Collabora've  Wri'ngInforma'on  Fill  Ac'vity  &  CW  Ac'vity:  Lecture  4

COMPLETE  THIS  ACTIVITY

What  does  collabora;ve  mean?

When  something  is  __________________  by  two  or  ___________________  par'es.

What  is  collabora;ve  wri;ng?Collabora've  wri'ng  is  when  _________________  are  wriBen  by  a  mul'tude  of  people  as  _____________  to  just  one.

Collabora've  wri'ng  on  this  course  means  that  two  or  more  people  are  working  together  in  a  group  over  an  __________________  of  'me  to  produce  a  document.

_____________________________________________________________________

Complete  the  Diagram:

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OPINION GIVERS

ELABORATORS

INFORMATION SEEKERS

OPINION SEEKERS

Group Roles

What  are  the  advantages  of  collabora;ve  wri;ng?

Students  can  ________________  from  each  other.

Students  learn  other  ___________________.

Students  can  ___________________  their  work  and  make  them  aware  of  their  

_______________  and  weaknesses.

Encourage  students  to  _______________________  their  __________________  .

Teaches  students  to  nego'ate  and  get  their  argument  across.

_____________________________________________________________________What  are  the  disadvantages  of  collabora;ve  wri;ng?

Some  people  may  ______________________  than  others.

People  may  be  __________________  to  cri'cise  something  that  _______________  else  had  said.

Some  people  find  it  more  ____________________  to  work  alone

There  may  be  conflicts  or  ___________________________________  .

_____________________________________________________________________How  do  we  work  collabora;vely?  (Complete  the  Diagram)

1. Plan 2. FInd 3. Set

_____________________________________________________________________Why  do  we  have  to  learn  to  write  collabora;vely?

Because  in  industry  many  professionals  do  all  their  work  as  part  of  a  team.  They  do  not  always  work  alone.

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Combining  Strengths  and  Resources

Writers  oMen  bring  different  areas  of__________________________  to  the  group

Researchers  may  share  resources  such  as  expensive  equipment  and  laboratory  space.

Wri'ng  can  be  a  lonely  business.  Collabora'on  overcomes  isola'on  and  loneliness.  

Collabora'on  can  also  help  overcome  writer’s  _____________________.

Through  interac'on  people  can  spark  each  other  to  make  _____________________  and  share  a  variety  of  perspec'ves.  

Groups  can  oMen  complete  larger  projects  more  ____________________  and  in  less  'me  than  individuals  working  alone._____________________________________________________________________Types  of  Collabora;ve  Groups

___________________          __________________            __________________________________________________________________________________________Successful  Collabora;ve  Team  WorkDiscuss  how  you  are  going  to  work  together.

Decide  the  roles  and  _____________________________  of  each  group  member.

DraM  a  schedule  with  specific  dates  for  work  to  be  ______________________.

If  there  is  a  _______________________  with  one  person  in  the  group,  discuss  it  and  see  how  you  can  find  a  solu'on.

Communicate  openly  and  keep  an  open  __________________.

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Complete  the  Diagrams:Collabora;ve  Wri;ng  -­‐  The  Process

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PLANNINGO

Rec

An

Esta

Discover C

Org

A

A

C

Seek

DRAFTING

Consult

Stick

Choose

Divide

Draft

Choose

REVISINGLook at accuracy and

Make criterion based

Make

Be objective in discussion not

Remember people get attached to their

Accept Criticism

Donʼt avoid debate but keep

Know when to stop

Seek Opinion

Content

EDITING

Check and double check margins, typeface,

and

Edit and format

Report  Guide  IIAn  ABC  of  Wri'ng  Conven'ons    to  help  with  Technical  Report  Wri'ng.Adapted  from  Repor&ng  Technical  Informa&on  by  Kenneth  W.  Houp,  Thomas  E.  Pearsall,  Elizabeth  Tebeaux  and  Sam  Draga  (2002).  Published  by  Oxford  University  Press.

Abbrevia;ons  /  AcronymsEverybody  uses  abbrevia.ons  and  acronyms  in  their  scien.fic  field.  Abbrevia.ons  are  a  shortened  form  of  a  word  (i.e.  Misc.  Is  used  instead  of  Miscellaneous).  Acronyms  are  formed  from  the  first  le>ers  of  a  series  of  words  (i.e.   AEC   instead  of  Architecture,  Engineering  and  Construc.on).   It   is  important   to   think   about   how  we   use  abbrevia.ons  and   acronyms.   You  must   decide   if   your  audience  knows  your  abbrevia.ons  or  acronyms,  if  not,  you  have  to  explain  them.  Here  is  how  one  author  does  it:

Electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) are produced by power lines, electrical wiring, and electrical equipment. There are many other sources of EMFs. The focus of this booklet is on EMFs associated with the generation, transmission, and use of electric power. EMFs are invisible lines of force surrounded by any electrical device. Electric fields are produced by voltage and increase in strength as the voltage increases. The electric field strength is measured I units of volts per

What  do  you  no.ce  about  what  the  author  has  done?  How  have  they   introduced  the  acronym  in  this  case?

Think  about  these  points  when  using  abbrevia.ons  and  acronyms:• Are  the  acronyms  or   abbrevia.ons  well  known?  If   so  you  do  not  need  to  spell  

them  out.• Do  not  begin  a  sentence  with  an  abbrevia.on.• Use  the  singular  form  of  abbrevia.ons  in  the  plural  and  the  singular  (e.g.  Cm  for  

cen.meter  or  cen.meters)

Apostrophes’We  use  apostrophes  in  two  key  ways:(1) To  form  the  possessive  of  most  singular  nouns

(a)In  general,   we  add  an  apostrophe  and  an  s   including   proper   nouns  and  when   those  nouns  already  end  with  s  or  x  (e.g.  man’s,  Marx’s  or  Charles’s).  When  there  are  two  names,  we  add  it  on  the  last  name  (e.g.  Laurel  and  Hardy’s)(b)Only  indefinite  pronouns  use  an  apostrophe  to  form  the  possessive.  Compare:

Indefinite  Pronouns         Other  Pronounsanyone’s           my  (mine)everyone’s           your  (yours)everybody’s           his,  her  (hers),  itsnobody’s           our  (ours)no  one’s           their  (theirs)other's             whoseneither’s

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(2)  Missing  Numbers  or  le>ersWe  use  apostrophes  when  there  is  a  missing   le>er   or   number.   Examples:   can’t,  don’t,   it’s,   ’49  (remember  not  to  use  contrac.ons  in  formal  wri.ng!)

[Brackets]Brackets  are  square  versions  of  parenthesis  ().  They  are  used  when  we  want  to  make  a  quota.on  clearer  (see  quota.ons  below).  Look  at  this  example:

“Last   year   [2009]   the  Ministry   of   Educa.on  realized  that   university   numbers  had  increased  drama.cally  for  the  first  .me  since  the  forma.on  of  the  kingdom”.

You  could  be  reading  this  quota.on  at  any  point  in  .me  and  although  the  author  of  the  quota.on  did  not  men.on  2009,  the  writer  referring  to  the  quote  decided  to  put  it  in,  to  make  it  clear  to  the  audience  which  year  he  was  talking  about.  Brackets  can  also  be  used  with  other   informa.on  and  are  not  restricted  to  dates.

C  A  P  I  T  A  L        L  E  T  T  E  R  S  Remember   to  use  capital  le>ers  when  using   proper   nouns  (e.g.   Saudi  Arabia,   Arabic,  Monday,  December).  We  also  use  them  in  .tles  of  people  and  things,  Department  of  Chemical  Engineering  and  Dr.  Albert  Einstein.  Don’t  forget  to  use  them  aber  full  stops  /  periods  (.)  as  well!

Colons:You  should  always  put   a  colon  before  a  quota.on  (see  quota.ons  below),   a  list,  or   suppor.ng  statements  and  examples  that  are  formally  introduced:

In   a   later   statement   explaining   the   ideas   expressed   by   this   equa.on,   Einstein  summarized:  

It   followed  from  the  special  theory   of  rela.vity   that  mass  and  energy  are  both  but  different  manifesta.ons  of  the  same  thing  —   a   somewhat   unfamiliar   concep.on   for   the  average  mind.  Furthermore,  the  equa.on  E  =  mc²,  in  which  energy  is  put  equal  to   mass,   mul.plied   by   the   square   of   the   velocity   of   light,  showed  that  very  small  amounts  of  mass  may  be  converted  into  a  very   large  amount   of   energy   and  vice  versa.   The  mass  and  energy   were   in   fact   equivalent,   according   to   the   formula  men.oned   before.   This  was   demonstrated   by   Cockcrob   and  Walton  in  1932,  experimentally.

Another  example:Engineers  are  developing  three  new  engines:  turbojet,  reheated,  and  ramjets.

Commas,We  generally  use  commas  when  there  is  a  pause  in  speech,  to  separate  ideas.  It   is  very   common  punctua.on.  We  also  use  commas  to  separate  a  series  of  words  or  clauses:

To  make   and   serve   Arabic   coffee   you   will   need   coffee   cups,   cardamon,   ground  coffee,  water,  a  hea.ng  pot,  a  serving  pot  and  dates.

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Dashes  -­‐In   technical  wri.ng,   we  use   dashes   in   the   same  way   we   use   parenthesis   ()   or   to   separate  a  sentence.  You  might  also  want  to  show  a  sharp  change:

Some   mechanical   engineers   may   believe   that   green   technology   is   the   key   to  unlocking  green  technology  -­‐  but  is  this  a  guarantee  that  it  will  be  embraced  fully?

Ellipsis  .  .  .You  can  use  three  spaced  full  stops  or  periods  to  indicate  that  some  words  are  missing   from  a  quota.on  (see  quota.ons  below).  If  the  words  are  at  the  end  of  the  sentence  you  are  quo.ng,  you  add  four  periods.  Look  at  these  examples:

“As   the   depth   decreases,   the   circular   orbits   become   ellip.cal   and   the   orbital  velocity  .  .  .  Increases  as  the  wave  height  increases.”

“As  the  ground  swells  move  across  the  ocean,   they   are  subject   to  headwinds  or  crosswinds.  .  .  .”

Exclama;on  Point!Avoid  using  exclama.on  marks  in  your  technical  wri.ng.  Technical  wri.ng  should  show  objec.vity,  so  do  not  use  them.

Hy-­‐phensHyphens  are  used  to  form  compound  words  and  when  we  need  to  break  a  word  up  and  carry   it  over  to  the  next  line.  Look  at  this  example:

I  had  seen  li>le  of  Holmes  lately.  My  marriage  had  dribed  us  away  from  each  other.  My  own  complete  happiness,  and  the  home-­‐centred  interests  which  rise  up  aro-­‐und  the  man  who  first  finds  himself  master  of  his  own  establishment,  were  sufficient  to  absorb  all  my  a>en.on,  while  Holmes,  who  loathed  every  form  of  society  with  his  whole  Bohemian  soul,  remained  in  our  lodgings  in  Baker  Street,  buried  among  his  old  books,  and  alterna.ng  from  week  to  week  bet-­‐ween.  .  .

The  words  around  and  between  on  lines  2  and  6  have  been  divided  up  and  carried  to  the  next  line.  Also  note  that   they   have  been  divided  up  at   their   individual  syllables.  Of  course,  many   modern  word  processors  will  either  do  this  for  you  or  format  the  text  so  that  this  doe  not  happen.  Hyphens  can  also   be  used   in  compound  words  like,   Saudi-­‐American   or   to  modify   words   like,   empty   or  cylinder  into  half-­‐empty  and  eight-­‐cylinder.  You  can  also  carry  modifiers  over  to  a  later  word  using  commas:  GM  cars  come  with  a  choice  of  four-­‐,  six-­‐,  or  eight  cylinder  engines.  

Italiciza(onYou  can  use  italics  when  you  want  to  use  foreign  words  in  English.  For  example,  if  you  are  wri.ng  about  Arabic  numbers  and  you  are  saying  that  the  Arabic  word  for  one  is  ‘wahid’,  then  you  write  wahid.  Also  look  at  these  examples  of  how  italics  have  been  used:

The  words  entrance  and  admission  can  be  used  synonymously.  When  you  write  coffee  don’t  forget  to  add  ff  and  ee.

In   general  we   italicise  most   .tles,   including   the  .tles  of   books,   plays,   pamphlets,   periodicals,  movies,  radio  and  television  programmes,  operas,  and  ballets:

Othello,  The  Mona  Lisa,  Star  Wars,  Black  Swan,  The  Arab  News

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2

6

Num6er5  Do  I  write  numbers  as  words  or  as  a  figure?  A  number  can  be  wri>en  as  a  word  (e.g.  Five)  or  as  a    figure  (5).  How  and  when  to  write  which  is  oben  confusing.  The  important  thing  within  a  technical  report   is  to  be  consistent.   In  general,   in  technical  and  scien.fic  wri.ng,  we  write  numbers  from  zero  to  nine  (0-­‐9)   in  words.  We  also  write  large  rounded  off   numbers  in  words.   Look   at   these  examples:

six  generatorsabout  six  million  riyals

But  with  larger  exact  and  perhaps  complex  numbers,  we  write  them  out  in  figures  (e.g.  1,230,  345,  001).  What  about  if  you  are  wri.ng  a  series  of  numbers?  Well,  do  not  mix  up  figures  and  words.  Let  the  larger  numbers  determine  what  form  we  use:

Five  boys  and  eight  girls

But:

It  took  the  chemical  engineers  7  months,  2  days,  5  hours  and  47  minutes  to  complete  the  project.  

Furthermore,  it   is  important  to  make  sure  that  you  do  not  begin  a  sentence  with  a  figure.   If  you  can  write  the  number  as  a  word  this  is  not  a  problem.  But  If  this  is  not  the  case,  then  make  sure  that  you  rearrange  the  sentence  so  that  the  number  is  featured  elsewhere.  There  are  some  cases  when  you  need  to  use  figures  at  all  .mes.  This  mainly  involves,  dates,  exact  sums  of  money,  .me,  addresses,  technical  units  of  measurement  and  when  you  are  referring  to  other  pages  or  diagrams  in  your  wri.ng.  Look  at  these  examples:

1st  January,  2002,  3,404,230  SAR,  1:58PM,  PO  BOX  2440

ParallelismParallelismWhen  you  link  elements  in  a  series,   they   must   all  be  in  the  same  gramma.cal  form.  Make  sure  that  you  link  an  adjec.ve  with  an  adjec.ve,  a  noun  with  a  noun,  a  clause  with  a  clause  etc.  Look  at  this  sentence:

A  good  test  would  use  small  amounts  of  plant  material,  require  li]le  ;me,  simple  to  run  and  accurate.

This  series  of  words  uses  the  verbs  use  and  require  and  then  switches  to  the  adjec.ves  simple  and  accurate.  All  these  must  be  based  on  the  same  part  of  speech.  In  this  sentence  it  would  be  easy  to  change  the  last  two  elements.  What  does  this  mean?  It  means,  you  also  need  verbs  in  front  of  the  adjec.ves  for  the  sentence  to  be  parallel:

A  good  test  would  use  small  amounts  of  plant  material,  require  li]le  ;me,  be  simple  to  run  and  be  accurate.

(Parenthesis)Parenthesis  ()  are  used  when  we  have  addi.onal  informa.on  to  add  within  a  sentence.  You  could  use  commas  and  dashes  in  the  same  way.  However,  you  could  put   a  whole  sentence  or  several  complete  sentences  within  parenthesis  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  do  this  with  commas  or  dashes  because  you  would  end  up  confusing  the  reader.  You  can  also  use  parenthesis  for  lists.  Look  at  this  example:

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This  report  consists  of  sec.ons  on  (1)  Da  Vinci’s  early  art,  (2)  Da  Vinci  and  Engineering,  (3)  The  Renaissance  and,  (3)  the  flying  machine.

Any  marks  of  punctua.on  are  always  placed  aNer  the  closing  parenthesis  and  never  before.  

Period  /  Full  Stop.We  use  periods  (full  stops)  to  finish  a  sentence  that  is  not  a  ques.on  or  exclama.on.  We  also  use  them  for  abbrevia.ons  e.g.  Dr.  or  as  a  decimal  point  in  currency  or  numbers  (e.g.  $5.60  or  3.14).  

Pronoun  forms  (I,  he,  she  or  me,  him,  her)Whenever   a  pronoun   is  the  object   of   a  verb  or   the  object   of   a  preposi.on,   it   must   be  in   the  objec.ve  case:

It  never  occurred  to  my  colleagues  and  me  to  check  the  data  on  the  earthquakes.

Just  between  you  and  me,  the  news  shook  Mary  and  him.

Ques;on  Marks?Place  a  ques.on  at  the  end  of  every  sentence  that  is  a  direct  ques.on  like,  “What  is  the  purpose  of  this  report?”.  

“Quota;ons  Marks”We  use  quota.on  marks  to  enclose  quota.ons  that  are  short  enough  to  work  within  your   own  text.  Short  quota.ons  are  usually  fewer  than  three  lines:

According  to  Einstein,  “Imagina.on  is  more  important  than  knowledge.”

Quota.ons  that  are  longer  than  three  lines  should  be  set  off  by  single  spacing  and  indented.  Look  at  the  example  in  the  colon  sec.on  above.  

We  also  use  quota.on  marks  around  .tles  of  ar.cles  from  journals  and  periodicals:

Caldwell’s  ar.cle  “Five  new  things  your   apps  will  do  in  iOS  5”  appeared  in  Macworld  Magazine.

Remember  to  use  single  quota.on  marks  within  other  quota.on  marks:

“Do   you   understand   the   difference   between   ‘social   engineering’   and   ‘poli.cal  engineering’?”

Make  sure  that  you  always  put  commas  and  periods  inside  quota.on  marks.  Place  ques.on  marks  inside  (?),  exclama.on  marks  (!)  and  dashes  (-­‐)  when  they  apply  to  the  quote.  Place  them  outside  the  quotes  when  they  apply  to  the  sentence.  Look  at  these  two  examples  and  see  the  differences:

When  are  we  going  to  find  the  answer  to  the  ques.on,  “What  causes  earthquakes?”

Did  you  read  the  ar.cle,  “Mechanical  Engineers  of  the  19th  Century”?

Referring  to  Men  ♂  and  Women  ♀In  many   countries  it   is  oben  found  unfair   to  discriminate  against  both  men  and  women.   It  has  oben  been  found  that  this  happens  par.cularly  with  women.  Look  at  these  short  texts:

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A  modern  teacher  has  to  be  an  expert  with  electronic  equipment.  She  has  to  be  able  to  use  a  computer  and  the  internet.  

A  car  mechanic  deals  with  many  customers  every  day.  He  oben  has  to  explain  to  them  what  is  wrong  with  their  vehicles  and  many  customers  may  not  understand  especially  if  they  are  women.

What  is  wrong  with  the  first  text?  Well,  the  first  sentence  suggets  that  teachers  are  all  women  and  this  of  course  we  know  not  to  be  true.    The  second  sentence  assumes  (understands  to  be  true  without   evidence)   that   car  mechanics  are  all  men  and  that  women  know  nothing  about   cars  or  that  men  know  be>er  when  it  comes  to  cars.  In  general,  it  is  a  good  idea  to  avoid  using  the  male  or   female  pronoun.   Instead  it  is  good  to  talk  in  the  plural.  Look  at  the  second  text  again  without  the  male  pronoun  he:

Car   mechanics  deal  with  many   customers  every   day.   They   oben  have  to  explain   to  them  what  is  wrong  with  their  vehicles  and  many  customers  may  not  understand.

SpɘllingBe  careful  of  computer   spellcheckers.  Remember   that  a  spellchecker  will  not  pick  up  words  that  have  been  spelled  correctly   but  have  been  used  incorrectly.  Here  is  a  list  of  common  words  that  sound  alike  but  are  oben  used  incorrectly.  In  these  sentences  they  have  been  used  correctly.  You  might  want  to  look  them  up  in  the  dic.onary  or  you  might  understand  what  they  mean  from  the  context  if  you  don’t  know  them:

I accept your gift. Everyone went except Ahmed.

Am I speaking loud enough that you can hear me?He was here a minute ago.

His lawyer gave him good advice.His lawyer advised him well.

Itʼs clear that he doesn’t want to speak to you.The oud and its sound are fantastic.

Her cold affected her voice.The effect was extra special.

Our principal objective is to explain relativity.You should think about ethical principles when writing.

He was already home at 9 P.M.When her bag was packed, she was all ready to go.

I wonder if theyʼre coming tonight?Did they take their lunch with them?Put you shoes over there please.

The family stood all together on the boatFahd was altogether pleased with his exam result.

The inspector gave the luggage a thorough inspection.He ran as though his life depended on it.She thought about the time she had had in Paris.

He gave him an apple.The apple and the pear were put in the basket.

He threw the report on her desk.He cut through the branches with his sword.

Always cite your sources in your research paper.In the morning we sighted the cat in the neighbor’s tree.The best site for the hotel is near the beach.

Jameel is moving to Medina.I think Meshaal is moving there too.They are going to need two apartments then!

Sandpaper is a coarse material.I find this course exceptionally easy.

I thought the weather was fantastic today.I’m not sure whether to take an umbrella with me.

His jacket complemented his shirt.I complimented him on his choice of cars.

Where were you on Monday?The important thing is that weʼre here now.Where are you going tomorrow?

Most cities have a governing body called a council.He was counseled by his teacher to continue the lesson.

Whose book is that?Whoʼs going to the desert on Thursday?

Being quiet, she said was the discreet thing to do.Each slice of bread is discrete from the others.

Is that your Toyota?It looks like youʼre very hungry.

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Verb-­‐Subject  Agreement☺(1) Words  that  take  Singular  VerbsThe   following  words  take  singular   verbs:   each,   everyone,   wither,   neither,   anybody,   somebody.    Look  at  these  sentences.  Which  of  them  do  you  think  is  correct?

Each  of  these  apples  is  red.Each  of  these  apples  are  red.

The  first  sentence  is  correct.  Some  writers  may  think  that  the  second  sentence  is  correct  because  they  believe  that  the  object  of  the  preposi.on  apples  is  in  control  of  the  verb.  However,  it  is  each  that  is  in  control  of  the  verb.

(2) Compound  Subject  Joined  by  Or  or  NorWhen  there  are  compound  subjects  and  they   are  joined  by   or  or  nor,   the  verb  agrees  with  the  closer  noun  or  pronoun:

                   Compound subject ⬋⬊Either  the  civil  engineer  or  the  builders  are  in  error.

                                                               Nearest noun

Either  the  builders  or  the  civil  engineer  is  in  error.

(3) Parenthe.cal  ExpressionsParenthe.cal  expressions  are  introduced  by  words  like:  accompanied  by,  with,  together  with,  and  as  well  as.  Look  at  these  examples  of  parenthe.cal  expressions:

Mr.  Al  Shammari,  as  well  as  his  two  assistants,  is  working  on  building  the  new  bridge  in  Ha’il.

Water,  together  with  earth,  wind  and  fire,  makes  up  the  elements.

Abdelaziz,  accompanied  by  his  fellow  footballers,  is  going  to  play  in  Barcelona  next  year.

No.ce  that  it  is  the  subject  in  all  sentences  that  controls  the  verb,  not  parenthe.cal  expression.  In  other  words  it  is  Mr.  Al  Shammari  that  controls  the  verb  be  in  sentence  one,  not  the  expression,  as  well   as   his   two   assistants.   In   the   second   sentence,   water   controls   the   verb   and   in   the   third,  Abdelaziz  controls  the  verb.

(4) Two  or  more  subjectsTwo  or  more  subjects  take  on  a  plural  verb.  This  does  not  ma>er  on  the  word  order.  Look  at  these  examples:

The  restaurant   and  the  grand  mosque  are  near   the  city   square.  Close  to  the  restaurant   are  the  library  and  the  café.

(5) Collec.ve  NounsCollec.ve  nouns  such   as  team,  group,   class,  commi>ee,   and  many   others  take  either   plural  or  singular   verbs,   depending   on  the  meaning  of  the  sentence.   If   you  use  a  pronoun  aberwards  it  must  agree  withe  the  subject  and  the  verb.  Look  at  these  examples:

The  football  team  is  going  to  get  its  trophy  tonight.

The  football  team  are  going  to  celebrate  their  victory.

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