Mechanics of writing a paper in MS Word

1. Mechanics of writing a paper in MS Word Alexander Mamishev Sensors, Energy, and Automation Laboratory Department of Electrical Engineering University of Washington email: mamishev@ee.washington.edu http://www.ee.washington.edu/research/seal

2. Outline • Introduction (segment 1) • Elements of Electronic Manuscript • Headings (segment 2) • Equations (segment 3) • Figures and Tables (segment 4) • References (segment 5) • Miscellaneous (segment 6) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

3. Introduction(segment 1)

4. What to expect This presentation is about • Computer typesetting skills • Engineering standards • Mechanics of writing This presentation is not about • Research skills • Art of writing • Philosophy of writing SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

5. Motivation • Compatibility • Internal (re-use, sharing) • External (extraction, sharing) • Streamlining of data processing • Automation • Rigor in writing and in typesetting SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

6. Selection of software • Latex: • Pluses: helps proper typesetting, reliable, stable, fairly simple, beautiful output, low machine memory and speed requirements • Minuses: not used in industry, does not have “clueless user” mode, somewhat cumbersome to maintain • MS Word: • Pluses: widely used, WYSIWYG, convenient spell check, track changes, manuscript marking system • Minuses: poor figure positioning, does not program well, less reliable, less stable, much easier to mess up SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

7. Needed Software • MS Word • Corel Draw (for figures) – v. 7 to 11 • MathType (for equations) – v. 4 or 5 • Reference Manager (for references) – v. 10 • Excel, Matlab, etc (for data manipulation and supplementing Corel) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

8. General approach • Everything has to be automated (numbering, referencing, cross-referencing, positioning) • Everything has to be compatible (copy/pasting, emailing, re-using, working internally, working externally) • Everything has to be failure proof (version upgrades, font embedding, colors vs. black and white, change of format) • It takes effort to understand and master this approach SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

9. Elements of manuscript • Headings • Equations • Figures and Tables • References • Miscellaneous SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

10. Common misconceptions • Only LaTeX can be used for scientific writing (this presentation will prove otherwise) • Word is very easy to use, just turn it on and start typing away (not for our purposes) • It is possible to skim through this presentation in fast-forward and be ok (this rarely proven to be the case) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

11. Common mistakes • Failing to learn these techniques early on • Taking instructions literally, without thinking • Assuming that your existing techniques are acceptable • Assigning wrong importance to this issue SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

12. The end of segment 1

13. Headings(segment 2)

14. Templates • Where to get the template? • SEAL internal website files, e.g. Generic report.doc • Recently created document from the same class (conference paper, journal paper, report, thesis, etc.) • Ctrl-A, F9 for global update SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

15. How to make headings • Two methods (either one is fine): • Create a new one • Copy the template • Updating style • Change and update, or • Format/Styles SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

16. Common mistakes • Incorrect or inconsistent capitalization • University Of Washington (“Of should be of) • 1.1 Experimental results, 1.2 Theoretical Analysis • Not using proper style, just changing the font (as a result, incorrect table of contents) • Orphan headings (1.1 without 1.2; 3.1.1 without 3.1) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

17. The end of segment 2

18. Equations(segment 3)

19. How to make equations • Two methods (second method is preferred): • Create a new one • Copy the template • Ctrl-A, F9 for global update SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

20. Format • Numbering • (1) – short documents (conference and journal papers) • (1.1) – long documents (theses, large reports) • Positioning • Tab-Equation-Tab-Number(NO SPACES!!!!!) • Switching the column width • Using format brush SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

21. Cross-referencing • Add a bookmark, do not include parentheses • Give it a good name, starting with eq • good example: eqMagneticField (notice capitalization) • bad example: eq4 • Insert-CrossReference-Bookmark, unselect “Hyperlink,” add your own parentheses SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

22. Common misconceptions • Equations are much easier to write in LaTeX than in Word (not true if you know MathType and Word shortcuts) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

23. Common mistakes • Writing “equation (6) instead of (6); (exception: beginning of sentence) • Bookmarking parentheses • Copying equation number instead of cross-referencing it • Putting “space bars” in equation line • Incorrect mathematical signs SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

24. Common mistakes • Using different font in equation and in text, for example using W in equation and W in text to denote the same variable • Using subscripts and superscripts incorrectly SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

25. The end of segment 3

26. Figures and Tables(segment 4)

27. How to make figures • Two methods (second method is preferred): • Create a new one • Copy the template • Ctrl-A, F9 for global update SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

28. Templates • Where to get the template? • SEAL internal website files, e.g. Generic report.doc • Recently created document from the same class (conference paper, journal paper, report, thesis, etc.) • Ctrl-A, F9 for global update SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

29. Sequence I • Copy/Paste the figure template with figure and caption • Copy the new figure • Paste Special as Picture • Right-click, Format Picture, Layout, In line with Text (little rectangles change from outline to black) • Center the figure SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

30. Sequence II • Adjust figure size to use the maximum amount of available space • Either pull by the corner, or • Right-click/Format Picture/Size/Type in exact size (good for multiple similar figures) • Type in a new caption preserving figure number SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

31. Captions • Make sure caption is distinct • e.g. indented, italicized, smaller font, etc. • short captions should normally be centered (you should not have short captions though) • Orphan control: use sensibly • Right-click/Paragraph, Widow/Orphan control (check), Keep lines together (check), Keep with next (check with figure) • May need an override with subdocuments in a thesis • Learn to write informative and concise captions SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

32. Cross-referencing • Insert/Cross-reference/Figure/Only Label and Number/Uncheck hyperlink/Pick the right one • If figure is far away, you may want to cross-reference the page in addition: “Figure 3 on page 12” • Remove or add bold as necessary manually. SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

33. Tables • The same procedures as for figures to make captions and cross-referencing • Make leftmost and uppermost columns distinct (typically bold) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

34. CorelDraw • Use CorelDraw to touch-up the figures • Use “Ungroup” to change part of the figure • Create equations and vertical text in separate software (Word, Mathtype), and copy to CorelDraw as graphical elements • Remember that vertically oriented text from Excel usually fails to port to other applications, touch-up with CorelDraw • CorelDraw has two .eps filters, use the .PS, .PRN, .EPS, not the other one (.EPS only) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

35. Appearance of figures I • All elements must be visible when the figure is shrunk to double-column paper format (in this case it works for PowerPoint to) • Large enough fonts (Excel and Matlab default settings are way too small) • Thick enough lines • Clear identifier signs (squares, triangles, dashes, etc.) • Adequate comments • Use Arial (sans serif) for figure text, not Times New Roman (serif) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

36. Appearance of figures II • Be sensible about color. Use it for PowerPoint, but remember that publications are black and white • Line art must be crisp • Use WMF not Bitmap, whenever possible. Paste Special as Picture preserves postscript/wmf. SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

37. Common misconceptions • After this presentation I know everything (this presentation is not intended to replace the entire philosophy of graphics for science and engineering) • It’s ok to create figures randomly, without thinking about this presentation, after all, it worked for me for many years (will not work in SEAL) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

38. Common mistakes • Writing “as shown in Figure 1,” instead of “Figure 1 shows” • Writing text “Figure 1” instead of cross-referencing the figure • Being inconsistent with “Fig. 1,” “Figure 1,” “figure 1,” etc. • Forgetting to reference the figure at all before it appears in text SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

39. Common mistakes • Meaningless or repetitive captions, e.g. caption “Temperature vs. Humidity” • Having a second caption inside the figure (above the graph) • Fonts too small, lines too thin • Fuzzy image, lines, fonts (use line art) • Figure only works in color SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

40. Common mistakes • 3D graph is shown from bad angle • Inconsistent capitalization • Corrupted fonts • Poor caption explanations • Forgetting about PASTE SPECIAL • Pulling by the side when changing figure size (pull by the corner) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

41. The end of segment 4

42. References(segment 5)

43. Reference Manager • Install properly • Sometimes needs initialization in Word • Needs database files sealmasterdb.rmd and sealmasterdb.rmx • Needs format file (IEEE9.os as of April 2004), place it in the directory Program Files/Reference Manager 10/Styles. • The riched32.dll file is for handling subscripts. Place it under the directory Program Files/Reference Manager 10 • Set column display, make sure to include UserDef2 • Pick your preferences in word (e.g. instant formatting) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

44. Usage • Blocks, updating sealmasterdb • UserDef1, UserDef2 • Internet search • Procedure • If you make a mistake, sometimes you need to repeat the insertion of the reference SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

45. Adding references • Using blocks, Manual RefID • Internet search • Search of other databases • Making sure records are displayed properly • Working with Term Manager • Modifying style file SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

46. Common mistakes • Incorrect database name • Adding new entries incorrectly • Wrong capitalization • Creating unnecessary duplicates • Misspelling • Mistakes in unusual foreign names • Forgetting to use a correct block • Forgetting to insert UserDef2 • Incorrect journal names SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

47. The end of segment 5

48. Miscellaneous(segment 6)

49. Saving files • Save often (every few minutes) • Make backup copies of previous intermediate versions (every couple of days) • Back up on external drives, such as CD or tape (every week or more) SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

50. File settings • Make sure file settings are correct; e.g. if the language setting is Portuguese, your spell check will fail SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington