1. What was the original request? Does your work fulfil the requirements?
2. What does the audience need/want from your report? Have you included it?
3. When editing your report, retain what is important/ relevant, delete what is not.
4. Is there much repetition? Can you merge or delete sections?
5. Do your conclusions come from your findings and not from generalisations? (See example below).
Three academics are travelling on a train through Britain. As the train crosses into Scotland they see a black sheep in a field.
The 1st academic remarks "Oh look, the sheep in Scotland are black". (overgeneralising)
The second academic replies "No, some sheep in Scotland are black". (a reasonable conclusion)
The third academic declares "There is at least one sheep in Scotland that is black on at least one side". (a precise and cautious conclusion)
IF ALL ELSE FAILS, revisit your original task analysis and TALK TO YOUR 'CLIENT' (lecturer, tutor, marker etc.) and clarify what they want in the report.
The Learning Centre UNSW © Prepared by Pam Mort, Johann Idriss, Tracey-Lee Downey & Pradeep Sharma. For suggestions and comments about this guide please contact The Learning Centre (learningcentre@unsw.edu.au).
This guide may be distributed or adapted for educational purposes. Full and proper acknowledgement is required.