Dr. N. S. Harding Chemical Engineering 477 January 13-14, 2014

Chem. Eng “The fundamental purpose of scientific discourse is not the mere presentation of information and thought but rather it’s actual communication. It does not matter how pleased an author might be to have converted all the right data into sentences and paragraphs; it matters only whether a large majority of the reading audience accurately perceives what the author had in mind.” --George Gopen and Judith Swan The Science of Scientific Writing

Technical Writers Practice: Planning Clarity Brevity Simplicity Word Choice Committing to writing as a process Chem. Eng

Planning: Before You Begin Identify your audience and their expectations Know your purpose Know your material Understand the writing task at hand Organize your thoughts and material Budget adequate time to write, review, and edit Chem. Eng

Clarity and Brevity Avoid jargon Define the unfamiliar If you abbreviate or use acronyms, the first time spell them out and put abbreviation in parentheses Never use two words when one will do Most important first Remove redundancy Chem. Eng

Simplicity Avoid needless words Avoid ambiguity – order the words in your sentence carefully Don’t overuse pronouns – especially “it” and “this” Choose words whose meanings are clear Chem. Eng

Major Report Sections Transmittal Letter Title Page Front Material (Table of Contents, List of Illustrations) Executive Summary Introduction (Objective) and Background Experimental Procedure/Methods Results and Discussion Conclusions and Recommendations Back Material (Acknowledgments, References, Appendix) Chem. Eng

Transmittal Letter LAST section written Date To Whom? Subject – Succinct description of project 1 paragraph on what was asked and how it was done 1 paragraph on conclusions and recommendations Signatures 8 Chem. Eng

Title Page Descriptive title To Whom? From Whom? Date Chem. Eng

Front Material For these short (formal) reports it is optional If you include, then the Title Page is “i” Use roman numerals up to Executive Summary which would be “1” Chem. Eng

Executive Summary 2 nd to last section written 1 page maximum Use key bullet points (conclusions/recommendations) Summarizes: Objective, what was done How it was done What were the results What are the conclusions What are the recommendations IF figure/table, must have different number, e.g. ES1 Chem. Eng

Body of Report Use a header and footer; one of which has the page number. No smaller than 11 pt type Double-spaced; not less than 1.5 spacing Use headings and sub-headings Refer to figures/tables before showing Be consistent Chem. Eng

Paragraphs/Text Each paragraph organized around key sentence Key sentence should be 1 st or 2 nd sentence Rest of paragraph supports/discusses key sentence Key sentences can be used as outline for the report 3 rd person is preferred in technical writing Be consistent in verb tense usage Completed items in past tense Discussion/analyses/recommendations – present Almost nothing in future tense Chem. Eng

Figures Captions are below figure Label axes correctly with units Use common scales for multiple figures, sig. figs. Pay attention to symbols, colors, etc. Make the figures clear and clean Be consistent Chem. Eng

Tables Titles are above table Align columns Don’t forget units (column headings) Significant figures!!! “*” or call outs are directly beneath table Be consistent Chem. Eng

Equations (Reactions) Numbered consecutively on right side: (#) Identify all variables first time used Same size font as text or may go to 10 pt. Capital “E” when referring to specific equation Chem. Eng

Results/Discussion Section(s) Data analysis Good: Includes all results so one can duplicate or make a decision based on data Better: Summarizes data into figures/tables so one can quickly make a decision based on data Best: Synthesizes the data to show: In-depth analysis Significance of results Context and meaning Credible recommendation(s) Want reader to think, feel, or do something differently because they read the report! Chem. Eng

Back Material Acknowledgments (optional – should include MIKE!) References – required Appendix – required (Separate Subsections) Detailed derivations of theory Raw and reduced data Sample calculations Statistical analysis Other supporting documentation Note: Equations, figures, tables are numbered, A1, etc. Chem. Eng

Writing Is A Process Good writing doesn’t happen overnight. It requires planning, drafting, rereading, revising, and editing. Learning and improvement require self- review, peer-review, subject- matter feedback, and practice. There are NO shortcuts; practice makes perfect!! Chem. Eng

Bottom Line From your report, the reader should know who, what, when, where, why and how and be able to completely duplicate your experiment and get essentially your results and conclusions within your calculated confidence level!! Note: There is no good writing, only good re-writing! Suggestion: Finish the report and sleep on it – then next day review one last time. QUESTIONS? Chem. Eng