Chien-Tsun ChenDepartment of Computer Science and Information EngineeringNational Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan

ctchen@ctchen.idv.twJuly 14 2004

Introduction to Technical Writing and Presentation

References

陳怡倩，國立台北科技大學92學年上學期英文科技論文寫作 (機電博所)上課講義Alley, M. (2002). The Craft of Scientific Presentations: Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid. Springer Verlag.

This talk introduces general guidelines of technical paper writing and presentation

The process of papers writing and the structure of papers

Rethinking the design of presentation slides

The process of papers writing and the structure of papers

Good writers recognize that writing is a process or a cycle of tasks

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Planning, researching, collecting data, organizing and outlining information.

Developing ideas once the outline is completed. Including as many specific details in draft as possible.

To revise is to make changes. Make sure the message says exactly what it should.

To edit is to alter or refine a written message to improve it. Proofreading is the process of reviewing and correcting the final draft.

To publish your message is to deliver it to the receiver or make it available to the public.

Another aspect of a writing process which describes more prewriting activities

Finding a Topic

Gathering Data

Organizing Ideas and Setting Goals

Finding and Reading the Best Sources

Writing Notes

Writing the Paper

Blending Sources into Your Writing

Handing Format

Works Cited

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The structure of a paper is like a spool. From general to specific, and specific to general.

A spool

A paper

Abstract

Introduction

Conclusion

Result & discussion

Research method

Related research*

Title

References

Writing facts, quotations, or opinions that you got from another source without citing them is plagiarism

Language Plagiarism

MosaicPlagiarismIdea

Plagiarism

Structural Plagiarism

Three ways to avoid plagiarism

Use quotation marks when you use another author's words or phrasesUse your words to communicate the author's intended meaning when you paraphraseprovide citations for all materials taken from the work of another that is not common knowledge

A good paragraph has a good topic statement and an appropriate supporting materials

Topic sentence is the main idea of the paragraph

1. Chronological Description

2. Cause-and-Effect Analysis

3. Comparison and Contrast

4. Listing5. General-to-

Particular Ordering of Details

Pattern of organization

Rethinking the design of presentation slides

Please refer to another document

The slide-structure of a technical 20-min presentation

1.5-2 minutes per slide on average.

In summary, technical writing and presentation are skill-intensive activities

Questions?

Technical writing is a process, and understand the structure of technical paper can improve your writing as well as reading.

You should not be limited by the PowerPoint build-in templates to create slides. And prepare good presentation takes time.

Generally, an Introduction contains six stages, but the fifth and sixth stages are optional

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1. General statements

2. Review of the literature

3. Need for more information/missing information

4. Statement of the purpose

5. Statement of value or applications

6. Organization of the paper

An example of the fifth stage

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1. General statements

2. Review of the literature

3. Need for more information/missing information

4. Statement of the purpose

5. Statement of value or applications.

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. 6. Organization of the paper

An example of the sixth stage

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1. General statements

2. Review of the literature

3. Need for more information/missing information

4. Statement of the purpose

5. Statement of value or applications

6. Organization of the paper

Five common ways to organize literature review

d) Debate Model e) One Seminal Study

Related work, previous work, and background are all literature review

Some people put literature review at the end of papers

The results are presented using both figures and written text

Commenting on results: Result 1 + comment 1 + result 2 + comment 2...

Comments may (a) generalize results, (b) explain possible reasons for the results, and (c) compare the results with results from other studies

The abstract provides a brief preview of your study based on the information from the other sections of the paper

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1. Background*2. Purpose3. Methodology4. Most important results5. Conclusion or recommendation*

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Another Abstract example (in Chinese)

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1. Background*2. Purpose3. Methodology4. Most important results5. Conclusion or recommendation*

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Following the structure of the author’s writing too closely is structural plagiarism

Lifting out phrase and terms from a source and inserting them into your own prose is mosaic plagiarism

Slide Number 1ReferencesThis talk introduces general guidelines of technical paper writing and presentationThe process of papers writing and the structure of papersGood writers recognize that writing is a process or a cycle of tasks Another aspect of a writing process which describes more prewriting activitiesThe structure of a paper is like a spool. From general to specific, and specific to general.Writing facts, quotations, or opinions that you got from another source without citing them is plagiarismThree ways to avoid plagiarismA good paragraph has a good topic statement and an appropriate supporting materialsRethinking the design of presentation slidesPlease refer to another documentThe slide-structure of a technical 20-min presentationIn summary, technical writing and presentation are skill-intensive activitiesGenerally, an Introduction contains six stages, but the fifth and sixth stages are optionalAn example of the fifth stageAn example of the sixth stageFive common ways to organize literature reviewRelated work, previous work, and background are all literature reviewSome people put literature review at the end of papersThe results are presented using both figures and written textComments may (a) generalize results, (b) explain possible reasons for the results, and (c) compare the results with results from other studiesThe abstract provides a brief preview of your study based on the information from the other sections of the paperAnother Abstract example (in Chinese)Slide Number 25Slide Number 26