Students should have completed Module 1 (Letter Writing) and Module 2 (Comprehending Difficult Reading Materials) before proceeding with this module on project report writing.
A project report is a formal, structured document that presents the findings of a systematic investigation into a chosen topic or problem. It records the researcher's objectives, methods of inquiry, data gathered, analysis, and conclusions, thereby constituting a scholarly contribution to knowledge in a given field (Olusegun, 2019, p. 112).
Unlike a general essay or a business report, a project report follows a rigorous academic structure and is expected to demonstrate the writer's capacity for independent intellectual inquiry, critical analysis, and organised presentation of evidence. At the tertiary level, the project report is the primary means by which a student demonstrates research competence and subject mastery (Adeyemi, 2021, p. 88).
Scholars consistently identify the following characteristics as defining features of a well-executed project report (Locker & Kienzler, 2020, p. 394):
A project report is conventionally divided into three structural zones: the Front Matter, the Main Body, and the Back Matter. Together, these produce a document that is complete, navigable, and professionally presented (Bello & Nwosu, 2020, p. 74).
Format refers to the visual and typographic conventions that govern the report's appearance. Standard formatting requirements in most Nigerian tertiary institutions include (Adeyemi, 2021, p. 94):
Academic style in a project report requires: formal register (no contractions); third-person voice in most disciplines ("the researcher found..." not "I found..."); hedged language where findings are not absolute ("the data suggest..." rather than "the data prove..."); and consistent use of one citation style throughout the entire document (Locker & Kienzler, 2020, p. 401).
Topic selection is the single most consequential decision in project writing. A poorly chosen topic — too broad, too narrow, inaccessible to data, or already exhausted in literature — will frustrate the researcher at every subsequent stage (Olusegun, 2019, p. 120).
| Weak Topic | Why It Fails | Improved Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Education in Nigeria | Far too broad — entire libraries exist on this subject | The Effect of Free School Feeding on Pupil Attendance in Edo State Primary Schools (2020–2024) |
| The Internet Is Bad | An opinion, not a research question; no data possible | The Influence of Internet Addiction on the Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in Benin City |
| My Experience Studying at Night | Personal anecdote — not scholarly inquiry | The Relationship Between Study Hours and CGPA Among Undergraduates in Nigerian Federal Universities |
| Leadership | A concept, not a researchable question or problem | Transformational Leadership Style and Staff Productivity in Selected Nigerian Commercial Banks |
Data is the raw material of a project report. Without credible, sufficient, and relevant data, no analysis is possible. Researchers draw from three levels of sources, each with its own characteristics, advantages, and limitations (Bello & Nwosu, 2020, p. 83).
Primary sources are original, first-hand data generated directly by the researcher during the investigation. They do not exist until the researcher creates them (Adeyemi, 2021, p. 103).
Secondary sources are materials that analyse, interpret, or synthesise primary data gathered by others. They constitute the bulk of the literature review and form the theoretical foundation of the project (Olusegun, 2019, p. 130).
Tertiary sources compile and organise secondary sources to provide overviews, indexes, and finding aids. They direct the researcher to primary and secondary material but are rarely cited as evidence in the project itself (Bello & Nwosu, 2020, p. 86).
Classify each source below and give a one-sentence reason for your classification.
An outline is a hierarchical plan of the project report, showing every chapter, section, and sub-section in the sequence they will appear. A good outline is the writer's most important planning tool: it prevents disorganisation, ensures all required components are present, and allows the supervisor to give early structural feedback before writing begins (Adeyemi, 2021, p. 108).
Two numbering systems are in common use in Nigerian academic writing:
| Level | Decimal System (Preferred) | Alphanumeric System |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter | 1, 2, 3 | I, II, III |
| Main section | 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 | A, B, C |
| Sub-section | 1.1.1, 1.1.2 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Minor point | 1.1.1.1, 1.1.1.2 | a, b, c |
Citation is the practice of acknowledging the sources you have used within the text of your report. Documentation is the practice of providing full details of those sources in the reference list or bibliography at the end. Both are mandatory in every project report. Failure to cite is plagiarism; incomplete documentation makes verification impossible (Bovée & Thill, 2021, p. 439).
APA is the preferred style in the social sciences, education, psychology, business, and communication studies. It uses the Author-Date in-text citation system.
Entries are listed alphabetically by the author's surname. Hanging indent style (second and subsequent lines indented 0.5 inch). Title of journal and volume number in italics.
MLA is the preferred style in the humanities — literature, language studies, cultural studies, history, and the arts. It uses the Author-Page in-text citation system.
MLA calls the reference list a "Works Cited" page. Entries are alphabetical by author surname. Hanging indent style. Titles of long works (books, journals) in italics; titles of short works (articles, chapters) in quotation marks.
| Feature | APA 7th | MLA 9th |
|---|---|---|
| Used in | Social sciences, education, psychology, business | Humanities, literature, language, arts |
| In-text system | Author-Date: (Okafor, 2022, p. 45) | Author-Page: (Okafor 45) |
| Reference list name | References | Works Cited |
| Book title | Italics, sentence case | Italics, title case |
| Article title | No quotation marks, sentence case | "Quotation marks," title case |
| Year of publication | Immediately after author name | Near the end of the entry |
| Multiple authors (3+) | et al. from first citation | et al. for 3+ authors |
| Page abbreviation | p. (one page); pp. (multiple pages) | No abbreviation — write: 41–58 |
| DOI / URL | Included when available | URL included; DOI optional |
The following is an abridged but structurally complete sample project report demonstrating the correct arrangement of all parts, the appropriate academic style and register, APA in-text citations, and the format of each chapter. Study every element carefully — this sample is your practical guide (Adeyemi, 2021, p. 120).
This study investigated the influence of social media use on the academic performance of undergraduate students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The study was motivated by the growing concern among educators and parents about the time students spend on social media platforms at the expense of academic activities. Three research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The population comprised all undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts (N = 2,840), from which a sample of 200 respondents was drawn using stratified random sampling. A structured questionnaire was the primary instrument for data collection. Data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The findings revealed that the majority of students (74%) spent more than four hours daily on social media; that there was a statistically significant negative correlation between daily social media use and CGPA (r = −0.61, p < 0.05); and that WhatsApp and Instagram were the most frequently used platforms. The study concluded that excessive social media use is a significant predictor of poor academic performance among the sampled students. It was recommended that the university introduce a digital wellness policy and that students develop structured study schedules that limit social media use during study hours.
Keywords: social media, academic performance, undergraduate students, Nigeria, CGPA, digital wellness
The emergence of social media as a dominant form of communication in the twenty-first century has profoundly altered the social and academic landscape of tertiary education. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok have become integral to the daily lives of young people, including university students (Okafor, 2022). While these platforms offer significant communicative and collaborative possibilities, their unrestricted use during academic hours raises legitimate concerns about their impact on study time, concentration, and ultimately academic performance (Nwosu et al., 2020).
In Nigeria, smartphone penetration has grown dramatically, with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reporting over 90 million active internet subscribers as of December 2023. University campuses, most of which now offer Wi-Fi access, are among the highest zones of social media activity. Anecdotal evidence from lecturers across Nigerian universities suggests that classroom attention, study hour commitment, and assignment quality have all declined in correlation with the rise of social media use (Adeyemi, 2021). However, the empirical evidence from the specific context of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka remains sparse, creating a gap that this study addresses.
Despite the growing concern about social media's impact on student academic performance, available empirical studies in Nigeria have focused predominantly on universities in Lagos, Ibadan, and Abuja, with little attention to institutions in the South-East. It is not clear whether the patterns observed in those studies hold true for students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. This study therefore investigates the influence of social media use on the academic performance of undergraduate students in this specific context.
The primary purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between social media use and academic performance among undergraduate students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Specifically, the study seeks to: (i) determine the frequency and duration of social media use among the students; (ii) identify the most commonly used social media platforms; and (iii) establish whether a statistically significant relationship exists between daily social media use and students' CGPA.
The following research questions guided the study:
The findings of this study will be of benefit to university administrators in formulating digital wellness policies, to lecturers in understanding student attention challenges, to students in developing more intentional study habits, and to future researchers seeking to expand the empirical literature on social media and academic performance in South-East Nigeria.
This study is limited to undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, for the 2024/2025 academic session. It does not cover postgraduate students, other faculties, or other universities.
Social Media: Online platforms that enable users to create, share, and interact with content and with other users in real time (e.g., WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok).
Academic Performance: As used in this study, academic performance refers to the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of the student at the end of the immediately preceding academic session.
Undergraduate Student: A student enrolled in a first-degree programme in the Faculty of Arts, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
Social media refers to web-based and mobile technologies that enable interactive participation, content creation, and real-time sharing among users (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010, as cited in Okafor, 2022). Unlike traditional media — which broadcasts information from a single source to a passive audience — social media creates networks of active participants who both produce and consume content. Platforms differ significantly in their modality: WhatsApp is primarily a messaging platform; Instagram is image and video-centred; Facebook combines text, image, and community; while TikTok is short-form video. This diversity in modality implies diversity in how each platform affects academic behaviour.
Academic performance refers to the degree to which a student has achieved their educational goals within a given period (Adeyemi, 2021, p. 45). In Nigerian universities, academic performance is most commonly measured through the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), a weighted average of grade points earned across all courses taken. A CGPA of 4.50–5.00 corresponds to First Class Honours; 3.50–4.49 to Second Class Upper; 2.40–3.49 to Second Class Lower; 1.50–2.39 to Third Class; and below 1.50 to Pass.
Nwosu, Bello, and Eze (2020) investigated the effect of WhatsApp use on the academic performance of 300 undergraduates in the University of Lagos and found a significant negative correlation (r = −0.54) between daily hours spent on WhatsApp and CGPA. Students who used WhatsApp for more than three hours daily had a mean CGPA of 2.87 compared to 3.64 for students who used it for less than one hour.
Contrary evidence was offered by Okafor (2022), who studied 180 undergraduates in the University of Port Harcourt and found that academically purposeful social media use — joining subject-based WhatsApp groups, following educational content creators, and accessing library databases — was positively associated with academic performance. Okafor argues that the variable is not social media use per se, but the purpose and self-regulation with which it is used.
While the studies reviewed above provide valuable insights, none has examined the specific context of students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Furthermore, most existing studies focus on a single platform (typically WhatsApp), whereas this study examines multi-platform use and its aggregate effect on academic performance. These gaps justify the present investigation.
This study adopted a descriptive survey design. A descriptive survey is appropriate when the aim is to describe the characteristics, behaviours, or opinions of a population without manipulating any variable (Locker & Kienzler, 2020, p. 398). This design is particularly suitable for the present study because it seeks to describe social media use patterns and measure their relationship to academic performance without experimental intervention.
The population comprised all 2,840 undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, enrolled in the 2024/2025 academic session. A sample of 200 students was drawn using stratified random sampling — the faculty was stratified by department, and respondents were selected randomly from each stratum in proportion to its population size.
The primary instrument was a researcher-designed structured questionnaire titled the Social Media and Academic Performance Questionnaire (SMAPQ), consisting of 28 items on a 4-point Likert scale (Strongly Agree = 4; Agree = 3; Disagree = 2; Strongly Disagree = 1) plus demographic items. The questionnaire was validated by three experts in communication studies and educational psychology. Reliability was established using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which yielded a reliability index of 0.83 — considered highly reliable for social science research.
Data were analysed using frequency counts and percentages for demographic and descriptive data, and Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient to determine the relationship between social media use and CGPA. All analysis was conducted using SPSS version 27.0. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05.
This study investigated the influence of social media use on the academic performance of undergraduate students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The following were the principal findings:
Based on the findings, it is concluded that excessive social media use is a significant predictor of poor academic performance among undergraduate students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The negative correlation between social media use and CGPA is consistent with the findings of Nwosu et al. (2020) and suggests that the problem is not unique to any single Nigerian university. However, consistent with Okafor (2022), the nature and purpose of use — not merely the duration — merits further investigation.
Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made:
Future researchers may wish to: (i) replicate this study in other Nigerian universities to test the generalisability of the findings; (ii) investigate gender differences in social media use patterns and their academic consequences; and (iii) conduct a longitudinal study tracking the same students over four years to observe how social media use and CGPA interact over time.
Adeyemi, T. O. (2021). Professional written communication for Nigerian students (3rd ed.). University of Lagos Press.
Bello, A., & Nwosu, C. (2020). Business communication in the Nigerian context. Spectrum Books.
Bovée, C. L., & Thill, J. V. (2021). Business communication today (15th ed.). Pearson Education.
Locker, K. O., & Kienzler, D. S. (2020). Business and administrative communication (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Nigerian Communications Commission. (2023). Subscriber/operator data — December 2023. https://www.ncc.gov.ng/statistics
Nwosu, C., Bello, A., & Eze, M. (2020). WhatsApp use and academic performance among undergraduates in the University of Lagos. Nigerian Journal of Communication Studies, 8(1), 101–118.
Okafor, C. N. (2022). Social media use and academic performance among undergraduates in Nigerian universities. Journal of Communication Studies, 14(2), 41–58. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/jcs.14.2.41
Olusegun, B. (2019). The complete guide to letter writing and correspondence. Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers).
Writing a project report is the highest expression of the skills taught throughout this course. It demands the ability to identify a problem worth investigating, design a rigorous method of inquiry, gather and analyse credible evidence, and present findings in a structured, precisely documented, and correctly formatted document (Bello & Nwosu, 2020, p. 99).
The eight performance objectives of this module — from understanding characteristics and parts, through gathering data and writing outlines, to applying citation styles and producing a complete report — are not isolated skills. They are a single, integrated process. Master each step, and the project report writes itself. Skip any step, and the entire structure collapses. Begin with a good topic. Gather credible data. Build a sound outline. Cite every source. Write clearly. Revise thoroughly. That is the procedure (Adeyemi, 2021, p. 135).
Module 3.0 — Writing Project Reports
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a project report?
[1 mark]
Name the seven components of the Front Matter of a project report in the correct order.
[7 marks — 1 each]
A researcher conducted structured interviews with 40 factory workers about their working conditions. This data is best classified as:
[1 mark]
State four criteria a student must consider when selecting a topic for a project report.
[4 marks — 1 each]
In APA 7th edition in-text citation, a source with four authors should be cited as:
[1 mark]
Distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of data, giving one example of each.
[6 marks — 2 per source type]
Which of the following correctly describes the difference between APA and MLA in-text citation systems?
[1 mark]
Write a correctly formatted APA 7th edition reference list entry for the following: A journal article titled "Reading Habits and Academic Success" written by Ngozi Eze and published in the Journal of Nigerian Education, volume 6, issue 3, pages 22–38, in 2023.
[3 marks]
Explain the principle of parallelism in outline writing and provide an example of a non-parallel outline heading and its corrected version.
[2 marks]
The Abstract of a project report is:
[1 mark]
Explain the five chapters of the main body of a project report, stating the specific content expected in each chapter.
[5 marks — 1 per chapter]
You are researching the topic: "The Effect of Early Morning Reading on Students' Vocabulary Development in Federal Government College, Benin City." Write a complete Chapter One outline for this project, using the decimal numbering system, with all required sub-headings correctly phrased in parallel noun phrases.
[4 marks]
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