Technical Writing ENGL 3153 Scott Hale

Scientific Writing Remember: The goal is to communicate. Accurate information is useless if the reader cannot understand it.

When presenting data in a table Give context before data. The information which is familiar (time increments) comes before the “new” data. TimeDegrees 0 min 25  3 min 27  6 min 29 

Reader Expectations n Readers expect information from left to right and top to bottom in chronological (or other standard order of) sequence. –Example: n If the headings in your resume are top to bottom, and your content moves from left to right, don’t put a heading to the left/right of another (horizontally) or provide any content arranged vertically.

Reader Expectations: cont’d n Readers expect the writer to follow generic considerations (Introduction, Experimental Methods, Results and Discussion) –Example: n A cover letter should announce the position being applied for before the writer begins to talk about his/her qualifications.

n First, grammatical subjects should be followed as soon as possible by their verbs. –Avoid: n I would, because of many reasons--the first of which is location, the second of which is challenge, the third of which is independence-- like to remain my own boss. Improving Accessibility

Accessibility--Con’t n Second, every unit of discourse, no matter the size, should serve a single function or make a single point. –Avoid: n I have received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and, since I live nearby, can come in to interview at any time.

Accessibility--Con’t n Third, information intended to be emphasized should appear at points of syntactic closure. –Syntactic closure occurs at the end of a clause or sentence. n Syntactic closure comes HERE, but it can also come HERE.

"Put in the topic position the old information that links backward; put in the stress position the new information you want the reader to emphasize.” 1. The backward-linking old information can appear in the topic position. –Example n While doing this experiment, a problem with the calibration was observed. This problem will have to be corrected before we can move on. –NOT n Before we can move on, we must correct this.

Emphasis--Con’t 2. The person, thing or concept whose story it is can appear in the topic position. –Example: n The asphalt was heated, then cooled, over 100 times in rapid succession. Only minor cracking occured. –NOT n Our highly-skilled engineers tested the asphalt. They heated and cooled it, and they found only minor cracking occured.

Emphasis --Con’t 3. The new, emphasis-worthy information can appear in the stress position. –Example: n We are pleased to report that we have had success. –NOT: n This report of our success, which we are pleased to provide, follows.

Look for Logical Gaps Explanations should be step-by-step, and should not omit a step--assuming the reader can supply specialized knowledge. Treat descriptions of processes like mathematical proofs-- supply all steps. Explanations should be step-by-step, and should not omit a step--assuming the reader can supply specialized knowledge. Treat descriptions of processes like mathematical proofs-- supply all steps.

Make the Central “Action” Clear Whether you are proving a hypothesis, making a recommendation (even of yourself), or reporting difficulties, make certain that this action is performed in your document (make it apparent and stress it). Whether you are proving a hypothesis, making a recommendation (even of yourself), or reporting difficulties, make certain that this action is performed in your document (make it apparent and stress it).

Summary n Follow a grammatical subject as soon as possible with its verb. n Place in the stress position the "new information" you want the reader to emphasize.

Summary--Con’t n Place the person or thing whose "story" a sentence is telling at the beginning of the sentence, in the topic position.

Summary--Con’t n Place appropriate "old information" (material already stated in the discourse) in the topic position for linkage backward and contextualization forward.

Summary--Con’t n Articulate the action of every clause or sentence in its verb. n In general, provide context for your reader before asking that reader to consider anything new.

Summary--Conclusion n In general, try to ensure that the relative emphases of the substance coincide with the relative expectations for emphasis raised by the structure.