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PROJECT PAPER REPORT WRITING AND

FORMATTING GUIDELINES ITWM5916 MASTER OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Project Paper: Report Writing & Formatting Guideline OCT2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4

2. REPORT WRITING GUIDELINES ................................................................................. 5

2.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Order of Contents ........................................................................................................ 5

2.3 Preface ......................................................................................................................... 5

2.3.1 Approval Page ...................................................................................................... 5

2.3.2 Title Page ............................................................................................................. 5

2.3.3 Declaration Page .................................................................................................. 6

2.3.4 Abstract Page ....................................................................................................... 6

2.3.5 Acknowledgement Page....................................................................................... 6

2.3.6 Table of Contents ................................................................................................. 6

2.3.7 List of Figures ...................................................................................................... 6

2.3.8 List of Tables ....................................................................................................... 7

2.3.9 List of Appendices ............................................................................................... 7

2.4 Text.............................................................................................................................. 7

2.5 Supplement .................................................................................................................. 8

3. FORMATTING GUIDELINES......................................................................................... 9

3.1 Document Layout ........................................................................................................ 9

3.2 Font.............................................................................................................................. 9

3.3 Spacing ........................................................................................................................ 9

3.4 Page Numbering .......................................................................................................... 9

3.5 Heading ....................................................................................................................... 9

3.6 Caption ...................................................................................................................... 10

3.6.1 Table .................................................................................................................. 10


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3.6.2 Figure ................................................................................................................. 10

3.7 Printing ...................................................................................................................... 11

3.8 Quotation ................................................................................................................... 12

3.9 Binding ...................................................................................................................... 12

3.10 References ............................................................................................................. 13


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1. INTRODUCTION

Project paper will require candidates to undertake information technology system

development work or any other relevant scope which is suitable for a postgraduate level

project assessment. Candidates will need to manifest the knowledge and skills that they have

acquired from the learned courses in their project paper. At the end of exercise, each

candidate is required to submit a report and deliver a presentation.

This guide is to provide general guidelines for the project paper procedures and report

submission. These guidelines will assist candidates to meet the requirements set by the

university to complete the final form of project paper. It is the responsibility of each

candidate to ensure that his or her project report conforms to the guidelines.


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2. REPORT WRITING GUIDELINES

2.1 Overview

A project report should be written according to the intended group of reader. It should be in a

logic form with strong explanation to convince the reader on the conclusion of the project. It

should be written in good language and easy to understand. As far as possible all statements

must be supported by numbers and data.

2.2 Order of Contents

The structure of the report is based on a standard format which contains the following

sections:

a) Preface

b) Text

c) Supplement

2.3 Preface

2.3.1 Approval Page

The approval page is the first page. This page must be endorsed and signed by both

supervisor and Dean of Graduate School. The illustration of the approval page is shown in

APPENDIX A.

2.3.2 Title Page

The title page is the first page and should include the project paper title which has been

approved by the faculty, candidate name, and the statement PROJECT REPORT

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE

DEGREE OF MASTER OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY UNITAR


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INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY and finally the month and year of submission. The

illustration of the title page is shown in APPENDIX B.

2.3.3 Declaration Page

This page contains the declaration of the candidate on the originality of his/her work. This

page must be endorsed and signed by the candidate. The illustration of the declaration page is

shown in APPENDIX C.

2.3.4 Abstract Page

Generally the abstract is written after the completion of the text of the report. It summarizes

the structure of the whole text and the major facts it contains. It should be in ONE (1)

paragraph and contain no more than 400 words.

2.3.5 Acknowledgement Page

This sub-section is not compulsory but most reports convey appreciation to those who have

been involved in the study.

2.3.6 Table of Contents

The Table of Contents lists the chapters, topics and sub-topics together with their page

numbers. Sub-topics and topics should be labeled according to the chapter, for example, the

first topic in Chapter 1 should be marked 1.1 and the first sub-topic, 1.1.1. The use of letters

in parenthesis (for example, 1.3.7 (a)) is appropriate as a means of differentiating sub-topics

of the same topic from each other. This numbering system provides a clear picture of the

relationship between chapters and topics and shows how they are connected.

2.3.7 List of Figures

This list contains the titles of figures, together with their page numbers, which are listed in

the text or in the appendix. The numbering system is the same as that used for topics, for

example; Figure 1.3, Figure 1.3.7 and Figure 1.3.7 (a).


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2.3.8 List of Tables

This list contains the titles of tables, together with their page numbers, which are listed in the

text or in the appendix. The numbering system is the same as that used for topics, for

example; Table 1.3, Table 1.3.7 and Table 1.3.7 (a).

2.3.9 List of Appendices

The list of the appendices should include the alphabet of each appendix, and the title of the

appendix.

2.4 Text

The recommended structure of this report is listed below, together with suggestions on the

appropriate contents of each section. However, these are only guidelines to assist you in

preparing this document. There is great diversity in the types of projects undertaken by

candidates, and that may influence the weighting or emphasis given to the various sections of

your report.

Chapter 1: Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce to the project. It contains the problem statement,

the project objective, the project scope, the target user and the project timeline.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

This chapter surveys previous or current systems relevant to the project topic. They are to be

compared amongst another in order to produce the better one.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

The purpose of this chapter is to document the research process and technique employed in

solving the research problem. The detail pre-development, development and post-

development procedure to be discussed supported with evidence or references.


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Chapter 4: System Design

The purpose of this chapter is to document the system specifications. The specifications been

documented are for the hardware, software, people, network, and data resources, and the

information products that satisfy the functional requirements. The logical models of the new

system is developed and documented in this chapter.

Chapter 5: Implementation and Testing

During this phase, the systems will be developed to satisfy the specification been documented

in chapter 4, further with discussion to support the rationale behind the achieved output.

Besides, system testing and evaluation details should also be documented.

Chapter 6: Conclusion

In this chapter, an overall summary of the system will be discussed added with the systems

strengths and weaknesses are summarized and discussed too.

2.5 Supplement

Specific items which were not included in the main body of the text should be put in this

Additional/Supplementary Section. Typically this section includes the following:

Appendices consist of additional illustration of the text. The appendix supports the

written text of the report.

References/Bibliography


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3. FORMATTING GUIDELINES

3.1 Document Layout

The document should have the following margins:-

Top: 2.0 cm (0.78)

Right: 2.0 cm (0.78)

Left: 4.0 cm (1.57)

Bottom: 2.0 cm (0.78)

3.2 Font

Report should be typed using Times New Roman, 12 point.

3.3 Spacing

The body text should be typed with double spacing. Single spacing is only permitted in tables,

long quotations, footnotes, notes, citation and references.

3.4 Page Numbering

All page numbers should be printed with font size 8, 1.0 cm from the bottom margin and

placed at the right hand side without punctuation.

Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.) should be used in the preface section except for

Approval page and Title page.

3.5 Heading

No specific arrangement is required for the numbering of topics and sub-topics but, whatever

arrangement is adopted, it must be consistent.


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3.6 Caption

3.6.1 Table

Tables are printed within the body of the text at the centre of the frame and labelled

accordingly to the chapter in which they appear. Thus, for example, tables in Chapter 3 are

numbered sequentially: Table 3.1, Table 3.2 etc. Table captions should always be positioned

above the tables.

Table 3.1. Font sizes of headings

Heading level Example Font size and style

Heading 1 INTRODUCTION 14 point, bold

Heading 2 Overview 12 point, bold

Heading 3 Heading 12 point, italic

Caption Font sizes 10 point, bold

3.6.2 Figure

Figures contain graphs illustrations or photographs are printed at the centre and labelled

accordingly to the chapter in which they appear. Thus, for example, Figures in Chapter 3 are

numbered sequentially: Figure 3.1, Figure 3.2 etc. Figure captions should always be

positioned below the figures.


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Figure 3.1 Sample graph

Figure 3.2 Sample graph 2

3.7 Printing

Any typographical errors must be carefully corrected. Any pages that contain poorly made

corrections will be rejected.

Use high-quality A4 70-gram paper. Only letter quality or near letter quality

printing will be accepted.

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3.8 Quotation

Candidate should be able to defend all statements by referring to a reliable research or the

research findings. There are many forms of reference. One of the most common is to use the

authors name followed by the year of publication and the page number containing the quoted

material. This reference will then be included at the end of your report. For example:

An algorithm is defined as a well ordered sequence of primitive operations that halts in

a finite amount of time. [Smith 1995, p. 123]

3.9 Binding

a) Draft Report

TWO (2) copies of the draft report should be soft bound (ring-bind or bomb-bind). The

letters of the cover page should be printed in black ink. Refer to the illustration of the

cover page in APPENDIX D.

a) Final Report

THREE (3) copies of the final report should be hard bound. For final report binding, a

Buckram type cover must be used and written with golden ink for the lettering. The

colour of the cover is shown in Table 3.2:

Table 3.2 Project paper binding guideline

Project Paper Binding Colour Colour Code

ITWM5916

Maroon

567

The title of the thesis, name of candidate, degree and month and year for which the project

paper is submitted should be printed on the Front Cover using Capital Letter, Arial Narrow,

18-point following the style shown in APPENDIX E.

The candidate's name, degree and year shall also be printed on the Spine of the bound thesis.

An example is given in APPENDIX F.


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3.10 References

All works or studies referred to in the report in the form of quotations or citations must be

included in the bibliography. The references should be written in the specific format

approved by the Faculty that is to use APA style. Each reference should be written in single

spacing format and a double space should be left between references. The detailed

information about the APA style could be found in http://apastyle.apa.org/

Referencing a book with only one author:

Muhammad. (2007). Systems Analysis and Design. London: Batsford.

Referencing a book by two authors:

John & Micheal. (2006). Mathematics for Business. New York: Macmillan.

Internet site with author:

Bobby. (2006). Electronic War. Retrieved November 25, 2006, from

http://www.independent.com/national/ewar.htm

Internet document without author:

E-Commerce User Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2006, from

http://www.mldh.com/mmh/survey.htm

Computer Program:

Macromedia Director version 5.0 [Computer Software] (2000 2004). Seattle,

Washington: Director Corporation

Conference/Proceeding Publication:

Rahmat, R.A., Jumari, K., Hassan, A. & Basri, H. 2002. Intelligent traffic control with

image processing sensor. Proceedings of the 2nd World Engineering Congress, 339- 344.

Journal Publication:

Hamzah, N., Mohamed, A. & Hussain, A. 2004. A new approach to locate the voltage

sag source using real current component. Journal of Electric Power System

Research 72: 113-123. Page 5, 27 January 2011

APPENDIX A: APPROVAL PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

TITLE: TITLE OF PROJECT

AUTHOR: NAME OF CANDIDATE

The undersigned certify that the above candidate has fulfilled the condition of the project

paper in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Information Technology.

SUPERVISOR:

Signature: _______________________

Name: Name of supervisor

Date: _______________________

ENDORSED BY:

Signature: _______________________

Name: Professor Dr. Cheah Kooi Guan

Dean, Graduate School

Date: _______________________

APPENDIX B: TITLE PAGE

TITLE OF PROJECT

NAME OF CANDIDATE

PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY

UNITAR INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

MONTH AND YEAR OF SUBMISSION

APPENDIX C: DECLARATION PAGE

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work in this project is my own except for quotations and citations

which have been duly acknowledged.

DATE _________________________

NAME OF CANDIDATE

APPENDIX D: DRAFT REPORT COVER PAGE

UNITAR INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

MASTER OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

PROJECT PAPER DRAFT REPORT

TITLE OF PROJECT

Prepared by

Candidates Name

Matric No.

Supervised by

Supervisors Name

APPENDIX E: FINAL REPORT COVER PAGE

TITLE OF PROJECT

NAME OF CANDIDATE

MASTER OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY UNITAR INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY MONTH AND YEAR OF SUBMISSION

45mm from the top of the page

45mm from the bottom of the page

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Cover page and Spine:

Buckram type cover

Maroon 567

Golden ink lettering

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Size: 18-point

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45mm from the bottom of the page

45mm from the top of the page

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