I strongly advise you to have access to your own copy for the duration of the course. The book should be supplemented with your own notes. Use the third person passive in the past tense Write your reports so that a Freshman Civil and Environmental Engineering student could understand them. Be your own editor - check your reports yourselves and don't let your Instructor be the first to read them. Staple or bind all sheets together.
Words are tools.
Use the correct tool for each job. All reports must be typed Clearly state the goals and objectives of the report. Describe the background to the subject matter, i.e. put the report into context. Provide a brief historical review Numerical work should be tabulated where appropriate, e.g. if more than one set of similarly obtained or treated figures are being dealt with. Ensure that tables are not spread over two pages - start a table on a fresh page, if necessary, to avoid this.