Work Term Report Guidelines

Table of Contents

1.0 What is a Work Term Report?

The Work Term Report is an essential component in the co-operative education process. These reports serve a variety of purposes. They are designed to:

  • stimulate your thinking about your work experience, reflecting on how it relates to your academic and professional development;
  • increase your understanding of the organization you are working for, and your specific job;
  • provide a forum for you to record the knowledge and skills you develop on the job, which may be useful for your professional portfolio of work accomplishments;
  • challenge you to develop your communication skills;
  • provide a tool by which you, your employer, the co-op administrators, and the University may evaluate your performance and measure your growth;
  • help the Co-op Coordinator evaluate the usefulness of the worksite and job in preparing future co-op students for their careers; and
  • help future co-op students prepare for interviews with that employer.

You must complete a work term report for each of your four (4–month) work terms, even if you do two work terms back-to-back. The specific purpose and structure of these reports varies with each work term, as outlined on the next page.

2.0 Work Semester I

Your first work term report should be written according to the following guidelines:

Primary Purpose:

The First Work Term Report is intended to help you reflect on your work experience, and on how it relates to your academic and professional development. You may wish to comment, for example, on: the nature of the organization employing you, their mandate and activities; the nature of the specific job you are doing; the knowledge, skills, personal attributes and/or experience that you needed to obtain your job, or which you acquired on the job; what you have learned from this position; recommendations you would make to other students on how to obtain or be successful in your kind of work.

You should write:

  • 10–15 pages, double-spaced, typed (or the equivalent thereof), NOT including title page, executive summary, and any illustrations, table of contents, footnotes or bibliography (if these are included).
  • a discussion of the nature of the work you are doing (the job description, as posted and as you are experiencing it); the knowledge and skills you are acquiring; a reflection on how this work experience will contribute to both your academic and professional development. (see Completing Work Term Reports)
  • a title page which includes the name and address of the organization; your name, major, and work term number; the date; and a title for your report.

You may wish to submit with your work report any supporting documentation from the organization you are working for which will help the reader to understand the work you have done.

3.0 Work Semester II

Your second work term report should be written according to the following guidelines:

Primary Purpose:

The Second Work Term Report is intended to help you develop your skills in producing an informative scientific or technical report (similar to an academic research paper) which could potentially be useful to an expert or professional working in this field, but which also may be understood by a reasonably informed general audience. The emphasis in this report should be on clearly demonstrating (1) your work-related research skills, and (2) your ability to explain the nature of the work you are doing, providing a comprehensive view of your research methodology and results, or a description of your activities and the knowledge you have acquired. Copies of technical papers which you may use as a model for your own report are available from the Co-op Office; you should also consider asking your employer for examples commonly used in that workplace.

You should write:

  • 10–15 pages, double-spaced, typed (or the equivalent thereof; technical reports and publications are not necessarily double-spaced), NOT including title page, abstract, table of contents, illustrations (if useful), footnotes and bibliography.
  • a technical description of some aspect of the work you are doing, including your research or work objectives, your methodology, your activities, and your conclusions or the results of your work. (see page 6)
  • a title page which includes the name and address of the organization; your name, major, and work term number; the date; and a title for your report.

You may wish to submit with your work report any supporting documentation from the organization you are working for which will help the reader to understand the work you have done.

4.0 Work Semester III

Your third work term report should be written according to the following guidelines:

Primary Purpose:

The Third Work Term Report is intended to help you further develop your communication skills, as related to your work. As with the second work term report, you may write a technical paper on some aspect of the work you are doing. The emphasis in this report, however, will be on your skill in communicating this information to a non-technical or non-specialist audience. Therefore, this report need not be written in the style of a technical paper. For example, it could be produced as a discussion paper for a public information purpose, or in the form of an interpretive brochure or poster, a training manual, a slide show with keyed text, or a short video.

You should write:

  • 10–15 pages, double-spaced, typed (or the equivalent thereof), NOT including title page, abstract, and any illustrations, footnotes or bibliography (if these are included).
  • a non-technical description of the work you are doing or the results of your research or activities. (see page 6)
  • a title page which includes the name and address of the organization; your name, major, and work term number; the date; and a title for your report.

You may wish to submit with your work report any supporting documentation from the organization you are working for which will help a general audience to understand the work you have done.

5.0 Work Semester IV

Your fourth work term report should be written according to the following guidelines:

Primary Purpose:

The Fourth Work Term Report is intended to help you reflect on your present and past work experience, and on how you will carry forward your learning in the development of your career. Ask yourself: What general principles can you draw from what you have learned in each of your work terms? How have these work terms contributed to your academic and professional development? How have they shaped your views on what you intend to achieve after graduation, and how you intend to develop your career? You may write a work term report similar to the First Work Term Report, but which addresses in addition the above questions; or you may choose to develop a career-related action plan or personal job search strategy which builds on your co-op work experience; or you may submit a detailed professional portfolio of your academic and work-related experience, which you might then use as a self-marketing tool in your career development.

You should write:

  • 10–15 pages, double-spaced, typed (or the equivalent thereof), NOT including title page, and any illustrations, footnotes or bibliography (if these are included).
  • a discussion of the nature of the work you are doing (the job description, as posted and as you are experiencing it); the knowledge and skills you are acquiring; a reflection on how this work experience will contribute to both your academic and professional development. Or, you may submit a career-related action plan or personal portfolio (ask your coordinator for design ideas). (see page 6)
  • a title page which includes the name and address of the organization; your name, major, and work term number; the date; and a title for your report.

You may wish to submit with your work report any supporting documentation from the organization(s) you have worked for which will help the reader to understand the work you have done.

6.0 Completing Work Term Reports

It is recommended that you keep a daily record of your activities and contacts on the job, which can then be referred to when you write your report. Such records may also prove useful in your future professional life.

Bear in mind that the following are guidelines for your work term reports; depending on the specific circumstances of any given job you acquire, you may wish to prepare a different kind of report than the guidelines call for. For example, an employer may require of you, for their own purposes, a written report that does not fit the report guidelines for a given work term; upon prior approval of the co-op coordinator, a copy of your report for the employer may be acceptable as your university work term report. You must obtain approval from your co-op coordinator to submit a work term report that is outside the normal guidelines for your work term.

Your work term report must be received in the UNBC Co-op Education Office by __________________, 199___ .

The report can be mailed or dropped off in person; faxed work reports are not acceptable, except as a draft or sample of the final (original) copy. It is your responsibility to ensure that the report arrives on time and in good condition.

Our mailing address is:

Co-operative Education Office
University of Northern British Columbia
3333 University Way
Prince George BC V2N 4Z9
Fax: (250) 960-6065 (for drafts)