Week 11

1. Week 11

2. Contents: • Structure of a technical papers • Writing abstract • Punctuations • Describing graphs and tables • Action verb

3. Structure of Technical papers • http://myweb.ncku.edu.tw/~msju/mml/techwrt.htm • http://www.cs.ccu.edu.tw/~ccc/article/TecWrite.htm • http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/etc/writing-style.html

4. A technical paper should be clear and concise. The goal is to convey ideas and results to the readers in the least possible time and space. Everything about the document should contribute to this goal. The notations and format should be consistent throughout the paper. • It is a very common error to dive into the technical approach or the implementation details without having appropriately framed the problem. You should first say what the problem or goal is, and — even when presenting an algorithm — first state what the output is and probably the key idea, before discussing steps.

5. Structure of a technical paper A paper usually consists of the following components: 1) Title—It should be concise and to the point. For example, some publications limit the title to less than ten words. • Avoid all but the most readily understood abbreviations. • Avoid common phrases like "novel", "performance evaluation" and "architecture", since almost every paper does a performance evaluation of some architecture and it better be novel. Unless somebody wants to see 10,000 Google results, nobody searches for these types of words. • Use adjectives that describe the distinctive features of your work, e.g., reliable, scalable, high-performance, robust, low-complexity, or low-cost. • If you need inspiration for a paper title, you can consult the Automatic Systems Research Topic or Paper Title Generator.

6. 2) Abstract—A summary of the paper, including a brief description of the problem, the solution, and conclusions. Do not cite references in the abstract. 3) Keywords—They should be selected such that a computerized search will be facilitated. 4) Introduction—This should contain the background of the problem, why it is important, and what others have done to solve this problem. All related existing work should be properly described and referenced. The proposed solution should be briefly described, with explanations of how it is different from, and superior to, existing solutions. The last paragraph should be a summary of what will be described in each subsequent section of the paper.

7. 5) System Model —The proposed model is described. There will invariably be assumptions made. State the model assumptions clearly. Do the assumptions make sense? Use figures to help explain the model. 6) Numerical results —Based on the model, numerical results will be generated. These results should be presented in such a way as to facilitate the readers’ understanding. Usually, they will be presented in the form of figures or tables. The parameter values chosen should make sense. All the results should be interpreted. Details on the simulation time, the computer, and the language used in the simulation should also be included. 7) Conclusions —This summarizes what have been done and concluded based on the results. A description of future research should also be included.

8. 8) References —This should contain a list of papers referred to in the paper. If there is a choice, use a reference which is more readily available, i.e., if an author has published a conference version and a journal version of the paper, refer to the journal version. Research reports, internal memos, private correspondences, and preprints are usually hard to access and should be avoided as much as possible. 9) Appendix —Those materials which are deemed inessential to the understanding of the paper, but included for the sake of completeness. Sometimes, detailed mathematical proofs are put in the appendix to make the paper more readable. 10) Figures —The figures may be placed immediately after they are referred to in the text, or placed at the end of the paper. Each figure should be readable without relying on the accompanying description in the text. Thus, all symbols used in the figure should be explained in the figure legend. In addition, do not make the figures and legends too small.

9. Writing abstract • http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/writing_center/grabstract.html

10. An abstract is a summary of a body of information in a paragraph—100-350 words for a descriptive abstract, 100-250 words an informative abstract. An abstract expresses the main claim and argument of a paper. • In most disciplines, it never includes bibliographic citations. An abstract concisely highlights or reviews the major points covered along with the content and scope of the writing. • An abstract can also be a useful tool for writers to check that they have a clear grasp of their thesis and argument. If the writer can state the thesis and argument clearly in a few sentences—and in such a way that someone who doesn't know the subject will still be able to understand the main idea—then the writer knows she has a good grasp of the ideas she is trying to express. • An abstract says everything of central importance in a way that gives the reader a clear overview of what is contained in the essay.

11. Essential elements of the abstract are: • Background: A simple opening sentence or two placing the work in context. • Aims: One or two sentences giving the purpose of the work. • Method(s): One or two sentences explaining what was done. (Described at length only if it is unusual) • Results: One or two sentences indicating the main findings. (Absolutely essential) • Conclusions: One sentence giving the most important consequence of the work. (Telling what the results mean).

12. Qualities of a Good Abstract • Well developed paragraphs are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone • Uses an introduction/body/conclusion structure which presents the article, paper, or report's purpose, results, conclusions, and recommendations in that order • Follows strictly the chronology of the article, paper, or report • Provides logical connections (or transitions) between the information included • Adds no new information, but simply summarizes the report • Is understandable to a wide audience • Oftentimes uses passive verbs to downplay the author and emphasize the information

13. Voice Scientists have grappled for years over the appropriate way to talk about discoveries: should it be "We measured ion concentration in the blood" or "Ion concentration in the blood was measured"?

14. Don’ts • Do not commence with "this paper…”, "this report…" or similar. It is better to write about the research than about the paper. Avoid use of "in this paper“, what other paper would you be talking about here? • Do not contain references, as it may be used without the main article. It is acceptable, although not common, to identify work by author, abbreviation or RFC number. (For example, "Our algorithm is based upon the work by Smith and Wesson.") • Avoid sentences that end in "…is described", "…is reported", "…is analyzed" or similar. • Do not begin sentences with "it is suggested that…” "it is believed that…", "it is felt that…"or similar. In every case, the four words can be omitted without damaging the essential message.

15. Do not repeat or rephrase the title. • Do not enumerate a list of topics covered; instead, convey the essential information found in your paper. • Avoid equations and math. Exceptions: Your paper proposes E = m c 2. • Do not refer in the abstract to information that is not in the document. • If possible, avoid trade names, acronyms, abbreviations, or symbols. You would need to explain them, and that takes too much room. The abstract should be about the research, not about the act of writing.

16. Where to find examples of abstracts: • The best source of example abstracts is journal articles. Go to the library and look at biology journals, or look at electronic journals on the web. •  Read the abstract; read the article. Pick the best ones, the examples where the abstract makes the article easier to read, and figure out how they do it. • Not everyone writes good abstracts, even in refereed journals, but the more abstracts you read, the easier it is to spot the good ones.

17. Periods . Commas , Colons : Semicolons ; Question marks ? Exclamation points ! Apostrophes ' Quotation marks " " Hyphens - Dashes -- Parentheses ( ) Brackets [ ] Punctuation

18. Semicolon The semicolon ( ; ) is an important punctuation mark in English and has several uses; it is particularly common in formal and/or academic writing. There are several common ways of using the semicolon. 1. Use a semicolon to connect sentences that have closely related ideas. 2. Use a semicolon to connect items in lists if the itemsin the lists contain commas. 3. When sentences are connected by using conjunctive adverbs, the semicolon comes at the end of the first sentence.

19. 1. Use a semicolon to connect sentences that have closely related ideas. Examples: • He came; he saw; he conquered. • She always does her best; that's one reason everyone admires her. • Dave Sperling and his family recently visited a village near Chiangmai, Thailand; Dave's wife, Dao, comes from there. • Almost everyone has heard of the Time Square of New York City; it's one of the most famous tourist attractions in the U.S.A. • John and his wife are newlyweds; they got married only a few days ago.

20. Special notes 1. Periods could also be used for these sentences, but the semicolons emphasize how closely related the sentences are. (If periods are used, the sentences seem "choppy.") 2. Commas cannot be used to join sentences like the above. 3. Note that when a semicolon is used to join closely related sentences, a lower case (small) letter follows the semicolon, not a capital letter. 4. Most authorities state that when a semicolon is used with parentheses (( )) or with quotation marks (" "), the semicolon should be outside the parentheses or quotation marks: • Bill said, "I was born in a very small town"; he went on to say that it's a friendly place with a population of less than 1,000. • Ms. Jones was probably referring to the state of Washington (which is in the north-western U.S.); a reference to Washington, D.C. doesn't seem very logical to me.

21. 2. Use a semicolon to connect items in lists if the items in the lists contain commas. Examples: • She's lived in San Antonio, Dallas, and Irving, Texas; Palms, West Los Angeles, and Brentwood, California; Arch Cape and Portland, Oregon; and Phoenix, Arizona. • We invited Bob's girlfriend, Annie; Judy, Ahmed, and Simon; Simon's cousins, Hugo and Peter; our next-door neighbor, Tina, and her husband; and three or four other people. • For the class you'll need two diskettes, either formatted or unformatted; paper, both for the printer and for your class notes; and, of course, the textbook.

22. Special notes 1. Semicolons are very helpful, in sentences such as the ones above, in making the lists less confusing. Without the semicolons, the items in the list would be difficult to understand; using commas alone would not separate the items clearly: Example: We invited Bob's girlfriend, Annie, Judy, Ahmed, and Simon, Simon's cousins, Hugo and Peter, our next-door neighbor, Tina, and her husband, and three or four other people. (This sentence is confusing because the items in the list are not clearly separated.) 2. Periods cannot be used instead of semicolons in sentences like those above.

23. 3. When sentences are connected by using conjunctive adverbs, the semicolon comes at the end of the first sentence. Conjunctive adverbs include connecting words such as however, therefore, besides, consequently, nevertheless, in addition, accordingly, and otherwise; conjunctive adverbs (which are sometimes also called sentence connectors) are especially common in serious business, technical, and academic writing. Examples: • Sheila might have been sick and unable to come to work; however, I suspect that she took the day off and went shopping. • We're expected to do all the assigned work; in addition, we're required to read and report on three books that we can choose ourselves. • The last three shipments were damaged when they were received;consequently, all new shipments will be inspected just before theyleave the factory. • Maurice found the work very difficult and was often tempted to quit; nevertheless,he kept on trying and eventually did quite well on it.

24. Special notes Periods can be used with conjunctive adverbs instead of semicolons. If periods are used, the conjunctive adverbs begin with a capital letter, not a small one: • She was extremely tired. However,she finished her assignment. • She was extremely tired; however,she finished her assignment.

25. Commas • Use commas to keep your writing clear. Omitted or incorrectly used, commas can cause confusion or even change meaning. Commas should be used with the following elements: • Introductory elements • Coordinating conjunctions joining independent clauses • Elements in a series • Coordinate modifiers • Nonrestrictive modifiers • Parenthetic elements • Elliptical constructions (http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/commas.htm)

26. 1. Introductory elements Use commas to set off transitional words and phrases, introductory clauses, or introductory phrases to signal where the introductory element finishes and the main part starts. (1) Transitional Words and Phrases Place a comma after a transitional word or phrase that begins a sentence. Moreover, the opening of an export market would help expand the market for key escrow encryption. In addition, several companies and individuals have proposed commercial key escrow approaches. (2) Introductory Clauses Place a comma after an introductory dependent clause. Although key escrow is voluntary, critics say that the introduction of Clipper points national policy in a disturbing direction.

27. (3) Introductory Prepositional or Verbal Phrases Normally, use a comma after an introductory prepositional or verbal phrase. However, you may omit the comma after a short introductory phrase if no ambiguity is possible. For the first time, researchers have used DNA analysis to identify the animal tissue in 4,000-year-old rock paintings. Despite the error the experiment was successful. Combining surface area with depth, we calculated the volume of the pond. • Do not place a comma after an introductory participial or gerund phrase if the phrase forms part of the subject or verb of the sentence. Combining surface area with depth was our principal method for calculating the volume of the pond.

28. 2. Coordinating Conjunctions Joining Independent Clauses Place a comma before a coordinating conjunction that joins two independent clauses. However, if the clauses are very short and closely related, you may omit the comma. Unacceptable In almost all illicit markets, only the tip of the iceberg is visible and there is no reason why the nuclear-materials black market should be an exception. Acceptable In almost all illicit markets, only the tip of the iceberg is visible, and there is no reason why the nuclear-materials black market should be an exception.

29. 3. Elements in a series • Use a comma to separate items in a series. Although placing a final comma before the coordinating conjunction is often considered optional, omitting it can sometimes cause confusion. • In a 3-or-more-element list, it's better to put comma between each of the items (including the last two), for clarity. • Consequently, most scientific and technical writing routinely uses a final comma in a series to prevent possible ambiguities. As a simple example of why, consider this 3-element grocery list written without the clarifying last comma: “milk, macaroni and cheese and crackers”. It's not clear whether that means { milk, macaroni and cheese, crackers } or { milk, macaroni, cheese and crackers }.

30. His intellectual acuity, diverse interests, frail physique, and ethereal personality made Oppenheimer a man of legendary proportions. [In this sentence, omitting the final comma would not cause confusion. Still, it is good practice in scientific and technical writing to always include the final comma in a series.] Weak Contemporary physics is still exploring neutron stars, black holes and the penetration of electrons through potential barriers. [The omission of the final comma before and causes ambiguity: are black holes and the penetration of electrons through potential barriers specific topics connected to the general subject of neutron stars, or are they separate items?] Improved Contemporary physics is still exploring neutron stars, black holes, and the penetration of electrons through potential barriers.

31. 4. Coordinate Modifiers Use a comma between coordinate modifiers. Modifiers are coordinate if they modify the same word. You can test to see if the modifiers are coordinate by inserting and between them. If the description still makes sense, then the modifiers are coordinate. Example: Ebola viruses are known as filose viruses for their long, filament like appearance under a microscope. [Long and filament like modify the appearance of the virus equally, so a comma is needed between them.]

32. 5. Nonrestrictive Modifiers Use commas to set off nonrestrictive modifiers. A nonrestrictive modifier is usually introduced by which and contains information that is not essential to establishing the meaning of what it modifies. Example: Infectious diseases, which antibiotics and vaccines once promised to banish from our shores, have returned with a vengeance.

33. 6. Parenthetic Elements Use commas to set off parenthetic elements. Example: Oppenheimer became known, of course, for leading the physicists who built the atomic bomb at Los Alamos Laboratory.

34. 7. Elliptical Constructions Use a comma to indicate the omission of a word or words readily understood from the context. Example: In the United States there are ninety-two scanners; in Europe, eighty-five; in all of Africa, six. [The commas indicate the omission of the words there are.]

35. Specialized Uses of Commas (1) In numbers with five or more digits, Anglo-American usage dictates that there be commas before groups of three digits. Customers reported a total of 212,413 hardware malfunctions. (2) Use commas to separate adjacent numbers. In 1994, 212 cases had been diagnosed. (3) Use commas to separate items in an address. Einstein then moved to Princeton, New Jersey. The branch office address is 958 Ridge Road, Hayes, KS, which is in the northern part of the state. Portland, Oregon, is the site of the new factory.

36. (4) Use commas to set off the year in dates expressed in the month-day-year sequence. Greenberg began the project on July 2,1992. The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 5, at the high school. It rained on Monday, August 20, 1991, before the crop was harvested. (5) Omit commas when only the month and the year are stated. Greenberg began the project in July 1992. The tropical storms of July 1998 were very severe. (6) In dates written in the day-month-year sequence, the comma is omitted. Greenberg began the project on 2 July1992.

37. Colons Use colons for the following purposes: 1. to introduce and emphasize lists, quotations and explanations and certain appositional elements 2. to express ratios 3. to separate numbers signifying different nouns, such as in separating units of time or elements in a bibliographic citation 4. to separate titles from subtitles

38. To introduce and emphasize (1) To set off and emphasize lists Begin each element of lists, series, or phrases with lowercase letters. Examples: The market for photovoltaic power systems includes the following items: intrusion alarms, flood monitors, calculators, and telephone call boxes. Or The market for photovoltaic power systems includes the following items: - intrusion alarms - flood monitors - calculators - telephone call boxes Anyone communicating via computer needs a security system that ensures three essential requirements: confidentiality, authentication, and trust.

39. (2). To set off and emphasize quotations • The contract reads: "DL-400 coaxial cable shall be used for all platform instrument installations at Site 5, unless a specific exception is justified in the approved work order." • Kurt noted: "Even potatoes are probably much better guarded today than radioactive materials." Place colons outside quotation marks.

40. (3). To set off and emphasize explanations and appositional elements • In designing the tachometer, the team first posed a question: What operations are needed on the input signal in order to generate the desired output? • This system currently operates in a strictly one-sided fashion: the machine makes sure the person who inserted the card is its legitimate owner by asking for a secret password, but the cardholder must blindly trust that the machine has not been tampered with. • While thinking about this problem, we were reminded of an access-control system with similar demands that is used successfully worldwide on a daily basis: passports.

41. 2. To express ratios • The ratio of drag torque to bearing friction torque cannot exceed3:1. • The anti-GAP 43, anti-MAP 2, and anti-synaptophysin antibodies were diluted1:1000, 1:300, and 1:100, respectively, in phosphate-buffered saline containing10% bovine serum albumin.

42. 3. To separate units of time The main thruster engines ignited at 7:05 a.m. EDT. To separate elements in a citation (in certain documentation styles) E. F. Lyon, "Airport Surface Traffic Automation," Lincoln Laboratory Journal 4:151 (1991).

43. Dashes • Use dashes--sparingly--to indicate abrupt shifts in thought and to set off or emphasize appositional or parenthetical elements or interjections. In most cases, use commas or parentheses instead. Example: Although we have made these comments with specific reference to water--only because of our familiarity with water--all pure substances exhibit the same behavior. In typewritten documents, use two hyphens (--) with no spaces between or around them to form a dash.

44. Hyphens Use hyphens to link 1. certain prefixes, letters, and numbers with nouns 2. compound nouns 3. compound modifiers 4. spelled-out numbers Also use hyphens for the following purposes: • to clarify the meaning of certain words • to divide words • to express to or through between two letters or numbers • for specialized scientific notation Ex, com-pu-ter, light-year, hyper-tension Ex. pages 25-63, 1901-1911 Ex, carbon-14 (chemical elements)

45. 1. To Link Certain Prefixes, Letters, and Numbers with Nouns • Use hyphens to connect certain prefixes to nouns. In most scientific and technical styles, the following prefixes are usually followed by a hyphen: all- ex- half- quasi- self- hex- • However, scientific and technical writing styles omit the hyphen between most prefixes, especially prefixes that are not words themselves. http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/hyphen.htm

46. Use hyphens to connect numbers or letters used as prefixes to a noun. The following list of prefixes that normally are not followed by a hyphen: aero after ante anti astro auto bi bio chemo co counter de electro exo extra geo hemo hyper hypo in infra inter iso macro meta micro mid mini multi non over phto physio poly post pre pro pesudo re semi sub super supra trans un Example: the T-cell 10-cylinder

47. 2. To Link Compound Nouns Use a hyphen to link compound nouns, especially when the lack of a hyphen would change the meaning of the term. Examples: • light-year • light year [The first term is a unit of measurement, not of time; the second pair of words, on the other hand, may indicate a year that is not heavy.]

48. 3. To Link Compound Modifiers Use a hyphen to connect compound modifiers to promote clarity and prevent ambiguity. Examples: • laser-alignment process [compound modifier + noun] • laser alignment [modifier + noun] • the two-tube combiner • wire-grid aperture cap [aperture cap for a wire grid] • wire grid-aperture cap [a wire cap for a grid aperture] • wire-grid level adjustment • wire grid-level adjustment • heavy-water cavity [a cavity for heavy water] • heavy water cavity [a water cavity that is heavy]

49. 4. To Link Spelled-Out Numbers Use a hyphen to join spelled-out numbers from 21 through 99 and spelled-out fractions. Examples: • twenty-one moving parts • the thirty-third experiment • four-fifths of the subjects

50. Basic sentence punctuation patterns