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Then, perhaps, you may ask, what is the nature of the conventions governing the report?
那么，你也许会问，报告的规范是什么？
A clue, I think, can be found in its basic structure.
我认为，在它的基本结构中可以找到线索。
A highly structured and disciplined report is written in sections, and these sections, by and large, follow an established sequence.
结构非常严谨而且有条理的报告通常分为好几个部分，这些部分大体上遵循一个既定的顺序。
What this means is that, in the telling, your story is to be cut up into chunks. Different parts of the story are to appear in different places in the report.
这意味着，在讲故事的时候，你的故事将被分割成几块。故事的不同部分会出现在报告的不同地方。
What you did and why you did it appear in the section called introduction. How you did it is in the method section. And what you found out is in the result section.
你做了什么，为什么要这样做，出现在介绍里。你是怎么做的，出现在方法部分。你发现了什么，出现在结果部分。
And, finally, what you think it shows appears in the discussion part.
最后，你认为结果能说明什么，出现在讨论部分。
As you can see, the report, therefore, is a formal document composed of a series of sections in which specific information is expected to appear.
可以看出，报告是一种正式的文件，由几个不同部分组成，每个部分都会出现具体的内容。
We will discuss the precise conventions governing each section as we go along.
我们接下来讨论每部分的具体规范。
For example, what are the subsections in the method?
例如，方法部分中的子部分是什么？
But today, I will introduce to you certain general rules straight away.
但是今天，我将直接向你们介绍一些一般的规则。
The first of these concerns the person to whom you should address your report, whom I should call your reader.
第一个问题是你的报告应该交给谁，我把这个人叫作你的读者。
A very common mistake, especially early on, is to assume that your reader is the person who will be marking the report.
一个非常常见的错误，尤其是在早期，就是假设你的读者就是给报告打分的那个人。
In reality, however, the marker will be assessing your report on behalf of someone else:
然而，其实，为报告打分的人会从其他人的角度评估你的报告：
an idealized, hypothetical person who is intelligent but unknowledgeable about your study and the area in which it took place.
一个理想化的、假想的人，他很聪明，但对你的研究和所处的领域并不了解。
Your marker will, therefore, be checking to see that you have written your report with this sort of reader in mind.
因此，为报告打分的人将会检查你写报告的时候是不是把这样的人作为假定读者。
So you need to make sure that you have, one, introduced the reader to the area relevant to your study;
所以你需要确保，第一，把读者引入到与你的研究相关的领域；
two, provided the reader with the background necessary to understand what you did and why you did it;
第二，为读者提供必要的背景知识，以了解你做了什么，为什么要做；
three, spelt out and developed your arguments clearly;
第三，阐明并清楚地阐述你的论点；
four, defined technical terms;
第四，解释术语的定义；
and five, provided precise details of the ways in which you went about collecting and analyzing the data that you obtained.
第五，详细解释你收集和分析所获得的数据的方法。
In short, you should write for someone who knows little about your area of study, taking little for granted about your reader's knowledge of your area of study.
简而言之，你的报告应该是写给那些对你的研究领域知之甚少的人，不要想当然地认为你的读者对你的研究领域非常了解。
So when in doubt, spell it out. This is my advice to you.
所以，当有疑问的时候，要写出来。这是我给你的建议。
