Effective English Writing Skills at Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

1. Hess Education A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

2. Writing SkillsforTheses and Articles • Department of Computer Science & Information Engineering, National Taiwan University • http://www.csie.ntu.edu.tw/~writing/ • Non-credit elective, Eligibility: 2nd year M.A. students, 3rd year+ Ph.D. students • Dr. William C. Vocke: • Cell: 0937-061-456 • Email: wvocke@csie.ntu.edu.tw A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

3. IS • This IS • Hard Work • English • Skill (sports, instruments) • This is NOT • Conceptual • intimate • chinese • grammar • spelling A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

4. Purpose • To increase the quality of the English writing skills focusing on theses/dissertations and articles/papers • As Microsoft demonstrates… • “Young engineers who write with clarity and make logical presentations tend to become supervisors of other engineers within 5 years of graduation” A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

5. Goals • You will have an effective, personal outline for a research topic by the course’s end. • More student papers will be accepted for presentations or publication in English. • English theses/dissertations will be more polished upon submission to faculty. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

6. Format • Each 3 hour class meeting is divided into thirds for a total of 12, 50-minute sessions • A homework assignment precedes each class meeting • Each 50 minute session includes: • Lecture, bulleted PowerPoint handouts • Illustrations from • Completed theses and papers • Student homework assignments • Activities: one of the following • Planning practice • Outlining practice • Writing practice • Editing practice • Hints • Writing hint of the session • ESL hint of the session A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

7. Useful Texts[If available, these will be on reserve in the main library.] • Alley, Michael. (2003). The Craft of Scientific Presentations. New York: Springer-Verlag. • Alley, Michael. (2000). The Craft of Editing: A Guide for Managers, Scientists, and Engineers. New York: Springer-Verlag. • Alley, Michael. (1996). The Craft of Scientific Writing (3rd ed.). New York: Springer-Verlag. • Booth, Vernon. (1993). Communicating in Science-Writing a Scientific Paper and Speaking at Scientific Meetings (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • (Dictionary (a Chinese/English version at your level, i.e., introductory, intermediate or advanced) • Grammar (one good one is: Swan, Michael. (1995). Practical English Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Paradis, James G. & Zimmerman, Muriel L. (1997). The MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communications. Boston: MIT Press. • Strunk, Jr., W. & White, E. B. (1979). Elements of Style (4th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon • Style and citation format from your target journal, convention or department. • Turabian, K. L. (1996). A Manual for Writers of Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (6th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

8. Assessment • Evaluation Students develop a portfolio of materials that they have written or edited. This shows their commitment and provides a measure of their progress. A pass/fail grade is given. • Homework • Due: Monday before class. • Format: English Name, Chinese Name, Homework #___ • Assignment • Email to: wvocke@csie.ntu.edu.tw • RE: CS Homework #___ A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

9. 6 28 3 7 14 1981 4 20+50+ 1212 186 3 17 4 A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

10. Writing Hint Process Writing Approach writing as a continuous iterative process. Drafting Structuring Re-viewing Focusing Generating Ideas Evaluating White & Arndt (1991) A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

11. “But in science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man whom the idea first occurs.” -Sir Francis Darwin A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

12. ESL Hint • Good writing varies by culture, in addition to varying by audience, discipline and purpose, i.e. direct or indirect, personal or impersonal, plain or embellished, etc. • Vague is bad in English technical writing. Some, however, intentionally write vaguely, attempting to demonstrate their greater wisdom with seductive phrases and illusory allusions rather than speaking in diamorphous linear constructions thereby befuddling those readers lacking a clear personal sense of rectitude. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

13. Assessing Theses • Table of Contents • This is the FINAL outline. • It demonstrates the logic of the project. • Examples • 1 • 2 [Writing Hint] • 3 • 4 A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

14. Writing Hint • Tell them what you are going to tell • Tell them • Tell them what you told Beginning Middle End A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

15. Audience Take a minute and write down why you think I may be wearing this? Good reasons? Bad reasons? Basic rule- Don’t let anything external get in the way of good communication. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

16. Assessing Theses • Abstract- [which looks best?] • Strategies • Outline- What you did. [ • Outcome- Background & conclusion • Impact- Importance & conclusion • others • Examples [Editing Code] • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

17. Exercise 1 You have an abstract. • Make 3-8 editing marks on the original. • Re-write the original. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

18. Exercise 1 cont’d • Partner with someone • Review the editing marks to see if you understand them. • What is the total number of marks that you both agree are correct. • Write it at the top of both papers. • Compare your rewritten version and together write a new, third version. • Hand in the result A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

19. Exercise 1 cont’t Game production is constantly more complex, and graphics systems are the most important part of modern game software. Graphic systems have to cooperate heavily with other components, since making a game requires not only programming but also extensive content, and most content is heavily graphic. This thesis makes the production more effective. It proposes the design and implementation of an object-oriented graphics engine, an engine that would be easy to use and extend. Also offered are engine tools that build a smooth graphics content pipeline and are suitable for small production teams. The engine and tools mean better games at less cost. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

20. ESL Hint In English writers are expected to cite all sources. This includes as much detail as is available. For instance, the page number if available. [Make it easy for the reader to check!} A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

21. Day 2 • Review • Assessing tables of contents • Assessing Abstracts • Today • Writing Exercise • Idea Generation • Research Questions • Writing a Thesis Statement • Formal Structure • Outlining • [Editing Code] A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

22. Writing Hint Process Writing Approach writing as a continuous iterative process. Drafting Structuring Re-viewing Focusing Generating Ideas Evaluating White & Arndt (1991) A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

23. Exercise 1 cont’t Game production is constantly more complex, and graphics systems are the most important part of modern game software. Graphic systems have to cooperate heavily with other components, since making a game requires not only programming but also extensive content, and most content is heavily graphic. This thesis makes the production more effective. It proposes the design and implementation of an object-oriented graphics engine, an engine that would be easy to use and extend. Also offered are engine tools that build a smooth graphics content pipeline and are suitable for small production teams. The engine and tools mean better games at less cost. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

24. Exercise 1 cont’d • Why these choices • Strategy • Research Question • Thesis Statement A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

25. Your Parameters Constraints(external) Choices(internal) Audience Topic (?) Format Structure Mechanics Depth Politics Language Illustration Adapted from Hua-Kuang Lie, PowerPoint, for “Effective Science and Engineering Communication” A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

26. Writing Hint Know your audience and write from the reader’s perspective. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

27. Audience • Who reads it? • Why will they read it? • How will they read it? • What do they know? • What is your relationship? • What do you want to happen? • [normally for CSIE-inform and/or persuade but can also entertain and call to action] A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

28. Your Audience Exercise 2 • List the likely audiences for your writing. • Put the list in a rank order, most to least important. • Compare the list with your partner’s. • Compare our joint list with another group’s • Help generate a class list. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

29. Writing Hint • Special difficulties in Technical Writing • Complex subjects • Complicated insider’s language • Compensate for these A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

30. Your Parameters Constraints(external) Choices(internal) Audience Topic (?) Format Structure Mechanics Depth Politics Language Illustration Adapted from Hua-Kuang Lie, PowerPoint, for “Effective Science and Engineering Communication” A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

31. Generating a Topic: Techniques • Brainstorming • Alone • Group (talking and listening) • Clustering • Asking questions • Freewriting • Annotating texts • Searching internet A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

32. Class Contract!! • An idea set or thesis statement is the property of the creator, unless explicitly released. • DO NOT steal your colleagues ideas! A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

33. Exercise 3 • Using one of these techniques, generate a research idea. 2 minutes • Get in groups of 4. • Briefly explain your idea to the group.1 minute • Have the group expand the idea.2 minutes • Repeat the process for each of the 4 people A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

34. From Idea Set to Research Question • Narrow • Challenging • Grounded A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

35. Thesis Statement • This is the sentence stating the main point. • A generalization, not a fact • Limited, not too broad • Focused, not too vague A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

36. Identifying Questions & Theses • 4 abstracts • Write the Question and Thesis for each at the bottom of the page. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

37. The next colored slides adapted from Hua-Kuang Lie, PowerPoint, for “Effective Science and Engineering Communication.” Creating Titles The title is the single most importantpart of any document. It tells people what the document is. If it is unclear, many people for whom you wrote the document will never read it. An example of a weak title: Reducing the Hazards of Operations A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

38. Creating Titles • Criteria for a strong title: • identifies the field of study for the document • separates the document from other documents Weak: Effects of Humidity on the growth of Avalanches (Avalanches of slow or electrons?) Revised title: Effects of Humidity on the Growth of Electron Avalanches in Electrical Gas Discharges A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

39. Creating Titles Weak: Studies on the Electrodeposition of Lead on Copper (Why?) Improved Effects of Rhodamine-B on the Electrodeposition of Lead on Copper A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

40. Creating Titles Weak: Effects of Rhodamine-B and Saccharin on the Electric Double Layer During Nickel Electrodeposition on Platinum Studied by AC-Cyclic Voltammetry (Why?) Improved Use of AC-Cyclic Voltammetry to Study Organic Agents in the Electrodeposition of Nickel on Platinum A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

41. Creating Titles Big-word syndrome: 10 MW Solar Thermal Electric Central Receiver Barstow Power Pilot Plant Transfer Fluid Conversion Study (It overwhelms) Improved: Proposalto Use a New Heat Transfer Fluid in the Solar One Power Plant (small words, rest stops; ‘proposal’, special situation) Note: Solar One: the world’s largest solar power plant A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

42. Creating Titles Unfamiliar-word syndrome: Use of an IR FPA in Determining the Temperature Gradient of a Face (It puzzles) Improved: Determining Temperature Gradients With a New Infrared Optical Device A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

43. Day 3 • Review-culture & audience • For each of the four abstracts • Exercise 4: Write Thesis Statement and Research Question for each Abstract on the board. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

44. Thesis Hooks • Startling statistic or fact • Vivid example • Description • Quotation • Question • Analogy A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

45. Writing Hint • Generate a large body of ideas to define the scope of your project • Define your Basic Research Question • Focus on a one-sentence Thesis Statement answering the Question • Find a Hook A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

46. Exercise 5 • Groups of 4 • Take out the Idea Set you generated. • As a group, write a tentative Research Question and a Thesis for each idea set. • Decide which you think is best • Have one member report that idea to the class. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

47. Selecting Wining Topics • Ask the field (journals) • Ask the experts (professor) • Ask the next stars (colleagues) • Ask What? • Research Question • Thesis Statement • Idea Set A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

48. ESL Hint • Chinese allows the omission of the subject or the verb. Expect in commands ( Be quiet!), English always requires you to state the subject and verb of the main sentence. A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

49. Your Parameters Constraints(external) Choices(internal) Audience Topic (?) Format Structure Mechanics Depth Politics Language Illustration Adapted from Hua-Kuang Lie, PowerPoint, for “Effective Science and Engineering Communication” A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program

50. Fields in Computer Science 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A Hess-NTU Cooperative Program