STRUCTURE AND LAYOUT
General
Assignments are to be written in a professional, formally structured, yet straightforward style. They are also
to be written in such a way as to demonstrate clearly your understanding of the material. As would be expected
when reporting formally to a professional body, a high standard of presentation is required. Do not use sketches
or colloquial language.
Numeracy and quantification
Because this is a physics assignment, you are expected to be numerate. A physicist will not just say “… the
spatial resolution is significantly higher with this method” or even worse, “… the spatial resolution is
unparalleled”!! He would always say, where possible, “… the achievable spatial resolution is xxx mm at yyy MHz
in zzz mode” or similar. You will be expected to quantify your text by quoting typical numerical values often
through this assignment to demonstrate sound knowledge.
Structure
The assignment is to have a title, date, student name and number. It will be divided into standard sections,
with section headings: Introduction, appropriate intermediate sections to break up the subject matter into
logical components, Conclusion and References.
Introduction
The introduction will contain some history and background to the subject matter in question citing several
references from the standard literature and highlighting any difficulties or complications involved. References
should include a number of journal references from the professional literature and perhaps some text book
references. You are not required to go into excessive detail on the contents of such journal articles, particularly
if it is highly technical and mathematical, but you should be able to summarise the key results and make an
informed comment on them in a few sentences.
Tables and Figures
Tables
Data must be included in the form of properly labelled tables each with a suitable caption. Tables are always
numbered and labelled as Table 1, Table 2 etc. For tables, the table number and caption go on top of the table.
Figures
Images, diagrams, graphs and charts must be included as properly numbered and captioned figures. All diagrams,
plots, graphs, images and so on are labelled and numbered as figures and nothing else. You do not have Graph
1, Image 2 etc. For figures, the figure number and caption go below the figure. Units must be included. Full
understanding cannot be demonstrated without showing units. Search the literature and find your own figures.
Conclusion
Your conclusion should include key numerical results along with a summary of the contents of the report.
Mention any technical difficulties or assumptions involved in the report.
Style
Marks will be lost for incorrect spelling and grammar. Do not use dot points or note form. Use grammatically
correct and complete sentences. You can use properly enumerated complete sentences occasionally and where
appropriate.
Do not use direct quotation. In arts, direct quotation is essential, in science, it is virtually never used. (Perhaps
an insightful statement by Einstein or someone of that calibre might, on rare occasions, justify a brief direct
quotation but not otherwise.)
Referencing
While you may include references to the module notes and text books, this exercise is designed to bring about
wider reading on the topic and to assess your ability to study and assess the existing state of knowledge in the
given field, therefore, your submission must include reference to a minimum of six journal references, that is,
references to the peer reviewed scientific journals.
The following guidelines must be followed. References cited must include no less than six peer reviewed
‘journal’ references, that is, they must be taken from some of the hundreds of professional journals available
using the library databases. Relevant articles may be found by searching databases like Medline, Inspec and
Compendex. Medline has a clinical bias while Inspec and Compendex have more of an emphasis on physics.
In citing references, websites, such as may be obtained by a Google search for example, are not considered
sound in academic work and are little used in scientific literature because they are not subject to the stringent
peer review process of journal articles. Websites may be written by anybody including totally unqualified people
and may be, and often are, full of errors. If a Google search locates a reference to a professional journal, the
proper journal reference must be given, not the website.