Download Technical Writing

Technical Writing
1 Overview
This course will consider:
• The use and abuse of words
• Structuring sentences for clarity
• Getting the most out of your paragraphs
But why should we bother to worry about these detailed, sometimes odd, even arcane
rules of spelling and grammar?
Knowing the rules, or even knowing that there are rules will influence your writing habits.
By correction and revision, you will develop and improve your technique.
•
•
•
You will become a better, faster and clearer author.
You will have a wider range of techniques at your disposal.
You will not need to spend so much time editing (although editing is absolutely
essential).
Two quotes to ponder:
“In writing, it is only the thumb and the forefinger that move but it is the whole body that
works. And is in agony.”
- Umberto Eco, “The Name of the Rose”
“My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and
much study is a weariness of the flesh.”
- Ecclesiastes 12.12
2 Words
Let us consider some basic points about words and how we use them.
2.1 Spelling
It is important to know how to spell the words you are using. You may think you know
the spelling but always consult a dictionary to make sure.
•
Consider the following words. How many of them are misspelled?
Abdomenal
Swop
Concede
Concencus
Answer:
Liquify
Dessication
Procede
Acommodate
Absorbtion
Supercede
Idiosyncracy
Anamoly
Only 1 word is spelt correctly! Concede is spelt the correct way, the other 11 words are
not.
2.2 Homophones
Homophones are words that are spelt the same but have different meanings.
•
Consider the following sentence and try to spot the homophones.
“My principle reason for applying for this councilling post is that my skills compliment
your requirements, so too speak. Any one can sea the strength of my proposition. I could
really effect big changes.”
Answer:
“My principle reason for applying for this councilling post is that my skills compliment
your requirements, so too speak. Any one can sea the strength of my proposition. I could
really effect big changes.”
Also notice that two separate words have been used when a single word is required:
Any one should be Anyone.
2.3 Adjectives
Some commonly used nouns have a range of adjectives of staggeringly different meaning.
There are five adjectives from the noun “Saturn”.
•
Can you match the following adjectives with their correct meaning?
Saturnalian
Saturnic
Saturnian
Saturniid
Saturnistic
Riotously merry
Suffering from lead poisoning
Of the planet Saturn
Of the Emperor Moth
Gloomy
Answer:
Here are the proper meanings beside the adjectives:
Saturnalian
Saturnic
Saturnian
Saturniid
Saturnistic
Riotously merry
Suffering from lead poisoning
Of the planet Saturn
Of the Emperor Moth
Gloomy
In fact, all adjectives were beside their correct meanings in the first place!
It is very unlikely that you will use adjectives from the noun Saturn but this exercise
illustrates how important it is to check you have the correct word if you have any doubt.
Consider Saturnalian and Saturnistic – they have opposite meanings even though they are
from the same noun and could easily be mixed up.
2.4 Plural Constructions
There are very many unusual plural forms in the English language. Try the following
questions:
•
The plurals of “volcano” and “dynamo” are “volcanoes” and “dynamos”. What
are the plurals of:
o Cargo
o Embryo
o Radio
o Echo
Answer:
o Cargo – Cargo(e)s
o Embryo – Embryos
o Radio – Radios
o Echo – Echoes
•
What are the plurals
o Agenda
o Formula
Answer:
o Agenda – Agenda
o Formula – Formulae
•
What are the plurals of:
o Hoof
o Wharf
o Roof
o Turf
o Knife
Answer:
o Hoof – Hoofs / Hooves
o Wharf – Wharfs / Wharves
o Roof – Roofs
o Turf – Turfs
o Knife – Knives
And just to be really helpful, avoid words that have two meanings!
•
Does “Biannual” mean “twice a year” or “once every two years”?
3 Sentences
One of the (reasonable) definitions of a sentence is that it should contain a complete
thought. One definition of a complete sentence is that it contains an object, subject and
verb.
Let’s look at some examples of sentence construction and see if we can clarify our
examples:
In the following sentence, the subject of the sentence gets changed during the course of
the sentence making it unclear:
“The Rhodium vapour passes through a fine mesh, which becomes intermittently clogged
and then condenses back to a solid form. This is a major problem.”
We can rewrite this sentence to make it clearer using various guidelines.
• Don’t be afraid to use punctuation to split a long sentence into two clearer
sentences.
• Try to keep the subject of the sentence at the start of the sentence with the verb
next to it.
• Shorter sentences are better as they are easier to understand.
Possible solution:
“The Rhodium vapour passes through a fine mesh. On major problem is caused by the
mesh becoming clogged: the vapour will then condense to a solid form”.
•
Consider the following sentence. Using the above guidelines, try to rewrite it to
make it clearer.
“To allow us to match our existing chemical stock to the new cataloguing system the
University has developed a form that is to be used during the stock reclassification to
gather accurate and up-to-date information about all the chemicals in the University”.
Possible Answer:
“We want the new chemical catalogue to be correct. We need to have accurate and
current information about all our chemicals and the new form should help us.
3.1 Passive and Active Voice
Using unnecessary passive voice constructions leads to clumsy sentences. Try to use
active voice constructions when you can:
Example:
“Any surplus fluid was absorbed by the powdered chalk in the column”
Better Solution:
“The powdered chalk in the column absorbed any surplus fluid”
Or, slightly developed:
“There was chalk powder in the column which absorbed any surplus fluid”
•
Now you try. Consider the following example and rewrite it using passive voice
constructions.
“Guidance on how to complete the process has been prepared by one of us. Once each
batch has been processed to completion, a warrant should be completed by the principal
operator.
Possible Answer:
“We prepared some guidance notes on completing the process. The principal operator
should complete a warrant once you have completed each batch.”
4 Participles and Pronouns
1) Take care with misrelated participles:
“The students were congratulated by the organisers, while finishing their marking”.
• Who did what?
2) Never lose hold of your referents:
“The pig was discovered when digging for truffles”
• Who’s digging for truffles? – The pig or the discoverer?
3) Guard your pronouns properly:
“The examiners refused the students’ theses, because they were appalling”
• What was appalling? – The student’s theses or the examiners?
• Consider the following text. Try to rewrite it in a clearer form:
“We intend to sustain a simulating environment for academic and research staff and
research students to be productive in high quality research, seeking to recognise and
exploit where appropriate multi-disciplinary opportunities that can provide added value
and relevance to a strong discipline-centred research base and to demonstrate leadership
in identification of Industrial Liaison topics”
Note: Look how many sentences this text is made up of – ONE!
Possible Answer:
“We want to sustain a simulating environment for our research staff and students to
generate the best research. We will exploit both single and multi disciplined research
opportunities. We will take a lead in Industrial Liaison topics”
5 Paragraphs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Paragraphs “should contain a single step towards a conclusion”.
Avoid single sentence paragraphs. They do not aid strong argumentation.
Avoid using incomplete sentences. Like this one.
There is no tax on punctuation. Try and use a larger number of briefer sentences.
Avoid too much use of the passive voice.
Try and keep the subject of the sentence close to the beginning of the words.
Try and keep the verb close to the subject.
Consider the following examples. Which paragraph is easier to understand?
1)
“Huge fans of volcanic ash from the eruption of the Santorini volcano in 1600 B.C.,
which lasted, according to scientists for nearly 10 weeks, were spread over the regions of
the Eastern Mediterranean. With sulphuric acid and fine ash particles being detected in
the Greenland ice sheet, climatic disturbances being recorded by scribes in China and
evidence for frost damaging the trees in both Ireland and California, such effects –
shown to be world-wide – have been ascribed to the volcanic eruption whose ash, it has
been calculated, rose as much as 40km into the stratosphere.
2)
“Following the 10 week eruption of Santorini volcano in 1600 B.C., huge fans of
volcanic ash spread over the Eastern Mediterranean regions. Effects, such as the
detection of sulphuric acid and fine ash particles in the Greenland ice sheet, the
recording of the climatic disturbances by Chinese scribes, the evidence of Irish and
California trees both with frost damage, are ascribed to the eruption of the volcano. This
has been calculated that the ash rose some 40km into the stratosphere.
Answer:
Most people find paragraph 2 easier to understand. This is because paragraph 2 conforms
to all the guidelines mentioned above.