What YOU Need to Know about Communication, Writing, & Science

What YOU Needto Know about Communication, Writing, & Science Tom Lang Tom Lang Communications and Training

The Importance of Writing and Publishing in Science • Science cannot exist without writing! • Writing is the only form of communication that allows science to be distinct from authority, intuition, and tradition as a way of establishing truth.

Science, to be science, must be public, objective, predictive, reproducible, systematic, and cumulative. • The published article is the only medium that allows these characteristics to exist.

If the purpose of science is to discover, the final stage of research is to publish the discovery. • If the results are not published, from a scientific standpoint, the research never took place.

The awful truth . . . • If you have chosen to become a scientist, you have chosen to become a writer!

Why You May Not Like to Write: Practice vs. Applied Writing

"The original source [of false assumptions about writing] is the artificial communication a student is required to perform in college. • In writing only for professors, a student learns to write for audiences of one, audiences who know more than the writer knows, and audiences who have no instrumental interest in what the report contains." • J. Mathes and D. Stevensen

Differences in the Direction of the Flow of Information • Practice writing: information usually goes from a student learning the topic to a teacher already knowledgeable about the topic. • Applied writing: information must go from an author knowledgeable about the topic to a reader who needs to learn about it.

Differences in How Writing is Evaluated • Practice writing: is graded on grammar or "quality of thought." The text itself is evaluated. • Applied writing: is evaluated by how it helps others in the organization to function. The text is by evaluated by assessing readers’ understanding of it.

Differences in the Intrinsic and Instrumental Aspects of Writing • Practice writing: the intrinsic value of writing is emphasized; the words themselves are the art. • Applied writing: the instrumental or functional value of writing is paramount: "transparent" text is always preferred to "style."

Differences in Expression vs. Functional Communication • Practice writing: writing is often taught as personal expression (writer-based texts) to foster students' maturation. • Applied writing: writing must be a part of social communication (reader-based texts) to make possible prolonged and complex scientific activities.

An Emphasis of Words vs. Words, Images, Numbers, and Design • Practice writing: usually emphasizes only words • Applied writing: requires tables, diagrams, graphs, maps, illustrations, photographs, equations, and sometimes even graphic design

In other words, what we learn about writing in school does not prepare us for writing in our jobs or professions.

Writing the Technical Report • "The technical report is an act of communication by a professional in an organizational system to transfer information necessary for the system to continue to function."

An Important Distinction • Your technical tasks as a problem-solver differ from your report-writing tasks as a communicator! • These two roles require different perspectives and different skills

Design the Report around the Organization System Introduce it to the system Fit it into the system

The 4-part Introduction 1. Background statement 2. Problem statement 3. Task statement 4. Summary statement

Original Introduction • The symmetrically spiraled curve program was designed and written to compute the basic characteristics of a symmetrically spiraled circular curve. In addition to those characteristics, the program will also compute the deflection angles required to set stakes at quarter stations (every 25 feet) along the curve. • Data Sets • Two data sets are required by the symmetrically spiraled curve program for every curve that is to be computed . . .

Revised Introduction • Symmetrically spiraled curves accommodate the natural driving path of the motorist. Properly designed, these curves produce a more comfortable ride. However, engineers have hesitated to use these curves because of the difficulty in calculating them. The symmetrically spiraled curve program was written to compute the basic characteristics of the curve more easily. This memo explains how to arrange the necessary data sets on computer cards so that highway engineers can use the symmetrically spiraled curve program to design a curve.

Revised Introduction • Symmetrically spiraled curves accommodate the natural driving path of the motorist. Properly designed, these curves produce a more comfortable ride.However, engineers have hesitated to use these curves because of the difficulty in calculating them.The symmetrically spiraled curve program was written to compute the basic characteristics of the curve more easily.This memo explains how to arrange the necessary data sets on computer cards so that highway engineers can use the symmetrically spiraled curve program to design a curve.

1. Background statement: provides the context for understanding the problem and approach 2. Problem statement: describes the nature, scope, severity, or importance of the problem that stimulated the research

3. Task statement: indicates the research question, hypothesis, approach, or activities undertaken to investigate the problem 4. Summary statement: tells readers what they will find if they continue to read

Part 1: Background Statement • “In patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease, aspirin is recommended to prevent myocardial infarction and graft occlusion.”

Part 2: Problem Statement • “However, aspirin is also associated with bleeding. Patients are often asked to stop taking aspirin before bronchoscopy, to reduce the risk of bleeding. The effectiveness of this practice has never been tested.”’

Part 3: Task Statement • “Thus, we sought to determine whether aspirin really does increase the risk of bleeding after bronchoscopy.”

Part 4: Summary Statement • “. . . in which we compared the number and severity of bleeding events in those taking aspirin with those who were not and determined that aspirin does not increase the risk of bleeding.”

Problems with Introductions • Weak background and problem statements • Many authors assume readers will know 1) what problem was studied 2) why the problem is important

General Organizationof Reports • Most reports have multiple, complex audiences • Magazine publishers segment their market by printing different editions for each market segment • Segment the report so that different audiences can read selectively

General Organization • Write two components: • 1) a summary component that summarizes the problem and solution for all readers • 2) a complete component that presents the details and implications for specific readers • • Make each self-sufficient and capable of standing alone

General Organization • 1. Write the complete component first • 2. Create the summary component by editing the full component until it is suitable for the primary audience

The Summary Component • A Heading Segment • A Task Segment • A Summary Segment

Heading Segment • Identifies the author(s), recipient(s) or distribution list, topic, date, related communications • This information should allow readers to place the report in time and context.

Task Segment • Describes your understanding of the task; identifies the data, files, or materials you were given to work with; and details what you did to complete the task • (This is the four-part introduction)

Summary Segment • Briefly presents the results (including figures and tables, if necessary) and conclusions of the report

The Complete Component • The segments will vary, depending on the circumstance • However, reports will usually have a beginning, a middle, and an ending segment

Beginning segment: usually the full form of the task segment that appears in abbreviated form in the summary component

Middle segment: quite variable • May present arguments for fact, value (desired ends), or policy (desired means to an end) • Divide the segments into coherent parts with informative headings • Order the segments and make the order known to readers

Ending segment: includes the conclusions, recommendations, and appendices of supporting data

SUMMARY COMPONENT • Heading Segment • Title, Author, Distribution list, Date, Related Documents • Task Segment (4-part introduction) • Summary Segment • COMPLETE COMPONENT • Beginning Segment (4-part introduction) • Middle Segment • Ending Segment • Conclusions • Recommendations • Appendices

The P.A.S.T of a Technical Report Every Document has a P.A.S.T. Purpose Audience Setting Topic

Determining the PURPOSE of Your Report Before you begin to write, ask: • What result do you want to achieve? • How should the world to be different? • What decisions or behaviors do you want from your readers?

First, describe (to yourself) the way things are now. • Then, describe (to yourself) the way you want things to be, for example: • You want your boss to accept your proposal for a new project. • You want the employees in three departments to be able to use a new software program

Characterizing the AUDIENCE of Your Report • Determine who will (and who should) read your report. • Classify each reader by his or her role in the organization: • Decision-makers • Advisors to decision-makers • Implementers of the decisions

Characterizing the AUDIENCE of Your Report • Classify each reader by his or her role in relationship to you: • Primary audience • Secondary audiences • Immediate audiences • External • Remote in time and place

Characterizing the AUDIENCE of Your Report • Ask your readers what they want, especially the primary audience. • Ask about purpose, audience, setting, and topic; coverage; length; amount of time you should devote to writing; who you should coordinate with in writing the report, and so on.

Know the Communication Needs of Your Audience • What do they want to know? • What do they already know? • What do they need to know? • What do they think they know that isn’t so?

What YOU Need to Know about Communication, Writing, & Science