STCE ISCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL

COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH

INTRODUCTION 

kE,mju:nI`keISn

What is it ?

COMMUNICATION: (noun, uncountable)

 a)    the process of giving information

or of making emotions or ideas known to someone;

b)    the process of speaking or writing to someone to exchange information or ideas.

  © Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 2002

COMMUNICATIONS: (noun, plural)

 a)  a system for sending information;

b) a transport system for taking people or goods from one place to another.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 2002    

COMMUNICATION:

 

   The activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information

WORDWEB5.00

 

COMMUNICATIONS:

The discipline that studies the principles of transmitting information and the methods by which it is delivered (as print or radio or television etc.)

 WORDWEB5.00

the way to understanding, harmony

and justice ++++++++

       

COMMUNICATION

a source of conflicts and hatred

─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 

COMMUNIS (Latin):

to create an agreementto be related toto be connected to

COMMUNICATION  

a complex fundamental component of

human existence

HOW MUCH COMMUNICATION IN A

NORMAL DAY?

A ‘CASE STUDY’

COMMUNICATION TODAY:

- Main dimension in our existence

- Numerous types of communication

- Sometimes we are not aware that we are communicating

FEATURES OF

COMMUNICATION

Any process of communication – three sides:

1) externalized communication (whatever can be seen, verbal or non-verbal)

2) metacommunication (what can be understood beyond words)3) intracommunication (communication

of each of us inside ourselves)  

COMMUNICATION

• There is a context for communication

• Communication is a dynamic process – it has evolution

• An irreversible process

FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

CLASSIFYING CRITERIA:

1) by the way the message is conveyed2) by the way people are involved in

communication3) by the relationships established among

individuals in communication

 1. By the way the message is

conveyed: a) DIRECT COMMUNICATION - message

conveyed by primary means (words, gestures, mimicry)

b) INDIRECT COMMUNICATION - by means of printed paper, electronic, wire, optic fibre, waves etc.

 

2.    By the way people are involved in communication:

    INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION (with oneself)

   INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION (in groups)

    MASS COMMUNICATION (for the general public, with specific means)

 

3.    By the relationships established among individuals in

communication:  ASCENDING COMMUNICATION

(from lower levels to higher levels)   

DESCENDING COMMUNICATION (from top to bottom levels)

     HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION

(among peers)

FEATURES OF

SCIENTIFIC ANDTECHNICALCOMMUNICATION

• direct or indirect• intra- or

interpersonal (sometimes even mass oriented)

• ascending, descending, horizontal

THE ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

 EMITTER → Code ← RECEIVER Channel Message ………… ↔ Feedback ↔ ↔ Barriers ↔

In a CODE: how much… ?!

1 – verbal language: …..%? 2 – nonverbal language (gestures, body

language, distance, appearance, social behaviour): …..%?

3 – paraverbal language (tone of the voice, speed, way of stressing some words, pauses etc.): …..%?

Answer: In a CODE:  

1 – verbal language: 7% 2 – nonverbal language: 55% 3 – paraverbal language: 38% 

CHANNELS OF

COMMUNICATION

Informal …… Semi-formal …… Formal

BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION LINGUISTIC Level of language

proficiency/stress/emotion/anxiety/prejudice OF CONCEPTION False assumptions/routine/lack of interest

ENVIRONMENTAL Physical/moral fear  TECHNICAL Static/poor connections

 DOING AWAY WITH BARRIERS

 6 QUESTIONS

1 WHY?2 WHO?

3 WHERE?4 WHEN?5 WHAT?6 HOW?

The golden rule of the 6 Cs

in communication Always be:

CLEARCONCISECOURTEOUSCONSTRUCTIVECORRECTCOMPLETE

STCE II.A ACCURACY OF

LINGUISTIC SUPPORTIN

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL

COMMUNICATION

MAIN POINTS COVERED

1 – SYNTAX - WORD ORDER – MAIN RULES

2 – MORPHOLOGY - THE ENGLISH VERB – GENERAL PRESENTATION

 

1. Why WORD ORDER IN ENGLISH ?

 Apply what you already know about word order in English to the sentence parts below in order to obtain a correct sentence: A BOOK NEW HE ABOUT ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING IS WRITING

Result:

He is writing a new book about electrical engineering.

      

Why is word order compulsory in English then?

           El scrie o carte noua despre electrotehnica.         O carte noua despre electrotehnica scrie el.         Despre electrotehnica scrie el o carte noua.         O carte noua scrie el despre electrotehnica.

   

Basic Word Order Rule:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 Sb Pr DO IO OM OP OT (Tom gives a flower to Mary kindly in the study daily. )

Also:Good Tom gives a red flower to beautiful Mary kindly

in the cosy study every day.

Exceptions to the rule       1) 1+ …Frequency Adverbs …+ 2+3…etce.g. He never/always gives a flower to Mary…

2) 1+2+4+3+5… e.g. He gives Mary a flower …(keep 4 short)

3) 7+1+2+3+4+5+6 (keep 7 short)e.g. Every day he gives a flower to Mary.

Word Order for COMPOUND PREDICATES

Subject + Predicate Auxiliary + …Freq Adv …+ Predicate Verb +

Examples:  I will always look for interesting scientific

books. He has never written such a long article before. They had repeatedly tried to communicate with

their scientific supervisor, but … 

Inverted Word Order 

Sentence types:

1.     interrogative sentences;

2.     conditional clauses without if;

 3.   declarative sentences which begin with negative or restrictive words such as never, rarely, scarcely, hardly ever, and not only.

WORD ORDER IN QUESTIONSit depends on type of response:

1 – Yes or No response:   Verb(V) - subject(S) - predicate components(PC)

e.g.: Do you specialize in Electrical Engineering? Yes, I do.

2 - a specific piece of information – an object:  Question word(QW) - verb(V) - subject(S) - predicate

components(PC) e.g.: What are you doing this evening? Nothing special.

3 – the subject: Question word(QW) - verb(V) e.g.: Who helps you with these measurements? Tom does. What helps you to understand the explanation? My

previous knowledge of the topic does.

2.THE ENGLISH VERB – GENERAL PRESENTATION

Grammatical categories used:      TENSE – When? (in time) – present, past,

future     ASPECT – How ? (completion) – simple,

progressive, perfect, perfect continuous     VOICE – Focus on…? (doer or ‘victim’) –

active, passive     MOOD - What kind of facts? (real,

imaginary, wishes) – indicative, subjunctive, conditional

A PRESENTATION OF THE TENSES

OF THE INDICATIVE MOOD

A - The 3 Simple Aspect Tenses – Indicative mood:

The simple aspect – marks the time area of action/state (present, past or future)

3 Simple aspect tenses:

• A1 = Present Simple Tense – I am, I have• A2 = Past Simple Tense – I was, they had• A3 = Future Simple Tense – You will be, he will

have

The 3 Simple Aspect Tenses

☼----------- ⌂ ----------]--------------x -------------|------- ?--------> A2 Now Tomorrow A1 A3

Legend: ☼----------- ⌂ ----------] = past time area  --------------x -------------|------- ?--------> = present time area A1 A3 

B – The 3 Progressive Aspect Tenses (contrasting with the Simple aspect) -

Indicative mood:

Progressive aspect general definition:Action/(state) going on at/around moment of

speech A (1,2,3)

General formula of the Progressive aspect tenses

BE + Verb+ing  variable vb mark of progressive

☼----------- ⌂ ----------]--------------x -------------|------- ?--------> ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

B2 B1 B3

• B1 – Present Progressive Tense – I am Verb+ing

• B2 – Past Progressive Tense – I was Verb+ing

• B3 – Future Progressive Tense – I will be Verb+ing

C. - The 3 Perfect Aspect Tenses (contrasting with the Simple aspect) - Indicative mood:

☼---(-------- ⌂ ----------]--(------------x -------------|--(----- ?--------> C2 C1 C3 

Perfect aspect general definition: Action/state that has taken place BEFORE moment A

(1, 2, 3), but which is RELEVANT/INTERESTING for the message communicated AT the moment A (1, 2, 3)

General formula of the Perfect aspect tensesHAVE + Verb 3

variable vb mark of perfect

The Perfect Aspect Tenses

• C1 – Present Perfect Tense – I have +Verb3

• C2 – Past Perfect Tense – I had + Verb3• C3 – Future Perfect Tense – I will have +

Verb3

The 3 Perfect Progressive Aspect Tenses (contrasting with the simple perfect

aspect) - Indicative mood:

☼---(-------- ⌂ ----------]--(------------x -------------|--(----- ?--------> ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ D2 D1 D3

Perfect Progressive Aspect – General Definition:

Action/state that has taken place BEFORE moment A (1, 2, 3), which is RELEVANT/INTERESTING for the message communicated AT the moment A (1, 2, 3)

BUT which is more DYNAMIC/INTENSE than the simple perfect aspect.

General formula of the Perfect progressive aspect tenses

HAVE + been Verb+ing variable verb mark of perfect progressive

The Perfect Progressive Tenses

• D1 – Present Perfect Progressive Tense – I have + been Verb+ing

• D2 – Past Perfect Progressive Tense – I had + been Verb+ing

• D3 – Future Perfect Progressive Tense – I will have+ been Verb+ing

The 13th tense of the Indicative Mood…?!

• Name: Future in the Past• Required by: sequence of tense rule• Position on time diagram: see ☺

☼------(------ ⌂ ----- ☺ -----]-----------x -------------|------- ?--------> C2/D2 A2 ?! Now Tomorrow A1 A3 

☺ = Future in the Past (Sbj + WOULD + Verb)

When Do We Use Future in the Past?Compare:

I. The manager says that :( Main Clause Predicate tense from sphere of present tenses)

• he is happy with our work (simultaneous action in the subordinate clause)

• he considered some promotions yesterday (past tense for action before present)

• he will let us know about his decision tomorrow (future tense for action after present)

II. Yesterday the manager said that: (Main Clause Predicate from sphere of past tenses)

• he was happy with our work (simultaneous action in the subordinate clause)

• he had considered some promotions the day before (past perfect tense for action before then)

• he would let us know about his decision the next day (future in the past tense for action after then)

THE PASSIVE VOICE

ACTIVE voice: (focus on doer) The engineer checks the measurement device. Doer ‘victim’Gram & logical Direct Obj Subject versus 

 PASSIVE voice: (focus on ‘victim’) The measurement device is checked by the engineer. ‘victim’ Agent object Gram subject still DoerBut not Logical Subject still Logical Subject

The Passive Voice - general formula

 

BE + Verb 3

TENSES THAT CAN BE USED IN THE PASSIVE

  ☼---(-------- ⌂ ----------]--(------------x -------------|--(----- ?--------> ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

Simple present – It is doneSimple past – It was doneSimple future – It will be done Present progressive – It is being donePast progressive – It was being done(Future progressive – rarely used – It will be being done) Present perfect – It has been donePast perfect – It had been doneFuture perfect – It will have been done

STCE II.BACCURACY OF

LINGUISTIC SUPPORTIN SCIENTIFIC AND

TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

MAIN GRAMMAR POINTS – MORPHOLOGY

Nouns, Articles, Determiners, Pronouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, Numerals, Conjunctions, Prepositions

Avoiding frequent/common mistakes

NOUNS

Nouns name a person, a place, a thing or an idea and are often preceded by an article (a, an, the)

IMPORTANT NOUN CHARACTERISTICS   1. gender (manager; manageress)     2. number (phenomenon; phenomena) 3. countability (air; devices)

 

FEATURES OF NOUNS1.     A noun is often preceded by a determiner,

which can be an article, a demonstrative or possessive adjective, or a quantifier.

2.     A noun can be described, or modified, by adjectives.

3.     Nouns can be replaced by pronouns. 4.     Since nouns functioning as subjects can be

singular or plural, their corresponding verbs must agree in number.

5.     Proper nouns are capitalized and have special article usage rules.

EXAMPLES1.     The/That/Their/All the ventilation system has just been mounted in

the plant.2.     New interesting discoveries are being made on the planet.3.     Mr Brown is our supervisor. He is a capable professor.4.     The laptop on this desk is mine, while the other laptops belong to

the lab.5. Albert Einstein’s portrait hangs on the council room wall.

      

NOUN GENDER-         Marked: an author vs an authoress -         Not marked: an engineer; a teacher

☺TIP! One way of avoiding gender bias:A person called and they did not leave their name.

☺TIP!  Keep the gender of a noun in mind when choosing

a pronoun to replace or refer to it:Isaac Newton (masculine = HE)Marie Curie (feminine = SHE)the result (neuter = IT)

  

  

NUMBER OF NOUNS1. The plural of most words is formed by adding ‘s’ to the singular form

of the noun:lake, lakes; shade, shades; the Browns

 2. For common nouns ending in ch (soft), s, sh, x, and z, add ‘es’:coaches , glasses, pushes, boxes, quizzes

3. For numerical figures, add an s, no apostrophe:1820s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

 4. Irregular plurals:man, men; person, people; foot, feet;

 5. Some Latin or Greek plurals:nucleus = nuclei; thesis = theses; index = indices,indexes ☺TIP! Spelling: boy – boys; study - studies

NUMERICAL EXPRESSIONS

    1)    usually singular: Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money. One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer.

2)    can be plural if the individuals within a numerical group are acting individually:

One-half of the faculty have doctorates. Fifty percent of the students have voted

already.  

NOUNS WHICH FORM THE PLURAL IN A DIFFERENT WAY

2, … , n pieces of … bits of …

items of …+

advice; information; knowledge; evidence; news; equipment

ACCEPTABLEa molecule of carbon dioxide; a piece of equipment

*UNACCEPTABLE*a carbon dioxide; *an equipment

COUNTABILITY 

COUNTABLE NOUNS         both a singular and a plural form – a

system, two systems        they name anything (or anyone) that you

can count        a countable noun can be made plural

and attached to a plural verb in a sentence – a system is; two systems are

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

 • do not have a plural form – iron, air • refer to something that you could (or

would) not usually count• always take a singular verb in a sentence

– the air is pure

Categories of Uncountable Nouns

Abstract

advicehelp

informationknowledge

troublework

enjoymentfun

recreationrelaxation

Material

meatrice

breadcake

coffeeice cream

wateroil

grasshair

Generic

fruitwildlife

equipmentmachineryfurniture

mailluggagejewelryclothingmoney

Non-Plurals with - s

mathematicseconomics

physicscivicsethics

mumpsmeasles

newstennis

(other games)

QUANTIFIERS WITH COUNTABLES AND UNCOUNTABLES

UNCTBLSe.g. coffee

CTBLSe.g. boys

+ MUCH MANY

- LITTLE FEW

(+) A LITTLE A FEW

NOUN CASE 

Subject Case The scientist identified a new method last year. (he)

 Object Case

The taxi drove the expert to the airport. (him) 

Possessive Case The baggage handlers lost the sales agent’s suitcase.

(his)

☺TIPS!

The engineer’s (sg) patent vs The engineers’ (pl) patent

But also:  a day’s effort; the committee’s

decision; the country’s beauties; the company’s policy;

!!! For nonanimate possessors: the X of Y – e.g. the length of the wire

WORD FORMATION

 This is the longest word in English:

ANTI-DIS-ESTABLISH-MENT-ARIAN-ISM

***

ROOT: attention  

PREFIXES: inattention  

SUFFIXES: attentional

Latin Prefixes and Their Meaning:ab

(away) abrupt, absent, absolve ad

(to) adverb, advertisement, afflict in

(not) incapable, indecisive, intolerable inter

(between, among) intercept, interdependent, interprovincial intra

(within) intramural, intrapersonal, intraprovincial pre

(before) prefabricate, preface, prefer post

(after) postpone, postscript, postwar

Examples of Suffixes Noun Formation

 

• -ment - entertainment• -ness - happiness• -al - approval • -tion - information

NOUN MODIFIERS

1)      More than 750 metric tons of lead ingots were examined by the quality control inspectors that circle the base of the tower.

2)      More than 750 metric tons of lead ingots that circle the base of the tower were examined by the quality control inspectors.

3) The quality control inspectors examined more than 750 metric tons of lead ingots that circle the base of the tower .

TYPES OF ARTICLES 

Type of article

Singular Plural

Indefinite A(n) Ø, Some

Definite The The

Generic Usage of Nouns

Examples:• An engine can be very useful.• Engines can be very useful BUT:*The engines can be very useful.(*wrong)

A OR AN ?   "A" goes before all words that begin with consonants:- a factory        One exception: Use "an" before unsounded h:-         an honest error

       "An" goes before all words that begin with vowels:-         an orbit         Two exceptions: When u makes the same sound as the y

in you, or o makes the same sound as w in won, then a is used - (before semi-vowels)

-    a union- a word

Determiners …those little words that precede and modify nouns

Predeterminers: -         multipliers (double, twice, four/five times . . . .);-         fractional expressions (one-third, three-quarters, etc.);-         the words both, half, and all; -         intensifiers ( quite, rather, and such).Determiners:-         articles (a, an, the, zero article);-         demonstrative adjectives (this, those);-         possessive adjectives (my, their);-         relative pronouns (which, what);-         indefinite determiners (some, any);-         genitive constructions (the engineer’s).Postdeterminers:-         numerals – ordinal numbers (first, second, next, last);-         numerals – cardinal numbers (one, two, three);- quantifiers (few, many, other).

DETERMINATION PATTERNAN EXAMPLE

(I met) all my first six new British friends. predet determ postdet adjs noun

KINDS OF PRONOUNS Comments in examples

-    Personal (I, you) -         Demonstrative (this,

that) -         Indefinite

(somebody/all/each/every/some/none/one)

-         Relative (who, which, that)

-         Reflexive (myself, ourselves)

-         Intensive ( myself, himself)

-         Interrogative (who, which, that)

-         Reciprocal (each other, one another)

- This is a new car. It is my car. It is all mine! - personal

-     This book is well-written. That is incredible! - demonstrative

-      Everyone is wondering if any is left. - indefinite

-     The worker who/that enters is Tom. The book which/that he is reading is new. – relative

-     Students who cheat on this quiz are only hurting themselves. – reflexive

-     I myself don't know the answer. – intensive-     What is that? Which do you prefer? –

interrogative-     Tim and Tom borrowed each other's ideas.

The scientists in this lab often use one another's equipment. (more than 2 people) - reciprocal

What Is An Adjective?An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing,

identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

rich richer richest

lovely lovelier loveliest

beautiful more beautiful most beautiful

Irregular Comparative and Superlative Forms  

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

Good Better Best

Bad Worse Worst

Little Less Least

MuchManySome

More Most

Far Farther/further Farthest/furthest

ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

Determiner Observation Physical Description Origin Material Qualifier Noun

  Size Shape Age Color  

a beautiful     old   Italian   touring car

Adjectives That Do Not Form the Comparative

         absolute         adequate         chief         complete         devoid         entire         fatal         final         ideal

         impossible         inevitable         irrevocable         main         manifest         minor         paramount         perpetual         preferable

         principal         stationary         sufficient         unanimous         unavoidable         unbroken         unique         universal         whole

Kinds of Adverbs

Adverbs of Manner   The rotor was moving slowly.

Adverbs of Place   She has worked for that company all her life.    She still works there now.

Adverbs of Frequency   He takes the boat to the mainland every day.   They often go by themselves.

Adverbs of Time   She tries to get ready before dark.   It's starting to get dark now.   She finished answering her e-mails first.   She left early.

Adverbs of Purpose   Tom drives the boat slowly to avoid hitting the rocks.   Ann shops in several stores to get the best buys.

Adverbs can modify:• a verb: The mechanic quickly fixed the valve.• an adj: The boldly spoken words had a negative

effect on the audience.• another adverb: We urged him to solve the

problem more expeditiously.• a sentence: Fortunately, this time the experiment

worked.

☺TIP! Adverb modifying an adjective:Examples: - a theoretically impossible method- a hardly believable story

What is the Difference between Adjectives and Adverbs?

Adjectives answer the questions:

• Which?• What kind of? • How many?

Adverbs answer the questions:

• How?• When?• Where?• Why?

NUMBERS AND NUMERALSCheck spelling and pronunciation

• 12 = • 21st = • 43 = • 50th = • 103, 369, 002 =

MEASUREMENT UNITSUSEFUL RESOURCES

• http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Publications/appxc.cfm = tables of measurement units

 • http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/

dictJ.html = dictionary of measurement units

THE DECALOGUE OF NUMERAL WRITING

1)      Spell out numbers that can be expressed in one or two words and use figures for other numbers: six million dollars; after 126 days

2)      Days and Years: 12 December 19653)      Time of Day: 8:00 A.M.4)      Page and Division of Books: page 30; chapter 65)      Decimals and Percentages: a 2.7 average; 13 1/4 percent6)      Consistency in enumeration: 115 feet by 90 feet7)      Adjacent numbers should be written in a combination of

numerals and words: 64 two-body calculations8)      Qualifiers (“about,” “approximately,” “of order of”) should not

be used with exact numbers: Approximately 17 of the samples (it is ridiculous)

9)      In general, use arabic numerals instead of words in scientific and technical writing for both cardinal and ordinal numbers: 3 subroutines

10. Use the comma (,) to indicate the decimal point and use an initial zero (0) for numbers less than 1,0: 31,3; 0,414

Prepositions express relationships, such as :

Direction - to, into, across, toward

Location - at, in, on, under, over, beside, among, by, between, through

Time - before, after, during, until, since

Figurative Location - for, against, with

 

Words Commonly Used As Prepositions

aboutalongbesideduringnearpastunder

insidearoundbeyondexceptingoffrounduntil

sinceatbutforonthroughup

abovebeforebyfromontothroughoutupon

acrossbehindconcerninginouttillwith

afterbeneathdespiteintooutsidetowithin

Prepositional Phrases (Two or More Words)

according toapart frombecause ofexcept forin lieu ofon account ofwith regard to

in spite ofas regardsby reason ofin case ofin regard toup towith the exception of

along withas todue toin front ofinstead ofwith reference to

Needlessly Long Prepositional Phrases (Replace By …)

At the present time (now) In order that (so) In reference to (about, or regarding) In the interim (meanwhile) In the near future (soon) In the event that (if) In the course of (during) In the process of (during or in) With the exception of (except for)

CONJUNCTIONS Conjunctions connect sentences, clauses, phrases, or

words. TYPES OF CONJUNCTIONS (each associated with its own linking and punctuation

pattern): • Coordinating conjunctions – and, but, or, yet, for, nor,

so• Correlative conjunctions – both...and, either...or, as...as• Subordinating conjunctions - after, if, because, in order

that• Conjunctive adverbs – however, moreover, nevertheless.

STCE II.CACCURACY OF

LINGUISTIC SUPPORTIN SCIENTIFIC AND

TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

MAIN GRAMMAR POINTS SYNTAX

Sentences, Clauses, Punctuation

Avoiding frequent mistakes

Basic Patterns and Elements of the Sentence

A quick review of the fundamentals of the sentence

THE SENTENCE PATTERNS

1 - Subject + Verb

- composed of a subject and a verb, without a direct object or subject complement;

- it uses an intransitive verb (requiring no direct object):

e.g.All amplitude-modulation (AM) receivers

work in the same way.

2 - Subject + Linking Verb + Subject Complement

- uses the linking verb, any form of the verb to be without an action verb

e.g.The chain reaction is the basis of nuclear power.

      

3 - Subject + Verb + Direct Object

  - uses the direct object e.g.

Silicon conducts electricity in an unusual way.

  

4 - Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object

(the ‘loose’ type of sentence)*- uses indirect object and direct object e.g.

I am writing her about a number of problems that I have had with my word processor.

* While the ‘periodic’ type of sentence postpones the Subj + Pred + … pattern by some other components.e.g. Making sure that I am in possession of all the necessary

elements, I am writing to her about a number of problems that I have had with my word processor.

5 - Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement

  - The sentence pattern using the [direct object] and object complement is not common but worth knowing.

e.g. The plant shutdown left the entire area an

economic disaster.

6 - Passive Voice Pattern - an important and often controversial

construction;- it reverses the subject and object and,

in some cases, deletes the subject.e.g.

The valves used in engine start are controlled by a computer.

SENTENCE TYPES Classifications are based on the number of

independent and dependent clauses a sentence contains.

Sentences can be: simple, compound, or complex

 An independent

clause forms a complete sentence

on its own.

A dependent clause needs another clause to make a

complete sentence.

I - Simple Sentence

- contains subject and a verb and no other independent or dependent clause

- consists of a single independent clause

e.g. One of the tubes is attached to the manometer

part of the instrument indicating the pressure of the air within the recipient.

II - Compound Sentence

- made up of two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, or, nor, but, yet, for) and a comma, an adverbial conjunction and a semicolon, or a semicolon;- must be simple sentences.

e.g.Some designers work together; others prefer to work individually.

Ways of Joining Compound Sentences

-  with a comma and a coordinating conjunction: They have become more interested in the topic, but the field is still unexplored.

- with a comma and a correlative conjunction: Either each tissue is alive, or they are dead.

- with a semicolon: He tried to find an equation for this; he failed in this effort.

- with a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb:It is clear that this solution will not work; indeed, 10% of cases failed.

III - Complex Sentence

- contains at least one dependent clause (a noun, adjective, or adverb clause) and no more than one independent clause

- the most important information in a complex sentence should be expressed in the independent clause

e.g. After the accountant added up all the sales, she

discovered that the bolts and nuts stand was 50 punds short.

IV - Complex-Compound Sentence

 

- made of two or more independent clauses and contains at least one dependent clause

e.g. The systolic pressure is the pressure of the blood as a

result of the contraction of the ventricles, and the diastolic pressure is the pressure when the ventricles are at rest.

PHRASES AND CLAUSESGroups of words that act as a unit and

perform a single function within a sentencePhrases - may have a partial subject or verb but not bothe.g.Electricity has to do with those physical phenomena involving

electrical charges and their effects when in motion and when at rest.

Clauses - a dependent clause has both a subject and a verb (but it is not a complete sentence)

e.g.Electricity manifests itself as a force of attraction, when two

oppositely charged bodies are brought close to one another.

TYPES OF PHRASES

A - PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES  

- composed of a preposition and its object- shows relationships involving time,

direction, or space

e.g.The current leads to the field coils and

into an external circuit.

TYPES OF PHRASES

B - APPOSITIVES

- a word or phrase that renames a noun or pronoun - adds information about a noun but in a way

different than adjectives do

e.g.An upper air inversion, a layer of stable air, is usuallypresent over large areas of the tradewinds as a

hurricane develops.

TYPES OF PHRASES C - PARTICIPIAL PHRASES

- a group of words acting as an adjective and modifying a noun or pronoun

- a participle is the -ed or -ing form of a verb

e.g.The Eagle Generator uses a 6-pole, shunt-wound

generator designed to reach maximum power at 20 mph.

TYPES OF CLAUSESclassified from the point of view of the morphology part they

substitute a - Gerunds and Gerund Phrases

- a single word with -ing accompanied by its objects, complements, and modifiers

- it is a group of words acting as noun

e.g.The splitting of an atom produces a great

amount of energy.

TYPES OF CLAUSESb - Adjective Clauses

-  almost a complete sentence — but not quite - it functions the same way a single-word

adjective does - adds more information to our

understanding of a noun

e.g.The company holds many patents on its wind energy

systems, such as the slow-speed generator whoseperformance curve matches that of the propeller.

TYPES OF CLAUSESc - Adverb Clauses

- also nearly a complete sentence - it functions like an adverb does by explaining the

how, when, where, and why of the discussion - usually contains a subordinating conjunction, a

subject, a complete verb and any other related phrases or clauses

e.g. As long as the wind speed is sufficient, the electrical

energy will be continuously generated.

TYPES OF CLAUSESd - Noun Clauses

- a group of words used as a noun - introduced by a relative pronoun - can play any of the functions a noun plays

e.g. Estimates indicate that 20 million Americans

owned hand-held calculators by 1974.

REMARK: COORDINATED ELEMENTS

Many of the sentence

elements described can be "coordinated"; that is, they can be doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled and linked with coordinating conjunctions such as and and or.

Examples of coordinated sentence

elements and their coordinating conjunctions:

1 - In 1800, Volta constructed and experimented with the voltaic pile, the predecessor of the modern battery. (two verb phrases)

2 - Heat exchangers may be so designed that chemical reactions or energy-generation processes can be carried out in them. (two noun phrases)

THE COMPLEX SENTENCE STRUCTURE

1 - The Main Clause - must contain a tensed verb and a subject - in complex sentences, the independent clause is the

main clause - do not have a fixed place in the order of complex

sentences - they may begin the sentence, come in the middle or end the sentence

- should contain the most important information in the sentence

e.g.Since the sun and Earth are embedded in the galaxy, it is

difficult for us to obtain an overall view of the galaxy.

TYPES OF CLAUSES

Independent ClausesDependent Clauses

INDEPENDENT CLAUSES - can stand alone as sentences - to be independent, a clause must contain a verb

and a subject and it should not begin with a subordinating word or phrase

- a sentence must contain at least one independent clause

e.g. Although the pace of technological innovation

has been impressively alert, whether the materials will make an impact on commerce remains unclear.

DEPENDENT CLAUSES

- contains a subject and a predicate, but because they are introduced by a subordinating word they do not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence

- they must always be accompanied by at least one independent clause

- three kinds of dependent clauses:

- noun clauses, adjective clauses, and adverbial clauses

e.g. 1 - You must formulate a

sound thesis sentence before you can write a good essay.

2 - I bought a new battery so that my car would start on cold days. 

3 - No grades will be assigned until all work is completed. 

Connecting Dependent and Independent Clauses

1. By Coordinating Conjunctions (7): and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet

e.g.He studied for the Physics test, but it was hard to

concentrate.

2. By Independent Marker Word: also, consequently, furthermore, however,

moreover, nevertheless, thereforee.g.He studied for the Physics test, however, it was hard

to concentrate.

Sentence Types Classified by Purpose

1 - Declarative Sentences (make statements and present information)

2 - Interrogative Sentences (ask questions)

3 - Imperative Sentences (request or demand that action be performed)

e.g.1 – Manufacturers

produce 100 million such parts annually.

2 – What was this plant like 50 years ago?

3 – Do not touch the glass!

☺TIPS IN SENTENCE WRITING

WAYS OF IMPROVING SENTENCE CLARITY

A - Go from old to new informationB - Do not interrupt the main clause with a

subordinateC - Use the active voiceD - Use parallel constructionsE - Avoid strings of adjectives F - Choose action verbs over forms of beG - Avoid unclear pronoun references

SENTENCE CLARITY - EXAMPLESA - Every semester after final exams are over, I'm faced with the

problem of what to do with books of lecture notes (new information). They (old) might be useful some day, but they just keep piling up on my bookcase (new).

B - Because of the growing use of computers to store and process corporate information, industrial spying is increasing rapidly.

C - The committee decided to postpone the vote.D - In Florida, where the threat of hurricanes is an annual event, we

learned that it is important (1) to become aware of the warning signs, (2) to know what precautions to take, and (3) to decide when to seek shelter.

E - This report explains our projects to stimulate growth in investments.

F - Television news reporting differs from that of newspapers in that television, unlike newspapers, can provide instantaneous coverage of events as they happen.

G - Laura worked in a chemical lab last summer; industrial management may be her career choice.

IDENTIFYING AND AVOIDING COMMON ERRORS IN SENTENCE WRITING

SOME ADVICE FOR THE REVISION STAGE AT SENTENCE LEVEL

1 - don't be afraid to combine sentences differently, if it serves your purpose

2 - eliminate useless words that make the understanding of the sentence more difficult

e.g.Original Form

After reviewing the research and in light of the relevant information found within the context of the conclusions, we feel that there is definite need for some additional research to more specifically pinpoint our advertising and marketing strategies. (38 words)

Revised FormThe conclusions of previous research suggest that we need more research to pinpoint our advertising and marketing strategies. (18 words)

Attention to Modifiers! Restrictive vs Non-restrictive

(essential to the meaning (supply additional information)

of the sentence)

a) My sister who lives in America is an engineer. vs

b) My sister, who lives in America, is an engineer.

…How many sisters in each case?(a: more than one sister; b: one sister only)

 

Attention to Choppy Sentences!

☺ TIP! Improve them as follows: - combine short related sentences by making some elements

dependent clauses or phrases in order to develop more effective sentences – (Adaptive optics is an electronic feedback mechanism capable of correcting for the distorting effects of the earth's atmosphere and thus allowing much sharper images of astronomical objects.)

- combine sentences with conjunctions - (Some TV shows satirize contemporary politicians, but viewers do not always find this amusing.)

- link sentences through subordination – (The campus parking problem is getting worse because the university is not building any new garages.)

NINE WAYS OF COMBINING SENTENCES - 1

1. -ING Phrases - Present Participle Phrases The man counted his change. The man smiled at the clerk. Carefully counting his change, the man smiled at the clerk.  The man, carefully counting his change, smiled at the clerk.

2. -ED Phrases - Past Participle Phrases The woman decided to celebrate the results. The woman was pleased.  Pleased with the results, the woman decided to celebrate.  The woman, pleased with the results, decided to celebrate.

3. Prepositional Phrases We go over the river. We go through the woods.Over the river and through the woods we go.

NINE WAYS OF COMBINING SENTENCES - 2

4. Renaming Phrases - Appositives My car is small. My car is a rusted. My car is a pile

of junk. My car, a rusted pile of junk, is small.

5. Who and That Clauses  -- Relative Clauses with Essential Info

Things are made from metal.  Metal can rust.Things that can rust are made from metal.

NINE WAYS OF COMBINING SENTENCES - 3

6. Who and Which Clauses - Relative Clauses with Non-essential Info

The new semester starts in January.  We are looking forward to the new semester.

We are looking forward to next semester, which begins in January.

7. -Ing Substitution Clauses - Noun Clauses If you talk out loud to yourself, people will wonder about you.Talking out loud to nobody makes people wonder about you.            

NINE WAYS OF COMBINING SENTENCES - 4

8. That Substitution Clauses - Noun Clauses He passed the course with an A.  I was not surprised that he

passed the course. That he passed the course with an A did not surprise me.

9. How-what-when-where-why Substitution Clauses Noun Clauses

He passed the course with an A. I wondered how he passed the course. I was surprised that he passed with an A.

 How he passed the course with an A surprised me.

Mind the Run-ons, Comma Splices and Fused Sentences!

(compound sentences that are not punctuated correctly) RULES FOR PUNCTUATING COMPOUND SENTENCES CORRECTLY

1. Join the two independent clauses with one of the coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet), and use a comma before the connecting word:

He enjoys walking through the country, and he often goes backpacking on his vacations.

2 - When you do not have a connecting word, use a semicolon (;):

He often watched TV when there were only reruns; she preferred to read instead.

Do not interrupt sentence structure!

Do not place a modifier between subject and predicate or between predicate and direct object!

e.g.WeakInventors unlocked more than a century ago the

secrets of turning the sun's rays into mechanical power.

ImprovedInventors unlocked the secrets of turning the sun's rays

into mechanical power more than a century ago.

Observe Parallelism (the principle that parts of a sentence that are the same in

function should be the same in structure) e.g.UnacceptableThe comparison will cover possible mechanisms of change [noun phrase] how the fissures widen because of regional tectonic stress

[noun clause] are there changes in permeability from increased

microcracking? [question] AcceptableThe comparison will cover possible mechanisms of change [noun phrase] fissure widening from regional tectonic stress [noun phrase] permeability from increased microcracking [noun phrase]

SENTENCE FRAGMENTS- A sentence fragment is missing a subject, a verb, or

both, but is punctuated as if it were a complete sentence

- Fragments are incomplete sentences- Have become disconnected from the main clause- One of the easiest ways to correct them is to

remove the period between the fragment and the main clause

e.g. Fragment: I need to find a new roommate. Because the

one I have now isn't working out too well. Possible Revision: I need to find a new roommate because the one I have now isn't working out too well.

HOW TO ADD SENTENCE VARIETY TO THE TEXT TEN SUGGESTIONS

1. Vary the rhythm by alternating short and long sentences.2. Vary sentence openings. 3. Avoid repetition by using pronouns.4. Prefer participle to the verb to be.5. Turn a sentence into a prepositional phrase.6. Do not write too many sentences with the same pattern.7. Vary the rhythm by adding transitional words at the beginning

of some sentences. 8. Avoid stringing several clauses that would be easier to read and

understand if they were broken up into separate clauses. 9. Avoid sentences that contain more information than the reader

can easily follow. Instead, divide such sentences into more manageable pieces.

10. Be consistent in your choice of mood.

HOW TO ADD SENTENCE VARIETY TO THE TEXT EXAMPLES - A

1 - What makes a good bluesman? Maybe, just maybe, it's all in a stately name. B.B. King. Freddie King. Albert King. It's no coincidence that they're the royalty of their genre.

2 - Sitting next to David at the Super Bowl was a tremendous coincidence. But the biggest coincidence that day happened when David and I ended up sitting next to each other at the Super Bowl.

3 - The experiment failed because of Murphy's Law, which states that if something can go wrong, it will.

4 - Surprised to get a phone call from his sister, Alec was happy to hear her voice again.

5 - Under pressure to cut its budget, the university has eliminated funding for important programs. (prepositional phrase, independent clause)

HOW TO ADD SENTENCE VARIETY TO THE TEXT EXAMPLES - B

6 - When the TV newscaster reported the story of the explosion, the room fell silent.

7 - Consequently, they had to observe those rules. 8 - We must accept the facts. It is also important to interpret

them correctly. 9 - Researchers interested in speech synthesis and automatic

recognition need to find rules that improve intelligibility of speech. Consequently, they need to study psychological determinants more closely.

10 - Read the instructions carefully [imperative] and assemble the equipment completely [imperative] before beginning the procedure.

AVOID OVERUSED PHRASES(or the gap between what one writes and what one

really thinks)

• "It can be shown" = Somebody said they did this, but I can't duplicate their results. I can't even find the reference, or else I would have cited that instead.

• "It has long been known" = I don't know the original reference. • "Although there are no definite answers to these questions..."

= My experiment failed, but I still want to get published. • "Typical results are shown" = Either means the only results

are shown or the best results are shown. • "It is believed that..." = I think this (and either no one agrees

with me or else I didn't consult anyone). • "Additional work will be required to elucidate the

mechanism" = I don't have a clue what is going on and I'm not going to be the one to figure it out. … etc.

Summary of Punctuation Marks - 1MARK NAME EXAMPLE

. Full stop I study in Romania.

, comma I can speak German, English and Russian.

; Semi-colon I hate waking up early; my friend adores it.

: Colon You will need the following: some paper, a pencil, a pen and a stapler.

Summary of Punctuation Marks - 2MARK NAME EXAMPLE

- Hyphen He had something of a couldn't-care-less attitude to life.

__ Dash In each country -- Egypt, India and China -- we were able to communicate in English.

? Question mark Where is the nearest bank, please?

! Exclamation mark

"Help!" he cried. "I can't swim!"

Summary of Punctuation Marks - 3

MARK NAME EXAMPLE

/ Slash Please press your browser's Refresh/Reload button.

‘’ ‘’ Quotation marks ‘’ I think I got it right,” she said.

‘ Apostrophe That is Tom’s car.

… Ellipsis This is the best school … in which I have ever studied.

STCE III.AWRITTEN

COMMUNICATION - THE ‘TOOLS”

 

MAIN POINTS

  Paragraph Structure  Paragraph Types Characteristics of Effective Technical Communication  Elements of style   Level of formality  Avoiding biased language

PARTS OF A PARAGRAPH A paragraph consists of several sentences that are

grouped together. 

This group of sentences together discuss one main subject.

1. Topic Sentence (topic and controlling idea) 2. Supporting Details 3. (Closing Sentence)  

Topic Sentence

-   the first sentence in a paragraph;-    the most general sentence in a paragraph =

there are not many details in the sentence, but-    this sentence introduces an overall idea that

you want to discuss later in the paragraph;-    consists of the topic and the controlling idea;

e.g. There are three reasons why Canada is one of

the best countries in the world.

Examples of Controlling IdeasReasons forCauses of//effects ofSteps for//procedure forAdvantages of//disadvantages ofWays to//methods ofSections/parts/kinds/types ofCharacteristics ofProblems ofPrecautions forChanges to

… etc.

      

☺Tip for paragraph unity!

 

All the sentences in a paragraph should be consistent with the controlling idea !

  

Supporting Details- come after the topic sentence, making up the body

of a paragraph; - give details to develop and support the main idea of

the paragraph;- consist of: supporting facts, details, and examples. e.g. There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in

the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live.

Closing Sentence

   - the last sentence in a paragraph;

   - restates the main idea of your paragraph using different words.

 e.g.As a result, Canada is a desirable

place to live.

PREWRITING PARAGRAPHS

☺Tip!

Think carefully and organize your ideas for your

paragraph before you begin writing!

Think carefully about what you are going to write!

 

Ask yourself:

(checklist)

What question am I going to answer in this paragraph or essay? How can I best answer this question? What is the most important part of my answer? How can I make an introductory sentence (or thesis statement) from the most important part of my answer? What facts or ideas can I use to support my introductory sentence? How can I make this paragraph or essay interesting? Do I need more facts on this topic? Where can I find more facts on this topic?

Prewriting Tips – cont’d.

- Write out your answers to the questions in the checklist.

- Collect facts related to your paragraph or essay topic.

- Write down your own ideas. - Find the main idea of your paragraph or

essay. - Organize your facts and ideas in a way that

develops your main idea.

CRITERIA IN EVALUATING PARAGRAPH WRITING

  4 3 2 1  

Main/Topic Idea Sentence

Main/Topic idea sentence is clear, correctly placed, and is restated in the closing sentence.

Main/Topic idea sentence is either unclear or incorrectly placed, and is restated in the closing sentence.

Main/Topic idea sentence is unclear and incorrectly placed, and is restated in the closing sentence.

Main/Topic idea sentence is unclear and incorrectly placed, and is not restated in the closing sentence.

____

Supporting Detail Sentence(s)

Paragraph(s) have three or more supporting detail sentences that relate back to the main idea.

Paragraph(s) have two supporting detail sentences that relate back to the main idea.

Paragraph(s) have one supporting detail sentence that relate back to the main idea.

Paragraph(s) have no supporting detail sentences that relate back to the main idea.

____

Elaborating Detail Sentence(s)

Each supporting detail sentence has three or more elaborating detail sentences.

Each supporting detail sentence has at least two elaborating detail sentences.

Each supporting detail sentence has one elaborating detail sentence.

Each supporting detail sentence has no elaborating detail sentence.

____

Legibility Legible handwriting, typing, or printing.

Marginally legible handwriting, typing, or printing.

Writing is not legible in places.

Writing is not legible. ____

Mechanics and Grammar

Paragraph has no errors in punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

Paragraph has one or two punctuation, capitalization, and spelling errors.

Paragraph has three to five punctuation, capitalization, and spelling errors.

Paragraph has six or more punctuation, capitalization, and spelling errors.

____

        Total----> ____

Paragraph Coherence- makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader;- by logical bridges and verbal bridges.

Logical bridges- The same idea of a topic is carried over from sentence to sentence - Successive sentences can be constructed in parallel form

Verbal bridges- Key words can be repeated in several sentences - Synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences - Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentences - Transition words can be used to link ideas from different sentences

Paragraph Development

  -   the topic should be discussed fully and adequately;

    -  a paragraph should have at least six – eight sentences.

Some Methods to Make Sure Your Paragraph Is Well-developed:

(use them in accordance with the type of paragraph)

 

- Analyze the topic - Describe the topic - Compare and contrast - Evaluate causes and reasons - Examine effects and consequences - Define terms in the paragraph - Use examples and illustrations - Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and others) - Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases) - Offer a chronology of an event (time segments)

WHEN TO START A NEW PARAGRAPH?

- When you begin a new idea or point. - To contrast information or ideas. - When your readers need a pause. - When you are ending your

introduction or starting your conclusion.

Transitions and Signposts

 Transitions:- one or several sentences that "transition" from

one idea to the next - can be used at the end of most paragraphs to

help the paragraphs flow one into the next Signposts:- internal aids to assist readers - consist of several sentences or a paragraph

outlining what the text has covered and where the text will be going

More Tips in Paragraph Writing!

- Include about three typed paragraphs on each page- Paragraphs length should not be very different - The page should look quite balanced (paragraph of

approx. same size)- If you have several very short paragraphs, think

about whether they are really parts of a larger paragraph - and can be combined - or you can add details to support each point and thus make each into a more fully developed paragraph

Tips for an Advanced Writer

 Some useful PRINCIPLES

to remember when you write a paragraph

a. Orient your reader to the subject

- Whenever you introduce a new idea, your readers will appreciate definitions, examples and comparisons with things they already know.

- They will feel more comfortable with your new information if they have a familiar reference to hang on to.

- Three ways to do this: with orienting words and phrases, by letting the old amplify the new, and by adding explanatory words and phrases, where necessary.

b. Tie your ideas together

 

Use CONNECTIVES !

c. Take it easy through technically dense passages

A passage can be made more

digestible just by breaking it up into shorter, active sentences and inserting some plain-English words.

d. Arrange your ideas in a logical sequence

EXAMPLES OF LOGICAL SEQUENCES-        A TEMPORAL SEQUENCE: for emphasizing the time relations among things or events;-       A SPATIAL SEQUENCE: when you want your reader to see the way different aspects of your subject are spatially interrelated or lie in contrast;-       INCREASING COMPLEXITY: a sequence that leads your readers gently into a complex subject; -       DECREASING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: when you want to tell your readers that something new has happened and why they should be interested - then fill them in on the details;

Types of Paragraphs (modes of paragraph development)

Exemplification SequenceChoiceDescription Comparison and

contrast Explanation

EvaluationCause and effect Classification and

division Definition AnalysisEnumeration

Definition Paragraph

- Words that can help you to write a good definition paragraph:

1. "is defined as" 2. "is a kind of"

Classification Paragraph- it groups things or ideas into specific categories.

Helper Words• is a kind of

• can be divided into• is a type of• falls under• belongs to• is a part of

• fits into• is grouped with

• is related to• is associated with

Description Paragraph -  it discusses about what a person, place, or thing is like; -  sometimes, you may describe where a place is located.

Properties Measurement Analogy Location

size length is like in

colour width resembles above

shape mass/weight   below

purpose speed   beside

      near

      north/east/south/west

Compare and Contrast Paragraph (about the similarities and differences between two or more

people, places, things, or ideas)

Similarities is similar tobothalsotooas well

Differenceson the other hand

howeverbut

in contrastdiffers from

whileunlike

 

Sequence Paragraph

- describes a series of events or a process in some sort of order;

- usually, this order is based on time

Orderfirst, second,

in the beginningbeforethenafter

finallyat last

subsequentlyTime

recentlypreviousyafterwards

whenafter

Choice Paragraph

-  choose which object, idea, or action you prefer;-  give your opinion on a choice of actions or

events. Point of View

in my opinionbeliefideaunderstandingI think that

I consider Personal Opinionlike/dislike

hopefeel

Explanation Paragraph -  explain how or why something happens;

- explore causes and effects of certain events

Causebecause

sinceas a result of

is due to

Effecttherefore

thusconsequently

henceit follows that

if . . . then

Evaluation Paragraph- make judgments about people, ideas, and possible actions;

         - make your evaluation based on certain criteria that you develop;       -  state your evaluation or recommendation and then support it by

referring to your criteria.

Criteria for Evaluation good / badcorrect / incorrectmoral / immoralright / wrongimportant / trivial Recommendation

suggest recommend

advise

Cause and Effect       - when you are tracking the development of one

situation or event out of another;       - attempt to show how events are influenced by or

caused by others--the linkage of causation.e.g. Global climate change resulting from the accumulation of greenhouse gases,

for example, is likely to have significant health effects, both direct and indirect. An average global temperature rise of 3-4°C, predicted for the year 2100 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will greatly increase the number of days in the United States with temperatures over 38°C (100°F), with a resulting sharp rise in heat-related mortality. Deaths would occur primarily from heat strokes, heart attacks, and cerebral strokes. The very young, poor, and elderly, as well as those with chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, are most at risk. During the two-week heat wave of July 1993 in the eastern United States, 84 people died in Philadelphia alone as a result of the higher temperatures.

Exemplification     - to provide instances that clarify the topic

statement.

e.g. Vitamins and minerals can be added to enrich

(replace nutrients lost in processing) or fortify (add nutrients not normally present) foods to improve their nutritional quality. Breads and cereals are usually enriched with some B vitamins and iron. Common examples of fortification include the addition of vitamin D to milk, vitamin A to margarine, vitamin C to fruit drinks, calcium to orange juice, and iodide to table salt.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL

COMMUNICATION 

Accuracy: stylistically and technicallyClarity: written in simple, direct sentencesConciseness: use of a minimum of words to

express the basic idea and does not digress from the point being made

Coherence: it develops its subject matter in an easy-to-follow line of thinking

Appropriateness: to its purpose and audience

 

Advice Concerning the Scientific and Technical Writing Style

-  Be direct and forceful. - Focus on action and actors.- Write each sentence so it is lively and easy to

read.- Write each sentence so it works together.

harmoniously with those that surround it.- Do not contradict yourself. - Be grammatical.

Six Things to Avoid

1. Avoid overusing expletives at the beginning of sentences

Wordy: There are four rules that should be observed: ... (8 words)

Concise: Four rules should be observed: ... (5 words)

2. Avoid overusing noun forms of verbs

Wordy: The function of this department is the collection of accounts. (10 words)

Concise: This department collects accounts. (4 words)

3. Avoid unnecessary infinitive phrases

Wordy: The duty of a clerk is to check all incoming mail and to record it.

(15 words)

Concise: A clerk checks and records all incoming mail. (8 words)

4. Avoid circumlocutions in favor of direct expressions

Wordy: At this/that point in time ... (2/4 words)

Concise: Now/then ... (1 word)

5. Avoid ornate language

Weak This peak is theorized to be resultant from two

competing effects: driving force and velocity.

Improved This peak is believed to result from two

competing effects: driving force and velocity.

6. Avoid Vague LanguageWeak The team detected above-normal

radioactivity levels at Station 6.

Improved The team detected above-normal

radioactivity levels of 2.4 × 106 d/m beta-gamma at Station 6.

The Continuum of Formality Levels Examples

 • Formal (Written to an unknown audience): I am applying for the receptionist position advertised in the local paper. I am an excellent candidate for the job because of my significant secretarial experience, good language skills, and sense of organization.

• Semi-formal (Written to a well-known individual): I am applying for the receptionist position that is currently open in the company. As you are aware, I have worked as a temporary employee with your company in this position before. As such, I not only have experience and knowledge of this position, but also already understand the company's needs and requirements for this job.

• Informal (Incorrect): Hi! I read in the paper that you’re looking for a receptionist. I think I’m good for that job because I've done stuff like it in the past, am good with words, and am incredibly well organized.

Formality Tip!

– in academic paragraphs certain kinds of expressions are not allowed:

e.g. - never contractions such as don't or

aren't - always write out the words in full, for

instance, is not and will not

Biased Language

-  avoid language that could be interpreted as biased on the basis of sex, age, physical ability or ethnic or racial identity;

-  use terminology that treats a disability or an illness neutrally rather than negatively;

-  use language that is inclusive and avoids unintended stereotypes, and refer to people and groups using labels they prefer.

Biased Language Examples

Unacceptable Paraplegic James Alton competes in marathons with

other crippled racers who train in wheelchairs.Acceptable James Alton, an attorney whose legs were paralyzed

in an automobile accident, competes in marathons with other disabled racers who train in wheelchairs.

 Original: policeman and policewoman Alternative: police officer

STCE III.BWRITTEN

COMMUNICATION - THE ‘PROCESS’

WRITING AS PROCESS VS

WRITING AS PRODUCT

FLUENCY VS

ACCURACY

KEEPING THE BALANCE

COMPARISON BETWEEN FOCUSES IN PROCESS AND PRODUCT WRITING

Process writing • text as a resource for comparison • ideas as starting point • more than one draft • more global, focus on purpose, theme, text type, i.e., reader is emphasized • collaborative • emphasis on creative process

Product writing • imitates model text • organization of ideas more important than ideas themselves • one draft • features highlighted including controlled practice of those features • individual • emphasis on end product

FLUENCY VS ACCURACY Keep the balance

Fluency1)      focus on meaning2)      use of implicit learning3)      risk-taking  Accuracy1)    focus on form2)    use of explicit knowledge3)    care

      

Writing Is Genre-based - Focus on Discourse

  Writing is socially situatedPeople write for real audiences and

purposes, meeting discourse expectations (generating authentic products: articles, advertisements, messages etc.)

Genre: text template (structure, components, type of vocabulary, style, level of formality)

  

  

TYPES OF GENRES AND CORRESPONDING SPECIFIC TEXT TYPES

Expository a genre of writing that informs, describes, or explains with text types that include:

autobiography, biography, descriptive, essay, informational report, and media article  Narrative

a genre of writing that entertains or tells a story with text types that include: adventure, fairy tale, fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, personal narrative, realistic fiction, and science fiction

Persuasivea genre of writing that attempts to convince readers to embrace a particular point of

view with text types that include: advertisement, editorial, essay, political cartoon, pro/con, and review

Procedurala genre of writing that explains the instructions or directions for completing a task with

text types that include: experiment, how to, and recipe Transactional

a genre of writing that serves as a communication of ideas and information between individuals with text types that include: blog, business letter, friendly email, friendly letter, interview, invitation, and postcard

THE PROCESS OF WRITING – MAIN STEPS

1. considering the audience2. collecting the material3. planning the text4. outlining5. structuring6. drafting7. editing8. proof reading

Consider the Audience

KEY QUESTIONS 1)      What is the purpose of this writing

in this particular situation?2)      Who is the audience?3)      What is the writing expected to

achieve? 

GETTING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE!

 

Tips!

        gather as much information as possible about the people reading your document;

        your audience may consist of different people who may have different needs and expectations;

        you may have a complex audience in all the stages of your document's lifecycle - the development stage, the reading stage, and the action stage.

Consider Your Audience's Attitudes Toward Both You and the Subject Matter

Advice: - If your audience views you as an expert, in some

situations you may not need to offer lengthy explanations for your conclusions or recommendations.

  - If the audience does not know you or does not

consider you an expert, the document should include extensive explanations of your conclusions and recommendations to create trust.

DETERMINE YOUR AUDIENCE'S NEEDS!

Assess their expertise and their purpose in reading the

document!

TYPES OF READERS RECOGNIZED BY EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL WRITING

according to different levels of expertise   - Experts (No need to give extensive background or define key technical

terms or acronyms; do not just present a concept to an expert. Also explain its parts and processes in detail),

    - Technicians (Keep introductions and background information brief; when appropriate, reduce information to instructions on how to perform a procedure or diagnose and fix a problem; keep sections and overall instructions as short as possible; use graphs and tables),

- Managers (In general, present information in order of importance; emphasize information that will aid in making decisions; segment information to allow easy reading of parts of the document; use graphs to summarize information; explain any unfamiliar terms),

  - Lay Persons (Avoid jargon; explain difficult technical terms),    - Mixed Audiences ( Include a glossary of terms; provide a summary in

more understandable language).

Adjust the: - Organization of text (organization,

introductions, equations and mathematical models, graphics, technical terms);

- Density of information (rate at which information is presented to the reader, level of detail);

- Points of emphasis

in order to meet the audience’s purpose

and level of expertise.

COLLECTING MATERIAL

 

-  Any source is valuable-  Anticipate possible questions-  Store material in appropriate form: files, tables, quotations (mention source)-  Do not hesitate to ask for information

PLANNING AND OUTLINING

Tips!    

- Work out a general plan first,- Then make the more specific

outline.

The PLANNING Stage of the Writing Process   Important - the purpose, content, and general

structure of the paper are established then.  STEPS IN PLANNING- carefully analyze the assignment - think about a preliminary title ( you may change

it later)- give a thought to the audience and purpose for

your writing- brainstorm in order to generate main points/ideas- develop a first outline (= a schematic or

preliminary plan)

BRAINSTORMING        

- strategy for exploring ideas - relies upon the free expression of thoughts -  e.g. mind maps

OUTLINING

       

-  serves as a writing aid,-  provides the subject headings of the paper,-  effectively reduces and orders the source

materials, -  will force you to: organize the material,

develop a point of view, establish the scope of the document, sequence topics and develop a writing strategy.

An Example of Outline TITLE

General  

Problem 

Background

Method  

Results  

Effective Outlines

  FOUR MAIN COMPONENTS

1 - PARALLELISM How Do I Accomplish This?

- Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel structure. - If the first heading is a noun, the second heading should be a noun.

Examples:1. Choose Desired Colleges 2. Prepare Application

2 - COORDINATION How Do I Accomplish This?

- All the information contained in Heading 1 should have the same significance as the

information contained in Heading 2. - The same goes for the subheadings (which

should be less significant than the headings).

Examples: 1. Visit and evaluate college campuses 2. Visit and evaluate college websites 3. Note important statistics 4. Look for interesting classes

3 - SUBORDINATION How Do I Accomplish This?

- The information in the headings should be more general,

while- the information in

the subheadings should be more specific.

Examples:1. Describe an

Influential Person in Your Life

2. Favorite High School Teacher

3. Grandparent

4 - DIVISION How Do I Accomplish This?

- Each heading should be divided into two or more parts.

Examples:1. Compile Resume 2. List Relevant Coursework 3. List Work Experience 4. List Volunteer Experience

THE FORMAL OUTLINE

- develop a numbering system to accompany the topics;

- the process of creating and sequencing the topics is a critical stage in developing your document, because the resulting plan determines the document's internal logic and order.

STRUCTURING AND DRAFTING – The Personalized ‘Core’ of the

Writing Process

A paradox : the time spent on this step will be likely inversely proportional to the amount of time spent in the planning and outlining stages. 

DRAFTING – Tips!-  The main purpose of a first draft is to sketch out ideas in

writing,-  Marginal notes or comments in the text (e.g., "add

median response time," "need figures," or "check maximum values") allow you to keep your ideas flowing,

-  You do not need to write the document in the order of your outline,

-  If you get stuck on a section or get “writer’s block” with a certain part of the draft, skip it and move on to the next section; return to it later once you’ve had time away from that difficult section,

-  If you aren’t happy with parts of your draft, U regardless – you’ll have the opportunity to return to it later and revise.  Nobody evaluates your first draft, only your final: consider it a rehearsal.

DRAFTINGSome Good Advice to Remember

    - Begin to implement organizational strategies on a paragraph level in your draft,

     - A paragraph should have a prominent and accurate topic sentence near the beginning that establishes the main idea of the paragraph, and the organizational strategy used to back up that idea,

     -  An effective strategy is to write all of the topic sentences of a section first, then begin filling in each individual paragraph,

 - Pay attention to transitions – points at which we move between ideas,

  - Focus on openings and closings of sections and paragraphs to establish coherence,

    - But most importantly, get it done: the first draft is really a starting point, not a finishing one, so do not labour over ever single word or sentence.  You’ll have lots of time to do that in the revision and editing stage of the writing process.

EDITING AND PROOF READING

    - review the document carefully for correctness,

- as you edit your document, however, continue to improve accuracy, clarity, conciseness, coherence and appropriateness,

- remember that no matter how sound your document may be technically, your credibility will be undermined by errors in sentence construction or grammar, word choice, usage, punctuation, mechanics, or spelling.

Some Ways to Improve Your Text

- Make your paragraphs coherent. If necessary, rearrange sentences for better paragraph flow and logic. - Use the active voice whenever the passive voice is not clearly more appropriate. - Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases. - Simplify your sentences. - Break long sentences into manageable units.

- Condense repetitious or closely related material.

- Look for ways to combine or delete words and sentences that repeat information.

- Avoid redundant information.

   -  Be specific. Replace vague phrases and words with more descriptive ones.

    - Use words accurately.

PROOF-READING The Final Touch

Look for mistakes of the following types and correct them:

 1. style inappropriate for the audience 2. lack of parallelism 3. any sentence fragments 4. references without pronouns 5. wrong tense choice6. misused modifiers7. spelling mistakes 8. punctuation mistakes

VISUAL AIDS What Type Is Appropriate to What Type of

Information- Tables of data - difficult to follow, too many figures.- Line graphs - to replace tables and to demonstrate how

something has changed over a period of time.- Bar graphs ( histograms) - show frequency distribution –

mainly used for comparison. The variables are generally shown on the x-axis and the frequency on the y-axis.

- Pie graphs - show parts of a whole and makes it clear how percentages relate to each other within a whole.

- Three-dimensional plots - connect three variables together.- Flowcharts - to illustrate a series of steps in a procedure,

decision, or other "stepwise" process.

STCE III.CWRITTEN

COMMUNICATION - TEXT TYPES –

TECHNICAL CORRESPONDENCE

(LETTERS, MEMOS, E-MAIL MESSAGES)

LETTERS When/Why Are Letters Still Used?

• Personal letters - share feelings and information among friends and family,

• Social notes relay an invitation or refuse one,• Letters expressing gratitude, congratulations, or

condolences,• Letters of opinion, sent to newspapers, businesses,

and the media,• Letters as statements, requiring original signature

… Etc.

Letter Writing Conventions • Appropriate style – using a level of formality of language (formal,

neutral, informal) that is suitable for your audience and kind of writing. • Appropriate layout – the correct positioning on the page of openings

and closings. • Appropriate order of information – the information in a letter is usually

ordered in this sequence: 1. Explain why you are writing

↓ 2. Outline the situation (first generally, then in more detail)↓3. Request or mention action or follow-up

-       

Letter Openings and Matching Closings

  - Dear Mr/Ms Brown… - Yours sincerely//Best regards (U.S.A.)

- Dear Sir/Madam… - Yours faithfully//Best regards (U.S.A.)

- I am writing to…… - I look forward to receiving…

  

r    

RULES FOR WRITING FORMAL LETTERS IN ENGLISH

1) Your AddressThe return address should be written in the top right-hand corner of the letter.

2) The Address of the person you are writing toThe inside address should be written on the left, starting below your address.

3) Date You can write this on the right or the left on the line

after the address you are writing to. Write the month as a word.

CONTENT OF A FORMAL LETTER1. First paragraph

The first paragraph should be short and state the purpose of the letter - to make an enquiry, complain, request something, etc.

2. The paragraph or paragraphs in the middle of the letter should contain the relevant information behind the writing of the letter. Keep the information to the essentials and concentrate on organizing it in a clear and logical manner.

3. Last Paragraph The last paragraph of a formal letter should state what action you expect the recipient to take - to refund, send you information, etc.

Abbreviations Used in Letter Writing• asap = as soon as possible • cc = carbon copy (when you send a copy of a letter to more

than one person, you use this abbreviation to let them know)

• enc. = enclosure (when you include other papers with your letter)

• pp = per procurationem (A Latin phrase meaning that you are signing the letter on somebody else's behalf; if they are not there to sign it themselves, etc)

• ps = postscript (when you want to add something after you've finished and signed it)

• pto (informal) = please turn over (to make sure that the other person knows the letter continues on the other side of the page)

• RSVP = please reply  

STYLE IN LETTER WRITING 

Tips!

• State the main purpose, or subject matter right away

• Keep the paragraphs of most letters short• Compartmentalize the contents of your letter• Provide topic indicators at the beginning of

paragraphs• List or itemize whenever possible in a letter• Place important information strategically in letters

- in the first and last lines of paragraphs as they tend to be read and remembered better

• Avoid pompous, inflated, legal-sounding phrasing• Give your letter an "action ending" whenever

appropriate 

MEMOSLetters and Memos – a Comparison

Both - communicate information and

are commonly used in the world of professional writing,

but…

Features of Memos

• Memos are almost always used within an organization • Memos are usually unceremonious in style • Memos are normally used for non-sensitive communication (communication to which the reader will not have an emotional reaction) • Memos are short and to-the-point • Memos have a direct style • Memos do not have a salutation • Memos do not have a complimentary closing • Memos have a specific format, that is very different from a letter

Sample Memo Format Company Name

Company Address

Date of Memo  To: Recipient of memoFrom: Writer of memoSubject: Title of memo

Memos Written in Engineering

  MAIN PURPOSES

• to make requests,• to communicate reports,• to require information, • to make announcements,• to outline policies, • to transmit meeting minutes.

MEMO WRITINGTips!

• get to the point in the first paragraph - the first sentence, if possible,

• skip a line between paragraphs, • keep the sentence lengths and paragraph lengths relatively

short (sentences should average fewer than twenty words and paragraphs should average fewer than seven lines),

• keep the total memo length to under one page, if possible,• space your memo on the page so that it does not crowd the

top, • final paragraphs of memos that make requests or

announcements should tell readers what you want them to do or what you will do for them.

Memo Body   

• organize the topics of the memo in order of importance, with the key statements first and the details further on;

• the memo should normally begin with a brief summary statement, in one or two sentences, identifying the key topic and the scope of the memo;

• start with the old information and work carefully towards the new.

ADVICE CONCERNING MEMO WRITING

               avoid sophisticated language/jargon        stay lucid and amiable        neutral tone (or positive)        clear structure/paragraphs        list attachments        no ‘niceties’        fill in the header        job of final paragraph: to specify action to be

taken & deadlines

E-mail Messages TIPS IN WRITING FORMAL E-MAIL MESSAGES

• Be sure to include a meaningful subject line; this helps clarify what your message is about and may also help the recipient prioritize reading your email;

• Just like a written letter, be sure to open your email with a greeting like Dear Dr. Jones, or Ms. Smith;

• Use standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalization; • Write clear, short paragraphs and be direct and to the

point; professionals and academics alike see their email accounts as business. Don't write unnecessarily long emails or otherwise waste the recipient's time;

• Be friendly and cordial, but don't try to joke around (jokes and witty remarks may be inappropriate);

• Do not write in a sloppy manner. 

General Advice About E-mail Message Writing

  Prefer the familiar word to the far-fetched.

Prefer the concrete word to the abstract.Prefer the single word to the circumlocution.Prefer the short word to the long.

EFFECTIVE EMAILS

• Think before you write; Analyze your readers' needs;

• Verba volant, scripta manent (what you write remains there, as words do);

• Keep your message concise. Remember that the screen only shows about half of a hard-copy page;

• Take the time to proofread your document before you sent it.

Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Emails

• Forgetting about the importance of etiquette

• Assuming people have time to read your entire message

• Lacking a clear request

• Not re-reading before you hit 'send'

Common Transitional Words and Phrasesby type of relationship

• cause and effect: consequently, therefore, accordingly, as a result, because, for this reason, hence, thus

• sequence: furthermore, in

addition, moreover, first, second, third, finally, again, also, and, besides, further, in the first place, last, likewise, next, then, too

• comparison or contrast: similarly, also, in the same way, likewise, although, at the same time, but, conversely, even so, however, in contrast, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, otherwise, still, yet

• example: for example, for instance, in fact, indeed, of course, specifically, that is, to illustrate

• purpose: for this purpose, for this reason, to this end, with this object

STCE III.DWRITTEN COMMUNICATION

- TEXT TYPES –

REPORTS

TWO ATTEMPTS TO DEFINE REPORTS

a)      ‘ A report is an objective description of something that is happening, has happened or may happen.’

Emerson, F. (1987): Technical

Writing, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

b)     ‘ A report is communication of information or advice, from a person who has collected and studied the facts, to a person who has asked for the report because he needs it for a specific purpose.’

Stanton, N. (1982):

Communication, Macmillan.

MORE ABOUT REPORTS

• standard documents in all organizations,• documents that transmit the results of a

factual inquiry to other parties who have a professional interest in it,

• may include: results, expert opinions, laboratory tests, policy issues, trips, and administrative details - anything of importance to the professional organization.

TYPES OF REPORTS AND PURPOSES

INTERNAL OR

EXTERNAL • internal report

often takes the form of a memo

• they depend on the audience

• Inter-or• Intra-company

INFORMAL OR FORMAL • informal reports: - circulate within the local

environment - generally not written about

externally funded research - are often short and concern

administrative and policy issues or perform the function of keeping others informed about your work

• formal reports: - are generally tightly structured

and extensively reviewed before they are released

TYPES OF REPORTSUSED IN

SCIENTIFIC AND

TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

LABORATORY REPORTS

MEMORANDUMTo: B. Renner, Manager, Boiler GroupFrom: D. Hein, Analytical GroupDate: 2/19/93Subject: Analysis of VCGx-Boiler Cleaning

Solution

• Objective• Experiment• Results

LONGER LAB REPORTS TYPICAL COMPONENTS

1. Title Page 2. Abstract 3. Methods and Materials 4. Experimental Procedure 5. Results 6. Discussion 7. Conclusion 8. References 9. Appendices

Research Reports

•present the results of formal investigations into the properties, behavior, structures, and principles of material and conceptual entities,

•a rigorously formatted document that follows a conventional structure,

•contain a standard set of elements that include

front matterbodyend matter

RESEARCH REPORT Detailed Structure

• Table of contents• List of figures• Section 1 - … (research objectives)• Section 2 - … (the theoretical basis)• Section 3 - … Experimental procedure• Sections 4/5/6/ - …• Results• Discussion• Conclusions

DESIGN and FEASIBILITY Reports• describe one or more design solutions to a specific

problem and determine if the proposed solution is practical and feasible,

• preferably, more than one solution is offered, in which case the report compares the various designs and determines which option is best,

• are crucial for decision making and product development in almost any technical organization,

• document an engineer's thinking through a solution to a problem, a description of the solution, and the reasons why that solution should be implemented.

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN AND FEASIBILITY REPORTS - 1

1. An abstract that concludes with a short summary of the recommended design.

2. An introduction that presents the context of the situation and then gives a clear and concise statement of the problem to solved.

3. A list of design criteria, in order of importance with the most important first. They establish the standards by which it possible to determine whether a specific design is successful and to decide intelligently among competing designs.

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN AND FEASIBILITY REPORTS - 2

4. Descriptions of possible implementations. A design report will often describe only one possible implementation. A feasibility report will often present several possible designs.

5. A recommendation with a comparison of alternatives. Feasibility reports usually present one (or sometimes two) recommendations and argue for the recommended solution by showing how it best meets the stated criteria. Graphic devices, such as a table listing how each implementation meets each design criterion, are very effective in summarizing the reasons for the specific design recommendation.

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN AND FEASIBILITY REPORTS - 3

6. Elaboration of design. Design reports and feasibility reports often then give a more detailed description of the recommended design.

7. Conclusion with recommendations for further actions and a listing of issues that must be resolved before the design can be implemented.

PROGRESS Reports• Main objectives of progress reports are project monitoring and accountability.

• The typical progress report: - gives some summary of the project goal, - states the progress made toward that goal

during the reporting period, - discusses significant costs and scheduling

issues, - lists future objectives to be carried out.

• Progress reports are prepared at intervals, often specified in the initial project proposal.

Format of Progress Reports

1. Front matter. Project title, funding source, contract number, funding period, report date, research organization, and funded staff.

2. Body. Project summary (work done, work in progress, and work to be done), overview, report of progress, problems (cost or schedule issues), future work.

3. End matter. References, attachments.

 TRIP Reports

• a common part of organizational communication,

• generally follow the format of a memorandum,

• addressed to one or more members of a group of associates,

• should include: - the reason for the trip, - what was found, and - one or more conclusions.

EXAMPLE Of A Trip Report Structure

• Memo type heading • Purpose statement • Topics • Header • Recommendations • Distribution list

MAIN PARTS OF ANY REPORT A Standard Format

1 - a front matter section - orients the reader to the main purpose and content of the report,

2 - a report body - the factual content of the report,

3 - a section of end matter - contains various references and secondary material.

Table of Contents

AUTHOR GUIDE TO WRITING AND EDITING TECHNICAL REPORTS

ELEMENTS OF A TECHNICAL REPORT1. Front Matter

Cover PageNotice and Signature PageTable of Contents PagesAbstracts, Forewords, Prefaces, and Acknowledgements

2. Body Matter TextSummary (or Executive Summary)IntroductionMethods, Assumptions, and ProceduresResults and DiscussionsConclusionsRecommendationsReferences

3. Back MatterAppendicesBibliographyLists of Acronyms

Report Writing

TIPS!

Front Matter• the "envelope" of your document,• introduces the reader to the body of the

document,• helps the reader to understand a document's

who, what, why, where, and how - the author, problem, argument, organization, and method,

• tells the reader what your topic and purpose are, how your material is arranged, and where to locate items of interest.

TYPICAL ELEMENTS CONTAINED IN THE FRONT MATTER OF VARIOUS DOCUMENTS

(y=yes; n=no; s=sometimes)

Front matter

Report Article Proposal Memo

Title Y Y Y Y

Abstract Y Y Y NExecutive summary

S N S N

List figures Y N Y N

List tables Y N Y N

List terms S S S S

Acknowledgements

S S S N

Title and Title Page• Begin every technical document with a clear and specific

title. • Prospective readers may judge whether your document will

be worth their time just be reading the title. • Long formal documents have a separate title page. • For shorter documents, a title page is optional, or

unnecessary, depending on the specific context and conventions in your field.

• A title page should include: - the title, - the author(s), - their affiliation (if appropriate), and - the date, - additional information (a specific grant or project

number).

SAMPLE TITLE AND INTRODUCTIONInformation Systems Report

A NEW PROCEDURE FOR ENSURING DATA

INTEGRITY IN FLIGHT RESERVATION

SYSTEMS

Table of Contents

• Documents longer than ten pages use a table of contents to help the reader move around in the material.

• Tables of contents are widely used in reports.

BODY Procedure

• purpose - to allow a reader of the report to reproduce the experiment or data collection process.

• should be written in narrative form, with illustrations of all test setups and procedures included within the text.

• organize the material to follow the actual sequence of events.

• separate each group of actions into one or more paragraphs, and describe each discrete action in one or more sentences.

• list all materials and apparatus used in the procedures in sufficient detail so that a reader could reproduce the experiment.

The ABSTRACT • Summarizes four essential aspects of the report:a) the purpose of the experiment (sometimes

expressed as the purpose of the report), b) key findings, c) significance, d) major conclusions. • Often includes a brief reference to theory or

methodology.  • The information should clearly enable readers to

decide whether they need to read your whole report. • The abstract should be one paragraph of 100-200

words

RESULTS

• describe all appropriate information produced by the research procedures.

• simply present data and estimates of their accuracy.

• extensive use of graphs and figures to present data effectively.

• order information by its importance to your audience's purpose in reading the document.

• state all significant findings in the text, referring to tables and graphs displaying them.

DISCUSSION• The most important part of your report, because

here you show that you understand the experiment beyond the simple level of completing it.

• Explain in the discussion section of your document information presented in the results chapter, commenting on significant data produced by the study.

• This part focuses on a question of understanding "What is the significance or meaning of the results?"

To answer this question, use both aspects of discussion: a) Analysis

b) Interpretation.

The DISCUSSION a) Analysis: What do the results indicate clearly? What have you found?Explain what you know with certainty based on your results and draw conclusions.

b) Interpretation: What is the significance of the results? What ambiguities exist? What questions might we raise? Find logical explanations for problems in the data. 

DISCUSSION FOCUS STRATEGIES

i) Compare expected results with those obtained. ii) Analyze experimental error.iii) Explain your results in terms of theoretical issues.iv) Relate results to your experimental objective(s).v) Compare your results to similar investigations.vi) Analyze the strengths and limitations of your

experimental design.

CONCLUSIONS- Should summarize all essential information

necessary for your audience's purpose. - In your conclusions: • Relate your findings to the general

problem and any specific objectives posed in your introduction.

• Summarize clearly what the report does and does not demonstrate.

• Include specific recommendations for action or for further research.

RECOMMENDATIONS• Include appropriate and specific

recommendations to the document audience as part of your conclusion.

• In feasibility and recommendation reports - as a separate section preceding the conclusions.

• Separate each specific recommendation. • Present recommendations in bulleted or

numbered lists. • Organize recommendations either in the order

of importance or in the logical order of development.

STCE III.EWRITTEN

COMMUNICATION

- TEXT TYPES - ABSTRACTS

Motto :

Life should be as simple as possible, but not one bit

simpler.Attributed to Albert Einstein

The same is true for abstracts…

Writing a Smashing Abstract Takes Practice!

Barry Costa-PierceUniversity of California

Irvine, CA

• ‘An Abstract is the most important part of a scientific paper. It not only summarizes the salient aspects of the paper but also lures a reader into reading it!

• It is likely the majority of people who read your paper would only read the Abstract.

• If you want to attract more people to read your article, it is the Abstract that will do it.’

Abstract vs Paper

• Writing a good abstract is more complicated than writing a research paper. In a way, the abstract is the opposite of the research paper.

• In the abstract, you are trying to condense the content of your thoughts. In the paper, you “stretch” them.

• The abstract is normally written after the paper is completed, whereas it is reviewed prior to the paper.

• You use your expertise, ideas, and precise language to make a good abstract.

• By submitting your abstract, you are trying to persuade your readers in 3 to 5 minutes that you are going to present something unique and valuable in the paper .

     

ABSTRACT Various Definitions

1. An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a manuscript, acting as the point-of-entry for any given scientific paper or patent application. Abstraction and indexing services are available for a number of academic disciplines, aimed at compiling a body of literature for that particular subject.

  

  

ABSTRACT – Various Definitions 2. Your abstract format is your appearance, your

abstract’s style is your “mint fresh breath,” your abstract’s content is your mind and your abstract’s conclusion is your soul.

3. An abstract is a condensed version of the manuscript, which highlights the major points covered, concisely describes its content and scope, and reviews its material in abbreviated form. It is usually the first section read and sets the tone of the paper for the reviewer. It must be concise and easy to read and must cover the important points of the paper.

ABSTRACT – Various Definitions

4. The abstract is the reader's first encounter with your paper, and is the chief means by which scientists decide which research reports to read in their entirety. The abstract should provide a brief summary of the findings of the paper and should be a stand-alone document that can be understood without reading the paper.

ABSTRACT DEFINING ELEMENTS

- An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work.- Components vary according to discipline.- An abstract is not a review, nor does it evaluate the work being abstracted.- While it contains key words found in the larger work, the abstract is an original document rather than an excerpted passage. 

THE ABSTRACT IN THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE

GENERAL - 1 • May act as a stand-alone entity in lieu of the paper as well• Is used by many organizations as the basis for selecting

research that is proposed for presentation in the form of a poster, podium/lecture, or workshop presentation at an academic conference.

• Many publications have a required style for abstracts; the "Guidelines for Authors" provided by the publisher will provide specific instructions. Stay within the publisher’s guidelines, or your manuscript might be rejected.

• Most literature database search engines index abstracts only, as opposed to providing the entire text of the paper.

     

GENERAL - 2 

- Full-texts of scientific papers must often be purchased because of copyright and/or publisher fees, and therefore the abstract is a significant selling point for the reprint or electronic version of the full-text.

- Can convey the main results and conclusions of a scientific article, but the full text article must be consulted for details of the methodology, the full experimental results, and a critical discussion of the interpretations and conclusions. Consulting the abstract alone is inadequate for scholarship and may lead to inappropriate decisions.

GENERAL - 3• consists of the Title of the study and the body of the abstract.• abstract length varies by discipline and publisher requirements.• typical length ranges from 100 to 500 words, but very rarely more than a page.• must be single spaced.• may or may not have the section title of "abstract" explicitly listed as an antecedent to content.• it is usually the first section read and sets the tone of the paper forthe reviewer. It must be concise and easy to read.• they are typically sectioned logically as an overview of what appears in the paper (e.g. any one of the following: Background, Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions).

GENERAL - 4

• In journal articles, research papers, published patent applications and patents, an abstract is placed prior to the introduction.

• Often set apart from the body of the text, sometimes with different line justification from the rest of the article.

• Main use: selection and indexing. • Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in the

longer work to quickly decide whether it is worth their time to read it. Also, many online databases use abstracts to index larger works. Therefore, abstracts should contain keywords and phrases that allow for easy searching.

GENERAL - 5• An abstract allows one to sieve through large amounts of papers for ones in which the researcher can have more confidence that they will be relevant to his research. • Abstracts help one decide which papers might be relevant to his or her own research or what papers they are interested in reading in depth.

The Relationship Between the Readership and the Abstract Text

- Considering your audience and their needs will help you to determine what should be included in your abstract.

- Ask yourself:• Why would another researcher be interested in this

research? • What are the most important aspects of the research?• What should a reader be sure to know about the research? • What information will the reader have to have in order to

understand the most important aspects? • What are the main points from each section of your report?

- Summarize each section in one sentence, if possible.

How to Write an AbstractPhilip Koopman, Carnegie Mellon University

October, 1997http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html

AbstractBecause on-line search databases typically contain only abstracts, it is vital to write a complete but concise description of your work to entice potential readers into obtaining a copy of the full paper. This article describes how to write a good computer architecture abstract for both conference and journal papers. Writers should follow a checklist consisting of: motivation, problem statement, approach, results, and conclusions. Following this checklist should increase the chance of people taking the time to obtain and read your complete paper.

CHECKLIST – TO GET A GOOD ABSTRACT

• Motivation• Problem • Approach• Results• Conclusions

Motivation: Why do we care about the problem and the results? If the problem isn't obviously "interesting" it might be better to put motivation first; but if your work is incremental progress on a problem that is widely recognized as important, then it is probably better to put the problem statement first to indicate which piece of the larger problem you are breaking off to work on. This section should include the importance of your work, the difficulty of the area, and the impact it might have if successful.

Problem Statement

What problem are you trying to solve?

What is the scope of your work (a generalized approach, or for a specific situation)? Be careful not to use too much jargon. In some cases it is appropriate to put the problem statement before the motivation, but usually this only works if most readers already understand why the problem is important.

ApproachHow did you go about solving or making progress on the problem?

Did you use simulation, analytic models, prototype construction, or analysis of field data for an actual product? What was the extent of your work (did you look at one application program or a hundred programs in twenty different programming languages?) What important variables did you control, ignore, or measure?

Results What is the answer? Specifically, most good computer architecture papers conclude that something is so many percent faster, cheaper, smaller, or otherwise better than something else. Put the result there, in numbers. Avoid vague, hand-waving results such as "very", "small", or "significant." If you must be vague, you are only given license to do so when you can talk about orders-of-magnitude improvement. There is a tension here in that you should not provide numbers that can be easily misinterpreted, but on the other hand you don't have room for all the warnings.

Conclusions

What are the implications of your answer?

Is it going to change the world (unlikely), be a significant "win", or simply serve as a road sign indicating that this path is a waste of time (all of the previous results are useful). Are your results general, potentially generalizable, or specific to a particular case?

KEYWORDS - Purposes

1 - They are used to facilitate keyword index searches, which are greatly reduced in importance now that on-line abstract text searching is commonly used.

2 - They are used to assign papers to review committees or editors, which can be extremely important to your fate (So make sure that the keywords you pick make assigning your paper to a review category obvious ).

Abstract Parts

Title The title of your abstract should be the same as the title of your scientific paper.

Body • tells the reader : WHAT

you did, WHY you did it, HOW you did it, WHAT you found, and WHAT it means.

• should briefly state: the purpose of the

research (introduction), how the problem was

studied (methods), the principal findings

(results), what the findings mean

(discussion and conclusion).

ABSTRACT WRITING IN A NUTSHELL1. Identify the major objectives and conclusions.2. Identify phrases with keywords in the methods section.3. Identify the major results from the discussion or results

section.4. Assemble the above information into a single paragraph.5. State your hypothesis or method used in the first sentence.6. Omit background information, literature review, and detailed

description of methods.7. Remove extra words and phrases.8. Revise the paragraph so that the abstract conveys only the

essential information.9. Check to see if it meets the guidelines of the targeted journal.10. Give the abstract to a colleague (preferably one who is not

familiar with your work) and ask him/her whether it makes sense.

People write abstracts:• when submitting articles to journals,

especially online journals • when applying for research grants • when writing a book proposal • when completing the PhD dissertation or

MA thesis • when writing a proposal for a conference

paper • when writing a proposal for a book chapter

When is it better to write the abstract?

• Before the paper, while the paper is being written or after the paper has been written?

• Basic requirement: you should know all the facts that you want to write about, so if this condition is fulfilled you can write it at any of those moments.

Types of Abstracts (different aims, so they have different components

and styles)

Descriptive abstracts

Informative abstracts

Descriptive Abstracts• A descriptive abstract indicates the type of

information found in the work. • It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it

provide results or conclusions of the research. • It does incorporate key words found in the text

and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research.

• Essentially, the descriptive abstract describes the work being abstracted.

• Descriptive abstracts are usually very short - 100 words or less.

Descriptive Abstracts Features• tell readers what information the report,

article, or paper contains. • include the purpose, methods, and scope of

the report, article, or paper. • do not provide results, conclusions, or

recommendations. • introduce the subject to readers, who must

then read the report, article, or paper to find out the author's results, conclusions, or recommendations.

Informative Abstracts

• The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it.

• A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the writer presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the complete article/paper/book.

• Includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract (purpose, methods, scope) but also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author.

• The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work. In the case of a longer work, it may be much less.

Informative Abstracts Features

• communicate specific information from the report, article, or paper.

• include the purpose, methods, and scope of the report, article, or paper.

• provide the report, article, or paper's results, conclusions, and recommendations.

• are short - from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the original work being abstracted. Usually informative abstracts are 10% or less of the length of the original piece.

• allow readers to decide whether they want to read the report, article, or paper.

Flexibility vs Standardization

• The format of your abstract will depend on the work being abstracted.

• An abstract of a scientific research paper will contain elements not found in an abstract of a literature article, and vice versa.

• However, all abstracts share several mandatory components, and there are also some optional parts that you can decide to include or not.

Key Process Elements to Remember

1. Reason(s) for writing:What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?

2. Problem:What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument/thesis/claim?

3. Methodology:An abstract of a scientific work may include specific models or approaches used in the larger study. Other abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research.

4. Results:Again, an abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that indicate the results of the project. Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way.

5. Implications:What changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work? How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic?

All abstracts necessarily include:

1. The full citation of the source preceding the abstract.

2. The most important information first. 3. The same level of language found in the

original, including technical language. 4. Key words and phrases that quickly

identify the content and focus of the work.

5. Clear, concise, and powerful language.

Abstracts may (flexibility) include:

1. The thesis of the work in the first sentence.

2. The background that places the work in the larger body of literature.

3. The same chronological structure of the original work.

In an abstract the author should not:

1. refer extensively to other works. 2. add information not contained in

the original work. 3. define terms.

Writing a RESEARCH ABSTRACT

Is it that difficult?

• How is it possible to condense months of work into 300 to 400 words?

• Nevertheless, creating a well-written abstract is a skill that can be learned.

TIPS !• The biggest mistake in writing an

Abstract is to mention that such and such "will be discussed". The Abstract is not a place for hesitating; rather it is a succinct summary of the exact details of your findings. The most important data and findings are contained in it, NOT left out.

More Tips!• Start out the Abstract by telling exactly  what

you did and how you did it. Focus on the rationale and ideas of the study and why it is important in the first two sentences.

• In the next few lines, focus on the materials and methods, and the data generated from the study. Tell the reader how the data were collected, compiled, and state statistical significance(s). Mention any new tools developed.

• Avoid using bibliographic references in the Abstract unless they are absolutely essential to understanding the scholarship or results of the study.

Tips – cont’d

• The end of the Abstract is just as important as the beginning. This is where you want to hook the reader into examining into your paper! In addition, the concluding lines of the Abstract should lead into the first paragraph of the introduction without repeating what has been said. State the implications of your studies to the field of scholarship in which you are working.

Basic Rules for Writing Effective Abstracts

• The first rule of writing abstracts is to know the rules!

e.g. Organizers of scientific meetings set explicit limits on the length abstracts.

The Process of Abstract Writing in Steps

1) Reread the article, paper, or report with the goal of abstracting in mind.

• Look specifically for these main parts of the article, paper, or report: purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendation.

• Use the headings, outline heads, and table of contents as a guide to writing your abstract.

• If you are writing an abstract about another person's article, paper, or report, the introduction and the summary are good places to begin. These areas generally cover what the article emphasizes.

The Process of Abstract Writing in Steps2) After you have finished rereading the

article, paper, or report, write a rough draft without looking back at what you are abstracting.

• Do not merely copy key sentences from the article, paper, or report: you'll put in too much or too little information.

• Do not rely on the way material was phrased in the article, paper, or report: summarize information in a new way.

The Process of Abstract Writing in Steps

3) Revise your rough draft to: • correct weaknesses in organization. • improve transitions from point to point. • drop unnecessary information. • add important information you left out. • eliminate wordiness.• fix errors in grammar, spelling, and

punctuation.

Abstract Sections - Analysis

• Title and Author Information, • Introduction,• Methods,• Results, • Conclusions.

Title and Author Information: • The title should summarize the abstract and

convince the reviewers that the topic is important, relevant, and innovative.

• Write out 6 to 10 key words found in the abstract and string them into various sentences.

• Once you have a sentence that adequately conveys the meaning of the work, try to condense the title yet still convey the essential message.

• Following the title, the names of all authors and their institutional affiliations are listed.

Introduction• Usually consists of several sentences outlining

the question addressed by the research. • Make the first sentence of the introduction as

interesting and dramatic as possible. • If space permits, provide a concise review of

what is known about the problem addressed by the research, what remains unknown, and how your research project fills the knowledge gaps.

• The final sentence of the introduction describes the purpose of the study or the study's a priori hypothesis.

Methods

• This is the most difficult section of the abstract to write.

• It must be scaled down sufficiently to allow the entire abstract to fit into the box, but at the same time it must be detailed enough to judge the validity of the work.

• Finally, the statistical methods used to analyze the data are described.

 Results

• This section begins with a description of the experiment.

• Next, list the frequencies of the most important outcome variables. If possible, present comparisons of the outcome variables between various sublots within the study.

• Numerical results should include standard deviations or 95% confidence limits and the level of statistical significance. If the results are not statistically significant, present the power of your study (beta-error rate) to detect a difference.

Conclusion

• State concisely what can be concluded and its implications.

• The conclusions must be supported by the data presented in the abstract; never present unsubstantiated personal opinion.

• If there is room, address the generalizability of the results to other areas than that studied and the weaknesses of the study.

Scientific Abstract CHECKLIST• Due date for abstract is ____________• Number of copies needed ____________• Presenting author is listed as first author• Presenting author meets eligibility requirements for the

meeting• Author affiliations are listed• Abstract clearly organized into Introduction, Methods,

Results, and Conclusions• The conclusions are supported by data presented in the abstract• Completed abstract meets word limit requirements or fits into

formatting box• Abstract printed with correct font size and style (if stipulated)• Abstract has been reviewed by others for content, style,

grammar, and spelling

Stylistic Considerations• The abstract should be one paragraph and should not

exceed the word limit.• The sequence of sentences is ordered in a logical fashion.• It is important to be descriptive but concise – write only

what is essential, using no more words than necessary to convey meaning.

• Edit it closely to be sure it meets the Four C's of abstract writing:

Complete - it covers the major parts of the project. Concise - it contains no excess wordiness or unnecessary

information. Clear - it is readable, well organized, and not too jargon-laden. Cohesive - it flows smoothly between the parts.

Some things to avoid:

Including too much introductory material

Using too much jargon Not using complete sentences Not giving the reader sufficient

context and completeness

Qualities of a Good/Effective Abstract

• uses one (or more) well developed paragraphs: these are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone.

• uses an introduction/body/conclusion structure which presents the article, paper, or report's purpose, results, conclusions, and recommendations in that order.

• follows strictly the chronology of the article, paper, or report. • provides logical connections (or transitions) between the

information included. • adds no new information, but simply summarizes the report. • is understandable to a wide audience. • mainly uses passive verbs to downplay the author and

emphasize the information.

STCE III.FWRITTEN

COMMUNICATION - TEXT TYPES -

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES AND PAPERS

SCIENTIFIC PAPERS – GENERAL/1

A well-written scientific article/paper:• explains the scientist's motivation for doing an

experiment, the experimental design and execution, and the meaning of the results;

• is written in a style that is very clear and concise;• its purpose is to inform the readership or audience

of other scientists about an important issue and to document the particular approach used to investigate that issue. 

 

SCIENTIFIC PAPERS – GENERAL/2

 • A standard format is frequently used; • It allows a researcher to present information clearly and concisely;

• It is important to understand the differences between sections and to put information in the appropriate location.

TYPES OF RESEARCH PAPERS

1. Argumentative research paper - An important goal of the argumentative research paper is persuasion, which means the topic chosen should be debatable or controversial.

2. Analytical research paper - begins with the author asking a question; is often an exercise in exploration and evaluation.

    

GOOD ORGANIZATION IS THE KEY TO GOOD WRITING

      An effective way to proceed in writing a scientific paper is to answer the following four questions:

1. What is the problem? Your answer is the Introduction.

2. How did you study the problem? Your answer is the Materials and Methods.

3. What did you find? Your answer is the Results. 4. What do these findings mean? Your answer is the

Discussion.

  

A Common Scientific Article Format

Title: gives information about the research presented Author: gives contact information for the researchersAbstract: the experimental question, the general methods and the major findings and implications of the experiments Introduction: central experimental question and important

background information Materials and Methods: experimental procedures and

reagentsResults: data are presentedDiscussion: a model or idea they feel best fits their dataReferences: existing knowledge, and previous findings

Title • the most often encountered part of any paper and therefore

has great importance in the success of the paper;• abstracting and indexing services will utilize the title; • all words in the title should be chosen with great care, and

their association with other words in the title carefully managed;

• a good title = the fewest possible words that adequately describe the contents of the paper;

• many journals limit titles to 10 to 12 words;• it becomes necessary to employ effective syntax (word

order) and avoid waste words such as "Investigations on" and "Observations on“;

• should never contain abbreviations and jargon; • a label and not a sentence.        

Author

authors should be listed in order of importance to the experiments,

with the most important being the first or senior author,

followed in order by the next most significant contributors to the project,

the sequencing of authors on a published paper should be decided, unanimously, before the research is started.  

ABSTRACT - should contain all information necessary for the reader to

determine: 

(1) what the objectives of the

study were; (2) how the

study was done;

(3) what results were obtained;

(4) the significance of the results.

INTRODUCTION

• should: a) present the nature and scope of the problem studies, b) review the pertinent literature pertaining to the problem,c) state the general method of the investigation, d) state the major observations of the study.• is organized to move from general information to

specific information. • background must be summarized succinctly. • emphasize your specific contribution to the topic.• last sentences of the introduction should be a statement

of objectives and a statement of hypotheses - a good transition to the next section, Methods.

Materials and Methods

• Extremely important to the credibility of the work • All experimental procedures and reagents must

be described in detail sufficient for another researcher to reproduce the findings

• Precise descriptions of quantities used, measurements required and temperatures observed likewise must be given

• Mention relevant ethical considerations. If you used human subjects, did they consent to participate?

RESULTS

This section presents the results of the experiment but does not attempt to interpret

their meaning.

Results – More Tips!

• Be selective in deciding what type of information to include/omit

• Do not present the raw data that you collected,• Summarize the data with text, tables and/or figures• Do not include the same data in both a table and a

figure• You must refer in the text to each figure or table you

include in your paper • Avoid using figures that show too many variables or

trends at once, because they can be hard to understand

Discussion • present a model or idea you feel best fits the data• highlight the most significant results, but do not just

repeat what you have written in the Results section• answer these questions: - How do these results relate to the original question? - Do the data support the hypothesis? Are the results

consistent with what other investigators have reported? - If the results were unexpected, try to explain why. Is

there another way to interpret your results? - Would further research be necessary to answer the

questions raised by the results? - How do the results fit into the big picture?• end with a one-sentence summary of your

conclusions

References

• The paper should use only significant, published references.

• Check all parts of every reference against the original publication.

• Never cite citations from other works. • Obtain and study carefully every citation used

in a publication. • The specific citation style to be used is

specific to the journal being published in and is given in the Instructions to the Authors.

Think of the READERSHIP First Engineers face the same problem as all of

us: - How do we discuss about what we do in

ways that are useful to others?  - How can you get to know the readers’

needs more concretely?

… You might try to create a REPRESENTATIVE READER,

one you should describe in detail.

Detailed Guidelines for Writing in Scientific Style

PUNCTUATION ITALICS AND BOLD FONTS AND SYMBOLS ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS HEADINGS, PARAGRAPH STYLES, AND

LISTS NUMBERS AND STATISTICS USE OF WORDS GRAMMAR FLOW OF IDEAS STYLE FOR CITED PUBLICATIONS

PUNCTUATION - 1

• Insert a comma wherever there would be a slight pause between words or phrases in the spoken sentence.

• Insert a semicolon between two parts of a sentence.

• Use a colon to introduce an explanation or an example of something: here is an example.

• Avoid excessive use of parentheses ( ) . • Use brackets [ ] for material inserted into a

quotation and ellipsis (three dots) for material omitted: According to Smith (2008), few such [descriptive] studies were done … before 1997.

PUNCTUATION - 2

• Use double quotation marks (") for quotations.

• Use Title Case (initial upper-case letters for words of four or more letters) in:

the title and subheadings of your article; titles of journals; titles of books or articles in the text, but not in

the reference list; references to sections of the article (in the

Methods section; see Results; in Figure 1; in Table 2; see Appendix 3; in Chapter 4).

ITALICS AND BOLD

• Use italics for emphasis and bold for strong emphasis.

• Put the title of a paper, book, or journal in italics in the body of the text. In the reference list, titles of papers are in normal case.

• Put headings in BOLD UPPER CASE. • Do not use italics for foreign words and

abbreviations common in scientific English, such as ad lib, per se, et al., via, ad hoc, post hoc, a priori, a posteriori.

FONTS AND SYMBOLS

• Keep the fonts shown in the template of the article you are writing: (Times New Roman for the body of the text, and Arial (PCs) or Helvetica (older Macs) for the headings and subheadings).

• You may use Insert/Symbol from the menu bar of Microsoft programs.

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS - 1

• An abbreviation or acronym (short name) is justified only if the full expression is excessively long or if the abbreviation is well known to all researchers in the discipline. Even so, an easily understood short form of the expression that avoids abbreviations or acronyms is preferable.

• If you must use an abbreviation, define it in parentheses the first time you use it: for example, body mass index (BMI).

• Use vs (versus) and et al. (and others) inside or outside parentheses without defining them.

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS - 2

- Use Note: instead of N.B. (note well).

- Use abbreviations without explanation for the following terms in the Summary, but define them in the Methods: standard deviation (SD), 95% confidence interval (95%CI), 95% confidence limits (95%CL).

- Note the lack of periods in acronyms and the lack of apostrophes in their plurals: ACSM, APA, IQ, IQs.

- Use no periods or spaces in abbreviations of countries: US, UK, NZ.

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS - 3

•Use the following International System abbreviations for units of measurement , e.g. :

 meter m millisecond ms gram g second s kilogram kg minute min mole mol hour h liter L (not l) day d milliliter ml week wk •Never add an "s" to the above abbreviations.

HEADINGS, PARAGRAPH STYLES, AND LISTS

 • Use the heading, subheading, font, and paragraph styles appropriate for the publication you intend you submit your article to, for instance:

TITLE OF DOCUMENTOptional subtitle 14-pt Arial

HEADING 11-pt arialSubheading 11-pt Arial

Sub-subheading 11-pt ArialFirst paragraph 11-pt Times New

Roman...

NUMBERS AND STATISTICS - 1 

• Use tilde (~) to mean approximately equal to. • Numbers beginning a sentence must be spelled.

Rewrite a sentence so you do not start it with numbers greater than ninety-nine.

• Note: one, two, three… nine, 10, 11, 12… Exceptions: a 2-m tape measure; 3 million.

• Put a space between numbers and units: for example, 75 kg. Exception: 75%.

• Note: 0.32, not .32.

NUMBERS AND STATISTICS - 2• Use the appropriate number of digits: two significant

digits for standard deviations (one digit if the standard deviation is for a descriptive statistic like height or weight, or if precision is not important); two decimal places for correlations, two significant digits for percentages. Examples: 73 ± 5; r = 0.45; r = 0.08; 16%; 1.3%; 0.013%.

• If it is more convenient to show p values than confidence limits, show the exact p value to one significant digit (for p < 0.1) or two decimal places (for p > 0.10). Do not use p < 0.05 or p > 0.05. Examples: p = 0.03; p = 0.007; p = 0.09; p = 0.74. (The exact p value is important for anyone using your data to calculate confidence limits or using your data in a meta-analysis.)

NUMBERS AND STATISTICS - 3

• Interpret the magnitudes of outcomes in a qualitative way, using both your experience of the magnitudes that matter in this area of human endeavor and also any published scales of magnitudes.

• You must interpret the observed effects and the confidence limits. For example, you might have to say that you observed a moderate effect, but that the true value of the effect could be anything between trivial and very strong.

USE OF WORDS - 1• Use a spelling checker. • Make sure you use words according to the precise

meaning understood by the average person. • Ideally, you would check whether every word could

be deleted or replaced by a better one. • Aim for economy: because instead of based on the

fact that; for or to instead of for the purpose of. • Aim for precision: patient or student instead of

subject; concentration or frequency instead of level. • Do not generalize unnecessarily. For example, do

not use some if you know of only one instance.

USE OF WORDS - 2• This on its own is known as an ambiguous antecedent.

Use instead this test or this problem . • Avoid hype (hyperbole). Words like very and

extremely are usually unnecessary. • Note these singular and plural forms: criterion,

criteria; datum, data; medium, media; phenomenon, phenomena.

• Keep jargon (technical terms) to a minimum. Explain any that you have to use.

• Avoid the so-called non-human agent. For example, use the authors concluded that … rather than the study concluded that … .

• Avoid colloquialisms, such as steer clear of.

USE OF WORDS - 3

• While sounds more modern than whilst. • Avoid as such. Poor: The SCAT is a reliable test

of state anxiety. As such, it is suitable for experimental studies. Better: The SCAT is a reliable test of state anxiety; it is therefore suitable for experimental studies.

• Avoid her, his and any other sexist language, even if the subjects are clearly of one gender.

• Give each concept in your paper a descriptive name. Never use terms like “approach 1”, “approach 2”, or “our approach”.

 GRAMMAR - 1

• Make sure you write well-formed sentences, and keep their structure simple.

• Use the first person (I or we tested six runners ) rather than the passive voice (Six runners were tested ). Similarly, say Smith reported instead of reported by Smith.

• With comparatives (more than, less than), the than may need to be than that of or than with or than by etc. to clarify the meaning. Similarly, similar to may need to be similar to that of. Examples: The measure was more valid than that of Smith et al. (1994). We experienced fewer problems with the revised instrument than with the published version. The method was similar to that of an earlier study.

GRAMMAR - 2

• Do not use a long string of qualifiers in front of a noun: a modified test of cognitive function is better than a modified cognitive-function test.

• Avoid grammatically questionable formal cliches, such as: Based on these results, it is concluded that and The results showed that

• Use the past tense to report results. Use the present tense to discuss them. We found that…; Smith (1989) reported a similar result. A simple explanation of these findings is that…

GRAMMAR - 3• Mind the following rules: Which or that? Simple rule: Which always follows a

comma (and a pause), but that never does. This study, which cost $10,000, was a success. The study that cost $10,000 was a success.

Owing to or due to? Simple rule: Owing to always has a comma, due to never does. The data were lost, owing to computer malfunction. The loss of data was due to computer malfunction.

An adverb is placed usually after the verb. Placing it before the verb produces a split infinitive. For example, to boldly go… is acceptable if you are emphasizing go, but if the emphasis is on boldly, to go boldly is better.

 FLOW OF IDEAS - 1

• Focus your thoughts by writing the summary first, even for articles that don't require one.

• Three ways to help get your ideas in a sensible sequence are to make an outline in the form of headings, to put the draft aside for days or weeks, and to get others to comment on the drafts.

• The first sentence of a paragraph usually sets the topic for that paragraph. Do not have any unlinked ideas in the same paragraph.

• A paragraph must consist of more than one sentence. • Try to make the ideas within each section flow

together.

FLOW OF IDEAS - 2

• Do not put things in the wrong section or subsection. Skim the finished document to make sure.

• When appropriate, keep the order of ideas the same in different sections of the article.

• Check that you do not contradict or repeat yourself in different sections of the article.

• Aim for simplicity: many readers are less knowledgeable than writers.

STYLE FOR CITED PUBLICATIONS•Cite references consistently in the style required by the publisher.•Avoid plagiarism, by citing all the authors whose opinions you have used in the bibliography. Tip! One useful way to avoid making errors in this regard is to read a section from your source, then restate in writing what you remember of the main points.  You would then cite the source of that information in the text.

 

How Personal Should the Scientific Paper Be?

• If you put people into your writing, you will not only create a closer link with your readers, but you will also make your message easier for them to understand.

• What is impersonal writing? It means simply that your writing has no people in it. Experiments are done. Results get interpreted. Decisions are made. No one makes them.

• It has entered our culture as a way to create an image of objectivity – really?

• Impersonal writing is also a way to obscure who is actually responsible for an act.

• The bureaucratic language known as officialese or governmentese is an omnipresent dialect that seems to be designed to intimidate the reader with an image of inflexible authority.

SOME SPECIFIC SIGNS OF BUREAUCRATIC

LANGUAGE THAT KEEP PEOPLE AT A DISTANCE Ask yourself if your writing: •  is excessively formal •  is impersonal and sophisticated •  avoids responsibility and accountability •  is anonymous •  overuses acronyms and jargon •  seems to be written from the writer's, not the readers' point of view

Pleading for a More Personal Style in Scientific Writing

1. The most important reason for making your writing more personal is that it makes it more understandable. Impersonal writing is simply less informative.

2. We leave people out when we write about them, simply because we have been trained to leave them out.

3. When you read scientific and technical writing that has no people in it, you usually have trouble understanding it, because its author had to deliberately use an indirect and circumspect style and to leave the people out.

PERSONAL or IMPERSONAL Style ? Examples

• IMPERSONAL: Assembly of the final amplifier stage is not difficult if all the steps are followed. After mounting the tuning coil and capacitor on the board, the assembly is secured in the fixture so the remaining parts can be soldered to the board. Then the amplifier components are removed from their plastic bag and placed with their numbered sides up on the table next to the fixture. As each numbered part is called for, its leads are trimmed to the specified length and soldered to the bottom side of the board in the location indicated in the diagram.

• PERSONAL (SECOND PERSON): You will not have any trouble assembling the final amplifier stage, if you follow all the steps carefully. After you mount the tuning coil and capacitor on the board, secure the assembly in the fixture so you can solder the remaining parts to the board. Remove the amplifier components from their plastic bag and place them with their numbered sides up on the table next to the fixture. As each step asks you for a numbered part, trim its leads to the specified length and solder it to the bottom side of the board where the diagram shows you.

The personal version is much easier to understand, because you identify with the people

mentioned. Therefore :Remember to personalize the text of your paper wherever possible!

A CHECKLIST FOR PAPER WRITING/1

1. WORD-LEVEL CHECK

• CIRCLE ANY INFLATED WORDS OR INCOMPREHENSIBLE JARGON THAT

YOU CAN REPLACE WITH EVERYDAY EQUIVALENTS.

• CIRCLE ANY TECHNICAL TERMS THAT NEED EXPLANATION, OR THAT YOU CAN REPLACE WITH

EVERYDAY EQUIVALENTS.

A CHECKLIST FOR PAPER WRITING/22. SENTENCE-LEVEL CHECK

•MARK ABSTRACT NOUNS WITH YOUR GREEN HIGHLIGHTER; ELIMINATE THE UNNECESSARY ONES.

•MARK THE PASSIVE VERBS WITH YOUR PINK HIGHLIGHTER; REPLACE AT LEAST HALF WITH

ACTIVE VERBS.•MARK ALL PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES AND STRINGS OF ADJECTIVES WITH YOUR YELLOW HIGHLIGHTER; REPLACE AS MANY AS YOU CAN WITH DEPENDENT

CLAUSES.•MARK ALL PERSONAL NOUNS WITH YOUR BLUE HIGHLIGHTER. IF TOO FEW SHOW UP, ADD SOME

PEOPLE TO YOUR WRITING.

A CHECKLIST FOR PAPER WRITING/33. PARAGRAPH- AND SECTION-LEVEL

CHECK

• IS THERE ENOUGH ORIENTING MATERIAL?• ARE IDEAS CONNECTED TOGETHER TO

MAKE EACH PARAGRAPH A LOGICAL UNIT?

• ARE IDEAS ARRANGED IN THE RIGHT LOGICAL SEQUENCE FOR THE SUBJECT?

• ARE TECHNICAL DETAILS SPREAD OUT AND ADEQUATELY EXPLAINED?

A CHECKLIST FOR PAPER WRITING/44. OVERALL ORGANIZATION CHECK

• ARE YOUR RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS PLAINLY STATED AND PLACED WHERE ANYONE CAN EASILY FIND THEM?

• ARE THE "WHAT" AND "WHY" EXPLAINED IN YOUR OPENING PARAGRAPHS?

• IS INTRODUCTORY AND HISTORICAL MATERIAL ARRANGED TO SUPPORT THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS?

• ARE DETAILS ARRANGED IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE?

• HAVE YOU ANSWERED THE QUESTION "SO WHAT?" AT THE END?

• ARE YOUR ILLUSTRATIONS AND THEIR CAPTIONS SELF-CONTAINED AND INFORMATIVE?

• HAVE YOU MADE YOUR WRITING EASY TO READ BY BREAKING IT UP INTO SMALL UNITS, EACH WITH AN INFORMATIVE

HEADING?

STCE IV.AORAL

COMMUNICATION

PRESENTING A PAPER IN A CONFERENCE

Warning!

If presentations are not of the highest caliber in bothcontent and delivery,

communication is fl awed andscience is neither properly

served nor facilitated.

A good presentation is a combination of WHAT you say

and HOW you say it

1. WHAT TO SAY - the process of transposing the written paper into an oral presentation

2. HOW TO SAY - delivery and other concerns

Main Points in Making an Oral Presentation

• formulate a strategy for the specific audience • develop a flexible, flowing structure • combined prepared material with an enhancing, not

distracting, presentation style• supplement the presentation with confident, informed

responses to questions and challenge

      

Oral Presentations - General/1 an important means of communicating

scientific information in the course of their scientific career,

scientists generally progress from “entrance” poster presentations, to short oral presentations and to longer invited lectures

it is often used to present experimental findings at colleges and universities and at scientific meetings

it is important to gain experience with the presentation requirements.

  

Oral Presentations - General/2 Oral presentations can be: (depending upon

their explicit and implicit purposes and the delivery situation)

a) formalb) informal An oral presentation can be based on:a) a design review, proposal, b) a conference c) a paper An effective oral presentation:a) is carefully planned with the objectives in

mindb) pays close attention to the demands of the

audience

    The Challenge of Making Oral Presentations

   Giving a presentation has become one of the key methods of communicating in our modern professional environment.

SO: If you are good at giving a presentation

you will stand out from your colleagues. You will be noticed and gain greater

respect.

MAKING ORAL PRESENTATIONS - DON’TS

   leave the preparation until the last minute

disregard the importance of the words, the graphics and of the materials used for the presentation – they all work together to create the most effective communication vehicle possible

BASIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS COURSE  • Understand more about

how to effectively prepare your presentation – so that your audience will clearly understand your most important points.

• Understand the pitfalls that most people fall into when putting their presentation slides together – so that you will not make the same mistakes.

• Learn about ways of structuring your presentation, so that you can get a format that will make your presentation more powerful.

• Learn how to construct a successful presentation.

Learn about how to grab your audience’s attention.

Become confident of which presentation strategies to use and why.

    DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION/1

Written DocumentsPublication permits potentially unlimited audience over time and place.

Oral PresentationsAudience generally limited to time and place of delivery.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION/2

Written Documents No direct audience interaction.

Oral Presentations High level of audience interaction is possible.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION/3

Written Documents Refined argumentative structure.

Oral Presentations Simple presentation of main points.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION/4

 

Written Documents Large volume of detailed information can be communicated.

Oral Presentations Limited information transfer.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION/5

Written Documents Precise syntax and diction.

Oral PresentationsConversational syntax and diction.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION/6  

Written DocumentsEmphasis on text.

Oral PresentationsEmphasis on visuals.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION/7

Written DocumentsReader controls pace of presentation

Oral PresentationsSpeaker controls pace of presentation

Making Oral Presentations - Basic Tips

do not just present to your audience, but rather guide them through your presentation

being clear is particularly important if the audience cannot ask questions during the talk

keep it simple (otherwise you risk losing your audience's attention)

repeat key insights (periodically remind listeners about the overall structure of your presentation and how the information fits together)

leave your audience with a clear picture of the gist of your contribution

make them want to read your paper (allude to information in the paper that cannot be covered adequately in the presentation )

Matters of Style Style in writing:• Choice of words, length and structure of

sentences.• The tone, or attitude you express toward your

audience. Style in delivering oral presentations:• Defined by the same characteristics as above.• Plus: many nonverbal cues (can enhance or

detract from the presentation. They will vary with the audience, topic and context).

Enhancing the Delivery Style - Guidelines •Use a variety of sentence lengths. •Avoid excessively long, complex sentences, as listeners may have difficulty following your ideas.•Avoid overuse of abstract, polysyllabic words. Instead, use concrete language that your audience can visualize. •Avoid overuse of jargon, unless you are sure that your audience will be readily familiar with all specialized terms. •Use sentences that follow natural speech patterns.•Use short, active voice sentences. •Avoid memorizing the presentation verbatim - doing so will likely result in a presentation that sounds as though you are reading rather than talking to the audience.

Conversational Style in Oral Presentations • Use a formal but conversational tone (no slang or

colloquial language) • It is the most effective style• Characteristics: short sentences concrete language speech that suggests to your audience that you are

really talking to them. • To get your point across by having a conversation with

the audience, you will likely use a natural, conversational style.

• Compose for the Ear, not for the Eye (simple words, simple sentences, markers, repetition, images, personal language)

Method(s) of Preparing for the Talk

Possibilities for preparation and delivery (choose the one(s) that best suit your comfort level with public speaking and with your topic):

Write a script, practice it, keep it around for quick-reference during your talk.

Set up an outline of your talk, practise with it, bring it for reference.

Set up cue cards, practice with them, use them during your talk.

Write a script and read from it (Problems: there is little or no eye contact or interaction with the audience and the delivery tends toward a dull monotone one that either puts listeners off or is hard to understand).

TURNING WRITTEN PAPER INTO ORAL COMMUNICATION – KEY POINTS/1

• Well-organized presentations typically follow a simple

structure comprising three parts.

• To communicate the importance of the research, it

is necessary: to introduce the content of the presentation

(part 1), then to deliver the body (part 2)

and to close the talk with final remarks and conclusions

(part 3).

• When the presentation is short, of less than 20 min, do not spend much time on the introduction. Just make it short and proceed with the main content of the talk.

• For longer presentations, it is advisable to divide the material into well-structured pieces consisting of a few slides and to close each section of the talk with an interim conclusion.

TURNING WRITTEN PAPER INTO ORAL COMMUNICATION – KEY POINTS/2

We remember best what is highlighted well and what is presented at the end of the talk.

So: create “the residual message,” repeat it several times and conclude with it (this should be the main message you want the audience to take away from your presentation).

TURNING WRITTEN PAPER INTO ORAL COMMUNICATION – KEY POINTS/3

• Do not try to say everything you know on the topic.• In preparing your presentation - try to clearly define the

scope of the talk and to choose which results should be included from an enormous set of data.

• The only criterion - present those results which support the final conclusions.

• Do not intend to say everything you know about the topic or to present all the results obtained within a project.

• Speakers should respect the audience and the organizers, so keep the length of the talk

strictly as announced in the agenda.

TURNING WRITTEN PAPER INTO ORAL COMMUNICATION – KEY POINTS/ 4

- Estimate that one slide on average will needaround 1.5 min, unless some slides are very important and need more detailed explanations.- Slides should not to be overcrowded.- Prepare your slides so that what is written can be read by the audience. - Limit the data presented to only the mostimportant. - Do not put too much text on one slide. - Do not read the text to your audience word by word, just rephrase it and/or highlight the mostimportant parts of the text.

Stages in Creating an Oral Presentation Preparation of What to Say - The audience needs to

have four basic questions answered:

1. Why should I pay attention to you when I can think about more interesting things?

2. Now that I am listening, why should I care about this issue?

3. I agree with the significance of the topic, but how are you justifying your ideas?

4. So, now that I am convinced, what do you want from me?

 

Connect with Your Audience(the major task of the first minute of your talk)

Before you present, consider carefully who your audience will be and ask: 

What do they know?  What will interest

them? 

Options (for beginning):

• Present your topic as an interesting problem or question that needs to be resolved.

• Ask your audience a thought provoking question that your presentation will answer.

• Offer a brief story or anecdote that leads into your topic. 

Speaking to a Multicultural Audience- audiences may be composed of individuals from several countries.- you want any audience, international or domestic, to respond positively to your presentation.- you will need to do research to understand how people from other cultures will likely interpret what you say & how you say it etc. - the visual aids you use may also have to be changed, as symbols in one culture may have an entirely different meaning in another. - understanding the ethnic profile of your listeners is perhaps even more important than correctly discerning their knowledge of your topic and their interest level.

Steps in Creating an Oral PresentationTime and Focus 

• Know how long do you have• Fit into that time (it is easy to run overtime)• The only way to stay in time is to be ruthlessly selective

• What is essential to include? 

• Think of the talk as a kind of verbal abstract: you want to give a clear picture of the project, but you won't be able to go into much technical detail.

• What is the central point you want to make? Make it early, clearly and often. 

Steps in Creating an Oral PresentationOrganization – General Tips

• place your topic in context; provide an outline • provide organization of the presentation • organize the body of the presentation logically & easy to

follow – (from the simple to the complex )• when appropriate, plan ways to encourage audience

participation • conclude on a high note - include an overall summary and

proposed actions or options • incorporate visual aids effectively• prepare for contingencies - think about what might happen

and prepare (what if the overhead bulb blows out; what if the audience is more prepared than you expected; what if there is an unexpected question)

Steps in Creating an Oral PresentationOrganization – Some Good Old Advice

1. "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em,

2. then tell 'em,

3. and then tell 'em what you told 'em." 

1. "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em …

- first, you need to provide a clear introduction, which prepares us for a central section and is concluded by some kind of summary.

- the introduction needs to : 

1.       Prompt interest 2.       Make the purpose of the talk (and project) clear 3. Provide an overview of the whole talk

A Good Introduction - ExampleThe first sentence prompts interest. The third establishes the purpose. The last sentence provides an overview of the talk.  If you have ever had an ultrasound, perhaps because you

were pregnant or had appendicitis, you will have noticed that reading an ultrasound image is a lot like watching a black and white TV without cable: the image is grey and buried in falling snow. No wonder it requires an expert to read them. Our design project is to develop a prototype for part of an ultrasound imaging device that plays a significant role in the quality of the image. The part is called a transducer. I will explain the role of this small but important part, and then explain how our project will contribute to improving current ultrasound technology. 

 

2. telling 'em  = The Body of the Talk

Key strategies:  1) Follow the order set out by the Intro. The midsection of the talk needs to develop the points made in the opening, in order. That way, the audience can follow easily.  2) Provide clear "road signs"  = phrases that signal the transitions from one point to another in the talk and help the listener to understand where you are in the talk. 3) Write your talk in full or write detailed notes.4) Explain any technical aspect of your topic very clearly and understandably. Do not race through complex, technical material - slow down and explain it carefully so that we can understand it.

3. telling 'em what you told 'em  = The Conclusion

An Effective Conclusion :- should provide a concise "take away" message summarize, set final image, provide closure; - should avoid cliches;- does not just present data or summarized results and leaves the audience to draw its own conclusions; - you have had much more time to work with your information than your audience; share your insights and understanding and tell them what you have concluded from your work.

Structuring a Presentation – TIPS!

Use a framework of: • a clear thesis = the initial statement of the point

of view that you have developed in response to the topic

• motivating introduction = captivate audience

• body of the oral presentation = the argument and evidence which are presented to support this point of view

• strong conclusion = the summary of the arguments and the restatement of the overall point of view that has been developed

Structuring a Presentation - The Mechanics/1 BEGINNING• orient the audience; explain why it is important; set the tone• establish a relationship between the speaker and the audience; establish credibility • avoid weak introductions such as apologies or (bad) jokes• use attention grabbers to capture your audience's interest Some ideas are:

* a startling fact* a pertinent question (make it friendly, avoid risky ones, give listeners time to think) * an interesting statistic* a dramatic visual aid • opening statement (can you put it in one sentence?) • explain how you have structured the material and the issues you will discuss

Structuring a presentation - The Mechanics/2

MIDDLE – THE BODY OF THE TALK• prioritize topics and allocate time accordingly• stick to only 3-5 main points• have a well thought pattern (examples:

problem/solution, chronological, cause and effect, topical)

• give the main points or arguments; make any sub-points clear

• develop the points; where possible - break up the information with visuals, questions etc.

• emphasize important points

BODY - ALTERNATIVE FORMATS FOR PRESENTING INFORMATION

MULTIPLE FORMATS THAT CAN BE USED WITHIN PRESENTATIONS• rhetorical - questions and answers • logical progression - indicate steps e.g. A then B then C • time series - order information from beginning to end, earlier to

later, and so on • compare and contrast - use same structure to compare different

events, individuals or situations • problems and solutions; do not present problems without working

toward some recommended action • simple to complex - use successive building blocks to

communicate complex processes or concepts • deductive reasoning - moving from general principles or values to

specific applications or examples • inductive reasoning - from specific applications/examples to reach

general principles or conclusions

Structuring a Presentation - The Mechanics/3END – CONCLUSION

• Review, highlight and emphasize - key points, benefits, recommendations

• Draw conclusions - where are we? ... what does all of this mean? ... what's the next step?

• Give a clear summary of the main points and a statement of your final position

You can: - summarize (go back over high points of what you have

discussed), - conclude (state some logical conclusion based on what you

have presented), - provide some last thought (end with some final interesting

point but general enough not to require elaboration), - prompt the audience for questions and concerns.

Structuring a presentation - The Mechanics/4

1. Write out the presentation in rough, just like a first draft of a written report.

2. Review the draft. You will find things that are irrelevant or superfluous - delete them.

3. Check if the story is consistent and flows smoothly. If there are things you cannot easily express, possibly because of doubt about your understanding, it is better to leave them unsaid.

4. Never read from a script. 5. Do not have the talk written out in detail as a prompt

sheet - the chances are you will not locate the thing you want to say amongst all the other text.

6. You should know most of what you want to say.

VISUAL AIDS - ROLES

• to significantly improve the interest of a presentation

• to reinforce and clarify, not to overwhelm audience

Good Visuals - Features/1

• Visible - You have to be able to see it to believe it

• Visuals should be legible to most distant viewer

• Minimum legibility standards: one inch letter height on screen per 30 feet viewing distance

• Limit number of words per line

Good Visuals - Features/2

• 3 to 4 per line optimal - 6 to 7 maximum• Limit number of lines per visual • Add variety - colour for emphasis, new

background for new topic, change sequence of eye scanning (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) with design

Good Visuals - Features/3

• Clear - Instantly recognizable in context to your verbal message:

Focus on one idea per visual Use color to focus on key information Directly relate to communication objective Add impact or tone to message • Simple: Eliminate extraneous information and clutter Visually simplify using design, color, or overlay

Effective Visuals Have: 

1. A Clear Concise Message2. Landscape Format and Consistent

Border  3. Good Brightness and Contrast 4. Letters at Least 20 pt. font 5. Clear, Simple Font  6. 1-2 Minutes per slide 

Presentation Evaluation Form

___1. Introduction: Did the introduction capture your interest; was necessary background given; was a clear purpose conveyed?

___2. Organization: Was there a clear organization; were transitions between sections clear and effective; did the organization lead to a clear conclusion?___3. Content: Did the author support the points; was the supporting material relevant, up to date?___4. Visual Aids: Were visual aids used effectively and appropriately, carefully prepared?___5. Conclusion: Were key points reinforced; was a sense of closure provided; if appropriate, was a course of action proposed?___6. Delivery: Was the speaker natural, enthusiastic; did s/he speak clearly; were appropriate gestures, posture, expressions used?___7. Discussion: Were questions answered accurately, clearly, effectively?___8. Overall Rating General Comments

After the Oral Presentation

Ways in which you can learn from your oral presentations:

• Reflect on what made your presentation successful and what detracted from it.

• ask for feedback from fellow engineers. • Use this feedback to improve future oral

presentations. • Identify areas of improvement and focus on each of

them in turn.

STCE IV.BORAL

COMMUNICATION

PARTICIPATING IN TECHNICAL

DISCUSSIONS AND MEETINGS

Meeting Slogan:

The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing

The Main Thing

Why still meetings today...... and not phone or email?

If:- you keep it brief, - focus on the issue at hand, and- concentrate on reaching a workable conclusion,then- scheduling a 15-minute meeting can be a lot more

effective than three e-mails or two missed phone calls… and a paper report!

Statistics on Meetings Frequency • Meeting frequency is actually increasing.• Today's professionals are attending more and more meetings.• Forty-six percent of respondents to a recent survey reported they

attend more meetings today than they did one year ago.• With business moving faster than ever, meetings are how we stay

informed.

Considering the amount of time we are spending, and will continue to spend in meetings, it is evident we need to take control of our meetings.  

     

Meetings - General/1

In a meeting, two or more people come together for the purpose of discussing a (usually) predetermined topic such as business or community event planning, often in a formal setting.

In addition to coming together physically, communication lines and equipment can also be set up to have a discussion between people at different locations, e.g. a conference call or an e-meeting.

  

 

Meetings - General/2

In organizations, meetings are an important vehicle for human communication.

They are so common in organizations, that many take them for granted and forget that, unless properly planned and executed, meetings can be a terrible waste of precious resources.

    The Group in a Meeting  A group:• two or more individuals connected to each

other by social relationships;• they interact and influence each other;• develops a number of dynamic processes

(different from a random collection of individuals);

• these processes include: norms, roles, relations, development, need to belong, social influence, and effects on behaviour.

Meeting - Written Documents

the agenda - tells participants what topics will be discussed at the meeting the minutes - record what actually occurred

Points on a Typical Agenda May Include:

 • Welcome/open

meeting • Support for absence • Approve minutes of

the previous meeting • Matters arising from

the previous meeting

• A list of specific points to be discussed — this section is where the bulk of the discussion in the meeting usually takes place

• Any other business — allowing a participant to raise another point for discussion

• Arrange/announce details of next meeting

• Close meeting

      Various Types of Meetings

1. Status Meetings, generally Leader-led, which are about reporting by one-way communication.

2. Work Meetings, which produce a product or intangible result such as a decision.

3. Staff meeting -- typically a meeting between a manager and those that report to the manager (possibly indirectly).

4. Team meeting -- a meeting among colleagues working on various aspects of a team project.

… etc.

Academic Conferences - Are They Meetings?

Yes:- provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers- work is presented in the form of short, concise presentations lasting about 10 to 30 minutes, usually including discussion - panel discussions and roundtables on various issues may be part of the conference- a large meeting will usually be called a conference, while a smaller is termed a workshop

Meeting Structure

I - Introductions II - Reviewing Past Business III - Beginning the Meeting

IV - Discussing Items V - Finishing the Meeting

I - Introductions

 

Opening the Meeting

Welcoming and Introducing Participants

Stating the Principal Objectives of a Meeting

Giving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent

II - Reviewing Past Business

Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last Meeting

Dealing with Recent Developments

III - Beginning the Meeting

Introducing the Agenda

Allocating Roles (secretary, participants)

Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.)

IV - Discussing Items

Introducing the First Item on the Agenda

Closing an Item

Next Item

Giving Control to the Next Participant

V - Finishing the Meeting

Summarizing

Finishing Up

Suggesting and Agreeing on Time, Date and Place for the Next Meeting

Thanking Participants for Attending

Closing the Meeting

Basic Meeting Guidelines/1

1. Only hold a meeting if necessary.2. All meetings must have clear objectives.3. Invite a neutral facilitator to sensitive

meetings.4. All meetings must have an agenda which

includes: topics for discussionpresenter or discussion leader for each topic time allotment for each topic

Basic Meeting Guidelines/2

•Meeting information needs to be circulated to everyone prior to the meeting. Make sure to include:

meeting objectivesmeeting agendalocation/date/timebackground informationassigned items for preparation•Meetings must start precisely on time so as not to

punish those who are punctual. This also sets the stage for how serious you are about making the meeting effective.

•Meeting participants must:arrive on timebe well-preparedbe concise and to the pointparticipate in a constructive manner

 

Basic Meeting Guidelines/3

• Meeting notes must be recorded and made part of the organization’s meeting information archives.

• The decisions made by the group must be documented.

• Assigned action items must be documented, and the host, or an appropriate participant, must be appointed to follow-up on the completion of all action items.

• Meeting effectiveness must be reviewed at the end of each meeting and suggested improvements applied to the next meeting.

Meeting Management - Tips and Language

An Effective Meeting Facilitator: - sets a positive, productive tone for interaction

among the meeting participants - reviews the goals, or anticipated outcomes,

and the agenda- helps group members stay focused and

productive- keeps participants on track- ensures the accomplishment of expected,

desired results from the meeting

Chairperson’s Language – Examples - 1

Opening the Meeting • Good

morning/afternoon, everyone.

• If we are all here, let's. . . get started (OR)

… start the meeting. (OR)

. . . start.

Welcoming and Introducing Participants

• Please join me in welcoming (name of participant)

• We're pleased to welcome (name of participant)

• It's a pleasure to welcome (name of participant)

• I'd like to introduce (name of participant)

• I don't think you've met (name of participant)

Chairperson’s Language – Examples - 2Stating the Main Objectives of a Meeting We're here today to…

Our aim is to ...I've called this meeting in order to ...By the end of this meeting, I'd like to have ...

Giving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent I'm afraid.. (name of participant) can't be with us today.

She is in ...I have received apologies for the absence of (name of participant), who is in (place)

Reading the Minutes (Notes) of the Last Meeting First let's go over the report from the last meeting, which

was held on (date) Here are the minutes from our last meeting, which was on (date)

Chairperson’s Language – Examples - 3

Dealing with Recent Developments Joe, can you tell us how the XYZ project is progressing?

Bob, how is the XYZ project coming along?Dan, have you completed the report on the new accounting package?Has everyone received a copy of the MYC Foundation report on current marketing trends?

Moving Forward So, if there is nothing else we need to discuss, let's move on

to today's agenda … Shall we get down to business?

Is there any other business?If there are no further developments, I'd like to move on to today's topic …

Chairperson’s Language – Examples - 4

Introducing the Agenda Have you all received a copy of the agenda?There are three items on the agenda. First…Shall we take the points in this order?If you don't mind, I'd like to ... go in order (OR)skip item 1 and move on to item 3.I suggest we take item 2 last.

Allocating Roles (secretary, participants) (name of participant) has agreed to take the minutes.(name of participant) has kindly agreed to give us a report on this matter.(name of participant), would you mind taking notes today?

Chairperson’s Language – Examples - 5 Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions,

timing, decision-making, etc.) We will hear a short report on each point first, followed by a

discussion round the table.I suggest we go round the table first.The meeting is due to finish at...We'll have to keep each item to ten minutes. Otherwise we'll never get through.We may need to vote on item 5, if we can't get a unanimous decision.

Introducing the First Item on the Agenda So, let's start with…

Shall we start with…So, the first item on the agenda is…Paul, would you like to kick off?Mark, would you like to introduce this item?

 

Chairperson’s Language – Examples - 6

Closing an Item I think that covers the first

item.Shall we leave that item?If nobody has anything else to add,

Next Item Let's move onto the next

item…The next item on the agenda is… Now we come to the question of.

Giving Control to the Next Participant

I'd like to hand over to Des, who is going to lead the next point.Right, Dora, over to you.

Summarizing Before we close, let me just

summarize the main points.To sum up, ...In brief, …Shall I go over the main points?

Chairperson’s Language – Examples - 7

Keeping the Meeting On Target (time, relevance, decisions)We're running short of time.Well, that seems to be all the time we have today.Please be brief.I'm afraid that's outside the scope of this meeting.Let's get back on track, why don't we?Why don't we return to the main focus of today's meeting?We'll have to leave that to another time.We're beginning to lose sight of the main point.Keep to the point, please.I think we'd better leave that for another meeting.Are we ready to make a decision?

Chairperson’s Language – Examples - 8

Finishing Up Right, it looks as though we've covered the main items.Is there any other business? Suggesting and Agreeing on Time, Date and Place for the Next Meeting Can we fix the next meeting, please?So, the next meeting will be on... (day), the . . . (date) of .... (month) at ...What about the following Wednesday? How is that?So, see you all then.

Thanking Participants for Attending

I'd like to thank Marianne and Jeremy for coming over from London.Thank you all for attending.Thanks for your participation.

Closing the Meeting The meeting is closed.

I declare the meeting closed.

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS

Best Attitude - 7 messages of a good speaker:

1 - I will not waste your time.2 - I know who you are and why you came.3 - I am well organized.4 - I will deliver my speech in an interesting,

conversational way. 5 - I know my subject.6 - Here are my most important points.7 - I am finished.

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 1

ENTERING A DISCUSSIONI’d like to say something about … I want to say something about … Let me say something about … I’d like to make a comment about ... I’d like to make a point about … I have a point to make about … May I make a point here? I think … May I say something here? I believe … Can I say something? In my opinion … Can I add something? It seems to me that … Can I point out something? The fact is … Can I make a comment? It is true that …

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 2

STATING A FACTIt is a fact that ... The fact is that ... I know for a fact that … Surely, everyone knows that … It has been proven that … STATING AN OPINIONIn my opinion, …From my point of view, …If you ask me, …As I see it, …It seems to me, …As far as I’m concerned, …

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 3

STATING A STRONG OPINIONI definitely think that … I firmly believe that … I certainly believe that … I really think that … I am convinced that … STATING A WEAK OPINIONI tend to think that … I’m inclined to think that …I would think that …I suppose that …It seems to me that …I could be wrong, but …

 

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 4

ASKING FOR AN OPINION I’d like to know your opinion about this. I’d like to hear your views on this. What do you think? What’s your opinion? What’s your view on this? What’s your position? How do you see this? SHOWING AGREEMENTThat’s a good point. Good idea. I agree. I think so too. That’s right.

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 5

STRONG AGREEMENT

I agree with you entirely. I totally agree (with you).I completely agree (with you).I absolutely agree (with you). WEAK OR PARTIAL AGREEMENT

I tend to agree (with you). I agree (with you) in principle, but … I agree (with you) in part, but … Well, you could be right.

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 6

SHOWING DISAGREEMENTI’m sorry, but I can’t agree. I’m afraid I can’t agree. I’m sorry, but I disagree. I’m afraid I disagree.With all due respect, …Your point is well-taken, but …I have my own thoughts about that. SIGNALLING A QUESTIONI’d like to ask you a question.  How much ... I’ve got a question for you.  Who is ... I need to know something.  How many ... Do you mind if I ask a question?

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 7

CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDINGSo in other words, you think … Basically, what you are saying is … If I understand you right, you think … Correct me if I’m wrong, but do you mean that …? When you say … , do you mean that …? SIMPLIFYING YOUR WORDSWhat I’m trying to say is … What I’m getting at is … What I mean is … Put simply … The bottom line is …

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 8

ASKING FOR CLARIFICATIONI’m afraid I don’t follow you. I’m sorry, but I don’t see your point. I’m afraid I don’t understand. Could you be more specific? INTERRUPTINGExcuse me, but may I ask something? Excuse me, but may I remind you of something? Excuse me for interrupting, but … May I add one thing? May I interrupt?

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 9

BLOCKING Just a moment, please. Let me finish, please. Let me make my point first. I’d like to say this first.MAKING A PROPOSALI propose that we should … I suggest that we should …I say we should …Maybe we should …OPPOSING A PROPOSAL I’m sorry, but I can’t support the proposal. I’m afraid that doesn’t sound very good to me. With all due respect, that sounds like a bad idea to me.

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 10

GETTING THE CHAIRPERSON'S ATTENTIONMay I have a word?If I may, I think ...COMMENTINGThat's interesting.I never thought about it that way before.Good point!I get your point.I see what you mean.REQUESTING INFORMATIONPlease, could you...I'd like you to...Would you mind ...I wonder if you could ...

PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS – LANGUAGE - 11

CORRECTING INFORMATIONSorry, I think you misunderstood what I said. Sorry, that's not quite right. I'm afraid you don't understand what I'm saying.That's not quite what I had in mind.That's not what I meant.ASKING FOR REPETITION I didn't catch that. Could you repeat that, please?I missed that. Could you say it again, please?Could you run that by me one more time?

Optimizing the Chances for Success Useful Tips for the CHAIRPERSON

• Keep meetings as short as possible, by spending more time in preparation and consultation ahead of the meeting (meetings tend to fail in direct proportion to the length of time they go on for. The effective attention span of most individuals is about 45 minutes).

• Restrict the number of tasks (meetings tend to fail in direct proportion to the number and variety of tasks that they address).

• Limit the number of participants (meetings tend to fail in direct proportion to the number of people attending. When three people meet there are three pairs of relationships, when four people meet there are seven pairs and when ten people meet there are forty-five pairs of relationships).

Optimizing the Chances for Success Useful Tips for the PARTICIPANTS

Never be a:Monopolizer - They interrupt often, ramble and repeat

because they enjoy hearing themselves speak. Distracter - They seek attention. To get it, they will

often bring up irrelevant topics that waste time.Sniper - They resort to stage whispered, contemptuous

comments to challenge your authority by switching attention from you to them.

 Skeptic - They criticize everything you or others say.

Meetings and Intercultural Differences

• Visiting a foreign culture can be confusing for even the most fearless traveller.

• Be informed – A useful resource (covers all of the essentials of conducting business globally) is http://www.executiveplanet.com/

• Simply select your destination country – you will receive an overview of cultural do's and taboos, suitable etiquette and advice on appropriate professional behaviour in specific areas of the world.

Body Language in Meetings 

Body language signals that you might observe among your meeting partners include:   - Resistance or disagreement (a negative posture, with an impassive or slightly hostile expression, arms folded as if to form a barrier and legs crossed with the person leaning back)- A neutral and open attitude (a neutral/slightly friendly facial expression and an upright/slightly forward leaning seating position; a mixture of gentle nods and shakes of the head, as you make your key points)

Four Main Aspects of Body Language

1. what to do with your eyes, 2. what your facial expressions indicate, 3. the positioning and movement of your body and

limbs, 4. your hand gestures. TIP! Control yours and take into consideration

the feedback you receive from the others … it may make the difference!

STCE IV.CORAL

COMMUNICATION

MAKING AN ORAL PRESENTATION

Motto: 

It’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it!

The Purpose of an Oral Presentation:

To do what a written document cannot do:

to make a human connection between your material and your

audience.

This course is aboutHOW TO SAY IT

When you make an oral presentation:

1) remember the tips on ‘What to say?’&

2) see what follows: …?!     

How Do Oral Presentations Differ from Written Forms of

Communication?It is obvious: oral presentations differ

from written communication in that you are talking rather than writing.

Two critical points of influence on how you prepare and deliver your presentations.

If you understand them, you will soon make an excellent presenter!

  

1 - There is no written record there is no complete written record for your

audience to consult - you talk; they (hopefully) listen;

this means that simple, direct presentations are best: otherwise you risk losing your audience's attention;

remind them periodically about the overall structure of your presentation, and how the information fits together;

don't just present to your audience, but rather guide them through your presentation.

    2 - You Must Understand and Use Non-verbal Communication

you are delivering your message in person, and in front of other people;

your message will not simply be what you are saying, but how you are saying it;

you must take into account the fact that that your voice, posture, hand gestures, use of eye contact, and overall appearance are all sending their own messages, and they have to fit with what you are saying;

people pay more attention to how you present than what you present.

BODY LANGUAGE AND

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

body language = the lay term for

nonverbal communication

Non-verbal Communication - Dictionary Definitions

  1. The process of sending and receiving wordless messages by means of facial expressions, gaze, gestures, postures, and tones of voice. 2. Also included are grooming habits and body positioning in space. 3. Nonverbal communication forms include all expressive signs, signals and cues (audio, visual, tactile, chemical, etc.) which are used to send and receive messages - apart from manual sign language and speech.

A good source of explanations:

The NONVERBAL

DICTIONARY of GESTURES, SIGNS & BODY LANGUAGE CUES

http://members.aol.com/nonverbal2/diction1.htm

     

Components of Non-verbal Communication

A system consisting of a range of features often used together to aid expression.

The combination of these features is often a subconscious choice made by native speakers or even sub-groups/sub-cultures within a language group.

Can either reassure our audience and therefore reinforce our spoken message, or detract from our credibility and in so doing dramatically reduce our effectiveness.

The Main Components of the System

•Kinesics (body language) Body motions such as shrugs, foot tapping, eye movements, facial expressions, and gestures •Proxemics (proximity) Use of space to signal privacy or attraction •Haptics Touch •Oculesics Eye contact •Chronemics Use of time•Olfactics Smell •Vocalics Tone of voice, timbre, volume, speed •Sound symbols Grunting, mmm, er, ah, uh-huh, mumbling •Silence Pausing, waiting •Posture Position of the body•Adornment Clothing, jewellery, hairstyle •Locomotion Walking, running, staggering, limping

Most Important Items for Oral Presentations

body language (particularly facial expressions and gestures),

eye contact, proximity

and posture

They have a role in: conveying meaning,

avoiding misunderstandings and

fitting in with the audience’s culture.

Body Language Guidelines - 1

  - dress appropriately; your appearance is part of your (non-verbal) message.- make eye contact with various people in your audience, but do not look at any one person for too long.- to keep yourself on track, use cue cards with a few key words instead of a complete text; this will allow you to maintain audience eye contact. - speak naturally, clearly, and in your regular voice.     

Body Language Guidelines - 2

- leave your hands free so that you can emphasize points naturally.

- when using slides, do not turn your back to your audience to read the screen.

- do not shift your weight back and forth from leg to leg, or pace.

- be enthusiastic about your topic, but not unnaturally so.

Body Language Guidelines - 3

-  try to enjoy the experience; people can sense this and it is contagious. - know your topic well; you will be (and will appear) more relaxed. - when using a podium, lectern or table, periodically move out from behind it to remove the barrier between you and your audience.

Body Language Guidelines - 4

- Try to adopt a relaxed posture, but not so relaxed that you look sloppy or unprofessional.

- Avoid nervous gestures, such as waving hands around, clicking pens, or swinging a pointer.

- Hold your hands loosely crossed in front of you, with one hand holding your cue cards, and occasionally make a gesture with the other, to avoid looking too stiff.

DELIVERING YOUR PRESENTATION 

Three Key Aspects to Consider: 

1. Space

- Know the room and the resources.

DELIVERING YOUR PRESENTATION  Three Key Aspects to Consider: 

2. Physical Presence - Display self-confidence. - You should: not fidget; not hold papers that rustle

or pens that click, or the change in your pocket that clinks; become comfortable with your own gestural style.

- 4 TIPS:a) You are not the focus, your topic is b) Decide how much you like to move - moderatelyc) Find somewhere to put your hands - use them to

stress key ideas d) Find focus points - e.g. neutral faces in the

audience

DELIVERING YOUR PRESENTATION  Three Key Aspects to Consider: 

3. Vocal Presence  

• a wide variety of vocal style is possible• the important thing is your comfort• being comfortable means you can sound

natural and calm (even if you are not)

Vocal Presence - Useful Advice

• slow down – it helps the audience to comprehend your talk. 

• choose vocal emphasis to avoid monotony - loud/soft, high/low, fast/slow are used in English to gain emphasis and variety.

• practise to avoid ‘um’, ‘ah’, ‘like’ - These words occur most at transitions from one idea to another, so the better you know your talk, the better you can control verbal tics. 

• practise important words to avoid embarrassment due to mispronunciation.

Main PROBLEM Areas in Oral Presentations

• Timing - do some rehearsal, write a script, or find some other way to get the timing just right.

• Volume - speak loud enough so that all of your audience can hear you; find some way to practice speaking a little louder in the days before the oral presentation.

• Pacing, speed - speak a bit more slowly and deliberately than you do in normal conversation. Slow down, take it easy, be clear.

• Gestures and posture - Watch out for nervous hands flying all over the place; avoid leaning against the wall.

Develop Your Own Presentation STYLE

AS:- communication is both intellectual and emotional,- organizing your ideas is one part of the task.BUT- the other part is:to gain and maintain attention.

BASIC TECHNIQUES TO MAINTAIN ATTENTION

- convey "controlled enthusiasm" for your subject - the audience will forgive a lot if the speaker is enthusiastic; - pay attention to: posture, tone; - your audience will mirror your attitude - radiate confidence; but - do not confuse enthusiasm with loudness; try to convey a range of emotions.

Avoiding to Distract the Audience and Drawing Them Away From the Message

This is a sensitive issue, as some of the disturbing factors are personal or "part of who we are."

Examples:- physical mannerisms- voice tone

WAYS OF KEEPING THEM UNDER CONTROL provide variety (speed and pitch of voice), novelty and

uniqueness at times, speak clearly – do not shout or whisper, position yourself to enhance rapport with the audience, look at your audience in random rotating order.

REFINING YOUR ORAL PRESENTATION STYLE TIPS

1// Assuming an Appropriate Presentation Persona: - When you deliver a formal presentation, you are “performing” – as in a play – in front of an audience. - You do not want to become something artificial when you talk. - You do want to play the part of a speaker. The role you are playing is “you,” but it is not the same “you” as we see in informal settings. - This is a PERSONA that should look and feel quite natural, but also be elevated from the everyday person . 

REFINING YOUR ORAL PRESENTATION STYLE TIPS – Cont’d

2// Show Mastery - Showing that you have mastery over your material gives your listeners confidence in you and sets them at ease. - This can be as simple as showing that you are able to operate the equipment. - Another way to show you are confident in your material is humour. It can lighten dry technical talks & can be an effective way to draw parallels with points you are trying to make, if relevant. - Even short verbal asides, rhetorical questions or anecdotes can be effective ways to draw parallels with points you are trying to make.   

‘Off-the-cuff’ Presentations - Basic Advice

1// ‘Buy’ yourself a little time

2// Write out some quick notes (audience, purpose, message)

3// Get ready for it (breathe deeply)

4// Use visualization and positive self-talk) 5// Consider it an opportunity, not a punishment6// Be yourself, whatever that means7// Do not panic

How to Control Nervousness

"People are afraid of public speaking... In fact, most say that it's their number one fear. Death, apparently, only comes second."

Jerry Seinfeld

… the sweaty palms, the butterflies in the stomach …

We are afraid that we:- may be judged by all those people, and judged badly- may feel like fools- might make mistakes and loose our way- will be completely humiliated- will never be as good as _________ (fill in the blank) - will not be liked and that: They ‘ won't get ’ what we are trying to say!

Techniques People Use for Coping With This Fright:

• your audience understands your nervousness; they know what you are feeling and will forgive it; similarly they will forgive honest mistakes

• nervousness is usually invisible; most speakers who describe themselves as nervous appear confident and calm to the audience

• be yourself; let the real you come through; relax• begin in your comfort zone; practice with friends;

share your fears with friends • concentrate on the message • begin with a slow, well-prepared introduction; have a

confident and clear conclusion • most important: be prepared and practise

Remember How to Deal With Anxiety!* On the day, arrive early and greet people as they walk in and have a chat. This breaks the ice and creates a nice relaxed atmosphere.* If you are feeling nervous, do not call attention to it. Your audience probably will not even notice.* Nerves can cause us to 'babble' and our ideas to race. Do not be afraid to take a pause ... slow down ... take a breath. If you become confused and momentarily lose your thread, do not panic. Calmly check your cue cards and continue. * One experienced speaker recommends having the first four minutes or so 'hot-wired' - so well rehearsed that you know every word and gesture for the first few minutes.

* To make your nerves work for you, you need to focus on just about anything other than yourself.

The Audience May Fall Asleep Public speaking arenas are designed to do just that:

dim lights, cushy chairs, not having to open their mouths - a perfect invitation to catch up on those zzzs.

How Do You Cope With This? – Suggested Ways:

• Ask rhetorical questions• Maintain eye contact for a second or two with as many

people as possible• Be challenging• Change the pace of your delivery• Change the volume of your voice

 

Oral Presentation Delivery - CHECKLIST

1. Did you introduce yourself to your audience?2. Did you avoid reading too much from your notes?3. Did you look comfortable and relaxed?4. Did you display any nervous gestures, such as

hand-waving or pen-clicking?5. Did you look and sound interested and

enthusiastic ?6. Was your voice loud enough to be heard?7. Did you speak too quickly or too slowly?8. Were there any words you had problems

pronouncing?

On the Day of the Presentation: • arrive early to make sure that the room, equipment and layout suit your needs. This will allow you time to make any necessary changes. • check that your projector is clearly focussed on the screen and that your body does not block anyone’s view of them. • warm up your voice by talking out loud and do some relaxation exercises such as deep breathing.

During an Oral Presentation:

• greet the audience; • wait for the audience to focus their attention

on you before you start; • state the topic clearly;• give an outline of what you will cover; • use your visual aids to indicate the main

ideas as you progress through the presentation;

• look at your audience and establish eye contact with most people at some stage of your presentation;

During an Oral Presentation (cont’d):

• face the audience as you speak and take care not to turn your body away from them; • use your voice by changing volume, pitch and by using pauses to indicate to your audience that you are moving on to a new point. Vary your intonation for statements, questions and emphasis; • summarize the main points in your conclusion, suggest future questions or research directions that could be taken in relation to the topic;• hand out material either before or after the presentation so that you do not lose your audience’s attention.

Finally ...

Enjoy yourself!The audience will be

on your side and want to hear what you have

to say !