Dr.

Will Kurlinkus
Genre Specifications
1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Procedures
4. Results
5. Discussions
6. Conclusions
7. References
Abstract
! Around 200 Words
! Write this last, after you know your
results.
! Should provide the reader with a brief
summary of everything: the problem
being addressed, what you did
(methodology), your results, and what
they mean.
Common Abstract Errors
! Too long or too short
! Not specific enough
! Vagueness:
! Steels are one of the most widely used materials in the world and
controlling the physical properties they possess has been an engineering
challenge for years.
" This introduction line is a little broad and student like. Id start with the second line.
Remember all the information you provide should be useful to your audience and
specific to the experiment.
! Each sample was viewed under high magnifications and these
predictions were further investigated.
" Some vague language here. What does further investigated mean? What specifically
was investigated?
! Samples that had been water quenched had vast amounts of"
" Vast is a little vague. Vast as compared to what? Use estimated percentages instead.
! This experiment was performed to gain experience in metallography
through comparing steels...
" This is student languagethe experiment was performed to demonstrate the effects of
varying cooling rates on heat treated stealput things in terms of what youre teaching
your audience, not in terms of what you learned
Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3
Introduction
! Under 2 Pages
! Creates a context for your entire report.
! Introduces the theory, definitions, diagrams,
and techniques that will be needed to
understand the discussion section.
! Describes the goals of the experiment and
why you are doing it.
! Must balance what the reader does and does
not need to know.
! Describes what you might expect to see.

Procedures
! Around 1 Page
! Deadly specific descriptions of what you
did.
! Past tense.
! Describes your materials, what you did with
them, and what techniques you used.
! Remember you are trying to create a
repeatable experiment so someone can
recreate your results.
Common Procedures Errors
! This is not a cooking recipeyou should not be giving orders:
First, mount the Bakelite. becomes First, samples were
mounted in Bakelite.
! It should be in past tense and describe what you did. Try to avoid
personal pronouns (you, I, we) as well.
! Three metal samples of each 1018, 1045, and 4340 steel were given
to each lab group. Prior to the lab each sample was stamped with an
eight or a five followed by either the letter
" Try to avoid this type of student language. These first two sentences arent really
necessary for an understanding of the experiment.
! The first heat treatment is to heat the steel to 950 C and keep it at
that heat for fifteen minutes; this step will be repeated in the following
two heat treatments as well. After the initial heating, the sample is
simply allowed to air cool.
" Repetitionalso please keep in the past tense throughout the procedure section.
! Dont skip steps: For instance, dont just say that the metal
was polished. Tell me the different grits of sand paper, the
order of grits, and how you cleansed samples between grits.
Be specific.