Final Year Projects

How to Use Paraphrasing in Research Project Report

How to Use Paraphrasing in Research Project Report without plagiarizing is the best option for avoiding copying verbatim from the main source.

According to Grammarly, A paraphrase (or paraphrasing) is a restatement of another piece of writing with new words or phrases while keeping the same meaning, usually to modify the language or simply avoid plagiarism. For example, Shakespeare’s famous line, “To be or not to be,” could be paraphrased as, “Is it better to exist or not exist at all?” 

“Paraphrasing is an important communication technique, especially in research papers, to avoid copying an original source verbatim. However, learning how to paraphrase can take some practice, so below we explain what you need to know, starting with a simple paraphrase definition.”

Also, Paraphrasing is the process of taking an original passage and expressing the same concept with alternative words or phrases. A paraphrase essentially rewrites the original material in its own style. 

How to Use Paraphrasing in Research Project Report

How to Use Paraphrasing in Research Project Report with Examples
SYNONYMS

Replace key words in an original section with synonyms, such as “scientist” for “researcher” or “seniors” for “the elderly.” This is a frequent method of paraphrasing, however it isn’t sufficient in and of itself. To make your writing appear new, combine this method with some of the ones listed below. Example

Original sentence

Some plants release certain aromas to alert their plant neighbors that they’re under attack. 

Paraphrase

Some vegetation emits special scents to warn other plants that there’s danger nearby. 




REMOVE OR ADD WORDS

Remove any parts of a quote that are not related to what you’re writing about and rephrase the rest in your own words. Similarly, you can personalize an old quotation by adding your own spin to it to assist contextualize or adapt it to your theme. In either case, make sure to rewrite everything that originates from the original source. Example:

Original sentence: 

Human eyes get used to darkness after an hour, but by then they’ll be 100,000 times more sensitive to light.

Paraphrase: 

If you sit in a dark room, your eyes will eventually adjust and become 100,000 times more sensitive to light—but be careful when you turn on the light again!

ALTER PART OF THE TEXT

You can sometimes alter the parts of text in a sentence, such as converting a preposition to the operative verb or transforming an adjective to an adverb. Because this method is dependent on the original passage’s wording, you may not always have the opportunity to use it; we also recommend combining it with other strategies here for more creative writing. Example:

Original sentence

Polar bears are almost undetectable by infrared cameras because of how they conserve heat.

Paraphrase: 

Polar bears cannot be detected easily by infrared cameras due to their unique heat conservation. 

BENEFITS OF PARAPHRASING

TO AVOID PLAGIARISM: To make fresh new sentences, change the sequence of particular phrases and clauses, or mix and match them from existing sentences. Although it may be tempting to employ the passive voice when paraphrasing, do so only when absolutely necessary.

TO AVOID OVERUSING QUOTES: When the author says it best themselves, quotations are fantastic, but when you use too many, you’re effectively copying someone else’s work. To make a piece of writing your own, vary between paraphrase and direct quotes if you’re frequently referring other people’s work.

IMPROVED CHOICE OF WORD: Occasionally may still want to recreate the original content in your own words—perhaps to match your own writing style, or simply because you prefer your own word choices. In any event, paraphrasing allows you to use your own words or phrases while keeping the message’s fundamental message intact.

PARAPHRASING TOOLS

The paraphrasing tools I preferred are from Grammarly and QuillBot.

Recommended: Student’s Guide: Final Year Project Report for BSc, HND, MBA

How to Use Paraphrasing in Research Project Report Read More »

Student’s Guide: Final Year Project Report for BSc, HND, MBA.

This student’s guide is fashioned to ease final year project report for BSc, HND, OND, MBA etc. A final project illustrates or demonstrates student’s understanding and ability to combine knowledge acquired over a period to create a new skills, transferable skills or improve existing ideology. Final project write up should be supported by written material that can be referenced and that follows well-established academic conventions in a consistent manner. From a research, a good final project feature Integrity, Creativity, Organization and Research Skills.

Achievement of some final year projects can be a piece of software or hardware, other projects may produce a systems model or design, and some  may address some research hypothesis using a theoretical or experimental technique.

Student’s guide for final year project report for BSc, HND, OND MBA, etc will be categorized into two section:

  • Writing Format
  • General Thesis Structure.

Writing Format

Writing format depends on the academic institution Final Year Project (FYP) styles, but the format explain below are generally adopted by most institution.

Paper Size and Margins – Use A-4 paper (8 1/2 x 11”) and 2.5 cm for all margins of the manuscripts.

Line and paragraph spacing – Use 1.5 spacing for the body of the text, except for tables and references, where you need to use single line spacing. Do not indent paragraphs but use block typing and no need of background effects. Alignment of the text is essential.

Font Type & Font Size – 

Font                                          Size                                    Spacing

Times New Roman                 12                               Double-spacing

Thesis Structure

Just like formatting, structure of thesis varies. On general note,  Thesis Structure listed below will be explain extensively in chronological order. But project supervisor will give guidance on what  is reasonable to expect from a chosen project topic.

Project Front Page

The front page must contain the following details:

  • Title of the Project Report

  •  Full name of Author

  •  The Degree for which the thesis is submitted

  •   Month and year in which the thesis is submitted for examination.
  • The name of the school and institution, e.g. School of Computer Science and Technology, Naija University. 
     

Abstract

This is a summary of the final year project thesis (report). Approximately 200 to 400 words with keywords or must be less than 300 words long. The abstract should allow a reader who is unfamiliar with the work to gain a swift and accurate impression of what the project is about. It should be concisely describe the major ideas of the report, including the objectives and conclusions. It must be self-contained, self-explanatory and be precise. 


Table of Contents

The titles of chapters, sections,sub-sections  and their principal sub-division should be listed in the Table of Contents and must be worded exactly as they appear in the body of the thesis. It is advisable to use numbers for Chapters and its headings for example,  2.1, sub-headings  2.1 and sub-sub headings  2.1.1 respectively.

final year project report

List of Figures

In this section, all the  figures used in the body of the project work shall be listed along with their corresponding page numbers. It is important to note that line diagram that has rows and columns and any other diagram without a role and column is referred to as figures in project writing

final year project report

List of Tables

“A List of Tables is a reference tool that allows your readers to quickly and easily navigate to data in your thesis or dissertation.  Construction of the list is similar to creating a Table of Contents. To save yourself some time in making your List of Tables, be sure that you use font styles.”

final year project report

Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement in project writing is a section where the write acknowledges and show appreciation to everyone who has helped in the project. Acknowledgement is also included in research project writing to recognize and thank everyone who was involved in the research.

Example:

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher(Supervisor) (Name of the teacher) as well as our principal-Dept. HOD(Name of the principal)who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic (Write the topic name), which also helped me in doing a lot of Research and i came to know about so many new things I am really thankful to them.
Secondly i would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the limited time frame.

Definition of Terms

Definition of terms refers to a detailed explanation of the technical terms and measurements used during data collection.

“An alphabetical list of important terms or acronyms that you define, particularly ambiguous terms or those used in a special way. Your thesis proposal will likely include terms that are not widely known outside of your discipline. These terms include particular theoretical constructs, formulas, operational definitions that differ from colloquial definitions, schools of thought and discipline-specific acronyms. This part of your proposal offers the reader a list of definitions of these terms. It could be considerably affect how the reader understands your thesis, and use these terms in a consistent fashion throughout your proposal and thesis”

Chapter One: Introduction

This is the first chapter of thesis after all the preliminaries. The Sub-headings varies depending on the nature or title of the thesis. See sample below:

final year project report

Chapter Two: Literature Review

Literature relevant to the title and the variables of the study are subjected to review. The review of literature is done by quoting or citing what previous researchers and scholars have done relative to the area of the study. The review could also take a turn of critically reviewing previous studies carried out by previous researchers. Awotedu, A.W. (2015, p.9)

Moreover, “It is required critically to analysed published works (theoretical articles and research studies) related to your problem statement and research questions. It is also the section in which you present the underlying theoretical framework of your study.

Adopt these tips for organization of your review:
  • Use linking words such as the following: similarly, in addition, also, again, more importantly, however, on the other hand, conversely, nevertheless

  • Avoid using. Wilson (1990) says ……but instead use an appropriate verb which more accurately reflects the authors viewpoint, such as “argues”, “claims” or “states”.

  • Quotes are used to emphasise a point or if what the author said cannot be rewritten in your own words.

  • Sometimes quotes are used to quote terms coined by the author.

  • When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author’s message or viewpoint accurately in your own words.

  • Keeping your own voice – Even though you are presenting the views of others, you should maintain your own voice by starting and ending a paragraph with your own words”. 

John, A.P(2020) Writing the Review of Literature Section.Retrieved from https://valmikiacademy.com/lessons/lesson-3-writing-the-review-of-literature-section/

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Theoretical Framework

In final project report, most often, Students(BSc, HND, MBA) misunderstood or find the it difficult to curl theoretical framework for their project.

Two key words ‘theoretical’ and ‘framework’. ‘Theoretical’ (or theory) is the interaction of two or more variables (or factors) telling a story about a phenomenon while providing an insight about the phenomenon (Anfara and Mertx, 2009)

This refers to a theory that has been propounded by previous scholars or authors. Research student is to find out a theory that is most suitable and adequately captures the variables as reflected in the research questions and hypotheses of your final project report.

Sample: Lower interest rate will boost small scale enterprises in the community.

2.2 Conceptual Framework

This in most cases is usually presented diagrammatically. Except there is a conceptual framework found to be appropriate that could be  adapted for a study, it is usually constructed by the researcher and not other scholars work.

Sample:

               final year project report

2.3 Empirical Framework

The empirical framework refers to the reports of previous studies that have been carried out by other researchers. Final year project researcher need to study other related project.

2.4 Summary of Literature Review

This section summarize  review and reports observed. And conclude by explaining how the theoretical framework and the review leads to the problem statement and the research questions that will be addressed.

Chapter Three: Methodology

In this section on Methodology for FYP in your research proposal, explain how you intend to collect data to answer the Research Questions or Hypotheses stipulated in Chapter One : Introduction.

Chapter Four: Implementation

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Chapter Five: Evaluation

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Chapter Six: Conclusion

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Bibliography

The Bibliography or List of References appears after the Body of the Document.  It is a complete listing of all cited resources used to create your document.

However, there are different styles of referencing, namely:

APA STYLE: – Musah, M. (2020) Student’s guide: Final Year Project Report. Lagos: NaijaVarcity Publishing.

HARVARD STYLE: -Musah, M 2020, Student’s guide: Final Year Project Report. 1st Ed. Lagos: NaijaVarcity Publishing.

MLA STYLE: -Musah, M 2020, Student’s guide: Final Year Project Report. Lagos: NaijaVarcity Publishing.

CHICAGO STYLE: -Musah Mustapha, Student’s guide: Final Year Project Report. Lagos: NaijaVarcity Publishing, 2020

Appendices

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Student’s Guide: Final Year Project Report for BSc, HND, MBA. Read More »

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