technical writing prof dr ziad abu hamatteh

Technical Writing

Al-Balqa’ Applied University

Faculty of Engineering Technology

Prof. Dr. Ziad Salem Abu-Hamatteh

Prof. Dr. Ziad S. Abu-Hamatteh 2

Course Contents 01. Writing in Business, Industry and Government

02. Adequacy and Excellence

03. Analyzing the Communication Context

04. Correctness in Usage and Mechanics

05. Report Forms and Formats

06. Report Writing Procedures

07. Graphics and Illustrations

08. Documentation

09. Effective Presentation

10. Employment Applications

11. Abstracts, Summaries and the Like

12. Recommendation Reports

13. Project Reports

14. Proposals

15. Technical Articles

16. Instructions and Manuals


1. Writing in Business, Industry and Government • Technical writing is an act of

communication rather than an act of self-expression.

• The information you present is the more important than your attitude towards it.

• Technical writing is simply, the writing you as a person in a particular field are going to be doing when you are on the job.


Communication Vs Self-Expression

• In college writing you write primarily as an act of self-expression.

• College writing is primarily creative and expository.

• On the job you will write primarily as an act of communication.

• On the job your writing will be primarily technical, or instrumental.


Relationship Between Reader, Writer and Subject

• Technical writing is not a creative writing, a report is different from a poem. Although, as a technical writer you must be creative.

• Technical writing is not expository writing, a report is not an essay. Although, as a technical writer you will use description, narration and argumentation.


SUBJECT

READER WRITER

THE COMMUNICATION TRIANGLE


Technical Writing

• Technical writing , highlights the link between the reader and the subject.

• As a writer you fade into the background (Secondary Role).

Subject

Writer Reader

Technical Writing Focus


Creative Writing

• Creative writing, highlights the link between the writer and the subject (Poem).

Subject

Writer Reader

Creative Writing Focus


Expository Writing

• Expository writing, highlights the link between the writer and the reader (Essay). Subject

Writer Reader

Expository Writing Focus


Major Types of On-the-job Writing

• Correspondence: The letters and memos that flow between individuals in organizations, either to provide a written record of conversations or to serve as brief exchange of information on limited topics.

• External Publications: The formal pieces of writing that go outside the organization and serve to project the organization’s public image.

• Internal Documents:The reports, proposals, plans and procedures that stay inside the organization and keep the organizational wheels turning.


Correspondence

• Job-related Technical correspondences are of three varieties:

• Memos.

• Letterhead Letters.

• Nonletterhead Letters.


Representative Letterhead Letter


Representative Nonletterhead Letter


External Publications

• Sale, marketing and promotional literature.

• Manuals, handbooks and parts books.

• Reports of research information.

• Corporate financial reports.


Internal Documents

• Routine project reports.

• Management decision-making documents.

• Personnel documents and policy and procedure manuals.

• Archival data reports.


The People Who Write

• Supervisors, Managers and Executives.

• Technical Experts.

• Researchers.

• Technicians.

• Professional Writers and Editors.


2. Adequacy and Excellence

• Quality in writing, or effectiveness in writing communication is a continuous variable, from horrible to magnificent, from useless to maximally effective.

• Based on quality/effectiveness, three distinct categories of writing are classified:

1. Excellent Technical Writing.

2. Adequate Technical Writing.

3. Unacceptable Technical Writing.


The Continuum of Writing Quality

Unacceptable Adequate Excellent

0 100 80 20

Cutoff Points for Adequacy and Excellence


Excellent Technical Writing

• The kind of writing that will gain points for you in on-the-job situation.

• The kind of writing that will lead to raises, promotions and other recognition of excellence of your work.

• The kind of writing that will consistently get your recommendations accepted, your proposals funded and your report praised.


Adequate Technical Writing

• The kind of writing that will keep from embarrassing you in on-the-job situations.

• The kind of writing that will be accepted and passed on, largely without comment.

• The kind of writing that won’t hurt you but won’t help you.


Unacceptable Technical Writing

• The kind of writing that you will get back to do over again until it’s right.

• The kind of writing that will clamp a ceiling on all your other technical skills.

• The kind of writing that will be a constant impediment to your professional growth.


Criteria for Adequacy For a report or other piece of technical writing to be

judged adequate, it must be:

• Useful: Direct towards the problem and the solution.

• Accurate: Information must be sound reliable and valid.

• Complete: It must touch all the bases, leave no steps or data and tell the whole truth.

• Orderly: It must follow the accepted conventions of organization.

• Correct:It must be essentially free from the common errors of grammar, writing mechanics and usage.


Levels of Adequacy

• It is adequate in every respect.

• It is more than adequate in some respect.

• It is brief.

• It is smooth.

• It is direct.


Criteria for Excellence

• Adequate in every respect.

• More than adequate in some respect.

• Brief, smooth and direct.

• Easy to read.

• Interesting to read.

• Easy to remember.


The Demands for Excellence

The situation that demand excellence:

• Large audiences.

• Important audiences.

• Safety precautions.

• Money involved.

• Reputations.

The importance of a piece of writing comes from the size and nature of the readers and the nature of the information to be communicated.


Achieving Adequacy and Achieving Excellence

Three observations must be kept in mind:

1. Anyone can produce an adequate written communication.

2. If you start with adequate written communication and keep improving it, sooner or later it will be excellent.

3. Adequacy can be achieved by following the rules, but to achieve excellence you must be willing to experiment, to try new things, to accept new ideas, to suspend disbelief and to risk traveling where the charts are poor.


The road to excellence is a long one and there is no shortcuts, but the route is well marked. Here are some salient signposts: •Start with an adequate report. (don’t strive

for excellence)

•Analyze your own personal writing style. (weakness and strengths)

•Concentrate on your paragraphs. (construct

them soundly and develop them fully)

•Focus on your clauses and sentences. (communicate effectively)

•Incorporate cohesive devices into your writing. (make it hang together)

•Improve your diction. (choose words that are

familiar, direct, concrete and specific)


Remember

• Don’t strive for excellence on the first jump.

• Don’t be disappointed if you don’t achieve excellence on the first papers you submit.

• Build a sound foundation of adequate writing and then improve the best of your writing through successive revision until you have achieved the excellence you seek.


3. Analyzing the Communication Context

• You can’t design and write a report without knowing who your audience will be and to what use your information will be put.

• To begin your analysis, you must formulate answers to some of the classic questions of journalistic writing : WHO?, WHY? and WHAT?

• You must specify audience, purpose and type of information.


Varieties of Audience for Technical Communication

• Executives and Administrators (Responsible for policy formulation and the decision-making associated with implementing policy).

• Technical Experts (People with advanced degrees and several years of experience in a field of discipline).

• Technicians (Installers, operators of equipment, repairmen, lab technicians and assistants, draftsmen, clerical support people, foremen).

• Laypeople (Anyone who lacks expertise in your field).

• Combined Audience (consist of two or more of these groups).


The Many Faces of Purpose

“Why am I sitting down to write?” you must ask yourself.

• You are writing to communicate technical information that someone else needs. Your purpose in writing, then, is your reader’s purpose. Your goal is to meet your reader’s needs.

• Since you have multiple and disparate reader, you will have multiple and disparate purpose. (primary, secondary and tertiary Purposes).


Consider the several writing purposes that might be associated with a recommendation report you submit to top management in your firm: •You want to convince the decision-making to accept your recommendation. •You want to convince the technical experts that you indeed know what you’re taking about. •You want to convince your immediate superior that your work is sound and that you possess skills that merit recognition and promotion.


•You want to save the time for the administrators and executives (because time is money).

• You want to save time for yourself (because there are things you would rather do than write reports).


Purpose Analysis

You should be able to identify and specify the following purposes:

• The primary purpose your major audience segment has for reading.

• Any secondary purpose for reading that this group might have.

• Primary and secondary purposes minor audience segments might have.

• The ostensible and the real purpose of you communication (if they are different)


•The secondary purpose in communication that benefit you firm or organization. •Any personal purpose or goals you might have that do not conflict with the more direct purpose of your writing.


Types of Technical Information

• Avoid putting different kinds of information or information about different subjects in a single report; instead write separate reports.

• Keep in mind that a report isn’t a sink for you to dump all the information you happen to have into.

• Don’t tell readers things they already know.

• Don’t tell readers things that they don’t need to know.


•Don’t tell readers things they don’t care about knowing. •Stick to the point. •Don’t try to make a report or a letter or a memo serve double duty. •Don’t ask someone for a favor and then thank him or her for it in the same memo. •Don’t put details about several different projects in the same memo. •Avoid combining temporary , transient information and primary or long-lived data in the same document. •Give heed.


The Report Design Worksheet

Your tasks in analyzing the communication context are:

• To identify the various segments of your audience and record certain information about these readers.

• To identify your various communicative purposes and arrange them in some order or priority.

• To document your analysis so that you have it available for reference.


Report Design Worksheet • Preliminary Information:

What is to be done?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who is it to be presented to and when?---------------------------------------------------------------------

Restrictions (format, length, etc.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Readers Analysis:

Audience: immediate Secondary Primary

Position or title:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Relationship to author:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Technical expertise:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Attitude towards subject:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Effect of report on:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

readers and organization:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Personal characteristics:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Readers Purpose:

Why will he read the report?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What should he know and able to do after reading the report?---------------------------------------------

• Writer’s Purpose:

Desired effect(s) of the report:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Types of Audiences:

• Primary Audience:

Consists of the people directly affected by the information you convey.

• Secondary Audience:

Consists of the people indirectly affected by your information.

• Immediate Audience:

Is the person to whom you deliver your written document and through whom you transmit it to your primary and secondary audiences.


The Flow of Information in Organizations

You

Co-workers Other technical

experts

Your counterparts in other

organizations

Subordinates Technicians

Top Executives Boss’s Boss

Boss


Developing Design Criteria

• The key parameters of analysis are:

1. Audience.

2. Purpose.

3. Type of information.

4. Vectors of information flow.

These parameters combined to give you design specifications for such variables as:


•The basic type of report you will write. •The amount and type of information that will go in the main body of your report and in appendixes. •The level of language you will use . •The style of writing you will use . •The illustrations and other graphic material you will use . •The degree of revision and final polishing you will give to our report. •The number of copies of our report you will generate and the distribution list for them.


4. Correctness in Usage and Mechanics

• One of the characteristics of an acceptable report or any other piece of technical writing is that it is essentially correct in grammar, mechanics and usage.

• An acceptable report is essentially free from the common errors and mistakes.


Editing for Correctness

You have to find mistakes before you can correct them (spotting errors).

• For good editing of your technical writing, here are some things you can do:

1. Acknowledge the fact that you have difficulty with correctness in your writing.

2. Accept the fact that you are going to have to spend extra time and effort overcoming your difficulties.


3. Systematically identify the particular problem that you experience (make a list).

4. With each paper that you write use your list of problems as an editing guide.

5. Work through your paper from back to front. Read each sentence word-for-word backward “One of the biggest problems with editing for correctness is seeing what your mind knows should be on the paper rather than what actually is on the paper.”


6. Take advantage of informal reviews.

7. Whenever you make changes in a paper, recheck for correctness.

8. Don’t overlook the value of final checking and final polishing, put your paper a side for a day or two and then come back to it fresh.


Common Problems with Grammar

1. Subject-Verb Agreement:

Singular subjects go with singular verbs and plural subjects go with plural verbs.

• Wrong: Jack and Jill, Jill being the smarter of the twins, is coming to the party later on.

• Right: Jack and Jill, Jill being the smarter of the twins, are coming to the party later on.

• Wrong: Jack, together with Jill, are coming to the party later on.

• Right: Jack, together with Jill, is coming to the party later on.


2. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement:

Wrong: Each of the soldiers must clean their own rifle.

Right: Each of the soldiers must clean his own rifle.

Wrong: None of the birds fell out of their nest.

Right: None of the birds fell out of its nest.

Wrong: Everybody brings their books tomorrow.

Right: Everybody brings his books tomorrow.


3. Grammatical Parallelism:

Items in lists and successive headings and subheads should be treated/expressed in grammatically parallel form.

Wrong: Sorting the cards. Check to see that the machine is on. Loading the deck. Clear the jam.

Right: Sort the cards. Check to see that the machine is on. Load the deck. Clear the jam.


Right: Sorting the cards. Checking to see that the machine is on. Loading the deck. Clearing the jam.

Wrong: John likes dancing and to go to parties.

Right: John likes dancing and going to parties.

Right: John likes to dance and to go to parties.


Wrong: The stove consists of the base, fuel tank, burner, and the windscreen.

Right: The stove consists of the base, the fuel tank, the burner, and the windscreen.

Right: The stove consists of the base, fuel tank, burner, and windscreen.


Wrong: Aspirin substitutes are effective, safe and they don’t upset your stomach.

Right: Aspirin substitutes are effective and safe and they don’t upset your stomach.

Wrong: John cleared the table, washed the dishes, and then he straightened up the living room.

Right: John cleared the table and washed the dishes, and then he straightened up the living room.


A and (B and C)

One item parallel to two others

A

B

C


A, B, and C

Three items parallel to one another

A

B

C


4. Sentence Fragments:

Wrong: Harold went to the hardware store. And to the drug store.

Right: Harold went to the hardware store and to the drug store.

Wrong: The control rod jammed and allowed the cable to snarl. Although the entire setup had been checked thoroughly.

Right: The control rod jammed and allowed the cable to snarl, although the entire setup had been checked thoroughly.


Common Problems with

Punctuation 1. End punctuation with sentences:

Wrong: Can you have the report on my desk by noon tomorrow.

Right: Can you have the report on my desk by noon tomorrow?

Wrong: The bill was from ARCO Engineering, Inc..

Right: The bill was from ARCO Engineering, Inc.


2. Clause-Level Punctuation:

• Independent Clauses:

Wrong: Ellen was careful with the experiment, the results were satisfactory.

Right: Ellen was careful with the experiment, and the results were satisfactory.

Right: Ellen was careful with the experiment; the results were satisfactory.

Wrong: Ellen was careful with the experiment, therefore the results were satisfactory.


Wrong: Ellen was careful with the experiment, therefore, the results were satisfactory.

Right: Ellen was careful with the experiment; therefore, the results were satisfactory.

Wrong: John ran up the stairs, and opened the door.

Right: John ran up the stairs and opened the door.

Right: John ran up the stairs, and he opened the door.


• Introductory Subordinate Clauses:

Because she was happy, Helen smiled.

Next, let us consider the entropy of the system.

Being happy, Helen smiled.


• Interruptive Elements: ( ) - - , ,

Right: Jack (the man in the front row) gave me the free tickets.

Right: Jack -the man in the front row- gave me the free tickets.

Right: Jake, the man in the front row, gave me the free tickets.

Wrong: The fat man, who owns the sports car played the tuba in the band.


Wrong: The fat man who owns the sports car, played the tuba in the band.

Right: I got the free tickets from Jack-the man in the front row.

Right: I got the free tickets from Jack, the man in the front row.

Right: I got the free tickets from Jack (the man in the front row).


Minor Problems with Punctuation

• Possessive Apostrophes:

Wrong: Right:

Johns hat John’s hat

The cats tail The cat’s tail

The bridges rail The bridge’s rail

The experiments results The experiment’s results


• Introducing Lists:

Wrong: The main parts of a computer are; the central processor, the memory, and the input/output devices.

Right: The main parts of a computer are: the central processor, the memory, and the input/output devices.

Wrong: Dear Mr. Johnson;

Right: Dear Mr. Johnson:


• Using Quotation Marks With Other Punctuation:

Wrong: It was the Boise River-“ River of the woods”.

Right: It was the Boise River-“ River of the woods.”

Wrong: Smith. H.R. “ Rotating Crops in Arid Land”, Applied Agronomy, 22:4 (1982), 15-22.

Right: Smith. H.R. “ Rotating Crops in Arid Land,” Applied Agronomy, 22:4 (1982), 15-22.


• Abbreviations and Symbols:

1. Use the dollar sign ($) and pound sign (₤) in running text ($14 rather than 14 dollars).

2. Use the percent symbol (%) if you are reporting a good many percentages.

3. Use the degree symbol (º) (20º C, 35º F).

4. Use the ampersand (&) when it is part of corporate name (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) otherwise write and.

5. Use the “less than”/ “more than” (P ><0.05).

Conventions with Mechanics


6. Use abbreviations for common organization (FBI, WHO, UNISCO, USA, UK).

7. Use the following common abbreviations freely: AC and DC, AD and BC, AM and FM, A.M. and P.M., UHF, VHF and TNT etc.

8. Use abbreviations for Latin expressions used commonly in English (etc., e.g., i.e., Vs and viz.).

9. Use abbreviations for common derived Units (rpm, dpi).

10. Use other abbreviations only if what you are abbreviating is long and often used.


• Numbers and Numerals:

The convention for numbers is simple, Spell out numbers one through nine and use numerals for numbers 10 and above. However, there are some exceptions:

1. Always spell out number at the beginning of a sentence.

Example: Thirty-seven people came to the party rather than 37 people came to the party.


2. Use numerals for street addresses, dates and sums of money.

Example: 3568 Park Avenue South

March 9, 1995

$ 4.53, $5.00

3. Use numerals for mixed numbers below ten, but spell out fraction that stand alone.

Example: (3 ½, 5.375, 7 ¾)

Example: (Three-Fourths of the money, half of the membership).


4. Use numerals for decimal fractions. Example: (0.025. 0.56, 0.5) 5. Use a hyphen between the number and the unit for capacities and dimensions. Example: 55-gallon barrel 250-ml flask Four-foot doorway


• Italics and Underlining: (Italics is equivalent to underlining)

1. Always underline the Latin names of genera and species of plants and animals.

2. Always underline the title of books, journals, magazines and newspapers (but not the articles in them).

3. Underlining foreign words unless they are so common (resume, versus).


4. Don’t underline the following abbreviations: e.g., i.e., Vs., etc., Viz. 5. Title of books, journals, magazines and newspapers, stressed words and foreign words are set in italic type.


5. Report Forms and Formats

• The term report broadly refers to a variety of written documents-including proposals, literature reviews and state-of-art-papers, instructions, procedures manual, environmental impact statements, and even certain types of magazines and journal articles.

• Any system of classifying types of reports has to consider both what a report looks like and what a report does.


Variation in Report Form and Format

• The Fill-in-the-Blank Reports.

• The Letters and Memos.

• The Formal Report.


The Fill-in-the- Blank Reports

• The fill-in-the-blank report starts with a blank form.

• Your job as a writer, basically, is to fill in the blanks.

• They are used widely in business and industry for monthly summaries, inspection and travel reports, and other often repeated kinds of communication.

• They are generally used for numerical information.


The Letters and Memos

• Many reports are published in the form of a letter or memo.

• Such reports are typically short (1-5 pages).

• It may have headings and subheads, but often doesn’t.

• It may have tables and figures but usually doesn’t.


There are certain components or elements, that must be present in a report for it be called formal. We can divided these parts into two groups :

1. Front Matter:

• Cover letter.

• Cover (optional).

• Title page.

• Table of contents.

• List of illustration (optional).

• List of definition, abbreviations and symbols (optional).

• Summary/Abstract.

2. Back Matter:

• Bibliography.

• Appendixes.

• Index (optional).

The Formal Report


Front Matter

1. Cover letter: (memo letter or letter of transmittal). It primary purpose is to provide the writer with a vehicle for saying things to some members of his audience.

2. Cover: Longish reports are usually distributed with a cover. It serves to identify (title of the report and name / address of the firm publishing the report), protect ( sturdy and firmly attached to the report) and attract (colour, photographs and graphic design).


3. Title Page: It serves to identify the report and provide all the necessary bibliographic data. In formal reports you should always include a title page, even if the report also has a cover. The items to be includes in the title page are:

• Title of the report.

• Author(s) (or editor or compiler) of the report.

• Organization (and division or section) publishing or distributing the report( with mailing address).

• Date of publishing or issuing of the report.

• Form number, order number etc. of the report (if any).

• Person (or firm) for whom the report was prepared.

• Copyright, distribution, or classification data.


4. Table of contents: It is appropriate for reports of 15 to 20 pages or longer. It should include lists of all chapters, section headings as a minimum.

5. List of illustration: It is useful in reports if the illustrative or tabular data are such that readers may want to access to them independent of the report main text.

6. List of definitions, abbreviations and symbols: It is best to avoid obscure terminology and unusual symbols in the report. If you use few symbols, it is best to explain them at the point you first use them.


Suggested Format for Typewritten Table of Contents


List of Illustrations with a Table of Contents


7. Summary/ Abstract: (an introductory summary). It is a component of formal or semiformal reports that is designed to give busy administrators, executives, or decision-makers the gist of a report. It should represent your clearest and most effective writing.


Representative Executive Summary


Back Matter 1. Bibliography (References): it is list of

complete reference citation for all the documents you refer to in the report. Additional documents that your reader might find useful may be added.

2. Appendixes: Information that is vital for your primary audience must go in the main body of the report. Almost anything else is candidate for inclusion as an appendix.(calculations, derivations, resume, list of clients, detailed tables, copies of research, analysis, etc.).


3. Index: Index are used primarily in manuals or data reports that are likely to be used as reference documents. There use is limited to longish documents.


Page Numbering in a

Formal Report • First page in the main text should be page 1.

Use lower case Roman numerical for pages of front matter (i, iv, vi, etc.).

• Don’t put a page number on your title page, but reserve a number for it.

• Pagination of back matter may be done as continuation to the main text throughout bibliography, appendixes and index.

• More often appendix pages are given a letter + number designation (A-1, A-2, A-3).


• Bibliography and index may be included in the last two appendixes.

• If the appendix is a reprint of a document with its own page numbers , put your own numbers in square brackets either above or below the original ones.


Semi-Formal Reports

• Semi-Formal report is best regarded as a formal report with something missing.

• You don’t always need bibliography, appendixes, cover letter.

• The majority of the reports written in on the job fall into the semi-formal reports category.


Variation in Report Function

There are only three things you can report on:

(1) The status of a project you are accountable for.

(2) Certain activities you have been engaged in.

(3) Data you have been asked to gather or generate.

• Major functional varieties of report (in term of the kind of information) are:

1. Project Reports.

2. Activities Reports.

3. Reference Data Reports.

4. Management Reports.


Project Reports

• They are the fuel of the project machine.

• Such reports focus on things that have been done.

• They are read mainly by administrator to (1) keep current on the status of work in their departments, (2) to estimate future work loads and personnel needs and (3) prepare higher-level management reports.

• Some common report labels that fall in the project report category are: (Progress Reports, (2) Status reports and (3) weekly, monthly and quarterly reports.


Activities Reports • Unless you’re self-employed, you will be

asked on a regular basis to report how you spent your time during the month (week, year) immediately past.

• Travel, inspection, training programs, tours are activities to report.

• You immediate supervisor will read you activity report to estimate future work loads and personnel needs and to evaluate you and assess your performance.

• Examples:Monthly activities reports, Travel reports, Traffic accident reports and conference reports.


Reference Data Reports

• Reference data report is a report that reports presents data gathered and generated by someone and that is used by others for some references.

• Journal article is a good model for reporting data you have generated.


Management Reports

• Most of the reports and other documents in on-the -job situation will be management reports of one kind or another.

• Project reports and activities reports are in a very real sense, management reports.

• Proposals, feasibility reports, recommendations, resumes are also fall in this class.

• Such data is used for management decision-making purposes.


6. Report Writing Procedures

There are five phases involved in putting a report together, two are before the actual writing begins:

1. Data gathering.

2. Preliminary organization.

and three involve the actual writing itself:

3. Initial draft preparation.

4. Revision.

5. Final inspection.


Data Gathering

Four methods of obtaining data and information may be followed:

• Direct observation.

• Testing and experimentation.

• Consultation and interview.

• Library research.


Preliminary Organization

The goal of organizing the report is to make it easy for the readers to get the information out of the report. Never write a report in such a way that your audience has to read all the way through it just to find out if it contains the information he needs.

There are three essential characteristics of good organization or of things that are organized:

• All related items are together in one place.

• All unrelated items are separated.

• Packages of related items are clearly labeled.


How to Achieve Sound Organization

• Perform a detailed communication context analysis and write out your analysis.

• Specify the information that you might include in the report.

• Gather related items of information together.

• Separate out unrelated items of information.

• Consider all the items of information in each shoebox.

• Think of some appropriate labels to put on each of the shoebox.

• Go through the content of each box and generate some subcategories of information.


Initial Draft Preparation

• The main job in this stage is just getting the ideas into words, without worrying about form or style, keeping in mind that you will rewrite everything.

• Don’t start with your introduction. It is the hardest thing to write and the most important .

• Start with the easiest section first-the section you know the most about.

• Writing should be rapid.

• Don’t allow yourself to stop and polish your writing (form and style).


Revision

• Revision is the most important factor that separates good writers from poor writers.

• Never do revision soon after finishing the initial draft writing, instead give yourself a day or two.

• Major phases of revision may be:

• Reorganization ( entire paper or some sections).

• Restructuring sentences ( grammar, spelling, punctuation, smoothness and word choice).

• Adding or deleting large blocks or sections.

• Graphic and illustration.

• Writing style.


Final Inspection

• Final inspection is necessary to any writer who hops to turn out consistently acceptable reports.

• It occurs after the writer has his final revised manuscript redrafted or retyped and just before he sends his finally revised manuscript out for review and approval.

• Two things to be checked during this phases:

1. Errors and mistakes that might have been introduced during the final retyping.

2. Errors and mistakes that have been there all along but the writer has overlooked.


What to Check During Final Inspection

• Typographical errors.

• Misspelling of peoples’ names or firms.

• Mistakes in numerical data and figures.

• Words or whole phrases missing or repeated.

• Inconsistencies in abbreviations or symbols.

• Missing page numbers or page out of order.

• Inconsistencies in terminology.

• Common errors (like its’ for its, respectively for respectivelly).


7. Graphics and Illustrations

• One of the key things that characterizes technical writing and separates it from creative and expressive writing is the extent to which the writers use tables, graphs and pictures to complement their verbal communication.

• Illustrations serves to communicate information that is difficult to express verbally.

• Illustration (especially tables and graphs) serve as convenient ways to summarize large bodies of precise numeral data.


•Table: a table consist of two or more columns of precise data, usually numerical. •Figure: Figure refer to charts, graphs, line drawing, photographs. •Figure (or table) caption: consists of figure (or table) number and a short description. •Figure (or table) reference: is the device used in the running text to refer the reader to an illustration. •Callout: Identifies or calls-out a certain part of whatever is being illustrated. •Legend: is a list of definitions or explanations of symbols or abbreviations used in an illustration.


Numerical Callouts


Photographs and Line Drawing

• Photographs are used extensively in instruction manuals, brochures, technical bulletins and other documents that are printed and distributed in large quantities.

• Line drawing have some advantage over photographs, as the artist can eliminate needless details and concentrate on what’s important, and they can use various techniques to show internal parts in their working relationship to one another.


Types of Line Drawings

• Two dimensional drawing: Based on the common plane view of drafting or mechanical drawing.

• Three dimensional drawing: A little more realistic and allow most people to visualize an object easier.

• Cross section: A special variety of 2D drawing that shows an objective as if it had been sliced through the middle.

• Exploded view: Shows the component of a mechanism strung along a common axis.

• Cutaway view: A portion of the external housing of a mechanism are graphically “cut away” to show internal components.


Cross Section


Exploded View


Cutaway View


8. Documentation • Documentation: refers to incorporating

in-text references and bibliographic references or citations, into a piece of technical writing.

• In-text reference: The device used in the body of the text to refer the reader to bibliography.

• Bibliography: A list of books or references.

• Documentation consists of referring the reader to certain entries in the bibliography and providing in each of these entries sufficient data for reader to locate a copy of each reference.


Basic Reference Formats

• The variations in reference format tend to group the basic reference formats into three groups:

1) The footnote Format.

2) The Author-date Format.

3) The Bracketed Format.

• These differences chiefly in the form of the in-text reference, but there are differences in punctuation and order of elements in the bibliographic references as well.


The Footnote Format

• Is characterized by the use of superscript numeral:

Recent studies 12 confirm the use of this technique.

• The superscript number does not refer the reader directly to the bibliography but rather to a note at the foot of the page.

• Footnotes are not limited to bibliographic citation; they may contain author’s comments, definitions of terms and explanations.

• The footnote for the first reference to a work cited contains complete bibliographic information


6. Frank A. Johnson, Computer Circuit Analysis: Theory and Applications (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976). p.265.

• Footnote for subsequent reference the same work contain the author’s last name and a shortened version of the title:

9. Johnson, Circuit Analysis, p.325.

Since the footnote are scattered throughout the text, a separate bibliography is usually also employed.The entries are similar to the first-reference footnote but are arranged and punctuated somewhat differently: Johnson, Frank A. Computer Circuit Analysis: Theory and Applications. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976. Atkinson, Richard C. and Mary C. Harlow. “Activated Bio-Filter Secondary System. “ Journal of Sanitary Engineering Division, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 101, 1981, pp.44-56.


•Footnote may be gathered at the end of an article or chapter rather than placing them at the bottom of individual pages throughout the text. Such list of notes is called “endnotes” rather than “footnotes”


Endnote for a Technical Article


The Author-Date Format

• Is characterized by the use of the author’s last name and the date of publication in parentheses:

Recent studies (Johnson, 1981) confirm the use of this technique.

• It refers the reader directly to the corresponding bibliographic reference in the bibliography.

F. A. Johnson. Computer Circuit Analysis. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1976.

F. A. Johnson. (1976).Computer Circuit Analysis. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.


In-text References in the Author-Date Format and Corresponding Bibliography


The Bracketed Number Format

• The bracketed number format consists of a one- or two digit number enclosed in square brackets, slashes or parentheses:

• Recent studies [16] confirm the use of this technique.

• Recent studies /16/confirm the use of this technique.

• Recent studies (16) confirm the use of this technique.

• It refers the reader to a number reference in the bibliography.

Johnson, F. A. Computer Circuit Analysis: Theory and Applications. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976.

Atkinson, R. C. & Harlow M. C. Activated Bio-Filter Secondary System. “ J. Sanitary Eng. Div., ASCE,1981, 101: 44-56.


Reference List


9. Effective Presentation

“Key features of an effective presentation What makes a good presentation?” 1. Overall: •Awareness of audience: Who are they? What are their needs or interests? What do they expect from you? Why I am giving a presentation? Clear objectives (to inform, persuade, welcome).

WHAT IS THE POINT?


2. System: •Planning: have a clear structure and a sense of timing.

• Organization: have clear connections between the different parts of ideas. • •Information: make sure what you say is interesting and relevant to your audience. • •Impact: make sure you have a strong introduction and conclusion.


3. Delivery:

•Clear, simple and fluent.

•Use of pauses of emphasis.

•Use of natural spoken language.

4. Body Language:

• Use of strong and clear gestures for emphasis.

• Good eye contact with the audience.

• Positive, confident and relaxed manner.

• No distraction gestures.


5. Visual Aids:

Clear and simple messages.

Efficient and professional use of equipment.


MAKING A START 1. Introduce yourself. (Name, position/job title, department, and job responsibility). Practice putting them together to produce a fluent introduction of yourself. 2. Introduce your talk. The title/subject of presentation. 3. Introduce the purpose/objective of presentation. 4. Presentation length time. 5. The main parts or points you will cover (outline).


6. Any visual aids you will use. 7. Questions time. When the audience may ask questions, make it clear from the very beginning. 8. A reference to the audience: a human touch.


LINKING THE PARTS Tell the audience what you’re going to say. Say it. Tell the audience what you’ve said. Linking Ideas:

Sequencing/ordering: Firstly…secondly…thirdly.Then…next…finally/lastly Let’s start with…Let’s move/go on to…Now we come to… That brings us to…Let’s leave that…That covers…Let’s go back to.


Giving reasons/causes:

Therefore So As a result That’s why

Comparing:

Similarly In the same way

Contradicting:

In fact Actually

Summarizing:

To sum up In brief In short

Concluding:

In conclusion To conclude


Highlighting:

In particular Especially

Digressing:

By the way In passing

Giving examples:

For example For instance Such as

Generalizing:

Usually Generally As a rule


THE RIGHT KIND OF LANGUAGE “What is wrong with reading a presentation?”

Advantages of speaking a presentation: Good eye contact with the audience. Short sentences. Simple vocabulary. Open manner. Simple arguments. More pause (normal speaking). More confident. Tone of speaking is more personal.


To have a personal language: Don’t over use I, We better alternative. Reference to the audience. Using slang and everyday expression can make an impact on the audience and add drama. But you need to know the audience very well to use this language. Advantages of reading a presentation: There is little hesitation. It may be easier to follow the topic because there are fewer distractions. The speaker feels more confident.


Disadvantages of reading a presentation: No eye contact with the audience. Written English is more complex and often difficult to understand. The tone is more impersonal. The delivery is less spontaneous. The phrasing is less natural, so it’s difficult to listen to. The reader often speaks too quickly.


VISUAL AIDS “How can you design and use good visual aids?”

Design: (attractive, informative and convenient) Don’t use visuals to repeat what you can say with words. Don’t overcrowd visuals with too much information. Use visuals to support or summarize what you say. Only use key words, not lines of text. Think about which kind of visuals is right for you (graph/ table/picture/words, etc.). Use colour (but not too much).


Use:

Don’t use too many visuals.

Don’t read from the visual.

Make sure the audience understands the visual.

Use a pointer and/or masking techniques where appropriate.

Face the audience as much as possible.

Don’t block the audience’s view.


BODY LANGUAGE

“Ways of emphasizing and minimizing your message”

Eye contact: Maintain good eye contact with every member of the audience. Don’t just look at one person. Don’t speak to one side only.


Facial expression:

Use facial expressions (e.g. smiles) to emphasize your feelings.

Smiling can and will impact on the audience.

If you say you are pleased, show it.

Your face should mirror the words.

Posture:

Try to keep your posture upright but relaxed.

Look straight ahead, not down at the floor or up at the ceiling.


Hands:

Use your hands to emphasize what you say.

It is safer to keep hands out of pockets–in some cultures this shows disrespect.

Hold a pen or pointer if you feel more comfortable–but don’t play with it.


Movement:

Don’t stand completely still–a little movement between table and board or between notes and audience, is more interesting.

Don’t move around too much, or the audience may watch you instead of listening to you!

Go to the side of the audience’s table, physically.


FINISHING OFF “What makes an effective ending to a presentation”

The final part of the presentation should include: A clear signal that you are about to end. A brief, clear summary to what you have said. A conclusion or recommendation (if appropriate). An invitation for questions, to make comments, or start a discussion.


QUESTION TIME

“How to handle questions effectively at the end of a presentation”

Handling questions:

Welcome the questions.

Listen carefully to the question–don’t interrupt.

Take time to think before you answer.

Check you have understood the question–rephrase or clarify if necessary.


Reply positively–be brief and clear.

Accept criticism positively.

After your answer, check that the questioner is satisfied.


You have a responsibility to your audience. You must make decisions (before, during and after your speech) about the materials, you can’t rely on intention alone. Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses as a presenter. Practice using techniques to enhance your talk. You must be clear, sensitive and analytical.

Your time and their time is valuable and critical.

REMEMBER


• If you do the preparation, you will be interesting and articulate.

•Be flexible and open to change.

• Understand transmission problems.

• Make the audience a party to your ideas.

• Grab the attention.

• Encourage contribution, share ideas and become involved.

• Look decent.


•Don’t try to win the argument.

• Don’t antagonize.

• Don’t try to be defensive.

• You have nothing to hide, be honest, open and direct.


10. Employment Applications

• The key components of any employment application package are your resume and your resume cover letter, although you should not neglect letters of inquiry and follow-up correspondence.

• When you seek full-time, permanent employment, you are marketing your knowledge, your skills, and your willingness to work.

• The employment process is a two-way traffic. (A prospective employer and a prospective employee).


The Letter of Inquiry

• Indicate your interest in working for the organization, request for information about the organization, and inquire about the procedure of gaining employment with the organization.

• The letter of inquiry should be brief without going into the details of your background and qualification.

• Make it clear in your first sentences that you letter is just a request for information and not a formal job application.


Representative Letter of Inquiry


Resume

• Resume is a brief, well organized and attractive summary of education background, work experience, personal data and other qualifications that a prospective employer will use to help him decide whether or not he wants to invite you for an interview.

• The purpose of you resume and application letter is not to get a job, but rather to get an interview.


General Outline for Resume

1. Personal Data:Name, Present Address, Telephone Number, Permanent Address, Birth Date, Sex, Marital Status and Dependents, Citizenship, Handicaps, Hobbies.

2. Educational Background:High School Data, College Data, Special Schools or Training Programs.

3. Employment Experience:Major Jobs, Minor Jobs, Pertinent Volunteer Work.

4. Additional Goodies:Special Awards an Honors, Significant Foreign Travel, Languages Spoken and Read, Publications.

5. References:Name and Title, Business Address, Business Phone Number.


Specimen Resume


Resume Cover Letter

• The resume cover letter is what the prospective employer see first.

• Keep the resume cover letter to three or four paragraphs.

• Identify your letter as part of an application package.

• Identify the specific job or the general job category you are interested in.

• Present a one-sentence summary of your major qualification.

• Close you letter with a positive request for action.


Specimen Resume Cover Letter


Follow-up Correspondence

• Interview thank you.

• Request for additional information.

• Follow-up inquiry.

• Acknowledgment of offer.

• Acceptance of offer.

• Request for extension of time.

• Request for withdrawal from consideration.


11. Abstracts, Summaries and the Like

• People read abstracts and summaries for two reasons: (1) as an aid for deciding whether or not they want to read the entire document and (2) as a substitute for reading the entire document.

• If you know who is going to read the summary you write and what they are going to do with the information you present, you will have little difficulty coming up with an appropriate direction and level of details.


Abstracts • The term abstract is most commonly used to

refer to the summery that is written in conjunction with journal article or a scientific or technical reports.

• The abstracts are read mostly by people doing library research on scholarly, scientific or technical topics.

• Abstracts may be divided into 3 common forms:

Descriptive Abstract.

Informative Abstract.

Evaluative Abstract.


Descriptive Abstract

• The descriptive abstract is the one you prepare to accompany an article or report you have written yourself.

• It is short (100-200 words) summary, listing or describing of the information contained in your article or report.

• It must be brief, clear and self-contained.

• The primary purpose of DA is to enable readers to decide whether or not they want to read the entire article or report.


Specimen Descriptive Abstract


Informative Abstract

• IA is typically longer than a DA, ranging for 2 to 10 percent of the length of the article or report it summarizes.

• Usually, you will prepare IA of articles or reports written by other people.

• The readers of your IA seek scientific or technical information limited that pertains to a specific and limited topics that they are interested in.

• Your goal is not just to summarize the article or report but also to summarize it with respect to your readers topic of interest.


Specimen Informative Abstract


Evaluative Abstract

• EA is basically an informative abstract plus your own evaluation of the quality of work done, the significance of the work done, and the pertinence of the information to the overall topic of interest.

• They are generally prepared by junior member of a research team and are read by other members of the team so that they can decide whether or not they want to read the complete work.

• EAs are an internal working papers rather than documents prepared for publication.


The consistent outlines of EA are:

• Summary of the purpose of the research reported in the original article.

• Summary of the methods and procedures used.

• Summary of the research findings or results.

• Summary of the author's conclusions and discussions.

• The abstractor’s evaluation of the work being reported.


Specimen Evaluative Abstract


Summaries

• A summary differs little from an informative abstract. The chief distinction lies in the fact that the term abstract is used with research-related activities, while the term summary is used more with documents that are administrative in nature.

• Traditionally, a summary appeared at the end of a document and recapitulated its main points.

• It serves mainly to remind the readers of what had been said.


Types of Summaries

1) Executive Summary:

• An Executive summary or introductory summary is a component of a formal or semi-formal report.

• It is designed to give the gist of a report, in clear and effective way.

• It should be the last part of the report.

• Limit yourself to a single type written page for reports of a dozen pages and limit yourself to 5% or so of total reports length for longer reports.


2) Concluding Summary:

• A concluding summary is used to present the conclusion of the main points of the body of your report (recapitulating the main points).

• Don’t introduce new information or new argument, just summarize.


Definitions • State-of-the-Art Papers: it is a paper

designed to bring someone up to date on a particular topic so that he may discuss it intelligently.

• Literature Search: is an exhaustive survey of the published literature on a given topic.

• Literature Review: literature review is a document that comes out of such activity.

• Annotated Bibliographies: is a bibliography that contain some commentary on each reference (descriptive abstract or evaluative abstract or comment).


Specimen Annotated Bibliography


Meeting Minutes

• Meeting minutes serve three basic purposes:

1) To remind people who attended the meeting what went on.

2) To allow people who didn’t attend the meeting to get some idea of what went on.

3) To document for archival purposes the key actions that took place at the meeting.


• A good set of minutes must include the following items of information:

1. Data on the meeting itself: Time, place, attendance, who presided over the meeting, nature of the meeting (regular or special) and the purposes of the meeting.

2. A record of formal motions made: the precise wording of motions made.

3. A record of other formal actions taken: Reports heard and accepted, resolutions passed, items referred to committees, questions raised.

4. A summary of discussion:Discussion on motions, resolutions and amendments, questions on and discussion of reports, comments.


Specimen Meeting Minutes


12. Recommendation Reports

• Recommendation reports (feasibility reports or analytical reports) is the key tool organizational managers use to help them select among alternatives.

• Feasibility study is a staff activity in which an employee or a small group of employees gather some data on two or more alternatives, analyze the data and draws some conclusion.

• The recommendation report is the final product of such study (a document that conveys a recommendation, together with supporting data and interpretation and decision).


The Study Versus the Report

• It is important to keep the data-gathering and analysis phase separated from the reporting phase and equally important to keep these two separated from the decision-making phase.

• The decision is the management function that is based on the information in your report. The report itself does not decide.

• You cannot begin writing your report until after you have gathered and analyzed your data and drawn a conclusion.


Research Writing Reading Decision Making

The Study Phase The Report Phase

The Phases of Studying and Reporting

T0 T1 T2 T3 T4

•The study phase must be completed before the reporting phase begins. • Similarly, the reporting must be completed and submitted before the management decision can be made.


General Outline for Recommendation Reports

• General outline for most recommendation reports:

1) Introduction:( purpose, definition of the problem, scope; alternatives, criteria, limitations)

2) Description of Alternatives:

3) Presentation and Interpretation of Data for 1st Criterion:( Explanation of criterion, presentation, and interoperation of data, presentation of 2nd, 3rd, 4th alternatives, etc.)

4) Presentation and Interpretation of Data for 2nd , 3rd, 4th Criteria, etc:

5) Conclusion:

6) Recommendation:


13. Project Reports

• A project is term used in business, industry and government, is an extensive undertaking that requires the concerted effort of several people.

• Categories of project reports:

1. Reports of individuals’ activities.

2. Reports of data for archival purposes.

3. Progress and status reports.


Activities Reports

• The most common of activities reports is the periodic activities report (weekly or monthly), in which you explain how you’ve spent your time during the preceding reporting period.

• Keep a record of both “milestones” (dates on which you started and finished individual tasks and the hours each day you devote to individual tasks.


Archival Data Reports

• Majority of such reports are fill-in-the-blank reports that contain primarily numerical data.

• They contain data so that they are available at some later date for plotting trends or establishing benchmarks or serving some other historical or archival purpose.

• They should be accurate and neat.


Progress and Status Reports

• Progress and status reports tend to be longer and involved than activities reports and archival data reports.

• Progress and status reports are similar in that they both discuss the state of affairs with respect to the collective activities of a group of people.

• Progress reports tend to be project-oriented, while status reports tend to be oriented towards a task force or work group(or departments or divisions).


•Progress reports tend to cover a period of time (a month or a quarter), while status reports tend to deal with a slice of time ( the end of a month or the end of a quarter).

•Other names of reports that fall in this categories includes periodic reports (monthly reports, quarter reports, annual reports), interim reports and just plain project reports.


Progress Reports

• The general outlines for a progress report:

1. Introduction:(Purpose of the reports, Time period covered, Reference of other reports).

2. Summary of Project Status: (Different phases or tasks of the project).

3. Work Completed During Reports Period: (Different phases or tasks).

4. Work Anticipated for Next Period: (Different Phase and tasks).

5. Special Problems of Difficulties:


Status Reports • The general outlines for a status report:

1. Introduction: (Purpose of the reports, Date of the report, Reference of other reports).

2. Summary of Project ( or Department) Status:

3. First Project Phase (or Department

Section): Major accomplishments since last reports, Tasks anticipated during coming period,

Special problem of difficulties. 4. Second (and subsequent) Project Phase

(or Department Sections): Major accomplishments since last reports, Tasks anticipated during coming period, Special problem of difficulties.


14. Proposals

• A proposal is a documented idea.

• A written proposal is a document that proposes a solution to a technical problem and provides sufficient information so that management decision-makers can decide whether or not the proposed solution will be accepted.

• In order to accept a proposal, management must be convinced:


• That the proposed solution is technically sound and operationally feasible (Technical Section).

• That the person or group proposing to solve the problem is indeed capable of effecting a solution (Managerial Section).

• That all costs have been identified, the costs are reasonable, and the benefits of the solution are commensurate with the total cost (Financial Section).

• A proposal like a three-legged stool. If any one is missing or weak, the proposal collapses, like a stool with one leg jerked out from under it.


Proposal

Technical Financial Managerial

The Proposal as a Three-Legged Stool


• A proposal is similar to recommendation report in that it deals with a solution to a technical problem.

• But it differs from the recommendation report in that it focuses on a single solution rather than alternative solutions and it goes beyond a discussion of what should be done to include information on how it will be done, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.


The Three Varieties of

Proposals

1) The In-Firm Proposal:

2) The Firm-to-Firm Proposal:

3) The Research Grant Proposal:


The In-Firm Proposal

• The in-firm proposal is a document you use to convey ideas about your solution to a problem within your organization.

• In-firm proposals are usually informal or semiformal.

• The emphasis in most of in-firm proposals is on the technical solution and the cost-benefit analysis.


The Firm-to-Firm Proposal

• The one-sentence of a firm-to-firm proposal is “X proposes to do Y for Z for W dollars”. “International Engineering proposes to design a new wastewater treatment facility for the City of Amman for $2,400,000”.

• In other words, the firm-to-firm proposals is a statement of who is going to do what for whom and for how much.


The research Grant Request

• A request for research funding is not an act of begging. It is an offer of services rendered for a stated price, and as such it is really a proposal.

• Funding agencies and organizations are eager to award research funds; their very existence depends on their ability to disperse the fund they have control over.

• What they need is something to hang their hat on. They don’t require a guarantee of success.

• The research grant request often includes a literature review or a state-of-art statement.


General Outline of Proposals

• Introduction: (Purposes of the document, Problem to be solved and scope of the proposal).

• Technical Section: (Back ground, Methodology and time and work schedule).

• Managerial Section: (Credentials and experience of the firm, Facilities and personnel available and Authorities and Accountability).

• Financial Section: (Costs, Methods of payment and Revenues or cost savings generated by the project).

• Tangible Products of the Project:

• Urge to Action:


15. Technical Articles

• Articles differ from the other forms of technical writing chiefly in three ways:

1. They are written to inform rather than to initiate some specific action.

2. They are published and distributed by some organizations other than the one the writer works for.

3. They are directed towards an unknown and wide-ranging audience rather than a specific and captive audience.


Reasons to Write a Technical Article

• In order to publish the results of your original research.

• Enhance your career by publishing articles on techniques you have developed, new products, new concepts and applications in applied fields of science or technology.


Periodicals

• They contain articles of technical or scientific nature.

• They are found in a spectrum ranging from the most prestigious scholarly journals and publications of professional societies through trade journals and technical magazines and on into commercial and popular magazines.


Articles for Scholarly and Professional Journals

• Organization: The most common organizational structure for scientific and technical articles reporting original research is:

• Title and Author(s).

• Abstract.

• Introduction.

• Materials and Methods.

• Results.

• Discussion.

• References.


General Rules 1. Choose your title and write your abstract

with considerable care.

2. Identify the key words for your study and use them in your title.

3. Make your abstract more informative than descriptive, but keep it brief.

4. In your introduction, tell your reader what you have done and why.

5. Discuss earlier published work that are directly pertinent to your work.


6. Specify the problem you have studied, identify your research hypotheses, explain your research strategy or design and discuss the theoretical aspects of the work.

7. If the report is lengthy, give your reader brief overview of the main body.

8. Material and methods section should be complete and brief.

9. Include subsection on materials, equipment and apparatus, experimental and control groups, sampling techniques and statistical methods and research procedure.


10. Under results section summarize the major measurements and calculated values and present them graphically as tables, charts, etc.

11. In the discussion section start with a clear statement of your major conclusions.

12. Evaluate your methods and results in the light of previous research, conflicts, your own research hypotheses and implications of what you have found.

13. You as a writer is obliged to list all the references you actually cited in the body of your article.


14. Double-check all titles, the spilling of authors’ names, and page numbers, Vol. Numbers, date, etc.

15. Technical articles for a professional journals demands excellencies.

16. It will have a large and important audience.


Articles for Trade, Commercial and Popular Magazines

1. Technical articles for trade journals and commercial and popular magazines are less rigid in format and free in style than those for professional journals.

2. Such articles may well be accepted for the quality of the photographs and drawings rather than the quality of the writing.

3. They should be interesting and must be presented in an interesting fashion.


4. No general outline for trade, commercial and popular articles.

5. Such articles intersperse personal narrative with description, explanation and instructions as a way of building and maintaining interest.

6. Popular articles are less formal, more conversational and more personal.


16. Instructions and Manuals

• One of the common forms of communication is instructions and manuals writing.

• You will be called upon to provide specific and detailed instructions for procedures and operations that others will be expected to perform.

• You may have to outline office or laboratory or shop procedures.


• You may have to provide instructions for using or maintaining simple pieces of equipment or apparatus.

• You may have to provide simple written directions just to get things done the way you want them done.


Writing Style for Instructions

• Good instructions are complete and well-illustrated.

• The success of a set of instructions hangs not on elegance of diction and smoothness of phrasing but on completeness of information and clarity of expression.

• Instructions are simple, direct, clear and complete.


Suggestions for Instruction writing

• Use groups of numbered steps.

• Use active voice and imperative mood.

• Use normal English.

• Be religiously consistent with terminology.

• Illustrate profusely.

• Make ample use of notes, cautions and warnings.


The Manuals as Reference Piece

“When all else fails, get out the instruction manual!”

• This is often said and more often believed, for it is a fact that most people regards written instructions as a last resort in case they can’t get the procedure or operation figured out on their own.


General Outline for Instruction Manuals

1. Introduction. A. Purpose of the

Manual.

B. Scope of the Manual.

C. Additional References.

2. Physical Description of the Mechanism.

3. Functional Description of the Mechanism.

4. Derailed Instructions.

A. Assembly.

B. Installation.

C. Initial Startup.

D. Operation.

E. Maintenance and Trouble-Shooting.

F. Repair and Servicing.

5. Parts List.


Thanks

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