) ** Body ** : what you did and how you did it (methods), including a clear description of the equipment you used (materials) and your role in the project
 * 6) The **results** of your work and **whether you achieved your objectives**
 * 7) ** Appendices ** are where you put additional information which is not essential, but which could interest the readers – in the report you write ‘See appendix 5 for further information’. This is a very useful way to avoid swamping the reader with too much detail in the main report.

The report must look professional, so leave appropriate margins around the page and double space the lines. Use a professional looking font (Times New Roman, for example) and use a size which is easy to read (11/12) without looking as if it is for primary school. On the title page, put your name in the top right-hand corner- this is to make it easier to file and find again. Do not begin a new page for each subsection of the report. Leave a space between paragraphs.
 * How should the report be laid out? **

Where it will help to communicate the information effectively, use illustrations. All illustrations must be numbered. Tables are always called ‘table 1’, ‘table 2’ and so on, and are counted separately, whereas graphs, pie charts and photos, etc. are called either figures (British English) or schemes (American English). All illustrations must have titles. For example, the first illustration might be: ‘Figure 1. Architecture of a 3-tier application, the second: ‘Figure 2. Structure of the Weblogic server application’, and the third: ‘Table 1. Distribution of application users throughout France by region’.
 * How should you illustrate the report? **

Yes! Even if your report for the company was in English, you still need to do a short report in addition to the long one. It will be a good exercise in explaining a long, complicated technical subject in brief.
 * If you have done your big report in English, do you have to write a second short report in English? **

Here are a few added, or repeated, pieces of advice from Mairi, Christine and Bridget, who mark the PFE reports and will be part of the jury.


 * __THE DO’S__ **

__Planning__ Plan your report with care. It needs to be well-structured or you will not pass.

__Style__ This is a scientific report and must be written in formal, scientific English.

__Content__ Avoid ‘dumbing down’. Although these reports are, in fact, read by English teachers, they are, in theory, supposed to be read by people with some knowledge in your field. However, we do need a clear context and explanation of the work done.

__Writing__
 * 1) Explain acronyms the first time they are used and on a separate page if there are many.
 * 2) Write in English directly. It is far easier than translating and the result is much easier to understand.
 * 3) Use paragraphs. Make sure that the entire content of the paragraph fits in logically with the first sentence of the paragraph. Remember that in English the first sentence of a paragraph in factual writing is often called the topic sentence because it tells the reader what the paragraph is about. This is different from French, where paragraphs often begin with a link to the last sentence. Paragraphs do not need to be indented when using a computer, but you should leave a line space between them.
 * 4) Take time to do it properly.
 * 5) Use formal language (avoid ‘get’, for example) and no contracted forms (e.g. use ‘it is’ rather than ‘it’s’)
 * 6) Use the past tense for what was done and the present simple for things which are general truths.

__Illustrating__
 * 1) Use easy to read/understand diagrams which you should number ‘figure 1’, ‘figure 2’ or for tables, ‘table 1’, table 2 etc.
 * 2) Write everything, including the axes of graphs, in English.
 * 3) Use a decimal point, not a comma in numbers, e.g. 6.5 not 6,5.

__Layout__
 * 1) Use a title page which must have your name in the top right corner. Also, the title of your report, your company’s name, the name of your supervisor in the company and your tutor at CPE must all be on this page.
 * 2) The next page is the contents page (Contents, not the summary!).
 * 3) 1.5 or double space your paper.
 * 4) Number the pages.
 * 5) Unless you really want to make the reader angry, do not change lines inside paragraphs.

__Reviewing__
 * 1) Click on “Language” and select the variety of English you want. This will remove most typing errors, as well as spelling mistakes.
 * 2) You know what errors you usually make in English, so check your report for them.
 * 3) Have a friend check it for glaring errors. This is not cheating but common sense!


 * __THE DON’TS__ **
 * 1) Do not: wait until the night before the deadline at three in the morning to begin.
 * 2) Do not: take your French report, translate the headings and put a two-sentence summary of what you said in French under each heading. This technique results in a mark of around 5.
 * 3) Do not: use an automatic translator. The results of automatic translation would be funny if it were not for the resulting marks (between 3 and 5). Our all-time favourite silly translations include ‘beach time’ and ‘tablecloths of petrol’.
 * 4) Do not: write in French but use English words – direct translations are a complete disaster. In fact, any translation is a mistake.
 * 5) Do not: write a sort of diary. We do not want a logbook.
 * 6) Do not: say how you felt about things.
 * 7) Do not: confuse the past simple and present perfect.
 * 8) Do not: use the present tense for the past.
 * 9) Do not: use the continuous for permanent things.
 * 10) Do not: write lots of lists. You need to construct a written report in sentences.
 * 11) Do not: use informal words or expressions.
 * 12) Do not: use contractions like ‘it’s’.
 * 13) Do not: talk about a mission. You are not on a mission. Missions are from God or from your country if you are employed as a spy or a commando. (007 goes on missions, you don’t).
 * 14) Do not: begin a sentence in formal English with ‘and’, but’, ‘because’ or ‘so’.
 * 15) Do not: use the word ‘indeed’ unless you really understand how to use it correctly. I have never met a student who did.
 * 16) Do not: use three little dots at the end of a list.

Permit (someone to do something/ something to be done) Concurrent (competitor) Implies Mission Interesting Important person or event, but large number or quantity Stage in a theatre (internship, final year project) Had to (did) Execute = kill Service Besides this, besides that (better is I also…) Discuss Notice (observe) Solicit Delay Realisation Integrate (worked in, became an integral part of (a team) Satisfying (satisfactory) Reject(ions) (release (waste)) Troubles (problems) As (such as, for example, for instance)
 * Danger words **

Come up with (found, thought of) Run out of (no more) Get rid of (remove A lot of or lots of (many things, problems, experiments, reagents much money, advice, help) Avoid using ‘you’ as an impersonal pronoun. Use a passive instead. Get ‘Like’ for comparison Rough idea ||
 * Informalities to avoid **

Semester 5
 * IRC3 **

Semester 6

Semester 7
 * IRC4 **

Semester 8 Semester 9
 * IRC5 **


 * ISFA L3 **


 * ECE1

IUTA LPA3**