Fall 2004A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program 1 Hess Education.

Fall 2004 A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

Hess Education

Writing Skillsfor

Theses and Articles

• Department of Computer Science & Information Engineering, National Taiwan University

• http://www.csie.ntu.edu.tw/~writing/• Non-credit elective, Eligibility: 2nd year M.A.

students, 3rd year+ Ph.D. students• Dr. William C. Vocke:• Cell: 0937-061-456• Email: wvocke@csie.ntu.edu.tw

• This IS– Hard Work – English– Skill (sports, instruments)

• This is NOT– Conceptual– intimate– chinese – grammar– spelling

Purpose

• To increase the quality of the English writing skills focusing on theses/dissertations and articles/papers

• As Microsoft demonstrates…

• “Young engineers who write with clarity and make logical presentations tend to become supervisors of other engineers within 5 years of graduation”

• You will have an effective, personal outline for a research topic by the course’s end.

• More student papers will be accepted for presentations or publication in English.

• English theses/dissertations will be more polished upon submission to faculty.

Format

• Each 3 hour class meeting is divided into thirds for a total of 12, 50-minute sessions – A homework assignment precedes each class meeting

• Each 50 minute session includes:– Lecture, bulleted PowerPoint handouts – Illustrations from

• Completed theses and papers• Student homework assignments

– Activities: one of the following• Planning practice• Outlining practice• Writing practice• Editing practice

– Hints• Writing hint of the session• ESL hint of the session

Useful Texts [If available, these will be on reserve in the main library.]

• Alley, Michael. (2003). The Craft of Scientific Presentations. New York: Springer-Verlag.• Alley, Michael. (2000). The Craft of Editing: A Guide for Managers, Scientists, and Engineers.

New York: Springer-Verlag.• Alley, Michael. (1996). The Craft of Scientific Writing (3rd ed.). New York: Springer-Verlag.• Booth, Vernon. (1993). Communicating in Science-Writing a Scientific Paper and Speaking at

Scientific Meetings (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.• (Dictionary (a Chinese/English version at your level, i.e., introductory, intermediate or advanced)• Grammar (one good one is: Swan, Michael. (1995). Practical English Usage. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.• Paradis, James G. & Zimmerman, Muriel L. (1997). The MIT Guide to Science and Engineering

Communications. Boston: MIT Press.• Strunk, Jr., W. & White, E. B. (1979). Elements of Style (4th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn

& Bacon• Style and citation format from your target journal, convention or department.• Turabian, K. L. (1996). A Manual for Writers of Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (6th ed.).

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Assessment

• EvaluationStudents develop a portfolio of materials that they have written or edited. This shows their commitment and provides a measure of their progress. A pass/fail grade is given.

• Homework

– Due: Monday before class.– Format: English Name, Chinese Name, Homework #___– Assignment– Email to: wvocke@csie.ntu.edu.tw– RE: CS Homework #___

6 28 3

7 14 1981

4 20+50+

1212 186

3 17 4

Writing Hint

Approach writing as a continuous iterative process.

Re-viewing

Drafting

Structuring

Generating Ideas

Focusing

Evaluating

White & Arndt (1991)

Process Writing

“But in science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man whom the idea first occurs.”

-Sir Francis Darwin

ESL Hint

1. Good writing varies by culture, in addition to varying by audience, discipline and purpose, i.e. direct or indirect, personal or impersonal, plain or embellished, etc.

2. Vague is bad in English technical writing.Some, however, intentionally write vaguely, attempting

to demonstrate their greater wisdom with seductive phrases and illusory allusions rather than speaking in diamorphous linear constructions thereby befuddling those readers lacking a clear personal sense of rectitude.

Assessing Theses

• Table of Contents– This is the FINAL outline.– It demonstrates the logic of the project.

• Examples– 1– 2[Writing Hint]– 3– 4

Writing Hint

1. Tell them what you are going to tell

2. Tell them

3. Tell them what you told

Beginning MiddleEnd

Audience

Take a minute and write down why you think I may be wearing this?

Good reasons? Bad reasons?

Basic rule-

Don’t let anything external get in the way of good communication.

Assessing Theses

• Abstract- [which looks best?]– Strategies

• Outline- What you did. [• Outcome- Background & conclusion• Impact- Importance & conclusion• others

• Examples[Editing Code]– 1– 2– 3– 4

Exercise 1

You have an abstract.

1) Make 3-8 editing marks on the original.

2) Re-write the original.

Exercise 1 cont’d

• Partner with someone1. Review the editing marks to see if you

understand them.– What is the total number of marks that you

both agree are correct.– Write it at the top of both papers.

2. Compare your rewritten version and together write a new, third version.

3. Hand in the result

Exercise 1 cont’t

Game production is constantly more complex, and graphics systems are the most important part of modern game software. Graphic systems have to cooperate heavily with other components, since making a game requires not only programming but also extensive content, and most content is heavily graphic.

This thesis makes the production more effective. It proposes the design and implementation of an object-oriented graphics engine, an engine that would be easy to use and extend. Also offered are engine tools that build a smooth graphics content pipeline and are suitable for small production teams. The engine and tools mean better games at less cost.

ESL Hint

In English writers are expected to cite all sources. This includes as much detail as is available.

For instance, the page number if available.

[Make it easy for the reader to check!}

• Review– Assessing tables of contents– Assessing Abstracts

• Today– Writing Exercise– Idea Generation– Research Questions– Writing a Thesis Statement– Formal Structure– Outlining

• [Editing Code]

Writing Hint

Re-viewing

Drafting

Structuring

Generating Ideas

Focusing

Evaluating

Process Writing

Exercise 1 cont’t

Game production is constantly more complex, and graphics systems are the most important part of modern game software. Graphic systems have to cooperate heavily with other components, since making a game requires not only programming but also extensive content, and most content is heavily graphic.

This thesis makes the production more effective. It proposes the design and implementation of an object-oriented graphics engine, an engine that would be easy to use and extend. Also offered are engine tools that build a smooth graphics content pipeline and are suitable for small production teams. The engine and tools mean better games at less cost.

Exercise 1 cont’d

• Why these choices– Strategy– Research Question– Thesis Statement

Your Parameters

Constraints(external) Choices(internal)Audience Topic (?)Format StructureMechanics DepthPolitics Language

Illustration

Adapted from Hua-Kuang Lie, PowerPoint, for “Effective Science and Engineering Communication”

Writing Hint

Know your audience and write from the reader’s perspective.

Audience

• Who reads it?

• Why will they read it?

• How will they read it?

• What do they know?

• What is your relationship?

• What do you want to happen? – [normally for CSIE-inform and/or persuade but

can also entertain and call to action]

Your Audience

Exercise 2

• List the likely audiences for your writing.

• Put the list in a rank order, most to least important.

• Compare the list with your partner’s.

• Compare our joint list with another group’s

• Help generate a class list.

Writing Hint

• Special difficulties in Technical Writing– Complex subjects– Complicated insider’s language

• Compensate for these

Your Parameters

Illustration

Generating a Topic: Techniques

• Brainstorming– Alone – Group (talking and listening)

• Clustering

• Asking questions

• Freewriting

• Annotating texts

• Searching internet

Class Contract!!

• An idea set or thesis statement is the property of the creator, unless explicitly released.

• DO NOT steal your colleagues ideas!

Exercise 3

1) Using one of these techniques, generate a research idea. 2 minutes

2) Get in groups of 4.3) Briefly explain your idea to the group.1

minute4) Have the group expand the idea.2

minutes5) Repeat the process for each of the 4

people

From Idea Set to Research Question

• Narrow

• Challenging

• Grounded

Thesis Statement

• This is the sentence stating the main point.– A generalization, not a fact– Limited, not too broad– Focused, not too vague

Identifying Questions & Theses

• 4 abstracts

• Write the Question and Thesis for each at the bottom of the page.

Creating TitlesThe title is the single most important part of any document.

It tells people what the document is. If it is unclear, many people for whom you wrote the document will never read it.

An example of a weak title:Reducing the Hazards of Operations

The next colored slides adapted from Hua-Kuang Lie, PowerPoint, for “Effective Science and Engineering Communication.”

Creating Titles

Criteria for a strong title:• identifies the field of study for the document• separates the document from other documents

Weak:Effects of Humidity on the growth of Avalanches(Avalanches of slow or electrons?)

Revised title:Effects of Humidity on the Growth of ElectronAvalanches in Electrical Gas Discharges

Creating Titles

Weak:Studies on the Electrodeposition of Lead on Copper (Why?)

Improved

Effects of Rhodamine-B on the Electrodeposition of Lead on Copper

Creating TitlesWeak:Effects of Rhodamine-B and Saccharin on the Electric Double Layer During Nickel Electrodeposition on Platinum Studied by AC-Cyclic Voltammetry (Why?)

ImprovedUse of AC-Cyclic Voltammetry to Study Organic Agents in the Electrodeposition of Nickel on Platinum

Creating TitlesBig-word syndrome:10 MW Solar Thermal Electric Central Receiver Barstow Power Pilot Plant Transfer Fluid Conversion Study (It overwhelms)

Improved:Proposal to Use a New Heat Transfer Fluid in the Solar One Power Plant (small words, rest stops;‘proposal’, special situation)

Note: Solar One: the world’s largest solar power plant

Creating TitlesUnfamiliar-word syndrome:Use of an IR FPA in Determining the Temperature Gradient of a Face (It puzzles)

Improved:Determining Temperature Gradients With aNew Infrared Optical Device

• Review-culture & audience

• For each of the four abstracts

• Exercise 4:

Write Thesis Statement and Research Question for each Abstract on the board.

Thesis Hooks

• Startling statistic or fact

• Vivid example

• Description

• Quotation

• Question

• Analogy

Writing Hint

• Generate a large body of ideas to define the scope of your project

• Define your Basic Research Question

• Focus on a one-sentence Thesis Statement answering the Question

• Find a Hook

Exercise 5

1) Groups of 4

2) Take out the Idea Set you generated.

3) As a group, write a tentative Research Question and a Thesis for each idea set.

4) Decide which you think is best

5) Have one member report that idea to the class.

Selecting Wining Topics

• Ask the field (journals)

• Ask the experts (professor)

• Ask the next stars (colleagues)

• Ask What?1. Research Question

2. Thesis Statement

3. Idea Set

ESL Hint

• Chinese allows the omission of the subject or the verb. Expect in commands ( Be quiet!), English always requires you to state the subject and verb of the main sentence.

Your Parameters

Illustration

Fields in Computer Science

12345678

Writing Hint

1. Tell them what you are going to tell

2. Tell them

3. Tell them what you told

Beginning MiddleEnd

Formats in fields

• “Discourse Grammer”

• GSU Outline for Program Development

• Reports on your findings– 1– 2– 3– 4– Etc.

Structure

• Voice/Style

• Decide how you want to be heard– Student– Authority– Raising a Question– Humbly– Proudly

StructureFormal Formats vs. Personal Structures

• Choices– Ease vs. Excitement– Professionalism vs. Creativity– Inattention vs. Attention– Acceptance vs. Rejection– Safety vs. Risk

• Outcome- Gain

Writing Hint

• Numbers Rule– of 3:

• For powerful sets, or• To make the middle item the winner

– of 2: for contrasts– of 5: >5 is often too much

Four C’s of Communication

• Color- Precision & Coherence

• Clarity- Purity & Transparence

• Carat- Substance & Importance

• Cut- Organization, Structure, Style, & Charisma

Adapted from Hua-Kuang Lie, PowerPoint, for “Effective Science and Engineering Communication

Your Parameters

Illustration

Word Choice Hints

• Do not omit needed words• Eliminate redundant words• Place modifiers with their subject• Keep verbs consistent in tense and the active

voice• Use the active voice (replace “be” verbs)• Use appropriate language• Use exact language• Keep your voice consistent (I, we, etc.)

Sentence Hints

• Focus on the main idea

• Combine choppy sentences

• Simplify sentences

• Use a variety of sentences

• Use a variety of sentence openings

• Use parallelism

Exercise 6

• Here are some technical paragraphs from your homework. [3 sets]

• Will the “author” please explain each

• Go over them in class and point out issues

• Identify topic sentence for each

Topic Sentence

• Is the Thesis Statement for the paragraph.

• Is usually at the start

• Signals the next step in the argument– Suggests the next topic– Helps the transition

Structure-Paragraphs

1. Focus the Main Point-Topic Sentence• Usually first• Sometimes after a transition• Occasionally at the end

2. Develop the main point- too short is often too little

3. Organize the paragraph• Methods include: examples, description, process,

comparison, contrast, definition, cause and effect, classification and division, etc.

• Order of importance; Least to greatest or invert?

Structure-Paragraphs cont’d

4. Make the Paragraph Coherent• Signaling

• Link-ideas• Repeat key words• Use parallel structure (parallelism)• Be consistent

• Transitions

5. Adjust Paragraph Length

Exercise 7

• Here are 5 paragraphs

• Read them and put them in order, 1-5, best to worst

• Rewrite the worst

• Go over the paragraphs in class

Summary

Strunk and White, The Elements of Style

• Use a suitable design• Make the paragraph the unit of

composition• The active voice should be used• Put statements in a positive form• Use definite, specific, concrete language

Strunk and White, cont’d The Elements of Style

6. Omit needless excessive words

7. Avoid a succession of lose sentences

8. Use parallelism

9. Keep related words together

10. Keep to one tense

11. Place at the end the sentence’s emphatic words

Exercise 8

• Here is your Homework 4

• Ask your colleagues to help you with it

• Ask the instructor

• Decide on the best

• PERSONAL CONSULTATION TIME WITH THE INSTRUCTOR tba

ESL Hint

• English spelling differs slightly from country to country.• The primary difference is American or British• Choose one system and stick with it.

– Color Colour– Theater Theatre– Judgment Judgement– Defense Defence– Analyze Analyse

• Http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cwa/wworkshop/• Http://www.owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/

index.html#effective

Writing Hint

• The rule of three revisited: Editing

• Write Rest Rewrite

The Final Product

• Editing/Poilshing– Sentence– Paragraph– Global

• Using editing codes

Writing Hint

• Polishing or editing, like writing, is a continuous iterative process

• BUT

• Unless you have enough written there is not enough to polish!– Write first– Polish later

Formats

• Know your External Format requirements

• Fonts– 10-12– Only 1 or 2– simple– Serif (possibly sans serif for headings)

• Headings-usually ≤3 levels

• Use white space

Graphics

• Audience– Who is the reader?– What does the reader know?– Will a graphic extend the reader’s knowledge?– Is my graphic appropriate?– Is it complex enough for a graphic?

Graphics cont’d

• Choice– Photo- exactly as it is– Diagram-can’t be seen in a photo– Table-items that can be classified– Line graph-trend or changes over time– Column graph- compare– Pie chart- items as part of a whole– Flow chart- process– Organization chart- relationships

Graphics cont’d

• Placement– Callout?– Statement of Importance?– Close to the first reference?– Numbered sequentially and labeled?– Acknowledged?– Does it help the reader?

Writing Hint

Re-viewing

Drafting

Structuring

Generating Ideas

Focusing

Evaluating

Process Writing

Presenting Wining Topics

• Check the field (journals)

• Check the experts (professor)

• Preview with the next stars (colleagues)

• Use a Guide, for instance:

Steve Mandel, Effective Presentation Skills: A Practical Guide for Better Speaking, 3rd ed., Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Publications.

Fall 2004A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program 1 Hess Education.

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