Table of Contents2.0 Executive Summary3.0 Abstracts1.0 Document Structure1.1 Cover Sheet1.2 Sections and Subsections1.3 Page Numbers1.4 Table of Contents; List of Tables and Figures1.5 Spacing and Fonts1.6 Acronyms1.7 Tables and Figures1.8 Equations2.0 Executive Summary3.0 Informative Abstract4.0 Citation Styles4.1 AIAA vs. Other Styles4.2 Types of Sources4.2.1 Websites4.2.2 Presented vs. Published Papers4.2.3 Non-retrievable Sources4.2.4 Unpublished Material5.0 Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, Style, and Tone6.0 Conventions for Using Numbers7.0 Sources Cited/List of References6.0 Appendix (or Appendices)Style Guide for 16.62x Experimental Projects Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics 2004-2005 Jennifer L. Craig This document offers guidelines for writing, formatting, and citing sources for deliverables required in 16.62x Experimental Projects Lab. Students in other courses may use it as their professors direct. It covers key points, but if you have further questions, please contact Jennifer Craig.Table of Contents 1.0 Document Structure............................................................................... 1.1 COVER SHEET...................................................................................................... 1.2 SECTIONS AND SUBSECTIONS............................................................................... 1.3 PAGE NUMBERS................................................................................................... 1.4 TABLE OF CONTENTS; LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES.......................................... 1.5 SPACING AND FONTS............................................................................................ 1.6 ACRONYMS.......................................................................................................... 1.7 TABLES AND FIGURES.......................................................................................... 1.8 EQUATIONS........................................................................................................ 2.0 Executive Summary 3.0 Abstracts 4.0 Citation Styles .......................................................................................... 2.1 AIAA VS. OTHER STYLES..................................................................................11 2.2 TYPES OF SOURCES............................................................................................11 2.2.1 Websites....................................................................................................12 2.2.2 Presented vs. Published Papers................................................................12 2.2.3 Non-retrievable Sources...........................................................................12 2.2.4 Unpublished Material...............................................................................12 5.0 Grammar, punctuation, spelling and tone............13 6.0 Conventions for using numbers.....................................................13 7.0 List of References...................................................................................14 8.0 Appendix or Appendices 151.0 Document Structure 1.1 Cover Sheet Reports and proposals have cover sheets. For example, all 16.62x submissions should have a coversheets like the one illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 1: Cover Sheet Format 1.2 Sections and Subsections Technical documents have sections and subsections to organize information. Give each section or subsection a brief, informative heading, and use a modest emphasis technique (underlining, italics, bolding or slightly larger font size) to help the reader locate the section. 1.3 Page Numbers Technical documents have page numbers as navigational devices. PowerPoint slides have numbers. It doesn’t matter so much where you put them, but they must bethere. 1.4 Table of Contents; List of Tables and Figures Professional documents longer than 5 pages usually have a Table of Contents that allows a reader to find sections easily. In addition, professional documents also list tables and figures separately from the Table of Contents so that readers may have independent access to those graphics. 1.5 Spacing and Fonts Technical reports and proposals are usually double spaced or space-and-a-half with conventional margins. There are two styles re: indentation and spacing. • If you indent your paragraphs, you do not have to put space between them or between the first paragraph and the heading. • If you do not indent your paragraphs, then the convention is to put space between them and between the first line and the heading. Technical documents generally are in a conventional font and use 12 pt font size. Sometimes a smaller font is acceptable but never smaller than 10. 1.6 Acronyms Acronyms should be spelled out the first time they are used and the acronym included in parentheses that follow. (e.g. The Trade Analysis and Requirements Review (TARR) is scheduled for . . .) Some acronyms are so familiar that they are practically words themselves (USA, NASA), but most need to be written out the first time. Try not to begin a sentence with an acronym. Reduce the number of acronyms when possible. 1.7 Tables and Figures Graphics are either tables or figures. Tables are columns and rows, so a test matrix is a table even when it is 3-D. All other graphics are figures (photo, sketch, graph, chart, etc). An example of a figure is shown in Figure 2.Figure 2: Schematic of Experimental Setup Figures are labeled on the bottom. Tables are labeled at the top. Labeling means that the graphic has a number and an informative caption or title. When you use a figure or table, place the figure or table close to where you refer to it in the text. In the text, refer to the graphic, give the number, and explain briefly what it is. Size the graphic to fit into the text. As seen in technical papers, almost all figures and tables can be reduced to less than a page without impairing readability. However, a full page graphic is acceptable if you really need all that space to display the information. It’s conventional to place very large or multi-page graphics and unrefined data sets in the appendices to allow readers access to that information without interrupting the flow of the text. 1.8 Equations Equations should be labeled at the right side of the page and centered
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