A lay man 'to say'

Go through the book on Electrical Machines. Carefully read DC rotating machinery.

I will suggest him to read any Design Text Book on Electrical Machine (Golding etc )

Lap winding vs wave winding:

These are two different methods for placement and connection of the armature winding(s) conductors to the commutator bars and the physical layout of the winding coils in the slots. The position and method is determined by the designer and is dependent on several factors some of which are physical size restrictions (length, width, & height), torque requirements (low, middle, or high RPM), operational speed requirements, mechanical loading, and materials used (copper vs aluminum vs steel). Example: A universal "wound-rotor" electric motor used in a lawn mower requires a much different design than the same size motor being used to power a leaf blower due to the diference in RPM and the position of the torque curve.

It is not readily accessible nor visually apparent to simply look at a motor or armature winding to make this determination and most people cannot do so. So.. if it is not stated in the manufacturer's instruction manual, or declared on the nameplate DATA tag, you will have to contact the manufacturer in order to differentiate between the two. Most manufacturers have already invested a great deal of time and expense to identify the design method that best fits their equipments requirements.

If you will study electric motor design and or motor re-winding, it will greatly improve your understanding and knowledge. Hope this helps.

'Shock' hit the nail on the head ~

pictographically (from Rosenberg):

The variations are so multitudinous (as already stated, above), that a COMPLETE answer would require several chapters of explanation...

...herewith, a couple more "prompts" to invest in a good book:

Duplex vs. Triplex Lap and Progressive-Wave vs. Retrogressive-Wave

No question is "too dumb" to ask ... however, many brilliant people are going to simply IGNORE posts that are submitted anonymously. If you're afraid to identify yourself, at least in pseudo-fashion {i.e., a User-Name} - then, why should anyone acknowledge you? One might as well be talking to the proverbial wall...