How to write the project report

The chapters a project report is marked against, what each one is actually for, and the mistake that costs marks in each. Plus the front matter in the order every university wants it, and the formatting conventions that are near-universal across Indian departments.

Two things to read before anything else

Your department's format sheet overrides every line on this page. Universities and even individual departments differ on margins, page counts and the wording of the certificate. Get that sheet first; what follows is the shape everything has in common, not a substitute for it.
There is no template to download here. The report is the part of the project that is actually assessed, and a site that wrote it for you would be helping you cheat rather than helping you pass. What is here is the structure and the reasoning — the writing is yours.

Front matter, in order

The order is near-universal. The wording on each page is not, so take that from your department's sheet.

1Cover and title page. Project title, your names and USNs, the degree, the guide's name, the department and the academic year.
2Certificate. Signed by the guide, the head of department and the principal. This is the page that gets missed until the day before submission — collect the signatures early.
3Declaration. Your statement that the work is your own. Signed by every team member.
4Acknowledgement. Guide, head of department, lab staff and anyone who lent you equipment. Keep it short and specific.
5Abstract. One page. What the problem was, what you built, what you measured.
6Table of contents. Generated, not typed. Use the word processor's heading styles so it updates when the text moves.
7List of figures and list of tables. Also generated. Every figure and table must be numbered and captioned to appear here.
8List of abbreviations and symbols. Every symbol used in the design chapter, with its unit.

The chapters, and what loses marks in each

1Abstract

One paragraph covering what the problem is, what you built, and what the result was. Written last, even though it appears first.

Loses marks: Describing the problem and the method but never stating a result. If there is no number in your abstract, it is not finished.

2Introduction

Why the problem matters, the context it sits in, and a clear statement of the objectives your project set out to meet.

Loses marks: Objectives written so vaguely that nobody can tell at the end whether they were met. Write objectives you can tick off in the conclusion.

3Literature survey

What has already been done, what each approach achieved, and the specific gap your work addresses.

Loses marks: A list of paper summaries with no comparison and no gap. The survey exists to justify your design choice, so end it by saying what you chose and why.

4Methodology and block diagram

The system as a whole: the block diagram, what each block does, and the signal or power path between them.

Loses marks: A block diagram copied from a datasheet or another report. Draw yours to match what you actually built, including the parts that are inconvenient.

5Design and calculations

Every component value and rating, with the formula, the assumptions and the arithmetic that produced it. This is the chapter that distinguishes an engineering project from an assembly job.

Loses marks: Component values with no justification. If a resistor is 10 kOhm, the report must say why it is not 1 kOhm.

6Hardware and software implementation

The circuit as built, the PCB or wiring, the flowchart, and the parts of the code that carry the actual logic.

Loses marks: Twenty pages of pasted source listing. Include the flowchart and the few functions that matter, and put the full listing in an appendix.

7Results and discussion

What you measured, in tables and graphs, compared against what you predicted in the design chapter — including where they disagreed.

Loses marks: Photographs of the working model presented as results. A photograph is evidence that it exists, not evidence that it works. Results are measurements.

8Conclusion and future scope

Whether each objective was met, what the measured performance was, and what the honest next step would be.

Loses marks: Future scope written as a wish list of unrelated features. It should follow from a limitation you actually hit.

9References and appendices

Every source in a consistent style, plus datasheets, full code listings and the complete bill of materials.

Loses marks: Citing a blog or a video where a datasheet or a standard exists. Cite the primary source for anything you relied on.

How long it should be

Diploma project (C-20, 6th sem): A diploma report is typically 40 to 60 pages. The design and results chapters carry the marks; the literature survey can be short.
B.E. mini project (5th/6th sem): A mini project report runs to about 40 to 50 pages, and the literature survey is usually brief. Guides expect one clear objective, met and measured.
B.E. final year project (7th/8th sem): A final year report is normally 60 to 90 pages with a substantial literature survey, and many departments expect a paper submission alongside it.

Formatting conventions

These are what most Indian departments ask for. None of them is a rule any single university publishes for everyone, so treat them as the default and your own format sheet as the authority.

Paper and margins: A4, printed one side. A wider left margin than the other three, because the report is bound on that edge.
Body text: A serif face at 12 point with 1.5 line spacing is the usual request. Justified, with a consistent paragraph indent or spacing — one or the other, not both.
Headings: Numbered by chapter: 3, 3.1, 3.1.1. Do not go deeper than three levels; if you need a fourth, the section wants splitting.
Figures: Numbered by chapter (Figure 3.2) with the caption BELOW the figure, and every figure referred to by number in the text. A figure nobody refers to should not be there.
Tables: Numbered by chapter with the caption ABOVE the table. This catches people out — it is the opposite of the figure rule and it is near universal.
Equations: Numbered on the right, referred to as Equation 3.4. Define every symbol at first use and give its unit.
Units: SI, with a space between the number and the unit, and the unit upright rather than italic. Write 230 V, not 230V or 230 v.
References: One consistent style throughout — IEEE numbered style is the usual choice in engineering. Cite the datasheet or the standard, not a blog that quotes it.
Plagiarism: Most departments now run a similarity check and set a threshold. Quoting a datasheet is fine when it is cited; pasting another report's paragraphs is not, and the check finds it.

The design chapter is where the marks are

Every project on this site carries its sizing calculations worked through with the formula, the assumptions and the arithmetic — which is exactly what that chapter has to contain, and the chapter most reports leave thin.

Browse all 25 projects, with their design calculations