GUIDELINES FOR REPORT MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Transcription

1 GUIDELINES FOR REPORT MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION (See Appendix A-D for cover- and indemnity page lay-out) (See Appendix E for list of mistakes commonly found in reports) The responsibility for correctness of final reports lies with the project team, in collaboration with the responsible Research Manager. Reports template A WRC reports template is available on the WRC web site ( which may be used when writing a final report. Please liaise with the WRC co-coordinator concerned in this regard. Appendices form part of the report and the same page numbering has to continue where an Appendix starts. The page numbers of all introductory pages, i.e. all pages that appear before chapter 1, must be Roman numbers (i, ii, iii, etc.). The page numbers from chapter 1 onwards, have to be Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). Please use the same numbering system throughout, especially where more than one author contribute to the same report. Page size The page set-up for all reports must be A4 size and, where required, A3. Letter size is not used in the RSA and must be avoided. The correct size has to be set up in the document before the report is created very important where more than one author contribute to a report. Cover page For standard WRC reports and KV reports (reports on consultancies), the standard WRC cover page is used. If a Reference Group decides at its penultimate meeting that a report is to be published as a TT (Technology Transfer) report, a full-colour cover page is designed at the WRC for that report. Authors or project leaders of TT reports are then required to provide the WRC with suitable photographs or other graphical material for the cover page. Digital high-resolution images are required. The input of authors or project leaders in cover page design is required only for TT reports. Title page Each report has a title page over and above the cover page. For lay-out of standard and KV reports title page, see Appendix A. For lay-out of TT reports title page, see Appendix B. Indemnity page Each report must have an indemnity page which follows directly on the title page. For lay-out of standard reports indemnity page, see Appendix C. For lay-out of TT and KV reports indemnity page, see Appendix D. Page numbering Use the simplest possible numbering system. Refrain from using complex page numbering systems such as page 1.1, -4-, page no. 6, etc. Never include a chapter or section number in the page number. The position bottom of the page in the middle is preferred. Figure and table numbering and caption Figures and Tables should bear a short but adequate descriptive caption and must be numbered in Arabic numerals (TABLE 1, FIGURE 3). Table numbers and captions always appear above the table and figure numbers and captions always appear below the figure. Sometimes figure numbers and captures may have to appear on the side of a figure. Consistency is required. No report will be allowed where the numbering system differ in the report, e.g. the figures or table of chapters 1 to 4 all have single digits in a chronological order (figure 1, 2, 3, etc.), and then chapter 5 has double-digits (figure 5.1, 5.2, etc.) whilst chapter 6 reverts back to single-digit numbers. The words figure and table can either all be in capital letters (TABLE 1) or first capital letter only (Table 1). The figure/table number can appear in bold and the caption in normal font or all can appear in bold. Please choose a numbering system and use it throughout. This is especially important where more than one author contributes to the same report. No full stop is used at the end of a caption if only one sentence is used. If more than one sentence is used, each sentence has to end with a full stop. Please use the same spacing between the figure/table number and the text of all captions/headings. Header and footers Headers and footers are undesirable and should not be used. It takes up space and adds to printing costs. Line spacing A good readable, aesthetically pleasing line spacing is 1.2. Never go beyond 1.5. Reports with double line spacing that also contain figures and tables will be returned to authors for correction.

2 2 Margins The left- and right-hand margins must be the same for the entire report 2.54 cm is preferred, but it can be anything between 2 and 5 cm. Inside margins must never be smaller than 2 cm as it impacts on the binding process. A top and bottom margin size of 2.54 cm is preferred. Fonts A pleasing font must be chosen. Refrain from choosing fancy fonts. Arial (font size 10), Arial Narrow (font size 10) and Times New Roman (font size 12) are the preferred fonts and sizes. Never use a bigger size than mentioned above, except on a title page, where a bigger size is allowed. Headings The correct way to use a heading is as follows: Major headings Major headings can be in capital letters and in bold, preferable in the same size and font as the entire document. Minor headings Minor headings can be in bold type with initial capital letters only, e.g. Background of Study. Subheadings Subheadings can be bold or bold italics starting with a capital letter only, e.g. Terms of reference. N.B. No punctuation mark (i.e. comma, full stop, colon, hyphen, =, etc.) is used at the end of a heading. Be consistent with the space between heading/paragraph numbers and the text of headings. Introductory pages Each report must contain the following in the introductory pages, which has to be numbered in Roman figures, and preferably in this order: Executive Summary compulsory (see specified guidelines elsewhere on this web site) Acknowledgements optional Reference Group (Steering Committee) with names of all members and institutions or organisations represented compulsory Table of Contents compulsory List of Tables if the number of tables justifies such a list List of Figures if the number of figures justifies such a list List of Abbreviations if the number of abbreviations justifies such a list Document lay-out List of Plates if the number of plates justifies such a list. A report starts with the Title page, which will always be page number i. The page number must never appear on this page. The indemnity page (from where the page numbers have to appear) will always be page no ii. Page iii will always start with the Executive Summary. If the Table of Contents, Chapter 1 and the first Appendix do not start on an uneven-numbered page, i.e. do not start on the right-hand side of the report, an empty page has to be inserted before it so that the Table of Contents, Chapter 1 and the first Appendix always start on the right-hand side of the report. To save paper and cost, the rest can start on the left-hand side. Style See Appendix E for list of mistakes commonly made in reports. Consistency is strictly required in reports: The captions and headings of tables and figures must all be similar all in bold type or all normal type; all in the same font and size; all with identical line spaces between the inserts and the captions or headings. Please do not use 25 l as it often confuses. Choose one of 25 L or 25 l and stick to it. Do not use more than one style in the same report. The term et al. does not have to appear in an italic font. Never use both italic and normal font for this in a report. Consistency is required. When expressing concentrations or ratios, the double solidus is not allowed, e.g. mg/l/d. Use mg/l. d or mg. l -1. d -1. Both mg/l and mg. l -1 are correct. Consistency requires that one style is chosen and used throughout a report. The same principle of consistency applies to the use of the z vs. the s in the spelling of word like realization/realisation. Although UK English (use of s only) is preferred, the z is accepted on condition that consistency is applied throughout. The International System of Units (SI) applies. Technical and familiar abbreviations may be used, but must be defined if any doubt exists. Always use a space between the last digit and the unit of measure, except for % and, e.g. 10% and 5 C, but 13 cm, 200 µg. The scientific notation for litres is l. Never superscript an o to replace the degree symbol. Insert the degree symbol. Abbreviations and acronyms, if not defined in a list of abbreviations, should be defined at their first occurrence in the text, and thereafter only the abbreviation or acronym should be used.

3 3 References Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references. References to published literature should be quoted in the text as follows (surname only no initials): Smith (2002) or Smith, Where two authors are involved, quote as follows in the text: Smith and Brown (2002) or Smith and Brown, Where more than two authors are involved, only the first author s name, followed by et al., a comma and the date should be used, e.g. Smith et al., 2002 or Smith et al. (2002). All references are listed alphabetically at the end of each report and not given as footnotes or at the end of a chapter. The names of all authors should be given in the list of references et al. is never used in a reference list. Two examples of the presentation of references are the following: GRABOW WOK, COUBROUGH P, NUPEN EM and BATEMAN BW (1984) Evaluations of coliphages as indicators of the virological quality of sewage-polluted water. Water SA 10 (1) WENTZEL RG (1975) Limnology. WB Saunders Company, Philadelphia. Currency Rand/s, if used in text, is always spelled with a capital first letter. If Rand is abbreviated to R, never use a space between the R and the first figure and always use two decimals if the decimal is used. Never use a comma if the rand amount exceeds three figures, but use a space. R and R 1,200, are examples of the wrong use of currency. Correctly it will be R or R Other denominations, if abbreviated or symbol used, also do not get a space between the abbreviation or symbol and the first figure, e.g. $40, USD40, 100 or GBP100. ZAR40, USD400 and GBP100 is used this way. Figures and Numbers If a number consists of more than three figures, never use a comma to separate the numbers, e.g. 3,000,000 use a space, e.g If a number consists of four figures only, the space is optional. Both 6000 and are acceptable. Sentence construction Never start a sentence with an abbreviation or a number, e.g. 1 Day is required to evaluate or E. coli can be found in contaminated water. Always write out the word/term/number at the beginning of a sentence.

4 4 APPENDIX A: TITLE PAGE OF A STANDARD OR KV REPORT DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL WATER CONSUMPTION ARCHIVE Report to the Water Research Commission by JE van Zyl & L Geusteyn Department of Civil Engineering Science University of Johannesburg WRC Report No. 1605/1/07 ISBN January 2007

5 5 APPENDIX B: TITLE PAGE OF A TT REPORT An Assessment of Non-Revenue Water in South Africa CJ Seago & RS McKenzie Report to the Water Research Commission by WRP (Pty) Ltd WRC Report No. TT 300/07 January 2007

6 6 APPENDIX C: INDEMNITY PAGE OF A STANDARD REPORT DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the WRC, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use

7 7 APPENDIX D: INDEMNITY PAGE OF A TT OR KV REPORT Obtainable from Water Research Commission Private Bag X03 Gezina 0031 South Africa orders@wrc.org.za The publication of this report emanates from a project entitled Hydrogeology of Groundwater Region 26 Bushmanland (WRC Project No. K8/560) DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the WRC, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use ISBN Printed in the Republic of South Africa

8 8 APPENDIX E: COMMON MISTAKES FOUND IN REPORTS Wrong page size Authors frequently forget to change the page size from letter size to A4. Letter size is not used in the RSA and the page size set-up should be done first thing. Wrong style Units of measure Rule: Units of measure always get a space between the last digit and the unit of measure 20litres 40hectares 24hours 20 litres 40 hectares 24 hours Units of measure: abbreviations Rule: Units of measure, if abbreviated, get a space between the last digit and the unit of measure 20cm 1g 1km 40ha 24h 20 cm 1 g 1 km 40 ha 24 h Abbreviations: e.g. and i.e. Rule: The Abbreviations e.g. and i.e. is spelled with two full stops, a comma is inserted after the word preceding the abbreviation and both are never followed by a comma. If it follows an opening bracket, the preceding word is not followed by a comma. 2 colours eg. red and blue, can be seen 2 colours, e.g. red and blue, can be seen Comma after colours and two full stops in abbreviation 2 colours, i.e., red and blue, can be seen 2 colours, i.e. red and blue, can be seen Comma after colours and no comma after the abbreviation 2 colours (i.e. red and blue) can be seen No comma required

9 9 Abbreviations: viz. and etc. Rule: If the word viz. is used in text, it must always be in italics, have a comma after the preceding word and be followed by a full stop The word preceding the abbreviations etc. is followed by a comma and the abbreviation is always followed by a full stop. If it follows an opening bracket, the preceding word is not followed by a comma. 2 members viz. Peter and John went 2 members, viz. Peter and John went 2 members (viz. Peter and John) went Cycles, cars, lorries etc will be on display Cycles, cars, lorries, etc. will be on display Use of term et al. Rule: When reference is made in text to literature that appear in the reference list to which three or more authors contributed, only the surname of the first author, followed by et al. and the date is used. Et al is always followed by a full stop and never gets a full stop after the word et. If the date that follows et al. appears without brackets, a comma is placed after the full stop that follows the term. If the date appears in brackets, no comma is required. More than often, et.al. is found in text. Never use a full stop after et Smith R.B. et al 1990 Smith et al., 1990 No initials and full stop and comma after al Smith et.al Smith et al., 1990 Full stop and comma after al and no brackets around date Smith et al., (1990) Smith et al. (1990) Full stop after al, no comma and bracket around date Use of symbols for percentage and degrees Celsius Rule: % and C never gets a space between the symbol and the figure it follows. Never use a subscripted letter o or figure 0 as a degree-symbol. Always insert the symbol. The symbol lines up with the text at the top, whilst superscripted letters or figures does not line up at the top. 5 % will fail 5% will fail 5 o C 5 C 5 0 C 5 C 5 o C 5 C No space between the figure and the symbol No space and no superscripted letter o No space and no superscripted figure 0 No superscripted letter 0

10 10 Use of hyphens Rule: The short hyphen, without a space before and after, is used when a relation is indicated. The long hyphen, with a space before and after it, is used when another line of thought is inserted in a sentence. MS-word normally automatically inserts a short hyphen if no space before and after it appears, or if only one of these spaces is inserted. If a space is inserted before and after a hyphen, MS-Word automatically inserts a long hyphen. Word doesn t automatically change the hyphen size if spaces are inserted or deleted after a hyphen and words are typed. Care should therefore be taken to ensure that the correct hyphen appears in text. Rule: Never say between 3-6. Correctly it must read between 3 and days 3-6 days 3-6 days Space before hyphen only 3-6 days Spaces before and after hyphen inserted after the two figures and the hyphen was typed An idea - although old can be practiced 3-6 days 3-6 days Short hyphen without spaces Short hyphen without spaces Short hyphen without spaces An idea although old can be practiced Long hyphen with space before and after Use of currency Rule: When currency is used in text, no space appears between the symbol for the currency and the first figure. No commas are used in figures use a space. A full stop is used to separate Rands, Dollars or Pounds and Cents or Pennies. Never use one digit only after the full stop currency always has two digits after the decimal. Rands, Dollars, Pounds, etc., if written out, are always spelled with a capital first letter, i.e. In Rand terms, the following is required: R 1, 200, R No space between the symbol and the first figure and no comma in-between $ 30 $30 No space between the symbol and the first figure R1.5 R1.50 Two figures after the decimal R0.75 No space between the symbol and a zero if the amount is under one Rand

11 11 Use of numbers and figures Rule: If a number consists of more than four figures, a space appears between every three figures, starting from the right. No comma is used in the place of the space. If a number consists of four figures only, the space is optional. 1, 200, Space between every three figures from the right Space between every three figures from the right Use of telephone or fax numbers in text Rule: Dialling codes should not appear in brackets (012) Use of references in text Rule: When referring to literature contained in the reference list, always use the surname followed by a comma and then the date or skip the comma and put the date in brackets; if there are two authors, use both surnames and the date, followed by a comma and the date, or skip the comma and put the date in brackets; if there are three or more authors, use the surname of the first author, followed by the words et al, which is followed by a full stop, then a comma and then the date. The comma can be skipped and the date put in brackets Rule: When citing an author in text that appears in the reference list, never use initials. Only use the surname and the date Brown 2006 found that. Brown 2006 found that. Smith and Brown 2006 found that. Smith and Brown 2006 found that. Smith et al found that Smith et al found that Brown, 2006 found that. Brown (2006) found that. Smith and Brown, 2006 found that. Smith and Brown (2006) found that. Smith et al., 2006 found that. Smith et al. (2006) found that.