Academic Formatting for IT Engineering Reports & Diagrams

Why formatting costs points

Reviewers associate messy margins, inconsistent headings, and blurry diagrams with rushed work. Treat the PDF like a product release.

Page & typography

Follow faculty rules; common patterns: Times New Roman 13–14pt body, 1.5 line spacing, justified text, wider inner margin (often 3–3.5 cm) for binding. Avoid decorative fonts in body text.

Code in the document

Use monospace (Consolas, Courier New), size ~10pt, short excerpts only, with line numbers or clear labels. Surround with a light gray panel or thin border. Explain every snippet in prose.

Figures & tables

Export architecture from draw.io/Figma as SVG or high-DPI PNG. Caption below figures (e.g. "Figure 3.2: Payment redirect sequence"). Tables usually caption above. Reference every figure/table from the text.

References

Use IEEE or APA as mandated; manage citations with Word/Zotero/BibTeX. Every non-obvious claim or pasted definition should cite a source.