Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
2007- 2008
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What You Will Learn
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The exam of September 2007 with its
answer are at the end of these notes
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Introduction: The Problem with Communication
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Introduction: The Problem with Communication
Transmit
Same Decode
Idea? Read / hear
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The Problem with Communication
• This means that we should take care to ensure that the parts of
the process that we can control are clear, simple and easily
understood.
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Planning your Report and Clarifying
your Purpose
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Planning The Report and Clarifying your Purpose
Pause
Pause
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Planning The Report
5. Write a first draft - Write bearing in mind the rules of aim and
language
Note that the first four steps involve thinking. Only the last three involve
writing.
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Defining Your Objective
Is your objective:
- To inform? (or to record)
- To explain?
- To Persuade?
Each objective has its own structure and tone.
The structure will follow logically once you have
determined your objective.
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Defining Your Objective: The six questions you must ask
¾ These six questions will Keep the objective and the reader in your
mind:
¾ All these points concern the reader rather than the writer.
Keeping the reader in mind will save a lot of time and help you
make sure you hit the target.
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Defining Your Objective
Why Do I write?
Do I have to? Could I see the reader or phone him
first?
will they want to read it?
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Defining Your Objective
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Analyzing your Audience
And Targeting their Needs
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Who Reads What ?
I .For an “Internal” Company Report:
4. At the end of the year, the title will be listed in the annual
progress report.
5. Most of the rest of the world will either NEVER hear of your
report, or will see its title only.
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Who Reads What ?
II. For a Paper Published in an Academic Journal:
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¾ It is important that you keep these audience groups in
mind while you write the report, so that the appropriate
distribution of information can be made.
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Your Audience has Different View Points
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Technician:
“I had to add three quarts of oil during that series; the rear shaft seal
let go. I’ll have to replace that before we run again.”
Test Engineer:
“That new carburetor looks pretty good, fuel consumption was down
5% and exhaust aldehydes were down nearly 23%.”
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Selecting the Information
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Data Gathering Techniques
¾ Brain Storming
¾ Internet Searches
¾ Libraries
¾ Interviews
¾ Newspapers
¾ Government Records
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Data Gathering Techniques: Brain Storming
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Brain Storming
Journalistic questions
• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• How?
• So What?
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Brain Storming
Definition Questions
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Brain Storming
Comparison/Contrast
Relationship
- What causes -------?
- What are the effects of -------?
- What is the purpose of -------?
- What is the consequence of -------?
- What comes before (after) -------?
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Brain Storming
Testimony
- What have I heard people say about -------?
- What are some facts of statistics about -------?
- Can I quote any proverbs, or sayings about -------?
- Are there any laws about -------?
Circumstance
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Brain Storming
Tagmemics
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Brain Storming
Cubing
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Data Gathering Techniques:
Internet Searches
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Internet Searches
• A search engine is an Internet tool that locates web pages and
sorts them according to specified keywords.
• Yahoo, Google and Alta Vista are the most useful search
engines for beginning searches.
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Types of Web Pages
• Informative pages
• Marketing-oriented pages
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Refining your Internet Search
• AND tells the search engine to find your first word AND your
second word.
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Some Search Engines
• Google at http://www.google.com/
• Excite at http://www.excite.com/
• HotBot at http://www.hotbot.com/
• Infoseek at http://www.infoseek.com/
•
• Lycos at http://www.lycos.com/
• WebCrawler at http://webcrawler.com
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Don’t Limit Yourself to Search Engines
• Looking for information about job opportunities? Look at some
of the sites listing job vacancies. Try university websites that
sometimes list jobs through their placement offices, or try
professional organizations which also sometimes list jobs in
that field. Or look through the websites of various large
companies because they usually have a section on job
opportunities in their company.
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Don’t Limit Yourself to Search Engines
• Looking for information about a current topic? Check the
newspaper and current newsmagazine sites. Most have a
search engine for articles in their publications.
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Don’t Limit Yourself to Search Engines
¾ Searching With a Subject Directory:
Subject directories are valuable for web researchers who have
an area on which they want to focus, but do not yet have a
specific topic. They can help a writer get general information
or a "feel" for the topic.
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Searching with an Subject Directory: Example
¾ Go to Yahoo! (an index)
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Don’t Limit Yourself to Search Engines
Getting Engineering Information
¾ Argonne National Laboratory
¾ Engineering Connections the Internet
¾ Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
¾ Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
¾ Lockheed Martin Energy systems
¾ MIT Directory of Research
¾ National Institute of Standard and Technology
¾ National Science Foundation
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Don’t Limit Yourself to Search Engines
Getting Engineering Information
¾ Math-Search
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Don’t Limit Yourself to Search Engines
Health, Medicine Information
¾ Medscape
¾ Medweb Plus
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But Be Careful, Because
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Evaluating Web Sources
• Who is the site’s creator and what is his authority or expertise?
• What else comes up when you type the author’s name into a
search engine?
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Evaluating Web Sources
• Are there links to other credible sites with additional
information?
• How closely does the site match the information you already
know about the topic?
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Evaluating Web Sources
• Can you locate a date on the web page?
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Main Parts of your Ph.D.
Thesis
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A suggested thesis structure
The list of contents and chapter headings below is appropriate for some theses. In some cases, one or two of them may be
irrelevant. Results and Discussion are usually combined in several chapters of a thesis. Think about the plan of chapters
and decide what is best to report your work. Then make a list, in point form, of what will go in each chapter. Try to make
this rather detailed, so that you end up with a list of points that corresponds to subsections or even to the paragraphs of
your thesis. At this stage, think hard about the logic of the presentation: within chapters, it is often possible to present the
ideas in different order, and not all arrangements will be equally easy to follow. If you make a plan of each chapter and
section before you sit down to write, the result will probably be clearer and easier to read. It will also be easier to write.
Copyright waiver
Your institution may have a form for this (UNSW does). In any case, this standard page gives the university library
the right to publish the work, possibly by microfilm or some other medium. (At UNSW, the Postgraduate Student
Office will give you a thesis pack with various guide-lines and rules about thesis format. Make sure that you
consult that for its formal requirements, as well as this rather informal guide.)
Declaration
Check the wording required by your institution, and whether there is a standard form. Many universities require
something like: "I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial
extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher
learning, except where due acknowledgment has been made in the text. (signature/name/date)"
Title page
This may vary among institutions, but as an example: Title/author/"A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in the Faculty of Science/The University of New South Wales"/date.
Abstract
Of all your thesis, this part will be the most widely published and most read because it will be published in
Dissertation Abstracts International. It is best written towards the end, but not at the very last minute because you
will probably need several drafts. It should be a distillation of the thesis: a concise description of the problem(s)
addressed, your method of solving it/them, your results and conclusions. An abstract must be self-contained.
Usually they do not contain references. When a reference is necessary, its details should be included in the text of
the abstract. Check the word limit.
Acknowledgments
Most thesis authors put in a page of thanks to those who have helped them in matters scientific, and also indirectly
by providing such essentials as food, education, genes, money, help, advice, friendship etc. If any of your work is
collaborative, you should make it quite clear who did which sections. 49
Introduction
What is the topic and why is it important? State the problem(s) as simply as you can. Remember that you have
been working on this project for a few years, so you will be very close to it. Try to step back mentally and take a
broader view of the problem. How does it fit into the broader world of your discipline?
Especially in the introduction, do not overestimate the reader's familiarity with your topic. You are writing for
researchers in the general area, but not all of them need be specialists in your particular topic. It may help to
imagine such a person---think of some researcher whom you might have met at a conference for your subject, but
who was working in a different area. S/he is intelligent, has the same general background, but knows little of the
literature or tricks that apply to your particular topic.
The introduction should be interesting. If you bore the reader here, then you are unlikely to revive his/her interest
in the materials and methods section. For the first paragraph or two, tradition permits prose that is less dry than the
scientific norm. If want to wax lyrical about your topic, here is the place to do it. Try to make the reader want to
read the kilogram of A4 that has arrived uninvited on his/her desk. Go to the library and read several thesis
introductions. Did any make you want to read on? Which ones were boring?
This section might go through several drafts to make it read well and logically, while keeping it short. For this
section, I think that it is a good idea to ask someone who is not a specialist to read it and to comment. Is it an
adequate introduction? Is it easy to follow? There is an argument for writing this section---or least making a major
revision of it---towards the end of the thesis writing. Your introduction should tell where the thesis is going, and
this may become clearer during the writing.
Literature review
Where did the problem come from? What is already known about this problem? What other methods have been
tried to solve it?
Ideally, you will already have much of the hard work done, if you have been keeping up with the literature as you
vowed to do three years ago, and if you have made notes about important papers over the years. If you have
summarised those papers, then you have some good starting points for the review.
If you didn't keep your literature notes up to date, you can still do something useful: pass on the following advice to any
beginning PhD students in your lab and tell them how useful this would have been to you. When you start reading about a
topic, you should open a spread sheet file, or at least a word processor file, for your literature review. Of course you write
down the title, authors, year, volume and pages. But you also write a summary (anything from a couple of sentences to a
couple of pages, depending on the relevance). In other columns of the spread sheet, you can add key words (your own and
theirs) and comments about its importance, relevance to you and its quality.
How many papers? How relevant do they have to be before you include them? Well, that is a matter of judgement.
On the order of a hundred is reasonable, but it will depend on the field. You are the world expert on the (narrow)
topic of your thesis: you must demonstrate this.
A political point: make sure that you do not omit relevant papers by researchers who are like to be your examiners,
or by potential employers to whom you might be sending the thesis in the next year or two.
Middle chapters
In some theses, the middle chapters are the journal articles of which the student was major author. There are
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One is that a thesis is both allowed and expected to have more detail than a journal article. For journal articles, one
usually has to reduce the number of figures. In many cases, all of the interesting and relevant data can go in the
thesis, and not just those which appeared in the journal. The degree of experimental detail is usually greater in a
thesis. Relatively often a researcher requests a thesis in order to obtain more detail about how a study was
performed.
Another disadvantage is that your journal articles may have some common material in the introduction and the
"Materials and Methods" sections.
The exact structure in the middle chapters will vary among theses. In some theses, it is necessary to establish some
theory, to describe the experimental techniques, then to report what was done on several different problems or
different stages of the problem, and then finally to present a model or a new theory based on the new work. For
such a thesis, the chapter headings might be: Theory, Materials and Methods, {first problem}, {second problem},
{third problem}, {proposed theory/model} and then the conclusion chapter. For other theses, it might be
appropriate to discuss different techniques in different chapters, rather than to have a single Materials and Methods
chapter.
Here follow some comments on the elements Materials and Methods, Theory, Results and discussion which may
or may not correspond to thesis chapters.
In some theses, particularly multi-disciplinary or developmental ones, there may be more than one such chapter. In
this case, the different disciplines should be indicated in the chapter titles.
Theory
When you are reporting theoretical work that is not original, you will usually need to include sufficient material to
allow the reader to understand the arguments used and their physical bases. Sometimes you will be able to present
the theory ab initio, but you should not reproduce two pages of algebra that the reader could find in a standard text.
Do not include theory that you are not going to relate to the work you have done.
When writing this section, concentrate at least as much on the physical arguments as on the equations. What do the
equations mean? What are the important cases?
When you are reporting your own theoretical work, you must include rather more detail, but you should consider
moving lengthy derivations to appendices. Think too about the order and style of presentation: the order in which
you did the work may not be the clearest presentation.
Suspense is not necessary in reporting science: you should tell the reader where you are going before you start.
Take care plotting graphs. The origin and intercepts are often important so, unless the ranges of your data make it
impractical, the zeros of one or both scales should usually appear on the graph. You should show error bars on the
data, unless the errors are very small. For single measurements, the bars should be your best estimate of the
experimental errors in each coordinate. For multiple measurements these should include the standard error in the
data. The errors in different data are often different, so, where this is the case, regressions and fits should be
weighted (i.e. they should minimize the sum of squares of the differences weighted inversely as the size of the
errors.) (A common failing in many simple software packages that draw graphs and do regressions is that they do
not treat errors adequately. UNSW student Mike Johnston has written a plotting routine that plots data with error
bars and performs weighted least square regressions. It is at http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/3rdyearlab/graphing/
graph.html). You can just 'paste' your data into the input and it generates a .ps file of the graph.
In most cases, your results need discussion. What do they mean? How do they fit into the existing body of
knowledge? Are they consistent with current theories? Do they give new insights? Do they suggest new theories or
mechanisms?
Try to distance yourself from your usual perspective and look at your work. Do not just ask yourself what it means
in terms of the orthodoxy of your own research group, but also how other people in the field might see it. Does it
have any implications that do not relate to the questions that you set out to answer?
It is often the case with scientific investigations that more questions than answers are produced. Does your work
suggest any interesting further avenues? Are there ways in which your work could be improved by future workers?
What are the practical implications of your work?
This chapter should usually be reasonably short---a few pages perhaps. As with the introduction, I think that it is a
good idea to ask someone who is not a specialist to read this section and to comment.
Should you reference web sites and, if so, how? If you cite a journal article or book, the reader can go to a library
and check that the cited document and check whether or not it says what you say it did. A web site may disappear,
and it may have been updated or changed completely. So references to the web are usually less satisfactory.
Nevertheless, there are some very useful and authoritative sources. So, if the rules of your institution permit it, it
may be appropriate to cite web sites. (Be cautious, and don't overuse such citations. In particular, don't use a web
citation where you could reasonably use a "hard" citation. Remember that your examiners are likely to be older and
more conservative.) You should give the URL and also the date you downloaded it. If there is a date on the site
itself (last updated on .....) you should included that, too.
Appendices
If there is material that should be in the thesis but which would break up the flow or bore the reader unbearably,
include it as an appendix. Some things which are typically included in appendices are: important and 52original
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¾ Strategy/Audience: Does the document address the
intended audience?
• Well done: Content, structure, and language of document
geared to intended audience
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¾ Structure: Does the organization reflect the purpose of the
document and the needs of the audience?
• Well done: Subsections thematically coherent and
accomplish their intended functions; document organized
according to readers’ needs; relationship between ideas
clear
• Acceptable: Coherence or function of subsections weaker;
organization is evident but may be undermined by weak
transitions or occasional digressions
• Some Weaknesses: Subsections are not logical or do not
accomplish their intended function; organization is
confusing or unclear
• Problematic: No clear organization; thoughts in random
order without connections between them.
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¾ Support/Evidence: Is the evidence used to support the
argument concrete, relevant, credible, accurate, and
sufficient?
• Well done: Argument is clearly supported by accurate
evidence considered credible by the audience; sufficient
detail to support the main points of the document
• Acceptable: Many details support argument, but some are
not fully elaborated or sufficiently specific; some evidence
not relevant
• Some Weaknesses: Some evidence is provided, but data is
not fully explained, relevant to the argument, or credible;
important pieces of evidence have not been included;
some data inaccurate
• Problematic: Little or no data to support the main ideas of
the argument; much of the data is inaccurate
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¾ Coherence: Do sentences in paragraphs relate to one
another in a logical way? Are relationships between
paragraphs clear?
• Well done: Paragraphs are internally consistent (i.e., one
idea/theme runs through paragraph); transitions between
paragraphs allow reader to easily follow thread of
argument
• Acceptable: A few paragraph lack internal consistency; a
few weak or unclear transitions
• Some Weaknesses: Many paragraphs lack internal
consistency; many transitions are weak or used
inappropriately
• Problematic: Main idea in most paragraphs cannot be
identified; paragraphs have little or no discernible
relationship to one another
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¾ Clarity/Conciseness: Are sentences structurally correct,
succinct, and easy to understand?
• Well done: Sentences flow smoothly, are structurally
correct, and convey the intended meaning; no wordiness
• Acceptable: Five percent or less of sentences are
awkward, incorrectly constructed, or wordy
• Some Weaknesses: Six to ten percent of sentences are
awkward, incorrectly constructed, or wordy
• Problematic: More than 10 percent of sentences are
awkward, incorrectly constructed, or wordy
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¾ Formatting: Are formatting elements used appropriately
to strengthen the document?
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¾ Use of Tables and Graphs:
• Well done: They support key parts of the argument, are
easily comprehended, and are placed appropriately
• Acceptable: They are not always tied to the key points of
the argument; design makes it somewhat difficult for
reader to interpret data
• Some Weaknesses: They are disconnected from key points
of the argument; design makes it difficult for reader to
interpret data; They are not placed in the optimum position
in relation to text
• Problematic: They are disconnected from key points of the
argument; design makes it impossible for the reader to
interpret data; crucial tables or graphs are missing; table
and graphs do not relate to the argument included
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¾ Mechanics: Are there grammar, punctuation, or spelling
errors?
• Well done: No grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors
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Structuring the Report Keeping the Reader in Mind:
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Ten Rules for Clear Writing
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Rule # 1: Keep Sentences Short: Why Simple Words?
¾ Small words are easier to read than the long words because they are
easier to recognize and interpret. We get more practice in using the
words as we speak; so when we see a word which we do not use in
conversation, it is harder for understand.
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Words to use - Keep it Short and Simple
Rather than using Use
Discontinue stop
Submit for consideration propose
Proceed go
Commence start
Intelligible clear
Occurrence event
Dispatch send
Make modification to modify, change
Demonstrate show
Is in a position to can
We would be grateful If you would please
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Words to use - Keep it Short and Simple
Use Rather than using
do Accomplish
try Attempt
use Utilize
build Construct
lack Deficiency
fair Equitable
rare Infrequent
end Terminate
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Rule # 2: Prefer the Simple to the Complex
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Rule #2: Prefer the Simple to the Complex:
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Rule # 3: Prefer the Familiar Words
¾ The most familiar words are 10 short ones: the, of, and, to, a, in,
that, it, is, I. They make up 25 percent of all that is written and
spoken in English.
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Rule # 3: Prefer the Familiar Words: Jargon
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Jargon: Compare the Following Two Paragraphs
“Alex demonstrates a tendency to engage inappropriately in
verbal social interaction during class time. His grades are deficient
because he suffers from an unwillingness to complete supplementary
assignments between class periods.”
“Alex talks in class when he isn't supposed to. He has low grades
because he doesn't do his homework.”
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Rule # 4: Avoid Unnecessary Words
¾ Most reports can be cut in half and still say the same thing.
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Rather than using Use
12 midnight midnight
12 noon noon
3 am in the morning 3 am
a person who is honest an honest person
a total of 14 birds 14 birds
biography of her life biography
end result result
Free gift gift
Future plans plans
period of four days four days
Return again return
Small in size small
Square in shape square
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Rule # 5: Prefer Active Over Passive Verbs
¾ The verb is the most important part of the sentence. It generally
conveys action. There are three types of verb:
1. Active Verb (direct and concise - e.g. a message in only three words)
2. Passive Verb (Has less impact: i.e. the same message in five words)
James was hit by Bob
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Rule # 5: Prefer Active Over Passive Verbs
For example:
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Rule # 5: Prefer Active Over Passive Verbs
¾ The active leaves the reader with complete understanding and steers
clear of ambiguity and vagueness, and we have to accept full
responsibility for our statements.
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Rule # 5: Prefer Active Over Passive Verbs: Example
Passive
“The problem of the need for revision of stock taking procedures was
discussed last year. It was pointed out that no responsibility could be
accepted for the inadequacy of the system at that time.”
Active
“We discussed the problem of the need to revise your stock taking
procedures with Mr Brian Davis last year. We pointed out that we
thought that the system was inadequate then and we could not accept
responsibility for it.”
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When To Use The Passive Voice??
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Rule # 6: Write Like you Talk
¾ "Write like you talk" has its limitations. Most of us do talk rather
untidy English. We repeat ourselves. We pause. We hesitate.
However, in our speech we do not use long, involved sentences
laden with multi-syllable words that usually occur in our
writing.
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Rule # 7: Use Terms Your Reader Can Picture
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Rule # 8: Tie In With Your Reader's Experience
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Rule # 9: Make Full Use of Variety
¾ The style of your writing will grow as you write more and more.
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Rule # 10: Write to Express, not to Impress
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Write to Express, not to Impress: Example
Written to impress:
“Males of advancing years are often characterized
by a deterioration of their recollective facilities”
Written to express:
“old men forget” Shakespeare
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Which Font to Use?
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Connecting Words (Transitional Devices)
To add
and, again, and then, besides, equally important, finally,
further, furthermore, nor, too, next, lastly, what's more,
moreover, in addition, first (second, etc…)
To Compare
whereas, but, yet, on the other hand, however,
nevertheless, on the contrary, by comparison, where,
compared to, up against, balanced against, vis a vis,
although, conversely, meanwhile, after all, in contrast,
although this may be true
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Connecting Words (Transitional Devices)
To Prove
To Show Exception
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Connecting Words (Transitional Devices)
To Show Time
immediately, thereafter, soon, since, after a few
hours, finally, later, previously, formerly, first
(second, etc.), next, and then, as soon as possible
To Emphasize
definitely, extremely, obviously, in fact, indeed, in
any case, absolutely, positively, naturally,
surprisingly, always, forever, eternally, never,
emphatically, unquestionably, without a doubt,
certainly, undeniably, without reservation, for sure
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Connecting Words (Transitional Devices)
To Repeat
in brief, as I have said, as I have noted, as has been
noted
To Show Sequence
first, second, third, and so forth. A, B, C, and so
forth. next, then, following this, at this time, now, at
this point, after, afterward, subsequently, finally,
consequently, previously, before this,
simultaneously, concurrently, thus, therefore, hence,
next, and then, soon, since
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Connecting Words (Transitional Devices)
To Give an Example
for example, for instance, in this case, in another
case, on this occasion, in this situation, take the
case of, to demonstrate, to illustrate, as an
illustration
To Summarize or Conclude
in brief, on the whole, summing up, to conclude, in
conclusion, as I have shown, as I have said, as has
been shown, hence, therefore, accordingly, thus, as
a result, consequently
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Writing A First Draft
Efficiently And Rapidly
• Higher Order Concerns and Lower Order Concerns
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Writing A First Draft Efficiently And Rapidly
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Higher Order Concerns and Lower Order Concerns
¾ When you are writing your report, not every element have an equal
priority. The most important parts of your report, often called "Higher
Order Concerns" are the "big picture" elements such as logic or focus,
reader and purpose, organization, and development.
¾ After you have addressed these important elements, you can then turn
your attention to the "Lower Order Concerns" such as sentence
structure and grammar.
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Examples of Higher Order Concerns
Focus:
• Does the report have a central thesis?
• Can you offer a one-sentence explanation or summary of what the
report is about?
• Ask someone to read the first paragraph or two and tell you what
he or she thinks the report will discuss.
Reader and Purpose:
• Do you have an appropriate redears in mind? Can you describe
them?
• Do you have a clear purpose for the report? What is it intended to
do or accomplish?
• Why would someone want to read this report?
• Does the purpose match the assignment?
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Development:
• Are there places in the report where more details, examples, or
specifics are needed?
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Examples of Lower Order Concerns
• Sentence structure
• Tenses
• Word choice
• Spelling
• Punctuation
• Etc…..
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Examples of Lower Order Concerns
• Are there a few problems that frequently occur? Keep
a list of problems that recur and check for those.
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Coping with Writing Anxiety
Many situations or activities, such as writing, taking
tests, or speaking before a large audience, may make us
anxious or apprehensive. It's important to remember that a
moderate level of anxiety is helpful and productive. Without
it, we might not perform as well.
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Coping Strategies
• Focus your energy by rehearsing the task in your head.
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Coping Strategies
• Begin in the middle
• Take a break: physically walk away from the situation for a few
minutes if you can.
• Resign yourself to the fact that you have to write the report.
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Relaxation Strategies
• Some relaxation techniques are proved to help you cope with
the writing anxiety and refresh your energy
• Breathe deeply. Close your eyes: then, fill your chest cavity
slowly by taking four of five short deep breaths. Hold each
breath until it hurts, and then let it out slowly.
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Designing Illustrations
•Significant Digits
•Effective Use of White space
•Visuals
•Figures
•Tables
•Numbers
•Units
•Equations
•Significant Digits
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Rules of Significant Figures
• The most-significant digit (MSD) is the leftmost, nonzero digit.
EXAMPLE:
How many significant figures are there in each of the following ?
10.5800 105800 10.58 010580
6 4 4 5
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EXAMPLE: How Many Significant Figures?
027.08450
MSD LSD
Number of significant figures = 7
Rounded off to 5 significant figures = 27.084
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Working with Significant Digits:
Adding or Subtracting Two Numbers
Because 8.2 has only one digit to the right of the decimal point,
the answer, 19.4, MUST have NO more than one digit after the decimal point.
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Working with Significant Digits:
Multiplying or Dividing Two Numbers
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Effective Use of White space
• Effective report formatting can greatly increase readability and
appeal. Adding white space is just one method.
• A page should not run on and on. A page is easier to read if it is
broken into groups of ideas, or sections with headings. Those
sections should then contain paragraphs that are smaller visual
blocks.
• This way readers can skip around to the areas that most
interest them. Readers may not normally sit down and read a
whole page, but they tend to skim. So use meaningful titles to
pull them into relevant sections.
109
Why Visuals?
¾ Visuals help to increase the amount of information being
understood.
¾ Readers will remember more when they see visuals.
¾ Visuals have more impact than plain text.
Designing Visuals
¾ How much detail do YOU want to include?
¾ What design format would you like to use?
¾ How can you keep it consistent?
¾ How can color improve or detract from your presentation?
110
Figures
¾ Figures are used to quickly convey an understanding of the
relationships between the variables of a problem.
¾ Each figure must be self explanatory.
¾ The title should give a clear description of the figure so that the
reader can quickly understand what is being shown.
2. Axis labels
111
Figures
¾ Describe what exactly is plotted as function of what.
¾ For example,
112
Figures
¾ Indicate the variable (preferably a symbol) and the units: e.g. I [mA]
or t [s] near ach axes.
¾ Near the vertical axis place the axis label horizontally or, if there is
lack of space and you place it vertically, it should be readable from
the right.
¾ When comparing two results, use exactly the same layout for the
results being compared.
113
Figures
¾ Include peripheral information wherever YOU feel is necessary
to prevent the reader from missing or misunderstanding the
point of the figure.
¾ Keep in mind the space that will be lost due to the binding of
the report.
114
Divisions on the Axis
¾Make sure during the measurement phase that the points will be
well distributed. Where the graph behaves strangely (resonance
peaks and so on) there should be more points (hopefully you
realized that when doing the measurement!)
117
Curves
¾ Draw a smooth curve between the points without trying to
exactly force it through all of them, in accord with theory
(expectation) and common sense (error bars are helpful for
that).
¾ Use different curve styles, especially for curves that are close
together or have a different meaning, such as theory and
measurement (solid, dashed,..).
¾ If the theory predicts that the points lie on a straight line, draw
a straight through the points.
¾ If the theory predicts the line to go through the origin, show the
origin in the graph.
118
Example: A Poor Figure
Fig. 1: Results
119
Example: A Better Figure
¾ The title should give a clear description of the table so that the
reader can quickly understand what is being shown.
121
Tables
¾ Shift repetitive information from the columns to the heading.
¾ Don’t put very long or wide tables in the text if not necessary. It
is better for the reader if you put them in an appendix or split
them up in smaller tables.
122
Tables
¾ Better not to make horizontal tables: They save space but are
difficult to read:
123
Use of Numbers in Technical Reports
¾ Whenever possible, give numerical values in statements and
avoid ambiguous words.
For example,
OR
124
Use of Numbers in Technical Reports
• OLD: “The CVT's highway mileage is slightly less than a
manual's, but not much.”
125
Use of Numbers in Technical Reports
¾ Do not insert commas into numbers of more than three digits. (e.g.,
"1,000" is wrong). This is a violation of international scientific and
engineering practice. This rule is important because a comma is
used as a decimal point in some countries (e.g., Germany).
¾ For numbers between -1 and +1, insert a zero to the left of the
decimal point in order to avoid a "naked decimal point". For example,
use 0.47, not .47 The intent of this rule is to make it more difficult for
the reader to overlook the decimal point.
126
Use of Numbers in Technical Reports
¾ If the values of X and Y are compared, then X and Y must have
the same dimensions.
“The current through the zener diode must be less than its
power rating.”
The writer may be is saying that the power rating of the zener
diode should not be exceeded.
127
Improper Addition of Numbers
¾ In 1996, Delta Airlines and Finnair announced a new
partnership "with 145 years of experience". They based the
number 145 on the fact that Delta had 72 years of experience
and Finnair had 73 years of experience. The problem is that
experience is not additive.
128
Improper Addition of Numbers
129
Zero and Infinity
¾ Be careful with zero’s and Infinities in laboratory measurements.
¾ A concise way to phrase this is to write, e.g., "Vout was less than 5 mV",
instead of a long-winded discussion of least significant digits,
resolution, accuracy, and precision.
130
Avoid These Situations
The voltage across the diode is smaller.
The voltage across the diode is smaller than the voltage across
resistor R1.
“ Sudso gets your clothes cleaner than Crudso.” (and the writer
better be able to prove it to Crudso's attorneys!)
131
Five or 5?
¾ In general, most people spell out numbers that can be
expressed in one or two words and use figures for other
numbers:
1. Use figures for all numbers when there are numbers of two or
more digits for related quantities in the same sentence , such
as "6 of 23 physicians recommend …….”
132
Five or 5?
4. Always spell approximate values, "round numbers“. If the
approximate value is followed by a unit, then the unit is not
abbreviated. For example:
about five years
two orders of magnitude
about four times larger
several kilovolts
a few tens of megahertz
133
Five or 5?
6- Numbers in series and statistics should be consistent.
two apples, six oranges, and three bananas
NOT: two apples, 6 oranges, and 3 bananas
134
Five or 5?: Examples of Specific Situations
Days and Years
• December 12, 1965 or 12 December 1965
• A.D. 1066
• in 1900
• in 1971-72 or in 1971-1972
• the eighties, the twentieth century
• the 1980's or the 1980s
Time of Day
• 8:00 A.M. (or) a.m. (or) eight o'clock in the morning
• 4:30 P.M. (or) p.m. (or) half-past four in the afternoon
Addresses
• 16 Tenth Street
• 3 West 114 Street
135
Five or 5?: Examples of Specific Situations
Identification Numbers
• Room 5 Channel 16
• Interstate 68 Henry VIII
Page and Division of Books and Plays
• Page 36
• Chapter 8
• In act 5, scene 6 (or) in Act V, Scene vi
Decimals and Percentages
• A 3.7 average
• 12 1/4 percent
• 0.047 metric ton
Large Round Numbers
• Five billion dollars (or) $5 billion
• 17,500,000 (or) 17.5 million
136
Use of Units with Numbers
1. All numerical values that have dimensions must have their
units specified. In general, the units must follow the numerical
value every time. However, in a table of numbers, the units may
be specified at the top of the column, provided all of the values
have the same units. If there are two numbers in a phrase with
the same units (e.g., "frequency between 4 and 5 kHz"), then
put the units only after the second number.
2. All units, including those that are named for a person, have a
lower-case first letter when written out (not abbreviated). Thus,
write "ohm, farad, coulomb, volt, ampere, hertz" for units.
137
Abbreviations for Units
• Units that are named for a person have an upper-case first letter
when abbreviated; all other units have a lower-case first letter.
138
Abbreviations for Units
• Note that the proper abbreviation for "second" is "s", not "sec".
• The same abbreviation is used for the singular and plural form of a
unit.
139
Watch Out for Expressions such as:
The signal generator had a 15 kHz frequency.
¾ 6 cm long
140
Units with Axis
¾ Avoid labeling the axis on a graph or a column in a table
as, for example, volts x 10-3
141
Units with Prefixes
• In general, choose a metric prefix that will make the numerical
value between 0.1 and 1000. However, the value of a parameter
or a variable over the range of a few paragraphs or in a table
should have the same metric prefix to allow easy comparison
of different values.
142
Spaces with Units
• There should always be one blank space between a number
and a unit: "5 kHz", not "5kHz”
• There is no space between the metric prefix and the base unit.
143
Equations in Technical Reports
• One must identify each of the variables and parameters by
name when they first appear. (One might be excused for not
saying that t is the time, since this is such a standard choice of
variable.)
144
Equations in Technical Reports
• Technical writing often contains equations. Some rules apply:
145
Equations in Technical Reports
Although equations are separated by white space, they should be
treated as part of the sentence:
σ
ε = , (1)
E
146
Equations in Technical Reports
The voltage, V, and current, I, in a resistor is given by
V = I R, (3)
where I is the current in the device and V is the voltage across the
device. For the special case of a resistor, the relation between
voltage and current, Eq. 3, can be used to express the power as a
function of only voltage:
P = V2/R. (5)
Notice the period at the end of Eq. 5, since it is the end of a sentence.
147
Reviewing the Report:
148
If your Report will be Translated into Another Language
¾ Your report may end up being read by some one who does not know
English
¾ You must be aware of the audience that will be reading the report,
their culture, what they know about the subject matter, what they expect
from the report, and how they want the information delivered to them.
149
If your Report will be Translated into Another Language
¾Avoid culture-bound references (i.e., jokes, slang, idioms,
national figures and/or events including sports, athletes,
politicians, national holidays, historical heroes, and the like). Also
avoid acronyms and abbreviations.
151
Examples on How Numbers and Dates are Written in Different Cultures
152
Proof Reading Strategies
1- Begin by taking a break: Allow yourself some time between writing and
proof reading. Even a five-minute break is productive because it will help
get some distance from what you have written. The goal is to return with a
fresh eye and mind.
2- Try to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n as you read through a paper: That will help your
eye catch mistakes.
3- Try reading with a "cover." Sliding a blank sheet of paper down the
page as you read encourages you to make a detailed, line-by-line review
of the report.
153
Checking Lower Order Concerns
• Paragraphs
• Sentences
• Tenses
• Spelling
• Punctuations
154
Paragraphs
• Does each paragraph have a topic sentence which states the
main idea?
• Have you used examples and vivid specific details to describe
your topic?
• Have you used explanatory sentences to give your opinion or
judgment on the topic?
• Have you included sentences which pertain only to that idea?
• Are transitions used between sentences and paragraphs?
• Is there a concluding sentence?
155
Sentences
• Does each sentence follow clearly and logically from the one
before it? Have you used some type of transitional device
between each sentence?
156
Sentences
• Have you varied the length of sentences in each paragraph?
• If your sentences are too long, break them into shorter units.
157
Tenses
• Have you incorrectly jumped between different tenses?
• Have you used the correct form of the verb to express the tense
you want?
158
Spelling
• Check any word you have doubts about.
159
Punctuation
• Have you ended every sentence with a period, question mark,
or exclamation point?
160
Tools To Make
Your Job Easier
161
Tools To Make Your Job Easier
¾ Microsoft Office Tools: (You can try these tools your self in
front of a computer)
162
Tools To Make Your Job Easier
¾ Microsoft Office Tools:
Merge
Track changes
Meta data
¾ Other Tools:
Babylon dictionary and its glossaries
Online translation and dictionary resources
Printing to pdf
Speech
Digitizing figures (with Grab it)
Converting pdf files into word
Optical Character Recognition
163
Study the Meta data on your own
164
Tools To Make Your Job Easier
The Gunning Fog Index
http://www.online-utility.org/english/readability_test_and_improve.jsp
165
The Gunning Fog Index: Examples
¾ The sentence: “I love you” has a fog index of 1.2
166
Some Online Translation and Dictionary
Resources
167
Avoiding Common English Pitfalls:
• Using Hyphens
• Some spelling Rules and Mistakes
• Commonly Confused Words
168
Using Hyphens
1- Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective
before a noun:
a one-way street; chocolate-covered peanuts; well-known author
However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not
hyphenated:
The peanuts were chocolate covered. The author was well known.
169
Using Hyphens
4- Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex- (meaning former ), self- , all- ;
between a prefix and a capitalized word;
5- For line breaks, divide already hyphenated words only at the hyphen:
mass-produced; self-conscious
Never put the first or last letter of a word at the end or beginning of a line,
and don't put two-letter suffixes at the beginning of a new line:
170
Some Spelling Rules
Rule # 1: I before E except after C
• receive and chief
• achieve, believe, brief, hygiene, grief, thief, friend,
chief, patience, pierce, priest
• ceiling, conceive, deceive, perceive, receipt, receive,
deceit, conceit
• This rule does not work with words pronounced "ay"
as in eight, neighbour, freight, sleigh, weight, vein, and
weigh
• There are many exceptions to the rule: either, neither,
feint, foreign, forfeit, height, leisure, weird, seize, and
seizure.
• Still, the rule is relatively simple and worthwhile
remembering. 171
Some Spelling Rules
Rule # 2: Dropping Final E
• When adding an ending to a word that ends with a silent e, drop the
final e if the ending begins with a vowel:
Advancing - surprising
• However, if the ending begins with a consonant, keep the final e:
Advancement - likeness
• (However, if the silent e is preceded by another vowel, drop the e
when adding any ending: argument, argued, truly)
• Exceptions: to avoid confusion and mispronunciation, the final e is
kept in words such as mileage and words where the final e is
preceded by a soft g or c: changeable, courageous, manageable,
noticeable.
• (The word manageable, for example, without that e after the g, would
be pronounced with a hard g sound.)
172
Some Spelling Rules
173
Some Spelling Rules
Rule # 4: Adding Prefixes
• Generally, adding a prefix to a word does not change
its spelling. For some reason, the word misspelling
is one of the most often misspelled words in English.
unnecessary, dissatisfied,
disinterested, misinform
174
Spelling: Between the Americans and the British
American Spelling British Spelling
Center centre
Theater theatre
Check cheque
Tire tyre
Gray grey
License licence
Realize realise
Criticize criticise
Color colour
Humor humour
Labor labour
Valor valour
Judgment judgement
Canceled cancelled 175
Commonly Confused Words
176
Accept/Except/Expect
• Accept is a verb meaning receive, bear.
Examples
This client expects (demands) nothing except (but) the
most sophisticated options available.
Will you accept (bear) the responsibility for this
decision?
We expect (anticipate) everyone to come except
(excluding) John.
177
Advice/Advise
• Advice is a noun meaning suggestion, suggestions.
It rhymes with ice.
Examples
178
Already/All Ready
Examples
179
Altogether/All Together
Examples
180
Affect/Effect
• Affect is a verb meaning alter, inspire or move
emotionally, imitate. Affected, besides being the past
tense of affect, can also be used as an adjective
meaning imitated, pretentious.
• Effect as a noun means consequence. As a verb, it
means cause.
Examples
How will this plan affect (alter) our jobs? What effect
(consequence) will this restructuring have on profits?
181
Always Split These Two
182
Brake/Break
• Brake as a verb means slow, stop. As a noun, it
means hindrance, drag.
Examples
183
Everyday/Every Day
Examples
184
Maybe/May be
• Maybe is an adverb meaning perhaps.
185
Lead/Led/Lead
Lead as a verb means guide, direct. As a noun, it means front
position. It rhymes with seed.
Led is a verb, the past tense of lead, meaning guided, directed.
It rhymes with red.
Examples
Mike led (guided) the small band to safety.
We hope the next elected officials will lead (guide) us to
economic recovery.
Gold is much more expensive than lead
This gas station sells lead-free gasoline
186
Quite/Quit/Quiet
187
Right/Write/Rite
Example
I will write (record) the exact procedures so you will
be able to perform the rite (ceremony) in the right
(proper) way.
188
Sent/Cent/Scent
Example
For ten cents (pennies) I bought an envelope
perfumed with the scent (odor) of jasmine. I sent
(dispatched) it to my grandmother.
189
Sight/Site/Cite
• Sight as a noun means ability to see. As a verb, it
means see, spot.
• Site is a noun meaning location, position.
• Cite is a verb meaning quote, make reference to.
Examples
At ninety-five my grandmother's sight (ability to see)
was acute enough to sight (spot) even the smallest
error in a painting.
This is the proposed site (location) for the new
building.
You must cite all the references you used in the
report. 190
To/Too/Two
• To is a preposition or part of an infinitive. Use it
only to introduce a prepositional phrase, which
usually answers the question where, or before a
verb. Use to for introducing a prepositional phrase:
to the store, to the top, to my home, to our garden, to
his laboratory, to his castle, to our advantage, to an
open door, to a song, to the science room, etc.
191
To/Too/Two
Example
192
Where/Wear/Were
• Where is an adverb referring to place, location.
• Wear as a verb means put on, tire. As a noun, it
means deterioration.
• Were is a verb, the plural past tense of be.
Examples
These shirts were (form of be) too tight.
The tires showed excessive wear (deterioration)
Where (location) are the clothes you were (form of
be) planning to wear (put on) tomorrow?
193
Passed/Past
• Passed is a verb, the past tense of pass, meaning
transferred, went ahead or by, elapsed, finished.
• Past as a noun means history. As an adjective, it
means former.
Examples
The first runner passed (transferred) the baton to the
second just as she passed (went by) the stands.
Three seconds passed (elapsed) before the next
runner came by.
She passed (finished) her bar exam on the first try.
My great grand father passed away by in 1970
194
Peace/piece
• Peace is a noun meaning tranquility.
Example
195
Personal/Personnel
Examples
The director of personnel (staff) keeps all the
personnel (employee) files in order and guards any
personal (private) information they contain.
196
Principal/Principle
• Principal as a noun refers to the head of a school or
an investment. As an adjective, it means primary,
major.
Examples
197
Plain/Plane/plan
• Plain as an adjective means ordinary, clear, simple.
As a noun, it refers to flat country, also sometimes
written as plains.
Example
199
Threw/Through
• Threw is a verb, the past tense of throw, meaning
tossed.
Example
Tom threw (tossed) the ball through (in one side and
out the other) the pipe.
200
Weak/Week
Example
The patient's heartbeat was so weak (frail) that the
doctor was certain he would be dead within a week
(seven days).
201
Which/Witch
Examples
Which (choice) one do you want? This car, which
(introduces subordinate clause) I have never driven,
is the one I'm thinking about buying.
202
Interactive Activity
205
Interactive Activity
13. Gerald (threw, through) away his opportunity when
he walked (threw, through) the door.
206
Interactive Activity
207
Interactive Activity
21. I (where, wear, were) my (everyday, every day)
clothes almost (everyday, every day).
208
Answers to the Interactive Activity
1. sent, cent 2. scent
3. right, write 4. rite
5. quiet, quite, quit, quiet 6. led
7. lead, lead 8. sight, site
9. cite 10. were, wear
11. Where 12. Which, witch
13. threw, through 14. brake, brake, break
15. seen, scene 16. witch, which
17. passed, past 18. week, weak
19. piece, peace 20. plain, plane
21. wear, everyday, every day 22. Maybe, may be
23. all ready, already 24. all right
209
Cairo University Faculty of Engineering
Mechanical Power Department Technical Language
Final Exam – September 2007 Two Hours
Answer all questions. Use your time wisely. The maximum grade is 70 points.
Answer each question in a new page. You must answer clearly and neatly to get full credit.
Best Wishes
210
Answer to Question # 1: (15 points)
State the different parts of a M.Sc or Ph.D. thesis. Describe in few lines the contents of each part.
The student should state the different parts of a M.Sc or Ph.D. thesis: Title page, copy right
waiver (optional), acknowledgments, table of content, list of figures, list of tables, abstract,
introduction, review of previous work, middle chapters (the middle chapters are the back bone of the
thesis and vary according to the methodology and topic. Student should give examples for an
experimentally-oriented thesis in which the middle chapters would be: -description of experimental
setup, experimental results and discussions, error analysis and/or numerically-oriented thesis: -Theory,
numerical methods/computer code, results and discussions and error analysis), summary and
conclusions, recommendations for further work, references and appendices.
The student should describe the content of each part briefly in few lines. Overall answer should
be in two to three pages.
211
Answer to Question # 2: (15 points)
Explain in details ONLY ONE of the following three subjects:
A- Meta data B- Fog index C- Search tools on the internet
Note: The instructor requested a report on ONLY one of these three subjects. Each student had to do a
report on ONLY one of these three topics, where the topic was decided according to the first letter in
his name.
It can be eliminated by printing the MS file to pdf, or by downloading and installing a tool from MS
office website that eliminates this type of data. This usually requires saving the file with a different
name.
Yahoo at www.yahoo.com
Alta Vista at http://www.altavista.com/
Excite at http://www.excite.com/
Lycos at http://www.lycos.com/
Northern Light at http://www.nisearch.com
Open Text at http://index.opentext.net
The student may indicate the existence of some metasearch engines (engines that search other
search engines) such as
• www.dogpile.com
• www.metacrawler.com
• All4one at http://www.all4one.com (allows simultaneous searching of 4 search engines)
The student MUST show his understanding of the search tools (such as AND, OR, NOT, etc…) as well
as the advanced search options in the search engine (searching for a specific file format like pdf or ppt,
for a specific domain name like edu or gov or com, etc….)
The student may give reference to some specific Engineering websites such as sciencedirect,
engineeringvillage, ocw.mit.edu (open course ware at MIT), etc….
212
Answer to Question # 3: (15 points)
Examples of the thought starter questions include but are not limited to:
214
Answer to Question # 4: (15 points)
State ten of the electronic tools that you may use to facilitate your technical writing job. Describe
in few lines each of them.
The student should describe briefly the content of each topic in two to three lines.
215
Answer to Question number 5: (10 points)
Give an example of a technically-correct table and an example of a technically-deficient table.
Example of a technically-poor table: (horizontal, without table heading, without variable names nor
units, etc…)
U 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example of a technically-proper table: (vertical, with table heading, with variable names and units,
etc…)
Table 3.1: The variation of hot-wire voltage (E) with flow velocity (U)
216