Project Report
1. What are project reports?
A project report is a means to present your investigation by undertaking a comprehensive literature search, collecting relevant data and applying suitable methods to test theories or hypotheses. It also involves analyzing and evaluating possible factors which contribute to the observed data results and patterns, discussing and drawing a reasonable conclusion for the whole investigation in an organized and logical manner.
In the context of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPolyU), project reports as an assignment genre, can be categorized within the genre families of Literature Surveys, Methodology Recounts and Research Reports which all have the common goal of building research skills (Nesi & Gardner, 2012). It serves as a foundation in preparation for writing a much longer Research Report (i.e. Final Year Project Report or Undergraduate Dissertation).
The structure of this assignment genre may contain elements of each of these genre families, depending largely on the assessment focus and academic level of the subject. Some of them emphasize reviewing literature, as in a Literature Survey, while others focus on student’s accounts of experimental procedures and findings as in a Methodology Recount.
In short, you are expected to demonstrate research, analysis, comparison and contrast, summarizing, as well as technical and disciplinary English writing skills.
About this website
EWRite is an open access online literacy platform for PolyU community that has two major objectives:
- to support PolyU students’ literacy development within and across the disciplines
- to support subject and language teachers to implement system-level measures for integrating literacy-sensitive pedagogies across the university
This platform provides access to generic genre guides representing typical university assignments as well as links to subjects offered by faculties with specific disciplinary genres and relevant support materials.
The materials can be retrieved by students by choosing the genres that interest them on the landing page. Each set of materials includes a genre guide, genre video, and a genre checklist. The genre guide and video are to summarize the genres in two different ways (i.e. textual and dynamic) to fit different learning styles. The genre checklist is for students to self-regulate their writing process. The genre guide and checklist include links to various ELC resources that can provide further explanation to language items (e.g. hedging and academic vocabulary).
The platform also acts as a one-stop-shop for writing resources for students, language teachers and subject leaders. Information about the English Writing Requirement policy can also be found on this platform. There are training materials for new colleagues joining the EWR Liaison Team.
