Revision: Lecture 3 Collecting Ideas Evaluating Your Information Grouping Ordering.

Revision: Lecture 3

Collecting IdeasEvaluating Your Information

GroupingOrdering

Collecting your ideasSo there are many sources for collecting ideas.

SectionSection Main source of ideasMain source of ideas

Related work Your notes

Body Your brain

Results Your data

Collecting your ideasBut the key point to remember is that this step lets you clarify what exactly it is that you want to say.

We collect this information into one place so that we can see it and identify: Categories

A proper organization

Ideas that do not support the thesis statement

Ideas that do not interest the target audience

Omissions

Evaluating the Reliability of Your Information

3 kinds of information:

facts inferences ( 推論 )opinions

How to group?

• Grouping information into categories based on similar characteristics is called classifying.

• Systems of classification are designed whenever there is a need to impose order on an undifferentiated mass of things or ideas.

• The ability to classify is necessary in the technical world.

Thesis

Grouping Ideas and Information

Each of the major headings (the controlling ideas) should address an aspect of your thesis, and each of the subgroups under that heading should address a specific aspect of that heading.

Develop an Outline

• 8) Putting the Groups in Order• 2 large categories in orders of presentation:• Natural orders the material itself suggests the

order of presentation sequential (連續的 )• Logical orders the writer imposes an order on the

material hierarchical (層次的 )• An ordering principle typically governs only the

body of the report (or of the section or subsection). • Introductory and concluding sections are usually

organized separately and then appended at either end.

Natural Orders of Presentation

• Chronological Order

• Spatial Order

Logical orders Presentation

• Spatial Order

• Order of Decreasing Importance

• Order of Increasing Importance

• Other Hierarchical ( 層次化 ) Orders

• General-to-Specific Order

• Specific-to-General Order

• Comparative Order

Lecture 4: Lecture 4: Introduction, Body Introduction, Body

Paragraphs, ConclusionParagraphs, Conclusion

Rules to remember before writing:

• Don’t Try to Write and Polish ( 精良 ) at the Same Time.

• Don’t Start at the Beginning.

• Don’t Agonize over a Word, a Sentence, or an Idea.

• Don’t Get Lost in Your Notes.

Writing Introduction

• What is the major function of an introduction?


to provide the framework that makes everything that follows accessible


• In technical writing, the readers need to know what you are writing about and why you are writing about it, and they need enough background information so that they can understand what is to come.


• include your thesis statement

• how much information you put in your introduction depends on the complexity and purpose of your document and on the needs of your particular audience

Common Features of Technical Introduction

• Statement of Purpose

• It announces the topic and situates your document with that topic:– This report details the progress made to date

on our research into digital image processing techniques that might be applicable to our automated assembly line.

Common Features of Technical Introduction

• Background

• Scope and Limitation

• Other Introductory Material

Considerations for Drafting an Introduction

You can write your introduction after you finish writing the body paragraphs.

Usually, background materials go before the statement of purpose.

Don’t make your opening sentences too general or all-encompassing ( 包含所有的 ).

Considerations for Drafting an Introduction

Don’t presenting histories and theories that are not directly relevant to the subject of the document. – Reports about aviation ( 航空學 ) don’t need to

begin with a mention of the Wright brothers.– Reports on rocketry ( 火箭研究 ) don’t need to

begin with definitions of gravity ( 地球引力 ), acceleration ( 加速度 ), and trajectory ( 軌道 ).

Writing Body Paragraphs

• Follow your outline

• Divide your materials into sections and paragraphs.

• A detail outline might help you to frame the point or the theme of your paragraphs.

• In next lecture, we will look the construction of individual paragraph.

Writing Conclusion

• Conclusions wrap up what you have been discussing in your paper. You should restate the main points of your argument.

• Conclusions may also call for action or overview future possible research.

Writing Conclusion

• restate your topic and why it is important, • restate your thesis/claim, • address opposing viewpoints and explain

why readers should align with your position,

• call for action or overview future research possibilities

• You don’t have to say all these. Select appropriate points.

Writing Conclusion

• Remember that once you accomplish these tasks, unless otherwise directed by your instructor, you are finished. Done. Complete.

• Don't try to bring in new points or end with a whiz bang(!) conclusion.

• Simplicity is best for a clear, convincing message.

Writing Workshop 3.1Writing Workshop 3.1 How to write clear definition?

How to write clear definition?

• In what occasions should you write definitions?

How to write clear definition?

• In what occasions should you write definitions?

• How do you know which of the terms you use in a given piece of technical writing need to be defined?

Readers know the concept

Readers do not know the concept

Readers know the term No Need ?Readers do not know the term ? Need

What to Define

Reader Knows Terms / Does Not Know Concept

• Quite often your readers will be familiar with a term but not with its meaning, at least not with its meaning the way you plan to use it.

Reader Knows Terms Terms / Does Not Know Concept

• Suppose you were writing about the efficiency of a particular make and model of air conditioner.

• Most laypeople know that something is efficient if it does the job well without costing too much time, money, and effort.

• But they don’t know that the efficiencyefficiency of a machine is the ratio of energy delivered to energy supplied.

• If you want to tell laypeople about the efficiency of this air conditioner, therefore, you should define “efficiency.”

• An audience of mechanical engineers wouldn’t need the definition, but an audience of lawyers almost certainly would.


• Vast numbers of words have specialized meanings in one technical field that differ differ from their popular meanings or from their meanings in other technical fields.

• Special care is needed in defining terms like these because your readers are apt to think that they know what you mean even though they don’t.


• Legal documents like insurance policies and technical specifications, for example, usually begin with a series of definitions that stipulate meanings for terms like “purchaser,” “benefits,” “property,” “defects,” “reconstruction,” and so on.

• These terms have no exact meaning outside of the document in which they appear.

Readers Knows ConceptConcept / Does Not Know Term

• People who go fishing undoubtedly know that fish can be grown in small ponds for later stocking – but they may not know that the process is called “aquaculture” ( 水產業 ).

Readers Knows ConceptConcept / Does Not Know Term

• Readers who have taken a pill to relieve the pain and fever caused by a black eye may not realize that they have taken an “analgesic” ( 止痛的 ) and “antipyretic” ( 退熱的退熱劑 ) drug for their “circumorbital hematoma” ( 血腫 ).

Methods of Defining

1) Informal Definitions

• provide a quick clue to the meaning of a term

• usually consisting of a one-word synonym or a short phrase

• most useful when you want to clarify a term without interrupting the flow of your writing for a more elaborate definition

Methods of Defining

1) Informal Definitions • Although a small segment of the rock

sample was retiform 網狀的 (composed of crossing lines), the rest was completely smooth.

• If the solution remains turbid 霧重的 (cloudy), it should be discarded.

• This fierce-looking animal is, surprisingly, a herbivore 草食動物 : it feeds only on plants.

Methods of Defining

1) Informal Definitions

• Informal definitions can also be useful for explaining a difficult, unfamiliar term that is not central to the point you are making.

• Because informal definitions are so short, they can’t be completely thorough, but often an approximate definition is all your readers really need.

Methods of Defining

1) Informal Definitions– Impurities can then be removed by

electrophoresis, a separation technique involving electrical current.

– The experimenters then sterilized their surgical instruments in an autoclave, which is essentially a sophisticated pressure cooker.

Methods of Defining

2) Formal Definitions

• sometimes called the sentence definitionsentence definition

• more complete and rigorous than the informal definition

• the classic method of defining a term (a system of logical analysis)

Methods of Defining

2) Formal Definitions

• the formal definition consists of 3 parts: – the term to be defined, – the class of objects or ideas to which it

belongs, – the characteristics that distinguish it from the

other members of its class

Methods of Defining

• Water (term) is a liquid (class) made up of molecules of hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of 2 to 1 (differentiating characteristics).

• Comic books (term) are sequential and narrative publications (class) consisting of illustrations, captions, dialogue balloons, and often focus on super-powered heroes (differentiating characteristics).

• Astronomy (term) is a branch of scientific study (class) primarily concerned with celestial objects inside and outside of the earth's atmosphere (differentiating characteristics).

1. Instruments of measuring temperatures are called thermometers.

Exercise 1Exercise 1: Here are some definitions. Identify the parts in each and fill in the table in the Worksheet.

2. Chemistry may be defined as the branch of science which deals with the compositions and behavior of substances.


3. Torque is a force that tends to rotate or turn things.


4. Electron is a sub-atomic particle carrying a negative charge.


5. Girder is a main horizontal or rear horizontal structural member that supports vertical loads.


6. A car is a vehicle that contains four wheels and is driven on land.


TermTerm ClassClass Distinguishing CharacteristicsDistinguishing CharacteristicsDifferentiaDifferentia

1.

ThermometerInstrument Measuring Temperatures

2.

ChemistryScience Composition and behavior of

substances

3. Torque

Force Rotate or turn things

4. Electron

Sub-atomic particle Negative charge

5. Girder

Horizontal structure Supports buildings

6.

CarVehicle Four wheels and driven on land

Exercise 2Exercise 2:

1. An elevator is a mechanical device for conveying people or goods from one place to another.


1. An elevator is a mechanical device for conveying people or goods from one place to another.

Too vague, too general cars, escalators

Doesn’t say “up” and “down” key characteristics


2. A college is an educational institution that awards a bachelor’s degree in science or the humanities to students who have passed its curriculum.


2. A college is an educational institution that awards a bachelor’s degree in science or the humanities to students who have passed its curriculum.

ok


3. A typewriter is a machine for writing that produces characters similar to printers’ types.


3. A typewriter is a machine for writing that produces characters similar to printers’ types.

Too vague… what is “similar”?

“printers’ types the word used in the definition is more uncommon than the word you are defining


4. A motorcycle is propelled by a gasoline-power engine.


4. A motorcycle is propelled by a gasoline-power engine.

Too general include cars, lawn mower

Missing a key characteristic two wheels

Writing Effective Formal Definitions

• Don’t Overload Your Definitions.

• Avoid Circular Definitions.

• Use Familiar Words.

• Keep Your Definitions Neutral.

Methods of Defining

3) Operational Definition

• An operational definition is useful for explaining terms that involve processes.

• Like a formal definition, the operational definition begins with the class to which the term belongs.

• But then it goes on to distinguish the term by explaining how the test is performed.

Methods of Defining

3) Operational Definition

• a type of process description.

• In social science, similarly, operational definitions often specify the measurement procedures to be used.

Methods of Defining

4) Stipulative Definitions

• You are under no obligation to define every meaning of a term; the meaning you plan to use is enough.

• To keep your readers unconfused, however, it is usually a good idea to stipulate ( 規定 ) that you are assigning the term only one specific meaning.

Methods of Defining

4) Stipulative Definitions

• If you plan to define a term differently from the way your field has usually defined it, or if the term itself is inherently vague, then you need to stipulate your meaning very explicitly.

Methods of Defining

5) Expanded Definitions

• Virtually all formal definitions, in fact, can be made more detailed and complete; whether they should be, of course, depends on your goal and audience.

Methods of Defining

5) Expanded Definitions

• Methods of Expanding a Definition– Exemplification ( 範例 ) – Comparison and Contrast – Description – Illustration – Classification – Etymology ( 語源 ) – Analogy ( 類比 )

Placing Definitions in a Report

• 1) Definitions in the Text

• 2) Definition in Footnotes

• 3) Definitions in a Glossary ( 詞匯表 )

Grammar ReviewGrammar Review Pronouns

Independent and Dependent Clauses

Relative Pronouns

Pronouns ( 代名詞 )

Pronouns ( 代名詞 )

• Because a pronoun REFERS BACK to a noun or TAKES THE PLACE OF that noun, you have to use the correct pronoun so that your reader clearly understands which noun your pronoun is referring to.

Agree in number

• If a student parks a car on campus, they have to buy a parking sticker .

Agree in number

• If a student parks a car on campus, they have to buy a parking sticker .

If a student parks a car on campus, he or she has to buy a parking sticker.

Agree in number

• the words everybody, anybody, anyone, each, neither, nobody, someone, a person, etc. are singular and take singular pronouns

• Do Exercise 1 (on worksheet), questions 1 and 2.

Agree in number

Answers:1. Everybody ought to do his or her best.

(NOT: their best)2. Neither of the girls brought her

umbrella. (NOT: their umbrellas)

Agree in person

3.When a person comes to class, you should have your homework ready .

Agree in person

3.When a person comes to class, you should have your homework ready.

When a person comes to class, he or she should have his or her homework ready.

Refer clearly to a specific noun

• Although the motorcycle hit the tree, it was not damaged.


• Although the motorcycle hit the tree, it was not damaged.

(Is "it" the motorcycle or the tree?) ? ?


• If you put this sheet in your notebook, you can refer to it.


• If you put this sheet in your notebook, you can refer to it.

(What does "it" refer to, the sheet or your notebook?)

??


• When you want to use commas and semicolons in sentences and when you are concerned about whether a sentence is or is not a fragment ( 斷片 ), a good way to start is to be able to recognize dependent and independent clauses.

Independent Clause

• An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence.

e.g.

Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz.

Dependent Clause

• A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word.

e.g.When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz . . .

Dependent Marker Word

• A dependent marker word is a word added to the beginning of an independent clause that makes it into a dependent clause.

e.g.

When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz, it was very noisy.

Dependent Marker Word

• Some common dependent markers are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while.

Connecting dependent and independent clauses

• There are two types of words that can be used as connectors at the beginning of an independent clause: coordinating coordinating conjunctionsconjunctions and independent marker independent marker words.words.

Coordinating Conjunction

• The seven coordinating conjunctions used as connecting words at the beginning of an independent clause are and, but, for, or, nor, so, and yet.

• When the second independent clause in a sentence begins with a coordinating conjunction, a comma is needed before the coordinating conjunction:

Coordinating Conjunction

• E.g.

• Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz, but it was hard to concentrate because of the noise.

Independent Marker Word

• An independent marker word is a connecting word used at the beginning of an independent clause.

• These words can always begin a sentence that can stand alone.

• When the second independent clause in a sentence has an independent marker word, a semicolon is needed before the independent marker word.

Independent Marker Word

• Some common independent markers are: also, consequently, furthermore, however, moreover, nevertheless, and therefore.

• E.g.

• Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz; however, it was hard to concentrate because of the noise.

• There will be a quiz next week on lecture 3 and lecture 4.

• Homework # 2 due next week.

Revision: Lecture 3 Collecting Ideas Evaluating Your Information Grouping Ordering.

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