TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ENGLISH WRITING

1. TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ENGLISHWRITING COURSE INTRODUCTION

2. I. Technical Writing and Creative Writing 1. Audience 2. A point to make 3. Structure

3. Behaviorism is a school of psychology maintaining that to understand human behavior, one needs only to consider the reinforcing properties of the environment—that is, how positive and negative events in the environment are associated with specific behaviors. For example, dogs come when they are called because they have learned that compliance is followed by positive reinforcement (e.g., food and fondling); children will memorize their

4. multiplication tables more quickly if you praise them, smile at them, and paste a gold star on their forehead following correct answers. Psychologists in this tradition, such as John Watson and B. F. Skinner, suggested that all behavior could be understood by examining the rewards and punishments in the organism’s environment and that there was no need to study such subjective states as thinking and feeling. --Exploring Content 1

5. In order to improve the brightness and contrast while maintaining the structural benefits of polymer networks, polymer walls have been formed in high polymer content PSCT displays. The formulations were composed of ultraviolet (UV) curable monomers and chiral nematic liquid crystals. The formation of polymer walls was achieved by irradiating selective areas of a cell with UV light through a photomask to induce phase separation by

6. phopolymerization. This method was also used by researchers from Sharp in the formation of polymer walls for fabrications of axially symmetric aligned microcells and polymer matrix supertwisted nematic liquid crystal displays. The polymer walls in the interpixel regions not only improve the electro-optic characteristics of PSCT displays, but also provide excellent pressure resistance preventing distortion of a display image.

7. The war wasn’t all terror and violence. Sometimes things could almost get sweet. For instance, I remember a little boy with a plastic leg. I remember how he hopped over to Azar and asked for a chocolate bar—”GI number one,” the kid said—and Azar laughed and handed over the chocolate. When the boy hopped away, Azar clucked his tongue and said, “War is a bitch.” He shook his head sadly. “One leg, for Chrissake. Some poor fucker ran out of ammo.” --Tim O’Brien

8. American Poetry (Louis Simpson) Whatever it is, it must have A stomach that can digest Rubber, coal, uranium, moons, poems. Like the shark, it contains a shoe. It must swim for miles through the desert Uttering cries that are almost human.

9. The Red Wheelbarrow (By William Carlos Williams) so much dependsupon a red wheelbarrow glazed with rainwater beside the whitechickens.

10. II. How to write well? • Writing with a purpose • Audience • The basics 3. Structures 4. Stylistic issues (clarity, flow, concision, coherence, parallelism, etc.)

11. Our particular problems ( sentence structures, punctuation, etc.) 6. Reading • Thinking in English • Writing

12. Sentence Structures Incorrect Sentence Structures 1. Higher precipitation should, of course, lead to increased river flows, this trend has been confirmed by a number of regional studies. 2. Even the odds of such calamities may be small, the consequences would be extraordinarily destabilizing.

13. Correct: 1. Higher precipitation should, of course, lead to increased river flows, and this trend has been confirmed by a number of regional studies. 2. Even though the odds of such calamities may be small, the consequences would be extraordinarily destabilizing.

14. Incorrect: 3. The media have been objectifying women for so long, therefore researchers have had time to create a body of literature on the effects of these images on women. 4. Since our goal is to create an electron beam, so we measure the charge contained in the electron beam at the output of the rf gun and use it in the calculation of quantum efficiency.

15. Correct: 3.The media have been objectifying women for so long; therefore, researchers have had time to create a body of literature on the effects of these images on women. 4.Since our goal is to create an electron beam, we measure the charge contained in the electron beam at the output of the rf gun and use it in the calculation of quantum efficiency.

16. Incorrect: Unlike most natural processes, that take hundreds of years to evolve, the crisis could hit soon. One of the reasons the loss of planet’s ice cover is accelerating is because as the poles white surfaces shrinks, it changes the relationship of Earth and the sun.

17. Correct: Unlike most natural processes, which take hundreds of years to evolve, the crisis could hit soon. One of the reasons the loss of planet’s ice cover is accelerating is that as the poles white surfaces shrinks, it changes the relationship of Earth and the sun.

18. Incorrect: Given the complexities of earth’s biosphere. It is inevitable that some unfolding water tread will have both negative and positive consequences. Correct: Given the complexities of earth’s biosphere, it is inevitable that some unfolding water tread will have both negative and positive consequences.

19. The Mormons earned more from trade with prospectors on their way to the gold fields than most of the miners did after they got there. Congress could no more prevent a slaveowner from taking his human property to the territories than it could prevent him from taking his horses or hogs there.

20. His loyalty to his friend was not affected by the latest poll. His adherence to his own policies was even less affected by the latest poll. His loyalty to his friends was no more affected by the latest poll than was his adherence to his own policies.

21. The Constitution furnishes no excuse for reviving the African slave trade. For the same reason it can not furnish any excuse for permitting slavery going into the free territory. The Constitution can furnish no more excuse for permitting slavery to go into the free territory than it could for reviving the African slave trade.

22. Every bit as unattainable as Barbie-doll proportions and the heroin-chick look are the broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, fat-free, muscle-sheathed male physiques littering today’s media.

23. Stylistic Issues: Which of the following is better? Congress’s reduction of the deficit resulted in the decline of interest rates. Interest rates declined because Congress reduced the deficit.

24. Which is better? There are predictions by business executives that the economy would experience a quick revival. Business executives predicted that the economy would quickly revive.

25. Which is better? Attempts by economists at defining full employment have been met with failure. Economists have attempted but failed to define full employment.

26. Which is better? In this study, the dynamics of an ion interacting with multiple electrostatic waves propagating perpendicularly to an ambient field with shear is investigated. In this study, we investigate the dynamics of an ion interacting with multiple electrostatic waves propagating perpendicularly to an ambient field with shear.

27. The objective of this study is to investigate the dynamics of an ion interacting with multiple electrostatic waves propagating perpendicularly to an ambient field with shear. In this study, we investigate how an ion interacts with multiple electrostatic waves propagating perpendicularly to an ambient field with shear.

28. Which is better? However, to our knowledge, the understanding of the motion of an ion interacting with multiple electrostatic waves perpendicularly to an ambient magnetic field with shear is still lacking.

29. However, to our knowledge, there is a lack of understanding regarding the motion of an ion interacting with multiple electrostatic waves perpendicularly to an ambient magnetic field with shear. However, we still do not fully understand the motion of an ion interacting with multiple electrostatic waves perpendicularly to an ambient magnetic field with shear.

30. Which is better? It is inevitable that some unfolding water trends will have both negative and positive consequences, given the complexities of the Earth’s biosphere. Given the complexities of the Earth’s biosphere, it is inevitable that some unfolding water trends will have both negative and positive consequences.

31. because since as because of due to as a result resulting in resulting from therefore consequently the reason that…is that with the result that with the consequence that as a consequence in consequence the reason for the cause of to causein that

32. Start with simple sentences: If the ocean water becomes diluted by freshwater, the salt concentration drops. The water gets lighter. It idles on top and stalls the current.

33. Improved: If the ocean water becomes diluted by freshwater, the salt concentration drops, and the water gets lighter, which idles on top and stalls the current. If the ocean water becomes diluted by freshwater, the salt concentration drops, and the water gets lighter, idling on top and stalling the current.

34. Start with a simple sentence: Carbon dioxide represents just s few hundred parts per million (ppm) in the overall air blanket. However, they are powerful parts. The reason is that they allow sunlight to stream in but prevent much of the heat from radiating back out.

35. Improved: Carbon dioxide represents just s few hundred parts per million (ppm) in the overall air blanket, but they are powerful parts, because they allow sunlight to stream in but prevent much of the heat from radiating back out.

36. Start with simple sentences: Hayward dispatched groups of executives to newly established BP “Operations Academy.” This is a program at MIT. They spent three two-week sessions there. They learn to better manage their businesses and they deal with risk. It includes a case study on what went wrong at Texas City.

37. Improved: Hayward dispatched groups of executives to newly established BP “Operations Academy,” a program at MIT where they spent three two-week sessions learning to better manage their businesses and deal with risk, including a case study on what went wrong at Texas City.

38. V. Typical Technical Writing Structure a. Title b. Abstract c. Introduction d. Experimental Procedures (or Data Collection and Presentation) e. Results and Discussion f. Conclusion g. Acknowledgements h. References

39. Course Objectives: • Sentence Structures • Introduction, Experimental Procedure, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. • Stylistic issues: Clarity, Concision, Cohesion, Coherence, Parallelism etc.