Quality check for reports

    A quick quality check is expected for all reports. I will do such a quick check upon receipt of the report. The time required is less than one minute. Comprehension is better in reading the paper version compared with on screen as demonstrated by psychological studies.

    Scan the report quickly to check for errors that should be obvious to anyone.
    Check numerical results for physical reasonableness. Giant disparities such as a factor of 1,000 or a billion should be noticed and fixed.
    Check physical property results to make sure they have the proper units. Results lacking units that are needed are meaningless numbers.
    Check your graphs. Are scales labeled properly? Are units given when appropriate? Check that there is no FORTRAN notation: that is suitable for reading by a computer not by a human being. Replace with proper scientific notation if necessary.
    Are all needed sections of the report present?
    Reports that do not meet these minimum standards of quality are not gradable and will be returned to the writer for repair.
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