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Grammar
Mechanics
MEE 6419
Spelling in Technical Writing
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Two Rules for Spelling in Technical Writing
• Rule 1 - There is no excuse for mis-spelled words in a technical
document. Period. None.
• Rule 2 – In case of an exception, see Rule 1
Some common errors
• Hyphenation
• Concatenation is a set of linked or interconnected words or events or things
• E.g., real-time, end-to-end
• When prefixes would result in double vowels (except for co-, de-, pre-, pro-), e.g., supraauditory
• Some dictionaries do not follow this convention
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half-: half-asleep, half-dollar (but halfhearted, halfway);
quasi-: quasi-public
self-: self-conscious, self-seeking (exceptions are selfhood, selfless)
to distinguish from a solid homograph, e.g., re-act vs. react, re-pose vs. repose, re-sign vs.
resign, re-solve vs. resolve, re-lease vs. release
• A compound adjective made up of an adjective and a noun in combination
should usually be hyphenated. Examples: cold-storage vault, hot-air balloon,
short-term event, real-time operating system
• Its (possessive) versus It’s (it is)
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Paragraph
Construction
Tech Writers
Paragraph Construction
• Walk to the Main Gate from K-Hall
• Go to the Bus stop on Baek-beom-ro
• Take 1706 Bus for 8 stops
• Get off the bus
• Walk south 300 meters
• Where are you? Are you lost? Are you confused?
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Paragraph Construction
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To get to City Hall from Sogang University
Walk to the Main Gate from K-Hall
Go to the Bus stop on Baek-beom-ro
Take 1706 Bus for 8 stops
Get off the bus
Walk south 300 meters
Your destination will be the tall building on your right
• Notice the difference?
• Now you know how a reader feels after trying to understand a poorly
written, incoherent paragraph
Paragraph Construction
• The four elements essential to good paragraph writing are: 1. unity, 2.
order, 3. coherence, and 4. completeness
• The basic paragraph structure consists of:
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topic or thesis sentence,
supporting sentences
concluding sentence
Five sentences are a good rule of thumb
Complex topics may be longer than 5 sentences
Complex topics may require 2 sentences to introduce the topic
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1. Unity
• Unity is governed by the topic or thesis sentence
• Every paragraph has one single, controlling idea which is expressed in the first
or topic sentence.
• Technical writing involves complex idea which may require more than one sentence to
intro the idea but the sentences must be connected or “tied together”
• The remainder of the paragraph is written or “unified” around this main idea
• The supporting sentences providing detail and discussion necessary to
convince your reader
• To write a good topic sentence, decide which point is central or most
important, and then write it as your topic sentence
Unity or Focus
• Another way to think of writing the topic sentence is to think of the
paragraph as directions to a destination
• The remainder of the paragraph tells the reader what journey you will take
them on or how to get there
• You want to give them a “mental picture” of what is going to be
covered in the paragraph so that the supporting sentences can be
connected to the main idea
• The topic sentence is the most important as the reader will most
likely remember the first sentence but not the other sentences in the
paragraph
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Example of a Poorly Written Paragraph
• The idea is to persuade people that changing oil in a car is easy and
something they can do for themselves
• Although many people rely on a mechanic, paying more money than
necessary, changing oil in a car is easy. You can buy oil at any local
automotive store and get the job done in little time and with little
effort. Located under your car you will find a big tank with a bolt.
Emptying that tank and filling it is easy. Changing spark plugs and
checking your battery can be just as easy. Mechanics should be relied
on for jobs that you cannot do yourself or for jobs that require tools
you do not own
http://www.fscmedia.com/web-external/writing-guide/drafting_paragraphs.html
2. Order or Focus
• Order refers to the way you organize your supporting sentences.
• You can use chronological order, order of importance, or any other logical
presentation you think will be most appropriate
• In a well-ordered paragraph, there is a natural, logical flow and the
reader follows what you are writing easily
• Order helps the reader understand, convinces him/her, and avoids
confusion
• Avoid thinking about what you are going to include in a paragraph
and how to write it when you are at a keyboard
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3. Coherence
• Coherence is the quality that makes your writing understandable and
connects the sentence together so that the writing “flows”
• Sentences within a paragraph need to connect to each other and work
together as a whole to effectively communicate to the reader
• One of the best ways to achieve coherency is to use transition words. These
words create bridges from one sentence to the next. You can use transition
words that show order (first, second, third); spatial relationships (above,
below) or logic (furthermore, in addition, in fact). Also
• Also use a consistent verb tense for coherency.
• I go to Grandmart and bought soju. Go is present tense and Bought is past tense. Bought
should be buy since these two events both occur at the same time or change go to went
to make them consistent past tense
Transition Words
• Some common transition words that you can use are:
• Furthermore; moreover; in contrast; therefore; first, second, third;
consequently; for example; in addition; also
• There are numerous examples on different websites that can give you
other words that can act as transition words
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4. Completeness
• This refers to when a paragraph is well-developed
• It means all sentences are clearly stated and support the main idea such that
it convinces the reader then your paragraph is complete
• If there are not enough sentences or enough information to prove your
thesis, then the paragraph is incomplete.
• You need to send a signal to your reader that the “journey” is complete by
writing a clear concluding sentence
Closure in a Paragraph
• The concluding, closing, or last sentence in the paragraph is also important
• You can restate or summarize the main point
There are three reasons why Korea is one of the best countries in the world. First, Korea has an excellent health
care system. All Koreans have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Korea has a high standard
of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university.
Finally, Korean cities are clean and efficiently managed. Korean cities have many houses and apartments for
people to live. As a result, Korea is a desirable place to live.
• You can also set the topic for the next paragraph/section
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Example
Notes about Paragraph Construction
• Avoid excessively short or excessively long paragraphs
• Too short = incomplete idea or development, could also indicate that it is a
minor point that could be incorporated as part of some other paragraph or be
eliminated
• Too long – readers are overwhelmed with too much information to process at
one time and the paragraph loses focus, the reader is not clear as to what is
discussed and what is the central point
• Could also indicate you are not sticking with the original thesis or the idea is too complex
and should be broken up
• Rule of thumb - try to keep paragraphs under a half page in length
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Notes about Paragraph Construction
• Avoid in-line enumeration if possible as this disrupts the flow of the
paragraph
• E.g., “Umbrellas can be (a) lost, (b) stolen, (c) get wet.“
• Avoid excessive parenthesized remarks or definitions if possible
• The rolling load (i.e. force) was found ……..
• Parenthesized remarks are necessary for defining acronyms
Sentences & Fragments
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Sentences & Fragments
• Sentence fragments or fragments for short are incomplete sentences
• All sentences must contain a subject and a verb
• “She screamed.” is actually a complete sentence
• Most sentences in technical writing will be longer due to the
complexity of the information being discussed/presented
Notes on Sentences
• Typically the first several words in the sentence have the most impact
and get the readers attention.
• This is where the subject is best located
• Also explains why active writing is preferred over passive
• This is long topic normally covered in introductory English. We will try
to review this in class, time permitting.
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Abbreviations
• An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word often used for convenience
• e.g. advertisement = adv. Milli = m
• Have been use by mankind since antiquity
• Romans used SPQR = Senatus Populusque Romanus which is the name for the Roman
Republic on stone cuttings.
• Obvious convenience and ease for the stone cutter
• Continue to be used for much the same reason today
• Abbreviations should be avoided in technical writing with a few exceptions.
• One problem with using abbreviations is that a word may have multiple
abbreviations that are in common use and may not be familiar to a reader
Another Problem with Abbreviations
• Con. the abbrv. Sat.
• Are you confused by this sentence? Consider your AUDIENCE when writing
and the possibility that they could be confused by your use of abbreviations
• There was a lunar eclipse on Sat.
• Was there a lunar eclipse on Saturday or on the planet Saturn?
• There are a select number of words that have an abbreviation that
can be assumed to be universally understood and permissible to use
• E.g. p. or pp., prefixes for units and units themselves or et al. which is an
abbreviation of the Latin et alii meaning “and others.”
• In scientific writing the precedence of a numerical value tells the reader how
to interpret the abbreviation (e.g. 1100 mV)
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Abbreviations
• Contractions of 2 separate words into one is also a form or
abbreviation
• Can and not = Can’t, Did and not = Didn’t
• Little need to use them in technical writing when proper grammar is
employed
• Avoid using contractions in technical writing
Abbreviations
• Acronyms are also a form of abbreviation
• Formed by using the first letter of each word to form a new word
• United States of America = USA
• Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation = LASER
• These are frequently acceptable for technical writing but remember your AUDIENCE
• ALWAYS DEFINE AN ACRONYM THE FIRST TIME IT APPEARS OR IS USED
• E.g. Finite element method (FEM)
• Use acronyms sparingly
• 90% + of Readers will forget what the acronym means while they continue reading
• There is a possibility that a reader may not be familiar with the term when reading the article
• A beginning researcher perhaps
• Journals are archival publications, they are retained for a long time for other researchers to use,
terminology changes such that FEM may not be used in the future
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Abbreviations
• Certain acronyms can be assumed to be universally understood and
do not need to be introduced but there are not many
• E.g. USA, WWW, PhD, BMW, UK
• Redundant acronyms, avoid using or rewrite
• PIN number, ATM machine, FEM method
• Is it possible to overuse acronyms?
Numbers
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Spell out numbers below 10 (five machines, six-way connection, two studies).
Use numerals for numbers 10 and above (9 to 12 times a week).
Add s only to make a plural of a number, with no apostrophe (During the 1990s).
Spell out frequently used fractions and common expressions (one-third, First of May).
Use metric abbreviations with figures (9 km) but not when written out (several meters from the
wall).
Use the percent symbol (%) only with figures (2%) not with written numbers (two percent).
Treat ordinal numbers like cardinal numbers (the second data point in the 40th experiment . . .).
Use combinations of written and Arabic numerals for back-to-back modifiers (two 5-question
tests).
Spell out large numbers at the beginning of a sentence (Forty pairs of data were collected . . .).
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Assignment
• Due 10/7/14 (Wednesday)
• Prepare and submit an outline of the paper introduction
• Include paper title
• Due 10/10/14 (Friday)
• Prepare and submit a draft copy of the paper introduction
• Start compiling references for a literature review
• 휴가를츨길수
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