Technical Writing Form. The purpose of having guidelines is to make the document more readable. Standard guidelines govern – Format – page layout, numbering.

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
Technical Writing Form. Effective communication is the goal. Make life easy on the reader! Guidelines → Consistent Formatting → Readability.
Advertisements

HOW TO WRITE AN ACADEMIC PAPER
CHAPTER 5 COMPLETING BUSINESS MESSAGES
Word 2007 ® Business and Personal Communication How can Word 2007 help you create and manage lengthy documents?
MLA FORMATTING. What is MLA formatting and why do I need to use it? "MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and.
Word 2007 ® Business and Personal Communication How can Word 2007 help you create and manage lengthy documents?
RULES FOR APA WRITING Used with permission from: John R. Slate, Ph.D.
Technical Writing. Effective communication is the goal. Why write it if no one wants to read it? Make life easy on the reader Standard guidelines lead.
Chapter 12 – Strategies for Effective Written Reports
Document Design Customized & Workplace Training AAI/Portland Community College Facilitated by George Knox.
Writing Engineering Reports
EE 399 Lecture 2 (a) Guidelines To Good Writing. Contents Basic Steps Toward Good Writing. Developing an Outline: Outline Benefits. Initial Development.
EE x12 Technical Reports Writing Lecture 1 Dr. Essam Sourour Faculty of Engineering Alexandria University 1.
1 Technical Report Writing  Purpose of Report Writing  Structure of Report Writing  Layout of Report Writing.
Technical Writing Function. The purpose of having guidelines is to make the document more readable. Standard guidelines govern – Format – page layout,
Take the University Challenge: Writing in the Sciences
Publishing your paper. Learning About You What journals do you have access to? Which do you read regularly? Which journals do you aspire to publish in.
Dr. N. S. Harding Chemical Engineering 477 January 13-14, 2014.
Writing Reports Ian McCrum Material from
TECHNICAL WRITING November 16 th, Today Effective visuals. Work on Assignment 6.
Engi 1504 – Graphics Lecture 8: Special Topic 1
(Modern Language Association)
Engineering Report Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering CEEN 330 – Environmental Field Session.
What are text features? Definitions:
HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER.
Business Communication Workshop
Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.1 Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA style.
Technical Writing.
Revision: CONVENTIONS Anything a copy editor might deal with falls under conventions: spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, grammar and.
STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL WRITING!. The writing process consists of strategies that will help you proceed from idea or purpose to the final statement.
Fall 2006 RULES FOR APA WRITING Used with permission from: John R. Slate, Ph.D.
Take the University Challenge: Writing in the Sciences The Academic Skills Centre.
WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT & CITING RESOURCES BUSN 364 – Week 15 Özge Can.
Tables and Figures. The “Big Picture” For other scientists to understand the significance of your data/experiments, they must be able to: understand precisely.
EE LECTURE 4 REPORT STRUCTURE AND COMPONENTS Electrical Engineering Dept King Saud University.
Several FACTS or REASONS are discussed rather than only one being REPEATED.
Word 2007 ® Business and Personal Communication How can Word 2007 help you create and manage lengthy documents?
Cleveland State University EEC 414/503, ESC 720 Writing in Electrical and Computer Engineering Lecture 8 – Graphics and Tables Dan Simon.
McGraw-Hill Career Education© 2008 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Office Word 2007 Lab 3 Creating Reports and Tables.
Page Design and Elements TECO 63 M. Reber Page Design Helps readers understand information Indicates hierarchy of ideas and concepts Helps readers.
Title What is it? A title is the name of a book, essay, article, etc. Purpose: To hint at what the text might be about. To give a brief summary of the.
Pointers for Papers. Using Tables & Figures Tables and Figures need: 1. A number and title (usually at top)  Refer to table by table number in the text.
Developing Website Content Project Process Content Strategy and Management Writing for the Web Tips and Tricks Discussion Items.
Cleveland State University ESC 720 Research Communications Lecture 8 – Graphics and Tables Dan Simon.
Dr. N. S. Harding Chemical Engineering 477 January 11-12, 2016.
Technical Reports ELEC422 Design II. Objectives To gain experience in the process of generating disseminating and sharing of technical knowledge in electrical.
TECHNICAL WRITING November 26, Today Effective visuals.
Writing a Research Paper Workshop 4 in Holt Literature.
  Writing a Research Paper  Creating a Technological Presentation  Creating a Display Board  Writing a Test Guidelines for the Following.
WORD. CHAPTER 1 CREATE HEADERS AND FOOTERS ADJUST MARGINS ADJUST PAGE SIZE ADJUST PAGE ORIENTATION.
MT320 MT320 Presented by Gillian Coote Martin. Writing Research Papers  A major goal of this course is the development of effective Business research.
B200- TMA Requirements 1. Page Layout A cover page must contain the following: the name of university, name and title of the course, TMA number and title,
Academic writing.
Abstract (heading font size 48-60)
Writing the Formal Report
Writing the Formal Report
Word Reports & works Cited
Writing the Formal Report
Giving instructions on how to do something
Writing Levels Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Short answers:
Follow assignment directions.
Preparing Conference Papers (1)
Business Communication
7.4 | Editing.
Dr. N. S. Harding Chemical Engineering 477 January 29, 2019
Preparing Conference Papers (1)
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Text Features Text features are parts of a written work that stand out from the rest of the text.
Writing the Formal Report Summer 2018
Presentation transcript:

Technical Writing Form

The purpose of having guidelines is to make the document more readable. Standard guidelines govern – Format – page layout, numbering conventions, etc. (the reason we use LaTeX) – Graphics – use of figures, graphs, charts, tables – Voice – appropriate use of active and passive voice – Verb tense – appropriate for and consistent within each section – References & citations – giving appropriate credit Technical documents have different guidelines than other forms of writing.

Effective communication is the goal. Make life easy on the reader! Guidelines → Consistent Formatting → Readability

As you are planning the document, keep the background of your audience in mind. Do they have a technical background? Are they knowledgeable on your subject? Their background should impact – Amount of background information – Use of technical terms (jargon) – Types of graphics – How data is presented – How data is discussed

GENERAL FORMATTING The format of the document should help the reader.

Margins and white space keep the reader from being overwhelmed. Wall-to-wall text … NO white space! Margins & white space Good white space!

Headings and subheadings direct the reader’s attention. Must have at least 2 subsections.

Paragraphs…hmm…why is it that I have to remind students to use paragraphs? Think TOPIC SENTENCES! Use paragraphs! Be intentional about topic sentences.

Consistency in fonts, justification, numbering, etc. make the document more readable. Be consistent!

USING GRAPHICS (GENERAL) The use of graphics can make or break a document!

Each graph/table/image should help achieve your ultimate purpose.

Figures and tables should be placed to coincide with the associated text, as space allows, unless otherwise directed.

Adhere to standard conventions for placement of graphics (usually centered at the top or bottom of a page). The figure is at the top of the page!

All captions should be descriptive … 1-2 sentences is appropriate.

Every figure * and table should be referenced by name in the paper. * Charts, graphs, photos, drawings, anything that isn’t a table. These references are created using automated references in LaTeX.

Figures and tables should appear in the order they are referenced.

GRAPHS & CHARTS Graphs and charts communicate quantitative information.

Graphs should be fully labeled – axes, units, descriptive titles – all with legible font sizes.

Legends should only be included when necessary.

Do NOT put frames around graphs and charts. NO frames!

Think about the use of color … different line styles may be better than relying solely on different colors.

Table captions always go above the table.

Distill (i.e. trim down) data presented in tables.

Row and column headings should be clearly labeled and set apart.

Units should be specified.

Use consistent formatting within a column.

Think about the use of borders and color/shading. (Help the readers, don’t overwhelm them.)

Photos and drawings are figures, so captions always go below the figure.

Make sure the readers will know what they’re viewing. Superimpose labels & arrows.

Pay attention to the contrast in the image, especially when it may be rendered in B & W. Lots of clutter

“Drawings” should be of a professional nature.

USING SPECIFIC REFERENCES

Specific references to figures, tables, equations, and parts of a document help the reader. References to figures, tables, sections, and equations must be automated (using the ~\ref{} command in LaTeX). Think in terms of referring to things by their full name – first and last. – Figure 3 (Figure~\ref{fig: vol-vs-time}) – Table 1(Table~\ref{tab: univdata}) – Section 3.2(Section~\ref{sec: samplecalc}) The ~ inserts a space! You have to type the words Figure or Table or Section!!!

Specific quantities help the reader. Think in terms of referring to things by their full name – first and last. – 10 meters(10~meters) – 47 k  (47~k$\Omega$) Notice the space between the # and the units! The ~ prevents keeps the first and last names on the same line.

WRITING STYLE There are accepted standards for writing technical documents.

The voice should place proper emphasis. Active voice emphasizes the actor. Passive voice emphasizes the action. It is okay to have a mix of both … just know when each is appropriate!

The verb tense should correspond to the subject matter. Use the past tense when talking about the experiment or work that has been completed. “The objective of the experiment was...”

The verb tense should correspond to the subject matter. The report, the theory, the results, and the permanent equipment still exist; therefore, these are referenced in the present tense: “The purpose of this report is...” “Bragg's Law for diffraction is...” “The results show …” “The scanning electron microscope produces micrographs...”

The verb tense should correspond to the subject matter. Recommendations and future work are given in future tense. “The next phase of the project will involve …”

Proper citations are key to maintaining credibility. Cite sources whenever you are quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing work that is not your own – Quoting directly is discouraged Sources include: – Books – Journal, magazine, or newspaper articles – Interviews – Conference Proceedings – Lectures – Websites

Proper citations are key to maintaining credibility. Shows your credibility as a researcher Gives proper credit to authors and researchers Protects you from accusations of plagiarism Bibliography formats – Various styles – Can include only cited references or all references – Citations in LaTeX done with \cite{} command

GOOD WRITING REQUIRES EFFORT

Plan. Outline. Draft. Revise. Proofread (self). Edit. Proofread (others). Edit. Submit. Plan – see the previous 15 slides Outline – see the “Reporting the Outcome” handout (Dym & Little) Draft & Revise – also known as writing Proofread – see the following slide Edit – correct problems found during proofreading

The proofreading process can make a huge difference in effectiveness (and in your grade). Proofread for – Big picture understanding – Spelling errors – Conciseness (concision checklist)concision checklist – Grammar errors (subject-verb agreement & punctuation) – Verb use (appropriate tense, consistent tense w/in sections, use of active and passive voice) – Ambiguity (avoiding ambiguous words)avoiding ambiguous words – Sentence coherence (checking sentence coherence)checking sentence coherence – Paragraph coherence (checking paragraph coherence)checking paragraph coherence – Sectional coherence

Be a good steward of your time and maximize your effectiveness and growth as a writer. Start early. Plan your document. Make use of tools like the Topic-Sentence Outline. Find good proofreaders and give them time to be thorough. Incorporate the proofreaders’ feedback. Don’t view submission of the paper as the end of the assignment.

Technical Writing Form