Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Punjab Engineering College
(Deemed to be University)
Subject: Technical Communication (MEN 205) Instructor: Dr. Mahesh Kumar Yadav
Assignment #04: Literature Survey and Due date: April 07, 2022 (Thursday)
Report/thesis Writing
Note: Submit your assignments as a single pdf file. On the title page, i.e., the first page, write
your name and roll number.
Name your file as <Roll Number>_Assign<Assignment Number>
without any excuse. For example, if your roll number is 202021 and assignment
number is 1, then name your file as 202021_Assign01.
25% marks penalty per week will be levied on late submission. This will be strictly
followed even if you submit the assignment just after the due date.
1. What do you mean by literature survey? Chose a particular research area of your liking
and do the literature survey by choosing at least 20 recently published high-quality
international journals. In the literature survey, you are expect to include the following:
a. Brief introduction to the chosen topic, including the importance of the topic
b. Current status, different theoretical and experimental approaches utilized
c. The research gap and future scope/ directions.
2. In this problem, you need to prepare a technical report/thesis in Microsoft word. Your
first task is to pick a report/thesis topic, assume the report/thesis audience, and
report/thesis purpose. Provide all these details on a separate page, let’s say as a cover
letter. You are free to your project report as base report for this or if you wish, a fresh
report can be prepared. Modification in the earlier report/thesis from your side is much
appreciated. Apply the following formatting guideline to your report/thesis and adjust
the content for better readability:
Use 1-inch margins for all four margins of the report/thesis. You can use a 1-1/2-inch
left margin if you think that the report/thesis binding can take a lot of space.
Use 1.5 line spacing except in the areas like abstract, figure titles, and items in the
references (use 1-line spacing here).
Use Calibri (body) 12 size fonts throughout your report/thesis except for headings.
For headings, use Calibri (heading) 12 size fonts. You are free to make font bold or
italic, wherever required.
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Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Punjab Engineering College
(Deemed to be University)
Paragraph spacing: 12 pts before and 6 pts after the heading. 6 pts before and after
the body text.
The table of contents (TOC) lists the headings from the body of the report/thesis and
the page numbers on which they occur. It is not required to list all headings in TOC.
Your TOC should exclude all third-level or higher-level headings.
The abstract should summarize the key facts, conclusions, and other important
information in the body of the report/thesis.
All pages within the front and back covers are numbered, but the page number is not
always displayed (for example, the front page of the report/thesis). All pages coming
before page 1 of the introduction use lowercase Roman numerals. All pages
beginning with page 1 of the introduction use Arabic numerals.
All heading, subheading, Figure numbers, table numbers must be provided from the
command window (do not add manually). This is helpful to insert the TOC, Table of
Figures and Tables, and automatic numbering of the Figures and Tables.
Insert any Figure and Table number in the body text using cross-reference. This
creates links to the Figure and Table number. The linking is helpful in automatically
updating the Figure and Table numbers, if there is any change in between.
Cite the reference, where needed, and provide complete detail at the end as
discussed in the class.
Follow the standard report/thesis format. A reference thesis document is shared
with this assignment for your help.
You must have a disclaimer on the cover page of your report/thesis stating that the
report/thesis is used to get familiarized with the report/thesis writing and not an
original work of the author. The original report/thesis is openly accessible and
available at <Provide Web link>.
Keep in mind the following things while preparing your report/thesis:
Figures and Tables: A good report/thesis always have figures and/or tables. If you can't
think of any figure/table for your report/thesis project, you may not have a good topic.
Factual detail: The report/thesis should be very detailed and authentic. The point of the
report/thesis is to go into details, the kind of details your specific audience needs.
Information sources: Your report/thesis should make use of information sources. These
may include books, reports, thesis, and articles that can be found in libraries and websites
and technical brochures, interviews, or correspondence with experts.
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Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Punjab Engineering College
(Deemed to be University)
Documentation: When you use borrowed information in your technical report/thesis,
summarize them in your wordings and be sure to cite your sources. The style of citing your
sources (e.g., number system or author name with year of publication) should be the same
throughout your document.
Headings and lists: The report/thesis should use the same format for headings and various
kinds of lists throughout the report/thesis.
Special format: The technical report/thesis uses a rather specific design, including covers,
binding, title page, table of contents, list of figures and tables, main body contents
(chapters/units), appendixes, and bibliography/references. These have to be prepared
according to a set standard.
Length: The report/thesis should be at least 15 1.5 line spaced pages, counting from
introduction to conclusion. This is a minimum length requirement for this assignment,
although a report/thesis of this length is rather skimpy. There is no absolute maximum
length other than what your time, energy, and stamina can handle.
Technical content: You must design your report/thesis project so that a non-specialist in the
report/thesis area can understand it. Also, ensure the technical accuracy of your
information.
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