Oral and Written Communication

Communicating your findings is key Impact of work depends on report Visibility to colleagues, competitors Content AND Presentation

Industry feedback on importance of writing Interviewers, Alumni, Visiting Committees Rated above any technical topics

Planning for Your Audience

Different types of writing Journal articles – academic colleagues,

researchers Business memos – co-workers, clients News releases – general public Newspaper articles – interested public Feature articles – recreational readers

Site-specific expectations Company style guidelines (1-3 page maximum) Journal style rules (section headings, order) Preferences of the Boss

Target colleagues, clients, bosses, …

Tables, Figures, and Graphs

Clear, informative, stand alone Descriptive captions with sequential numbering

Tables – above table Figures – below graph in text, above graph in talk

Place in report body where information is introduced or discussed

Use SI units and scientific notation (1.23 x 103, not 1.23E03) Tables

Put units in headings (Pressure (kPa)) Use rulings or spaces only as useful for clarity Scale to put powers of 10 into heading or axis labels Use Scientific notation: 104, or Engineering notation: 10x103

Figures Schematic diagrams with all significant parts and streams

labelled Photographs IF they augment diagrams

Graphs

Figures or Diagrams

Schematic diagrams with all major parts and streams labelled Left-to-right

convention Major components,

omit minor details

Photographs IF they augment diagrams

Air

CO

N2

Mass flow controllers

SyringePump

Reactor

Condenser

Graphs Pattern on textbook examples

Read from bottom or right side Points for DATA, lines for MODELS or FITS Units, informative captions

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

5.5

6

2 4 6 8

x

y

y

yfit

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 5 10

potentiometer (%)

measu

red

vo

ltag

e (

mV

)

y

yfit

Figure 1 – behavior of y vs. x Figure 2 – Variation of voltage with potentiometer setting

More Graphs Consider the intended use

Lookup and interpolation, or demonstrating trends

Publish in report, or use in oral presentation

Figure 3 – Conversion between Fahrenheit and Celsius

Figure 4 – Relation between Fahrenheit and Celsius

Conversion between C and F

020406080

100120140160180200220240

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

degrees C

deg

rees

F

Conversion between C and F

0

50

100

150

200

250

0 25 50 75 100

degrees C

deg

rees

F

More Graphs Choose axes for clear presentation

Format numbers with suitable significant digits Round values for tick marks (major, minor?) Show models for direct comparison when

possible

Figure 5 – enzyme reactivityFigure 6 – Hydrolysis rate with

[E]o = 2.5 ng/L

y = 0.0156x3 - 0.0596x2 + 0.0791x + 0.0012

R2 = 0.9938

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.05

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

substrate concentration (mM)

rea

cti

on

ra

te (

mM

/min

)

y = 0.019x + 0.0127

R2 = 0.791

0.0000

0.0050

0.0100

0.0150

0.0200

0.0250

0.0300

0.0350

0.0400

0.0450

0.0500

0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2

substrate concentration (mM)

rea

cti

on

ra

te (

mM

/min

)

… and More Graphs Choose axes for clear presentation

Transform data to linear form for model test [S]/r = [S]/vmax + Km/vmax for “Hanes plot” Direct non-linear fit: r = vmax [S] / (Km + [S])

y = 19.608x + 7.8431

0

10

20

30

40

50

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

substrate concentration (mM)

[S]

/ ra

te (

min

ute

s)

Figure 7 – Hanes plot of hydrolysis rate data

Figure 8 – Hydrolysis rate fit with Km=4.0 mM, vmax=0.051 min-1

0

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

substrate concentration (mM)

rate

(mM

/min

ute

)

Oral and Written Communication

Communicating your findings is key for impact

Industry feedback on importance of writing Aim for your intended audience

Questions?