"There is universal agreement that the ability to communicate orally and in writing is essential to becoming a capable engineer." Prof. T. U. McElmurry, Texas A & M University.

Two different types of reports will be required for this course: data reports and formal reports. The type will be specified for each laboratory experiment.
 

1. The purpose of the formal report is to explain to your peers who are not familiar with the course exactly what you did, why you did it, how you did it and what your findings were. Thus, the audience for the formal report is junior-level students who have not taken AE 3051.
2. The purpose of a data report is to provide quick access to results with a minimum of delay. To this end, the results are discussed but the details of the experiment are omitted. Thus, the reader of the data report is assumed to be familiar with the particular experiment in question. Be sure that what you hand in is comprehensible without being overly simplistic. Data reports not just data "dumps", it is still important to effectively communicate your results.

It is important that you write clear and concise reports. Technical communications is all about making yourself understood and communicating important and interesting information. Therefore, it is important that you proofread your document carefully. Use a spell checker to help find typing errors. Also be careful that all your writing is grammatically correct. Please, do not write sentences without subjects or verbs.

You should also watch your tense. Constantly switching between past and present tense is annoying and confusing. Pick one tense, for example past tense, and use it as consistently as possible. For example, "the measurements were acquired....", and "the experimental apparatus consisted of ....". In some cases, you will need to switch tenses. For example, when you describe a graph you would probably use present tense, "Figure 1 shows...".

Historically, the use of first person in technical writing has been discouraged. In addition, passive tense was often employed. More recently, many technical editors have promoted some use of first person to allow technical writing to use more active verbs "We found" rather than "it was found". The proper choice will depend on your audience. Therefore, you should be comfortable with both styles. We (note the use of first person) will allow some use of first person, but please limit it. Copying verbatim out of the lab manuals or lab supplements is not writing (its plagiarism) and is not allowed.
 
 

You must follow these report formats. Do not assume that they are the same as in other AE lab courses. Having a uniform style makes it easier to find information in your report and to give you the best grade possible.

General

Your lab must be typed in a SINGLE-COLUMN FORMAT and must be DOUBLE-SPACED. An 8 1/2" by 11" or A4 laser printed manuscript is preferred (use 12 pt. characters, preferably Helvetica or Times fonts, 12 pt. line spacing). You must have a right, left, top, and bottom margin of 1".

Title Page
The title page is ALWAYS the first page, but it is NOT numbered (the next page would be page #1). It contains the following:

Headings

• Major Heading - Bold and centered in the column
• Subheadings - Bold and placed flush left of the column on a separate line
• Sub-Subheadings - Underlined and placed flush left of the column on a separate line

• Enclose numbers in parentheses and place flush right, numbered consecutively.
• Use only standard symbols and abbreviations in text and illustrations.
• In general, you should prepare your equations on the computer. If you must handwrite part of an equation (e.g., to create some unusual mathematical symbol), use black ink. DO NOT use pencil.

The page number should be on the bottom center of every page.

Introduction Section

All reports, formal and data must include an Introduction section, not to exceed one-half page.  The Introduction should be in your own words and not copied word for word from the lab manual.  The Introduction to each report must be handed in when you come to the lab in question, i.e., the Introduction to Lab #2 is due when you show up to start Lab #2. This requirement is designed to help you prepare for the lab in advance, including reading the lab manual before you come to lab.  It should be included, again , when you hand in your lab report, although you may make changes to it, for example based on feedback from the TA's.

The Introduction should address the following points (in any order):

• What is measured?
• Where (in what kind of facility or flow, not what room) is it measured?
• How is it measured?
• Why is it measured?

 

Figures and Tables

This section should contain all tables and figures in the report. Each figure and table included in this section must be referenced (i.e., it must be referred to by number) somewhere else in the text of the report.  Unless other instructions are given in the lab manuals, ALL figures and tables should be computer generated (not hand written or hand drawn).

Tables
When creating tables data should be easily readable and organized logically. Tables should be captioned with a consecutive table number and title, which appear above the table (e.g. Table I. Title). Tables are numbered using Roman numerals. Tables do not have to have horizontal or vertical lines as long as their meaning is clear without them. All tables should be in portrait mode (same orientation as text).

Figures
Figures should be captioned with a consecutive figure number and title, which appear below the figure, (e.g.; Figure 1. Title). Figures are numbered using Arabic numerals. For every figure, be sure you label both axes including the units. If there is more than one curve per graph include some method for identifying each (for example, different symbols, line styles, or labeling). Experimental data should be plotted in symbol form and are usually not curve-fitted. Analytical results are plotted as a continuous curve. Insofar as possible, figures should "stand alone", i.e., the reader can grasp the presentation by reading the title, the labels, and the legend. Look at a technical report or journal in the AE library regarding scales, grid sizes, and the like. Symbols and lettering must be large enough to be easily read when printed. All figures should be in portrait mode (same orientation as text).

1. Title page
2. Introduction
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Figures and Tables

This section should include:

• the raw data
• an outline of the data reduction procedure including equations used (as necessary), and if you used a computer tool, e.g., spreadsheet, Matlab, or Mathematica, in the process, mention it here; and the reduced data.

Discussion

This section should be divided into two parts (apppropriately labeled):

• one part that deals with the experimental techniques used; and
• a second part that deals with the aerodynamics/fluid dynamics demonstrated.

Formal Reports
The following guidelines apply to formal reports  (see example formal report or formal report template) . Formal reports are organized as follows:

1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Instrumentation and Procedure
5. Results and Discussion
6. Error Analysis
7. Conclusions
8. Figures and Tables

• Should appear after the title page.
• One paragraph of not more than two hundred words summarizing the content of your report (not an introduction!) and complete in itself.
• Indicate the subjects dealt with in the report and state the objectives of the investigation.
• Newly observed facts and conclusions of the experiment or argument discussed in the report must be stated in summary form.
• Readers should not have to read the report to understand the abstract.

Briefly describe the experimental setup. Mention all instruments that were used and explain what they were used for. Describe in words what was connected to what and where measurements were carried out. If a wiring/tubing schematic is required it will be specified in the lab manual under "results". Do not describe individual instruments in detail, however, if an instrument consists of a number of components (e.g., the laser Doppler Velocimeter) briefly explain how they are interlinked. Also describe briefly how the measurements were carried out.

Results and Discussion

Under this heading, present the results asked for in the lab manual and lab supplement. The discussion then should be in two parts.

First, present and discuss the results in a general fashion and in a narrative style, i.e., in paragraphs, not as a list of responses.  State what the results show, for example you could discuss how and why they significantly agree or differ from what you expected.  It is important to be concise; do not hide your astute observations behind a pile of superfluous words.

Second, answer the questions raised in the lab supplement.  As in the data reports, you do not need to rewrite the questions.  Simply paraphrase the questions or write the answers in a manner that will make it clear to the reader which question is being answered. As in the Data Reports, divide the questions into those that deal with experimental issues from those that deal with aerodynamics/fluid mechanics.
 

Error Analysis

Estimate the random error, i.e., the reproducibility, the systematic errors, and the total error for each type of measurement if the data allows this. In any event, state what you consider to be the largest source of error in your data and make at least one specific recommendation as to how this error could be reduced.

Conclusions

The conclusions are the counterpart to the introduction section. It should summarize to the reader: 1) the specific problem , 2) what investigation was carried out,  3) what was found, and 4) what it means. You should not repeat your abstract verbatim or give all the details found in your results/discussion section.  Also, no new results should be presented here.  The reader should be able to find supporting evidence elsewhere in the report  for each conclusion presented in this section.