technical writing handout

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TECHNICAL WRITING COURSE HANDOUTPrepared by: Prof. Jhoanna Cruz-Daliling

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Derive useful tips, tricks, and techniques for improving your writing skills

OUTPUT: Research proposal

OUTLINE:

I. Common errors in English (game)

II. Pre-writing strategies

a. Brainstorming

b. Graphic organizers: outline, fishbone, Venn diagram, clustering

c. Freewriting

d. Keeping a journal

e. Reading

II. Organizing your paper

a. 2 forms of reasoning in research

b. Achieving unity: Using effective claims

c. Maintaining coherence

d. Basic technical report formats

III. Textual elements

a. Patterns of development

b. Writing your draft: strategies

c. Avoiding plagiarism

IV. Graphic/appearance elements

MINDANAO CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIVE (MCRDC)

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II. Organizing your Paper

a. FORMS OF REASONING IN RESEARCH

1.DEDUCTIVE:

Starting with an established truth to examine a particular experience

This truth can be hypothetical (theories, definitions, procedural assumptions); often

used in the humanities

Requires applying the truth to particular experiences then articulating the

connections

2.INDUCTIVE:

A way of thinking that demands withholding any judgment, or hunch, or

assumption, except that it is possible to derive a general conclusion from an

ample number of particular examples.

Proving a thesis

Often used in the sciences

REMEMBER:


Induction and deduction describe the initial thinking that goes into

an essay, and not its final, formal organization.

Deductive thinking is not as likely to nurture original thought as

inductive thinking; but it does encourage helpful connections with

preexisting ideas.

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b. TYPES OF CLAIMS: your Thesis Statement must make an ASSERTION

1. Resemblance: compare & contrast; argues whether something is the same or not

the same as something else.

2. Evaluation: compare & contrast; argues why one of the items is better or worse

than the other

3. Causal: cause & effect; argues whether something causes something else or

whether something is the result of something else

4. Proposal: argues whether something should or should not be implemented

5. Definition: argues that something is or means something else

REMEMBER:

C. Maintaining COHERENCE: how the parts are related

Organizing for Emphasis:

1. General to specific2. Specific to general3. Climactic – in order of increasing importance


All writing is PERSUASIVE.

No matter how technical it is, a writer is always trying to

convince the reader to believe him/her, and thus act

accordingly.

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When writing your outline, remember:

D. Basic Technical Report Formats

1. Problem, Analysis, Solution approach.

2. The Outside - In Approach

This means, simply, that the discussion is more readable and easily scanned if you make

certain that the most important ideas in each section, subsection, and paragraph appear first

rather than last.

Example:

"A larger bypass line with automatic, temperature controlled backup is recommended. Such a

system will protect against overheating and lowered efficiencies under extreme load

conditions and permit safe, unattended operation of the system. Tests performed to verify this

are detailed in Appendix D."

3. Small Report - Big Appendix.

In general, the more data, facts, test results and similar detail you have the more likely it is

that you will overwhelm your reader and yourself with it. It may be very good data and you

may be justly proud of it, but it will swamp the most attentive reader if you let it. To avoid this

problem, many writers summarize their data in the main report as succinctly as possible, and

then present it in full in a large, often separately bound appendix.


1. Is your thesis statement clear and concise?

2. Does your arrangement suit your purpose?

3. Does your arrangement fulfil your reader’s

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4. The Executive Summary

In this, only the most important information can be presented. The size of an executive

summary is not defined but they typically run only a few pages. To cram as much useful

information as possible into it, the writer must distill his entire report into some graphs, maps

or other figures, tables, and some text. Every trick of concise data presentation must be used.

When well done however, an executive summary presented at the beginning of your report

will get your message to the most readers in the smallest possible space.

III. TEXTUAL ELEMENTS

A. Patterns of Development: Ways of thinking as writing strategies

1. Narration: How did it happen?

2. Description: How does it look, sound, feel, smell, taste?

3. Illustration: What are examples of it or reasons for it?

4. Definition: What is it? What does it encompass, and what does it exclude?

5. Analysis: What are its parts or characteristics?

6. Classification: What groups or categories can it be sorted into?

7. Comparison/Contrast: How is it like, or different from, other things?

8. Analogy: Is it comparable to something that is ina different class but more familiar to

readers?

9. Cause & effect: What are its causes or its effects?

10. Process analysis: How do you do it, or how does it work?


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B. Writing the draft

1. Your first draft: Just do it. Start somewhere. Keep going. Follow your outline.

2. Revising: Re-seeing your work in relation to the thesis statement/objectives;

unity/coherence/development; editing language and tone; adding graphical elements

3.Opening/closing strategies

STRATEGIES FOR OPENING PARAGRAPHS

STRATEGIES FOR CLOSING PARAGRAPHS

state the subject restate the thesis

use a relevant quotation use a relevant quotation

relate an incident/anecdote summarize the paper

ask a question recommend a course of action

make a historical comparison/contrast give a symbolic or powerful fact

create an image create an image

strike a note of hope or despair


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4. TRANSITIONAL DEVICES/EXPRESSIONS:

To add or show sequence And, again, also, then, besides, equally important, finally,

first, further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, last,

moreover, next, second, still, too

To compare Also, in the same way, likewise, similarly

To contrast but, although, and yet, but at the same time, despite, even

so, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of,

nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the

other hand, regardless, still, though, yet

To give examples or intensify after all, even, for example, for instance, indeed, in fact, it

is true, of course, specifically, that is, to illustrate, truly

To indicate place Above, adjacent to, below, elsewhere, opposite to, etc.

To indicate time Then, after, as long as, at last, at that time, before, in the

meantime, at present, currently, meanwhile, subsequently,

when

To show cause & effect Accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, hence,

otherwise, thus, then, therefore, to this end

To repeat, summarize, conclude Therefore, all in all, altogether, in brief, in conclusion, in

other words, in particular, in simpler terms, in summary,

on the whole

C. AVOIDING PLAGIARISM: the SANDWICH technique

Original Passage:

One might contend, of course, that our country’s biological diversity is so great and the

land is so developed – so crisscrossed with the works of man – that it will soon be hard to

build a dam anywhere without endangering some species. But as we developed a national

inventory of endangered species, we certainly can plan our necessary development so as to


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exterminate the smallest number possible…

James L. Buckley, “Three Cheers for the Snail Darter,” National Review, September 14, 1979: 144-145.

Examples of plagiarism:

1. Our country’s biological diversity is so great and the land is so developed that it will soon

be hard to build a dam anywhere without endangering some species. But as we developed a

national inventory of endangered species, we certainly can plan our necessary development

so as to determine the smallest number possible.

2. Our country’s biological diversity is so great and the land is so developed that in the near

future we may pose a threat to some creature whenever we construct a dam. By developing

a national inventory of endangered species, however, we can plan necessary development

so as to preserve as many species as possible (Buckley 144).

1. PARAPHRASE (say it in your own words!)

America has so many kinds of plants and animals, and it is so built up, that in the near future

we may pose a threat so some living thing just by damming some waterway. If, however, we

knew which of our nation’s plants and animals were threatened, we could use this information

to preserve as many species as we can (Buckley 144).

2. Use DIRECT QUOTES when:

the language is unusually vivid, bold, or inventive.

the quotation cannot be paraphrased without distortion or loss of meaning.

it represents and emphasizes the view of an important expert.

BUT KEEP THEM SHORT AND RELEVANT.

VERBS FOR INTRODUCING PARAPHRASES AND QUOTATIONS:


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(Introduce borrowed material with a verb that conveys information about the source

author’s attitude towards what he or she is saying.)

Author is neutral

Author infers or suggests

Author argues Author agrees Author is uneasy or disparaging

Describes Analyzes Alleges Admits Belittles

Explains Asks Claims Agrees Bemoans

Illustrates Assesses Contends Concedes complains

Notes Concludes Defends Concurs Condemns

Observes Considers Disagrees Grants deplores

Points out Finds Holds Deprecates

Records Predicts Insists Derides

Relates Proposes Maintains Laments

Reports Reveals Warns

Says Shows

Sees Speculates

Thinks Suggests

Writes Supposes

IV. GRAPHICAL/APPEARANCE ELEMENTS


ALWAYS CITE YOUR SOURCES!

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The graphic elements of your report are important for at least the following reasons:

They are often the only thing which will be looked at by some readers.

They create the overall impression of the quality of your work.

They allow you to convey complex ideas in simple ways.

They are often the most concise way to present certain kinds of data.

EXAMPLES:

1. White space: The reader of your report will find it much easier if you provide an occasional

rest from his/her labors. The effective use of "white space" does this and makes your

report look better, scan more easily and places the emphasis on the most important points.

2. Maps or other relevant images

3. Graphs: Graphs represent one of the best ways to illustrate numerical data in a concise

and dramatic way; especially helpful when you wish to show trends over time or the effect of

one variable upon another. The key to good graphs is simplicity.

Most readers expect to read graphs from left to right and from the bottom up;

types of graphs: bar, line, pie, area, 3-D, logarithmic, etc.

4. Tables/ charts: Tables represent a kind of hybrid between textual and graphical report

elements.

With a good tabulation of data, your job is to explain in the text of the report the

meaning and significance of the table.

Lines are very helpful in guiding the reader's eye to those things you particularly want

him/her to notice. Shading, boldface type, separation and similar tricks can also be

used to accomplish that same objective.


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5. Schematics or Flow diagrams: a drawing or illustration which shows how something

works, rather than how it actually looks; they show how something flows through the

system, what happens to it along the way and what the end result of a process is.

SOURCES:

Fowler, H.Ramsey & Jane Aaron. The Little, Brown Handbook. 5th edition. New York:

HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1992.

Hoffman, Gary & Glynis. Adios, Strunk & White. A Handbook for the New Academic Essay.

2nd edition. California: Verve Press, 1999.

http://www.pdhonline.org


Avoid clutter, confusion, and sloppiness!

Simpler is always better.

technical writing handout

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