esp 2022 handbook jan15

ESP 2022

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES 2

AN INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING

What is Technical Writing?

It is called transactional writing which requires give-and-take, a dialogue, a follow up and/or

input. When you write a memo, you expect a reaction. Maybe you want a suggestion, a job

completed, or problems solved. If you write a letter you expect to make a sale to receive an

answer to an enquiry. When you write instructions, you know that someone will follow the

steps you've outlined.

The purpose of technical writing is to link you and your boss, you and clients, you and

vendors, and you and co-workers. Technical writing creates action. When you write successful

technical correspondence, someone on the other end responds.

PURPOSES

Technical writing can accomplish many purposes, and is often determined by audience, which

then affects the tone of the correspondence. Let's say that you're writing a memo, and your

purpose is to get action. Who is your audience and what tone is required? If it is for the

manager, the tone for a request or proposal is positive, and polite. If it is to a subordinate, the

tone might be more authoritative.

CLARITY

The ultimate goal of good technical writing is clarity. If you write a memo, letter, or report

which is unclear to your readers, which your readers can't understand, then what have you

accomplished? You've wasted time. First, your readers don't understand your point or can't

follow your train of thought. They must write to follow-up enquiry to determine your needs.

This wastes their time. Once you receive the inquiry, you must rewrite your correspondence,

trying to clarify your initial intentions. You've now written twice to accomplish the same goal.

This wastes your time.

To avoid these time-consuming endeavors, write for clarity. But how do you do this?

Provide Specific Detail

One way to achieve clarity is by supplying specific, quantified information. If you write using

vague, abstract adjectives or adverbs, such as some or recently, your readers will interpret

these words in different ways. The adverb recently will mean thirty minutes ago to one reader,

yesterday to another, and last week to a third reader. This adverb, therefore, is not clear. The

same applies to an adjective like some. You write, "I need some information about the

budget." Your readers can only guess at what you mean by some. Do you want the desired

Budget Increase for 1992, the budget expenditures for 1990, the allotted budget increase for

1 General Studies, Resources Development Centre

German Malaysian Institute

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1991, the guidelines for implementing a budget increase, the budgeted allotment for travel, or

the explanation for the budget decrease for training?

Look at the following example of vague writing caused by imprecise, unclear

adjectives. (Vague word usage is underlined. The flawed example is then followed by

improvements whereby the writing states specific dates and specifications.

ACTIVITY REPORT DRAFT

The engineer who wrote this report realized that it was unclear. To solve the problem, she

rewrote the report, quantifying the vague adjectives.

ACTIVITY REPORT REVISION

Your goal as a technical writer is to communicate clearly. To do so, state your exact meaning

through specific, quantified word usage.

Use Easily Understandable Words

Another key to clarity is using words which your readers can understand easily. Avoid obscure

words, and be careful when you use acronyms, abbreviations and jargon.

Obscure Words

A good rule of thumb is to write to express, not to impress; write to communicate, not to

confuse. If your reader must use a dictionary, you're not writing clearly. Try to make sense of

the following examples of unclear writing (pg 3).



During the week of 10/4/91, we spent approximately twelve hours in Dept.15 trying

different machine settings, techniques, and thicknesses to perform mold protectors. Here's a report on our findings.

030' Thick Sheet At 240F, this thickness worked well.

015" Thick Sheet This material is less forgiving, but after decreasing the heat to 200F, we could produce good parts. Still, material at .015" thickness causes handling problems.

Our latest attempt at molding perform protectors has led to some positive result. We spent several hours in Dept.15 trying different machine setting and techniques. Several good parts were molded using two different sheet thicknesses. Here's a summary of the findings. First, we tried the thick sheet material. At 240F, this thickness worked well. Next, we tried the thinner sheet material. The thinner material is less forgiving, but after a few adjustments we were making good parts. Still, the thin material caused the most

handling problems.

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It's hard to believe, but these examples were written by business people who were trying to

communicate something. However, the examples are filled with unintelligible, uptight, old-

fashioned, long-winded, stiff, bureaucratic, obtuse, musty, cobwebbed words which no one

should use in this century. The words are too difficult to understand.

The following is a list of difficult, out-of-date terms and their modern alternatives.

Obscure words

aforementioned

initial

In lieu of

Accede

As per your request

issuance

This is to advise you

subsequent In

as much as

Ascertain

Pursuant to

forward

cognizant

Endeavor

remittance

disclose

Attached herewith

Pertain to

Supersede Obtain

Easy words

already discussed

first

instead of

agree

as you requested

Send

I'd like you to know

Later

Because

Find out

After

Mail

know

try

Pay

Show

Attached

About

Replace

get



Your job duties will be to assure that distributed application modifications will execute without abnormal termination through the creation of production JCL system testing.

The following rules are to be used when determining whether or not to duplicate message:

Do not duplicate non-duplicatable messages.

A message is considered non-duplicatable if it has already been duplicated.

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Impressive writing is correspondence we can understand easily. A modern thrust in technical

writing is to write the way you speak unless you speak poorly. Try to be casual, almost

conversational. As shown in the preceding chart, replace obscure words with easy words.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase that is used in place of the entire

word or phrase. "CPU" for central processing unit, "BTU" for British thermal unit, and "SGML"

for Standard Generalised Markup Language are examples of abbreviations. An acronym is an

easily pronounceable word formed from the initial letters or major parts of a compound term.

"GUI" for graphical user interface, "pixel" for picture element, and "ROM" for read-only memory

are common acronyms.

Basic Guidelines for Abbreviation and Acronyms

When using abbreviations or acronyms, follow these guidelines:

Do not use the Latin abbreviations e.g., i.e., vs., op. cit., viz., and etc.

In most cases, write out the full word or phrase and enclose its abbreviation or

acronym in parentheses the first time the word or phrase is used.

Then, continue using the abbreviation or acronym alone.

A local area network (LAN) consists of computer systems that can

communicate with another through connecting hardware and software. Your

company probably uses a LAN>

Do not spell out acronyms and abbreviations that are trademarked terms.

Avoid using acronyms and abbreviations in the plural form.

Acronyms and abbreviations in the plural form can potentially cause problems for

assistive technologies and for localization.

If you cite a term only once or twice in a document, show both the abbreviation or

acronym and the spelled-out version at each occurrence.

If an abbreviation or acronym is used often in a document, repeat the spelled-out

version at the first appearance in each chapter where the abbreviation or acronym

appears.

When writing out the full word or phrase, do not capitalize any letters unless the letters

are capitalized as part of a standard or begin a proper noun.

floating-point unit (FPU)

Internet Protocol (IP)

Do not shorten trademarked terms.

When using an acronym, ensure that its pronunciation is natural and obvious to a

reader.

The acronym "SCSI", for example, pronounced "skuzzy". A user who does not know

that "SCSI" is pronounceable might expect to see "an SCSI port", not a SCSI port". In



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such cases, provide a pronunciation key when you first use the acronym by itself, as in

this example.

A small computer system interface (SCSI, pronounced "skuzzy") cable

connects the disk drive to the SCSI port.

Punctuating Abbreviations and Acronyms

While you usually do not have to add punctuation to abbreviations and acronyms, the

following list provides a few exceptions:

Use periods in abbreviations that look like words.

U.S. for United States

No. for number

Use punctuation marks other than a period in abbreviations or acronyms when that

punctuation is standard form.

I/0 for input/output

3-D for three-dimensional

Add an "s" and no apostrophe to form the plural of abbreviations or acronyms that

contain no periods.

PCs

ISVs

GUIs

Add an apostrophe and "s" to form the plural of abbreviations or acronyms that use

internal periods.

M.S.'s

Ph.D.'s

Use Verbs in the active Voice versus the Passive Voice

It has been decided that Joan Smith will head our Metrology department.

The preceding sentence is written in the passive voice (the primary focus of the sentence,

John Smith, is acted on rather than initiating the action). Passive voice causes two problems.

1. Passive constructions are often unclear. After reading the preceding sentence, our

question is who decided that John Smith will head the department? To solve this

problem and to achieve clarity, replace the vague, indefinite pronoun 'it' with a precise

noun: "Mike Handle-decided that Joan Smith will head our Metrology Department."

2. Passive constructions are wordy. Passive sentences always require helping verbs

(has been). When we revise the sentence to read "mike Handler decided that Joan

Smith will head our Metrology Department," the helping verbs has been disappears.

The revision ("Mike Handler decided that Joan Smith will head our metrology Department") is

written in the active voice. When you use the active voice, your subject (Mike handle) initiates

the action.



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Another common problem with passive voice construction concerns prepositions, look at the

following example:

Overtime is favored by hourly workers. (6 words) Passive voice

Again, this sentence, written in the passive voice, uses a helping verb (is), has the subject

(hourly workers) acted on rather than initiating the action, but also includes a preposition (by).

The sentences are wordy. The revised sentence read as follow:

Hourly workers favor overtime. (4 words) Active voice

We have omitted the helping verb 'is', we have deleted the prepositions 'by', and the subject,

'hourly workers', whom initiates the action. The sentence is less wordy and clearer.

CONCISENESS

After clarity, your second major goal in technical writing is conciseness. Conciseness is

important for at least two reasons.

First, remember how time consuming technical writing may be in the work

environment? American workers spend approximately eight hours per week writing, and

additional time reading and revising others' writing. Conciseness in writing can help reduce

some of this time. If you write concisely, providing thorough detail in fewer words, you can

save yourself time and take up less of your readers' time.

Second, concise writing can aid comprehension. If you dump an enormous number of

words on your readers, they might give up before up before finishing your correspondence or

skip and skim so much that they miss a key concept. Wordy writing will lead your readers to

think. "Oh no! I'll never be able to finish that. Maybe I can skim through it. I'll probably get

enough information that way." Conciseness, on the other hand, makes your writing more

appealing to your reader, they'll think, "oh, that's not too bad: I can read it easily." If they can

read your correspondence easily, they will read it with greater interest and involvement. This,

of course, will aid their comprehension.

Let's look at some poor writing-writing which is wordy, time consuming to read, and not easily

comprehensible.



Please prepare to supply readout your findings and recommendations to the officer of the Southwest Group at the completion of your study period. As we discussed, the undertaking of this project implies no currently know incidences of impropriety in the Southwest Group, nor is it designed specifically to find any. Rather it is assure ourselves of sufficient caution, control, and impartiality when dealing with areas such potential vulnerability. I am confident that we will be better served as a company as a result of this effort.

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Is that paragraph (pg 6) easy to understand? No, it's not. Why? What gets in your way? Do

you have difficulty following it because you are an outsider and are not aware of the situation

that generated it? That's only one of the problems. The reason you have difficulty

understanding this paragraph is because it's poorly written. It causes difficulty for two reasons:

(a) the paragraph is too long, and (b) the words and sentences in the paragraphs are too long.

Limit Paragraph Length

The number of lines per paragraph compared to the number of words per paragraph is

arbitrary. Obviously, as the writer, you must decide what's best. Some paragraphs, due to the

complexity of the subjects matter, might require more development. Other paragraphs

requiring less development can be shorter.

Nonetheless, an excessively long paragraph is ineffective. In a long paragraph, you

force your reader to go through many words and digest large amounts of information. This

hinders comprehension. In contrast, short, manageable paragraphs invite reading and help

your reader understand your content.

As a rule of thumb, a paragraph in a memo, letter, or short report should consist of (a)

no more than seven-typed lines, and (b) no more than sixty words. Sometimes you can

accomplish these goals by cutting your paragraph in half: find a logical place to stop a

paragraph and then start a new one. Even the next difficult example can be improved in this

way.

Limit Word and Sentence Length

In addition to the length of the paragraph seen in the example given, the writing is flawed. The

paragraph is filled with excessively long words and sentences. This writer has created an

impenetrable wall of haze-the writing is foggy. In fact, we can determine how foggy this prose

is by assessing it according to Robert Gunning's Fog Index.

Fog Index

) Count the number of words in successive sentences. Once you reach approximately

one hundred words, divide these words by the number of sentences. This will give you

an average number of words per sentence.



Please prepare to supply readout to your findings and recommendations to the officer to the Southwest Group at the completion of your study period. As we discussed the undertaking of this project implies no currently know incidences of impropriety in the Southwest Group nor is it designed specifically to find any.

Rather, it is to assure ourselves of sufficient caution, control, and impartiality

when dealing with an area laden with such potential vulnerability. I am confident that we will be better served as a company as a result of this effort.

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) Now count the number of long words within the sentences you've just reviewed. Long

words are those with three or more syllables. You can't count (a) proper names, like

Leonardo Da Vinci, Christopher Columbus, or Alexander DeToqueville: (b)long words

that are created by combining shorter words, such as chairperson or policeperson; or

(c) three-syllable verbs created by ed or es endings, such as united or arranges. ( a

good example of a multisyllabic word is the word mul-ti-syl-lab-ic-)

) Finally, to determine the fog quotient, add the number of words per sentences and the

number of long words. Then multiply your total by 0.4.

Given this system, let's see how the original difficult paragraph scores. The paragraph is

composed of ninety-two words in four sentences. Thus, the average number of words

sentence is twenty-three. The paragraph contains sixteen multisyllabic words

(recommendation, officer, completion, period, undertaking, currently, incidences,

impropriety, specifically, sufficient, impartiality, area, potential, vulnerability, confident, and

company.)

23

+ 16

(words per sentence)

(multisyllabic words)

(Total) 39

39

X .4

(Total)

(fog factor)

(fog index level) 15.6

What does 15.6 mean? Look at the following fog index reading level:

Fog index Reading Level

Fog Index By Grade By Magazine

17

16

15

14

13

college graduate

College senior

College junior

College sophomore

College freshman

No popular magazine

Score this high.

Danger line

Fog Index By Grade By Magazine

12

11

High school senior

High school junior

Atlantic monthly

Time and Newsweek

10

9

8

7

6

High school sophomore

High school freshman

Eighth grade

Seventh grade

Sixth grade

Reader's Digest

Saturday Evening Post

Ladies' home journal

Modern romances

Comics



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The paragraph is written at a level midway between college junior and senior, definitely above

the danger line.

Why is this level of writing considered dangerous? A fog index of 15.6 enters the

danger zone for two reasons:

) Approximately eighteen percent of Americans graduate from college. Thus if you're

writing at a college level, you're alienating approximately eighty-two percent of your

audience.

) Studies show that college graduates read at approximately a tenth grade level. Thus,

even if you are writing to college graduates, you can't assume their reading skills are

proficient.

Given these facts, many businesses ask their employees to write at a sixth-to-eight-grade

level. To accomplish this, you would have to strive for an average of approximately fifteen

words per sentence and no more than five multisyllabic words per one hundred.

15

+5

20

(words per sentence)

(multisyllabic words)

(Total)

20

x.4

8.0

(Total)

(fog factor)

(fog index level)

You can't always avoid multisyllabic words. Scientists would find it impossible to write

if they could never use words like electromagnetism, nitroglyc-erine, telemetry, or

trinitrotolulene. The purpose of a fog index is to make you aware that long words and

sentence create reading problems. Therefore, although you can't always avoid long words,

you should be careful when using them.

Here are ways to lower a potentially high fog index.

Use the Meat Cleaver Theory of Revision

One way to limit the number of words per sentence is to cut it into thirds. The following

sentence, which contains forty-four words, is too long:

Version 1

To maintain proper stock balance of respirators and canister elements and to

ensure the identification of physical which may negate an individual's previous fit-test,

a GBC- 16 Respirator Request and Issue Record will need to be submitted for each

requested for use.

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If we use the meat cleaver approach, we can make this sentence more concise and easier to

understand.

Version 2

Please submit a GBC-16 Respirator Request and Issue Record for each

requester respirator. We then can maintain proper respirator and canister element

stock balances. We also can identify physical limitations which may negate an

individual's previous fit-test.

This sentence, now cut into a third, is more digestible. Because we have less to swallow

whole, we can understand the content more easily.

Avoid Shun Words

In the preceding examples, the original sentence contains forty-four words: the revised version

is composed of three sentences, totaling thirty-eight words.

Where did those missing six words go?

One way to write more concisely is to shun words ending in-tion or-sion- words ending

in a shun sound. For example, the original sentence reads "to ensure the identification of

physical limitations." To revise this, we simply wrote "identify physical limitations. "That's three

words versus six in the original version. Deleting three words in this case reduces wordiness

by fifty percent. Shun words are almost always unnecessarily wordy.

Let's try another example. Instead of writing "I want you to take into consideration the

following," you could write "consider the following." That's nine words versus three, a 66.6%

savings toward conciseness.

Look at the following shun words and their concise versions:

Shun Word

Came to the conclusion

With the exception of

Make revisions

Investigation of the

Consider implementation

Utilization of

Concise Version

Concluded (or decided)

Except for

Revise

Investigate

Implement

Use

Avoid Camouflaged Words

Camouflaged words are similar to shun words. In both instances, a key word is buried in the

middle of surrounding words (usually helping verbs or unneeded prepositions). For example,

in the phrase with the exception, the key word expect is Camouflaged behind the unneeded

with, the, -tion, and of. Once we prune away these unneeded words, the key word expect is

left, making the sentence less wordy.



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Camouflaged words are common. Here are some examples

versions:

and their concise

Camouflaged Word

Make an amendment to

Make an adjustment of

Have a meeting

Thanking you in advance

For the purpose of discussing

Arrive at an agreement

At a later moment

Concise Version

Amend

Adjust

Meet

Thank you

Discuss

Agree

Later

Avoid the Expletive Pattern

Another way to write more concisely is to avoid the following expletives:

There is, are, was, were, will be

It is, was

There are three reasons why the procedure will save money.

This sentence can be revised to read, "The procedure will save money for three reasons," the

original sentence contains ten words: the revision has eight. We've omitted two words by

deleting the expletive there. Your response to this revision could be "so what, big deal, who

cares? What's the point of deleting two words?" Deleting two words doesn't seem like much.

However, the omission equals a twenty-percent savings toward conciseness. In one sentence,

that might be a minimal achievement, but if you can delete two words from every sentence,

the benefits will add up.

The expletive 'it' creates similar wordiness, as in the following sentence:

It has been decided that ten engineers will be hired.

If we delete the expletive it, the sentence reads, "Ten engineers will be hired." The original

sentence contained ten words: the revision has five. We've achieved a fifty-percent saving

toward conciseness

Omit Redundancies

Redundancies are words which say the same thing. Conciseness is achieved by saying

something once rather than twice. For example, in each of the following instances, the

boldface words are redundant:

During the year of 1991

(1991 is obviously a year; the words the year of are redundant.)



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In the month of December

(As in the preceding example, the month of is redundant; what else is

December?)

Needless to say

(If it's needless to say, why say. It?)

The computer will cost the sum of $1,000.

(One thousand dollars is a sum)

The result so far achieved prove

(A result, by definition, is something which has been achieved.)

Our regular monthly status reports require

(Monthly status reports must every month; regularity is a prerequisite.)

We collaborate together on the project.

(One can't collaborate alone!)

The other alternative is to

(Every alternative presumes that some other option exists.)

This is a new innovation.

(As opposed to an old innovation?!)

The consensus of opinion is to

(The word consensus implies opinion.)

Here are examples of wordy phrases and their concise revisions:

Wordy Phrase

In order to purchase

At a rapid rate

It is evident that

With regard to

In the first place

A great number of times

Despite the fact that

I of the opinion that

Due to the fact that

Am in receipt or

Enclosed please find

As soon as possible

In accordance with

In the near future

At this present writing

In the likely event that

Rendered completely inoperative

Concise Revision

To purchase

Rapidly (or state the exact speed)

Evidently

Regarding

First

Often (or state the number of times)

Although

Thinks

Because

Received

Enclosed is

By 11:30 A.M.

According to

Soon

Now

If

Broken



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ACCESSIBILITY

Another primary objective of effective technical writing is accessibility-placing data on the

page in such a way that your readers can easily absorb it. If you give your readers

excessively long paragraphs, pages full of wall-to-wall words, your readers either will give up

before they've begun or be unable to remember what they've read. In either instance, you fail

to communicate technical information effectively.

For example, look at the inaccessible presentation of the meeting minutes in Figure 1.

These minutes are neither concise nor clear. You are given so much data in such an

unappealing format that your first response upon seeing the correspondence probably is to

say, "Ughh! That's ugly. I don't want to read that."

Good technical writing doesn't just string together sentences. It presents information in a

manner that

friendly.

is accessible and that invites the reader into the correspondence-it is reader

FIGURE 1: Inaccessible Meeting Minutes



MINUTES

The meeting at the Carriage Club was attended by thirty members and guests. After the

dinner, Ray Clemmons introduced the guest speaker, university chancellor George Smith, and

noted his accomplishments and experience prior to education-U.S. Navy commander, Oak

Ridge Laboratory researcher, and politician. Dr. Smith's topic, Industry and Education

Collaboration, was very interesting and included a history of special projects enjoyed by both

academics and corporate heads. Dr. Smith suggested that we engineers could work with

education to (1) to provide training seminars, (2) help in urban development, and (3) provide

intern opportunities. Recent industry/education collaboration includes training seminars in

computers fiber optics, and human resource options. The chancellor's primary thrust was a

request for financial aid from industry for urban development. He said money had already

been donated by a large realty firm. Our support would take him over the top. Finally, the

chancellor also noted that industry could help itself, as well as the community, by providing

intern programs for university undergraduate majors. These internships could be half-or full-

day "shadowing" sessions where students worked with engineers to get a feel for their future

job responsibilities. The chancellor stated that these internships not only would add to the

students' theoretical knowledge would make them better engineers when we hired them.

Everyone would benefit. After the speech, our VP introduced new business, calling for

nominations for next year's officers, gave us the agenda for our next meeting, and adjourned

the meeting.

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How can you make these minutes more inviting? How can you break up the wall-to-

wall words and make key points jump off the page? To achieve accessibility, you need to

reformat using any of the following highlighting techniques:

1. White space: Achieved by indenting or double/triple spacing between lines, words,

or even letters within words.

2. Numbering: Enumeration creates itemized lists which can show sequence or

importance and which allow for future easy reference. The first item listed is either

the first in a sequence or the most important point in a list.

*Bullets: Bullets are created by using asterisks, dashes, a lowercase o, degree sign,

open boxes, etc.

Alphabetization: This is another way to create itemized lists. The only negative

aspect is that you'll run out at twenty-six. If you have twenty-seven points, then what

do you do?

Boldface: Created on a computer or typewriter by double striking.

All caps: this is the low-tech answer to boldfacing. Whereas you need computer

technology to boldface, you can highlight with all caps even if you're using an antique

typewriter.

Underlining: underlining and all caps are similar in that you must use both carefully.

If you underline too frequently or place frequently or place too much information in all

caps, none of your information will be emphatics. You must choose carefully what you

want to emphasize.

Italics: italics and underlining are similar highlighting techniques.

Heading: heading are an excellent way to break up the monotony of wall-to-wall

words and to achieve clarity. When you use heading (one to three words, preferable

underlined, set in boldface, and/or set apart from the text to create white space), you

tell the reader in just a few words what is to come in the subsequent paragraph(s).

This gives the reader a running start and helps clarify your intent.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10. Windowing: if you indent your key points and enclose them in a box, you're

windowing. Here's an example:

Windowing draws your reader's attentions to an idea, thus making it more emphatic.

You can also use underlining and boldface in the box, as we have in the preceding

example.

11. Emphatics words: in the preceding window, we preface our comments with the

emphatics word Note. Other such emphatics words are caution, danger, and warning.

12. Color: another way to make emphatic words leap off the page is to color them.

Danger would be red, for instance, caution yellow, and warning orange. You can

emphasize key ideas within a memo or letter by using a highlighter.



Note: be sure to hand-tighten the nuts at this point. Once you've completed the installation, then go back and securely tighten all nuts.

*Bullet points and enumerated lists

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13. Punctuation: though not quite as emphatic as other highlighting techniques,

Punctuation marks such as brackets (), parentheses (), quotation marks " ", or

exclamation marks '!' can draw a reader's attention to a key idea.

14. Graphics: to have clearer view of the message.

Highlighting is not an irrelevant aspect of effective writing. If your goal is to communicate

effectively, highlighting is mandatory. With this in mind, let's reformat the previously

reviewed meeting minutes (figure 2).

Once we reformat the text, using number, underlining, headings, bullets, and white

space, the minutes not only are more appealing visually but also they are easier to

access. At a glance, readers can see that three main topics were discussed in the speech,

and they can easily refer to the [point in which they are most interested.

FIGURE 2: Accessible Meeting Minutes

*Bullet points and enumerated lists

If the sentences in a paragraph need to be written in sequence, then this suggests that there

is something that relates them and they form some kind of a list. The idea that relates them



MINUTES

The meeting at the Carriage club was attended by thirty members and guests. After the dinner, Ray Clemmons introduced the guest speaker, University chancellor George Smith, and noted his accomplishment and experience prior to education:

o U.S Navy commander o Oak Ridge Laboratory researcher o Politician

Dr. Smith's topic, Industry and Education Collaboration, was very interesting and included a history of special projects enjoyed by both academics and corporate heads. Dr.Smith suggested that we engineers could work with education in the following three ways:

1. Provide training seminars: recent industry/education training collaborations include sessions on computers, fiber optics, and human resource options.

2. Provide intern opportunities: industry could help itself and the community through internship for university students. This internship could be half or full- day "shadowing" where student's worker with engineers to acquire hand-on experience to balance their theoretical knowledge gained in college. This would make the students better engineers when we hired them.

3. Help with urban development: this was Dr. Smith's primary thrust. He needed

financial aid from industry. A large donation had already been received from a realty firm. Our support would push him over the top.

After the speech, our VP introduces new business, calling for nominations for next year's officers, gave us the agenda for our next meeting, and adjourned the meeting.

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should be used to introduce the list. For example, the following paragraph is a mess because

the writer is trying to make what is clearly a list into one paragraph:

Getting to university on time for a 9.00am lecture involves following a number of

steps. First of all, you have to set your alarm - you will need to do this before

you go to bed the previous night. When the alarm goes off you will need to get

out of bed. You should next take a shower and then get yourself dressed. After

getting dressed you should have some breakfast. After breakfast you have to

walk to the tube station, and then buy a ticket when you get there. Once you

have your ticket you can catch the next train to Stepney Green. When the train

arrives at Stepney Green you should get off and then finally walk to the

University.

The following is much simpler and clearer:

To get to university for a 9.00am lecture:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Set alarm before going to bed the previous night

Get out of bed when the alarm goes off

Take a shower

Get dressed

Have some breakfast

Walk to the tube station

Buy ticket

Catch next train to Stepney Green

Get out at Stepney Green

10. Walk to the University

The simple rule of thumb is: if what you are describing is a list, then you should always display

it as a list.

The above is an example of an enumerated list. The items need to be shown in numbered

order. If there is no specific ordering of the items in the list, then you should use bullet points

instead. For example, consider the following paragraph:

Good software engineering is based on a number of key principles. One such

principle is getting a good understanding of the customer requirements

(possibly by prototyping). It is also important to deliver in regular increments,

involving the customer/user as much as possible. Another principle is that it is

necessary to do testing throughout, with unit testing being especially crucial. In

addition to the previous principles, you need to be able to maintain good

communication within the project team (and also with the customer).

The paragraph is much better when rewritten using bullet points:



ESP 2022


Good software engineering is based on the following key principles:

Get a good understanding of the customer requirements, possibly by

prototyping.

Deliver in regular increments, involving the customer/user as much as possible.

Do testing throughout (unit testing is especially crucial).

Maintain good communication within the project team (and also with the

customer).

ACCURACY

Clarity, conciseness, and accessibility are primary objectives of technical writing.

However, if your writing is clear, concise, and accessible but incorrect-grammatically or

textually-then you've wasted your time and destroyed your credibility. To be effective, your

technical writing must be accurate.

Accuracy in technical writing requires that you proofread your text. The examples of

inaccurate technical writing on page 17 are caused by poor proof-reading (we've underlined

the errors to highlight them).

Note that the First City Federal Savings and Loan incorrectly put the customer's street as the

last name.



First City Federal Saving and Loan 1223 Main Oak Park, Montana

October 12, 1991

Mr, and Mrs David Harper 2447N. Purdom Oak Park, Montana

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In additional to all the other errors, it should be "Dog and Cat Shop," of course. All the errors

make the writer look incompetent.

To ensure accurate writing, use the following proofreading tips:

1. Let someone else read it. We miss errors in our own writing for two reasons. First, we

make the error because we don't know any better. Second, we read what we think we

wrote, not what we actually wrote. Another reader might help you catch errors.

2. Use the gestation approaches. Let your correspondence sit for a while. Then, when you

read it, you'll be more objective.

3. Read backwards. You should only read backwards to slow yourself down and to focus

on one word at a time to catch typographical errors.

4. Read one line at a time. Use a ruler or scroll down your PC to isolate one line of text.

Again, this slows you down for proofing.

5. Read long words syllable by syllable. Do you see that the word responsibility is

misspelled? You can catch this error if you read it one syllable at a time (re-spon-si-bi-li-

ty)

6. Use technology. Computer spell checks are useful for catching more errors. They might

miss proper names, homonyms (their, they're, or there) or incorrectly used words such

as device to mean devise.



National Bank

1800 Commerce Street Houston,TX

September 9, 1991

Adler's Dog and Oat Shop

8893 Southside

Bellaire, TX

Dear Sr:

In response to your request, your account with us has been close out. We are summated a check in the amount of $468.72 (your existing balance). If you have any questions, please fill free to contact us.

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7. Check figures, scientific and technical equations, and abbreviations. If you mean

$400,000, don't write $ 40,000. Double check any numbers or calculations. If you mean

to may say HCI (hydrochloric acid), don't write HC (a hydro-carbon).

8. Read it out loud. Sometimes we can hear errors that we can't see. For example, we

know that an outline is incorrect. It just sounds wrong. An out-line sounds better and is

correct.

9. Try scattershot proofing. Let your eyes roam around the page at random. Sometimes

errors look wrong at a glance. If you wander around the page randomly reading, you

often can isolate an error just by stumbling upon it.

10. Use a dictionary. If you're uncertain. Look it up. If you commit errors in your technical

writing, your readers will think one of two things about you and your company: (a) They'll

either conclude that you are stupid, or (b) you're lazy, in either situation, you lose. Errors

create a negative impression at best; at worst, a typographical error relaying false

figures, calculations, amounts, equations, or scientific/medical data can be disastrous.



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MECHANICS OF REPORT CONSTRUCTION

Strategies for improving sentence clarity by using:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Active Voice

Parallel Structure

Transitions

Word Choice

Non-sexist Language

1. ACTIVE VOICE

Sentence in active voice are usually easier to understand than those in passive voice because

active-voice constructions indicate clearly the performer of the action expressed in the verb. In

addition, changing from passive voice to active often results in a more concise

Excessive use of the passive voice only makes writing more tedious to read.

sentence.

A. Indirect vs. Direct

B. Wordy vs. Concise



Passive (more wordy)

Active (more concise)

Action on the bill is being

considered by the committee.

The committee is considering action on the

bill.

By then, the soundtrack will have

been completely remixed by the

sound engineers.

By then, the sound engineers will have

completely remixed the soundtrack.

Passive (indirect)

Active (direct)

The entrance exam was failed by over

one-third of the applicants to the

school.

Over one-third of the applicants to the

school failed the entrance exam.

The brakes were slammed on her as

the car sped downhill.

She slammed on the brakes as the

car sped downhill.

Your bicycle has been damaged.

I have damaged your bicycle.

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C. Unclear vs. Clear

2. PARALLEL STRUCTURE

Parallel structure is the presentation of related information in a sentence in a consistent,

balanced manner, thereby contributing to writing clarity. Parallel structure is particularly

important in sentences containing conjunctions, such as and, but, or, eitheror,

neithernor, not onlybut also.

Balancing Items in a Series



NOT PARALLEL PARALLEL

Don enjoys swimming, tennis, and to work

in his garden.

Don enjoys swimming, tennis, and

working in his garden OR

Don enjoys swimming, tennis, and

gardening.

The parallel sentences are clearer than the non-parallel one because the items in the

series are balanced grammatically; that is, they are all NOUNS.

Jason had to vacuum the carpets, to wash

the windows, and emptying the

wastepaper baskets before he leaves work

Jason has to vacuum the carpets, to wash

the windows, and to empty the wastepaper

baskets before he goes home.

The parallel sentence is clearer than the non-parallel one because the items in the

series all begin with an infinitive phrase. (An infinitive phrase is 'to' followed by a verb;

this combination forms a noun)

PASSIVE (unclear)

ACTIVE (clear)

To save time, the paper was written on a

computer. (who was saving time?)

To save time, Daisy wrote the paper on a

computer.

Seeking to lay off workers without taking

the blame, consultants were hired to break

the bad news. (who was seeking to lay off

workers?)

Seeking to lay off workers without taking

the blame, the CEO hired consultants to

break the bad news.

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Balancing Similar Information

Balancing Contrasting Information



NOT PARALLEL

PARALLEL

Lindsay likes small discussion classes

better.

Lindsay likes small discussion classes

better than huge lecture courses.

The parallel sentences are clearer than the non-parallel one because it indicates what is

being contrasted with small discussion classes.

Not only is Dr. Libby a fine dentist but also

an outstanding guitarist.

Dr. Libby is not only a fine dentist but also

an outstanding guitarist.

The parallel sentence is clearer than the non-parallel one because the information

following the correlative conjunctions (not only, but also) is balanced grammatically, that

is, by two adjectives and one noun.

NOT PARALLEL PARALLEL

My sister's dog is frisky but obeys well.

My sister's dog is frisky but obedient.

The parallel sentence is clearer than the non-parallel one because the related

information has been balanced grammatically; that is frisky and obedient are both

adjectives.

Howard promised to attend the party and

he would bring refreshments.

Howard promised to attend the party and

to bring refreshments. OR

Howard promised that he would attend

the party and that he would bring

refreshments..

The parallel sentence is clearer than the non-parallel one because of their grammatical

consistency, that is through infinitive phrases (the first parallel sentence) and dependent

clauses (the second parallel sentence).

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Parallelism

How do you write parallel subheading?

Headings and subheadings that set off specific sections of your report also need to be

parallel. For example, if you use a two-word adjective/noun combination to introduce one

section of your report (i.e. Program Advantages), then use the same grammatical structure to

introduce the next section (i.e. Anticipated Problems).

Look at the following example outlines:

It is not necessary for all your headings to be parallel with all your subheadings, but headings

should be parallel with each other and subheadings should be parallel with each other.



WRONG

BUT

I. Modifying a Graph

A. Data selection updating

B. To add or delete columns

C. How to change colors

D. Titles and legends

I. Three stages of the process

A. The specimen is dried

B. Removing all pollutants

C. Atomization

I. The Overall View

II. To Understand the Terminal Phase

III. About the Constant-Bearing

Concept

I. Modifying a Graph

A. Changing the data

B. Adding or deleting columns

C. Changing the colors

D. Adding titles and legends

I. Three stages of the process

A. The specimen is dried

B. The pollutants are removed

C. The specimen is atomized

I. The Overall View

II. The Terminal Phase

III. The Constant-Bearing Concept

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3. TRANSITIONAL DEVICES (Connecting Words)

Transitional devices help you carry over a thought from one sentence to another, from one

idea to another, or from one paragraph to another with words or phrases. And finally,

transitional devices link your sentences and paragraphs together smoothly so that there are

no abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas.

Look at the right column of the table for examples of words or phrases that express this logical

relationship.

4. WORD CHOICE (Words which are often confused)

What is the difference between the two words?



Moral Morale

Unique Unusual

Roll Role

Its It's

Cite Sight

LOGICAL RELATIONSHIP TRANSITIONAL EXPRESSION

Similarity

Also, in the same way, just as.so too, likewise,

similarly

Exception I Contrast

But, however, in spite of, on the one hand.on the

other hand, nevertheless, notwithstanding, in contrast,

on the contrary, still, yet

Sequence I Order First, second, third,.next, then, finally

Time

After, afterward, at last, before, currently, during,

earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now, recently,

simultaneously, subsequently, then

Example

For example, for instance, namely, specifically, to

illustrate

Emphasis Even, indeed, in fact, of course, truly

Place I Position

Above, adjacent, below beyond, here, in front, nearby,

there

Cause and effect Accordingly, consequently, hence, so, therefore, thus

Additional support or

evidence

Additionally, again, also, and, as well, besides, equally

important, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover,

then

Conclusion I Summary

finally, in a word, in brief, in conclusion, in the end, in

the final analysis, on the whole, thus, to conclude, to

summarize, in sum, in summary

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5. STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF NUMBER IN REPORTS

Quantities may either be spelled out or expressed in numerical form.



No. Rule Example

1

Spell out numbers nine and

under; use figures for higher

numbers.

The auditor found 13 discrepancies in the stock

records.

The auditor found nine discrepancies in the stock

records.

2

Spell out the numbers that begin

a sentence.

Seventy-three bonds and six boxes were destroyed.

Three boys were drowned in that river.

3

Keep all numbers in

comparisons in the same form.

We managed to salvage three lathes, one drill, and

thirteen welding machines.

Sales increases over last year were 9 percent on

automotive parts, 14 percent on hardware, and 23

percent on appliances.

4

When two series are in a

sentence, use words for one

and numerals for the other.

Three salespersons exceeded $1,500, fourteen

exceeded $1,000, and thirty-one exceeded $500.

5

Use figures for days of the

month when the month

precedes the day.

July 3, 2004

I shall be there on the 13th.

Ms Mimi signed the contract on the seventh of July.

Sales have declined since the 14th

of August.

Residence Residents

Stationary Stationery

Effect Affect

Among Between

Principals Principles

Implied Inferred

Oral Verbal

Personnel Personal

Accept Except

Different Difference

Complement Compliment

Contributed Attributed

respectively respectfully

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6. NON-SEXIST LANGUAGE

These are techniques for shifting from sexist to nonsexist language. However, not all

strategies suit all writing styles. So, only use the ones that work best for the writing.

Technique 1 : Avoid Personal Pronouns Altogether

One easy way to avoid sexist language is to delete or replace unnecessary pronouns.

Example:

Technique 2 : Use Plural Pronouns Instead of Singular

In most contexts you can shift from singular to plural pronouns without altering meaning.

The plural usage avoids the problem of using masculine pronouns.

Example :

Technique 3 : Use Forms Like "He or She", "Hers or His", and "Him or Her"

This solution requires the writer to include pronouns for both genders. However, this stylist

language may bother some readers because they tend to feel the structure "her or his" is

wordy and awkward. Many readers are bothered even more by the slash formations

"he/she", "his/her" and "her/him". Avoid this usage.

Example :



Sexist language Nonsexist language

The president made it clear that each

McDuff branch manager will be

responsible for the balance sheet of his

respective office.

The president made it clear that each

McDuff branch manager will be

responsible for the balance sheet of his or

her respective office.


1) Each geologist should submit his

time sheet by noon on the Thursday

before checks are issued.

2) Each nurse should make every effort

to complete her rounds each hour.

1) All geologists should submit their time

sheets on the Thursday before checks are

issued.

2) Nurses should make every effort to

complete their rounds each hour.


During his first day on the job, any new

employee in the toxic-waste laboratory

must report to the company doctor for his

employment physical.

During the first day on the job, each new

employee in the toxic-waste laboratory

must report to the company doctor for a

physical.

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Technique 4 : Shift to Second-Person Pronouns

Consider shifting to the use of "you" and "your", words without any sexual bias. This

technique is effective only with documents in which it is appropriate to use an instructions-

related "command" tone associated with the use of "you".

Example :

Technique 5 : Be Especially Careful of Titles and Letter Salutations

When you do not know how a woman you are writing to prefers to be addressed, use

"Ms.". Even better, call the person's employer and ask if the recipient goes by "Miss",

"Mrs.", "Ms." Or some other title.

When you do not know who will read your letter, never use "Dear Sir" or "Gentlemen"

as a generic greeting. Such mistake may offend women reading the letter and may even

cost you some business. "Dear Sir or Madam" is also inappropriate. It shows you do not

your audience. Instead, call the organization for the name of a particular person to whom

you can direct your letter. If you must write to a group of people, replace the generic

greeting with an "Attention" line that denotes the name of the group.

Example:




1) Dear Miss Finnegan: (to a single

woman for whom you can determine no

title preference)

2) Dear Sir: or Gentlemen:

1) Dear Ms. Finnegan:

2) Attention: Admissions Committee


After selecting her insurance option in

the benefit plan, each new nurse should

submit her paperwork to the Human

Resources Department.

Submit your paperwork to the Human

Resources Department after selecting

your insurance option in the benefit

plan.

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THE TECHNICAL WRITING PROCESS

Good writers recognize that writing is a process or a cycle of tasks. Following are the

interrelated stages or tasks in the process:

Prewriting

Drafting

Revising

Editing and proofreading

Publishing

Prewriting

The prewriting stage is the part of the writing process dedicated to planning. This stage

is based on your analysis and it may include researching and collecting data, organising

your information, and outlining your communication.

Organising Your Message

Before starting any writing, you must decide on the sequence, or order, in which to present

your information. Some common patterns of organization are as follows:

Chronological

Spatial

Comparison-and-contrast

Most-important-to-least-important

Cause-and-effect

Chronological organization means that your information is organised according to time

or according to when an event occurred. Usually events are described from the earliest to

the latest, or in ascending order. The reverse, moving from the latest to the earliest, is

called descending order. The following example shows chronological organization for the

history of photography. In this example, the events are in ascending order.



Example of Chronological Organization

1. Joseph Niepce, 1826, pinhole camera 2. Louis Daguerre, 1837, highly detailed picture 3. William Fox Talbot, 1839, light-sensitive paper negatives 4. George Eastman, 1888, celluloid roll film

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Spatial organization means that ideas area arranged according to placement or

geography. For example, a piece of equipment might be described as being composed of

a number of parts; a description would explain how each part works in relation to the other,

going from front to rear, top to bottom, or left to right. As another example, sales figures

might be presented according to geographic region. Consider the following example

featuring spatial organization.

In spatial organization, transitions, or bridge words, are used to help the reader

locate various parts. Example of transitional words include below, next to, overhead,

behind, adjacent to, and above. Visuals are particularly helpful when you're using a spatial

organization; they can help your audience see the physical relationships between parts.

Comparison-and-contrast order arranges information according to similarities and

differences. When you talk about the advantages and disadvantages of something, you

are using comparison-and-contrast order. When you describe the ways objects,

processes, or policies are similar, you are comparing. When you explain how items are

different, you are contrasting. Investigative reports that discuss two or more items often

use the comparison-and-contrast arrangement.



Example of Comparison-and-Contrast Order

Cars that run on steam are fast and easy to start. However, the water tank has to be refilled every 50 miles, and you have to wait 20 minutes after lighting the boiler before you can drive. Cars that run on electricity are quiet and clean. They require little servicing, and the motor starts easily. However, an electric car has a limited driving range and is slower than other types of car.

Example of Spatial Organization

If the copy machine jams, first check the paper-feed tray on the left side of the machine to be sure all papers are aligned properly. Directly above the paper intake are the paper- feed rollers. Remove any paper stuck inside these rollers.

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A most-important-to-least-important order is simply a listing of points. This arrangement

is used in reports that examine an issue and reach a conclusion or recommendation, such

as determining the location of a new factory or selecting a vending machine service for the

employee lounge. When more than one point is given, the most important idea is

presented first and the consecutive points are listed in descending order of importance.

When information is arranged according to the factors and the results of those factors, a

cause-and-effect order is used. Many scientific reports use this type of organization. The

scientist begins by collecting data to support an unproven hypothesis. After the data is

organized and studied, the scientist reaches a conclusion. Common transition words used

in a cause-and-effect order are therefore, consequently, based on, because of, due to, as

a result, and ifthen.

Outlining

Outlining is a key part of your prewriting process. In order for your audience to grasp

your meaning, your thoughts must be organized and your understanding of what you want



Example of Cause-and-Effect Order

Eggs, beef, lamb, and poultry were cooked at different temperatures to determine the lowest internal temperature that protects against food-borne illness. Cooking food to an internal temperature of 160 degrees was found sufficient to prevent most illness. Because some foods are most tasty when cooked to a higher degree of doneness, lamb, pork, and beef should be cooked to 170 degrees. Due to a new resistant strain of salmonella, which still lives at temperatures of 170 degrees, poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees.

Example of Most-Important-to-Least-Important Order

After studying several presentation graphics software packages, I recommend that our company purchase Show-Off for the following reasons:

1. The clip art library is the most extensive of any currently available. 2. The help and tutorial programs provide excellent assistance to the novice. 3. The user can define the color palette. 4. The program automatically creates legends.

5. The program provides a simple checker.

ESP 2022


to convey must be absolutely clear. A well-organized outline can help you achieve this

goal.

Numbering systems. A formal multilevel outline takes the form of a series of

headings of different levels. These headings are called level heads. Two level-head

numbering systems, the alphanumeric system and the decimal system, are shown in

Figure 1.1 below. In the alphanumeric system, the level 2, level 3, and level 4 heads may

use parentheses, as shown in the figure, or they may use periods after the introductory

letter or number.



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Organizing Data for an Outline. : Imagine that you need to report your day's

activities and that the list of activities in Figure 1.2 below is the data you have compiled.

How you translate the data into useful information for a report will depend on the answers

to the content, message, audience, purpose, product (CMAPP) questions you devise.

Drafting an Outline. Assume that your CMAPP analysis reveals that your

your marketing instructor has asked you for an update on your project. You decide that

product will be a memo and that you will concentrate on three main topics:

Marketing project itself

Other courses that have a bearing on the project

Related activities



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You conclude that many of the items in Figure 1.2 might be relevant. The others will not

translate into useful information, so you ignore them. Your next step is to organize under

appropriate headings the data elements you have kept, along with the introductory information

your instructor will expect to see in the memo. This stage is often complicated by the fact that

some data items may appear to fit under more than one topic, so you have to make content

decisions as well. Completion of these tasks will result in a first draft of a formal multilevel

outline similar to the one shown in Figure 1.3 below

Finalizing an outline. After you organize the data elements under appropriate

headings, you should refine your outline. This stage in the process of translating data into

useful information is a painstaking one, particularly if you are working with an outline for a

longer, more complex document. Three principles - subordination, division, and

parallelism - are central in revising and finalizing your outline.



ESP 2022


1. Subordination. The principle of subordination says that every item that appears under

a particular level head must logically be a part of the subject matter of that level head.

Conversely, the item must not deal with a different issue and must not be equivalent or

greater importance or scope.

Your CMAPP analysis will allow you to determine what is appropriate in your

circumstance. When you find an entry that violates the principle of subordination, you may

decide to change the sequence of items, to create another separate level head, or to

change the wording of a level head so that it reflects what you really mean.

2. Division. The principle of division states that you cannot subdivide the content of any

level head into fewer than two parts. For example, if you have a 'I.A' head, you must have

at least a 'I.B' head.

How you fix a division problem also depends on the results of your CMAPP analysis.

You might decide to remove an item, to add an item (taking care not to contradict the

principle of subordination), or to make the item a higher level head. What you do depends

on what you decide you really mean.

3. Parallelism. The principle of parallelism requires that all level 1 heads exhibit the

same grammatical structure, that all level 2 heads exhibit the same grammatical structure,

and so on. Note that the structure of level 1 heads may be different from the structure of

level 2 heads, which may be different from the structure of level 3 heads, and so on.

The solution to a parallelism problem is to reword items until each of the same-level

heads exhibits the same grammatical structure. When applying the principle of parallelism,

you may find the easiest grammatical structure to work with is a noun or noun phrase.

The principle of parallelism applies not only to outlines, but also to bulleted and

numbered lists in a document. Each item in a list must have the same grammatical

structure.

Figure 1.4 offers a possible completed outline that is finalized from the initial multilevel

outline shown in Figure 1.3. There is no single correct version because you may have

several possible ways to fix any subordination, division, or parallelism problems. The final

version of your outline should always be based on your CMAPP analysis.



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Drafting

After you have finalized your outline, you can begin to develop your ideas. As you write your

draft, remember to use words that promote goodwill and encourage your receiver to accept

your message.

It is best to try to write your draft in one sitting. Keep your outline and pre writing notes

nearby. If you find that you need more information, don't stop to do research. Instead, write

yourself a note and move on to the next idea in your message. The whole point of drafting

is to develop your ideas. You are not yet concerned with typographical errors, grammar, or

spelling. You do, however, want to achieve the appropriate tone, or voice, for the

message.



ESP 2022


While you can always change things later, include as many specific details in your

draft as possible. Chose your words carefully because the words you use help shape the

tone and style in your message. However, try not to spend a lot of time at any particular

word or phrase. Make a note to go back and check a thesaurus or dictionary later.

Revising

To revise is to make changes. Many writers spend as much or more time revising as they

do creating their first draft. It is in the revision stage that a writer makes sure the message

says exactly what it should.

Before you revise a draft, put it aside for at least a few hours, if possible. You'll come

back to the document with a fresh perspective. To begin the revision process, read your

draft all the way through, focusing on your original CMAPP analysis. Try to step back and

put yourself in the place of the receiver. Is the message focused? Do you see gaps in

logic? Do the paragraphs flow well? Have you included all the vital information? Did you

stray from your point? Reorganize sentences or paragraphs as needed and read the draft

again.

The ABC

As you revise your message, keep the ABCs of communication - accuracy, brevity, and

clarity - in mind. These elements are always essential parts of your CMAPP analysis.

Accuracy.

questions:

When composing and revising your message, ask yourself the following

Have I chosen the right facts for this situation? In other words, are all my facts

pertinent to my context, my audience, and my purpose?

Is all my data correct? (Have I checked?)

Remember that your audience "needs" your information. But your audience does not

need data that will muddy the issue. Recall as well that your message represents you to

your audience, and thus your reputation hangs on it. Imagine the consequences if your

audience were to find an error in your information: Your message would lose credibility, as

would you, the "messenger" . Once lost, your credibility with the audience may be hard to

regain.



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Brevity. A practical definition of brevity might be "Say what you need to say and

then stop." If you include material in your document or presentation that is not relevant to

your context, message, audience, and purpose, your audience may be confused, irritated,

and/or bored - and all your efforts will have been wasted. Consider the following

examples:

To cut down on wordiness, use the active voice rather than the passive voice. When

you write in the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb.

In the passive voice, the subject receives the action. Consider the following example:

Passive: The best idea was submitted by Vernon.

Active: Vernon submitted the best idea.

Clarity

Clarity is a function of the words and grammatical structures you use, the organization of

your information, the logic and cohesion of your arguments, and the way you present your

message to your audience. When examining your message for clarity, ask yourself the

following questions:

Is everything as clear as I can make it?

Can I safely assume that my message will be as understandable to my audiences as it

is to me?

Consider the following example:

Poor: For the majority of people who compromise our society, money is perceived in

but two states of tangible matter, either as currency or as coins.

Most people think money is currency and coins. Better:



Poor Better

During the month of June, employees can preview the full and complete Annual Report for the year 20-before it is distributed to stockholders

During June, employees can read the complete 20-Annual Report before it is distributed

When you present complex information, you need to ask yourself if a graphic illustration would make it easier to understand.

Use a graphic illustration to make complex information easier to understand.

ESP 2022


Bias-Free Words

In today's diverse workplace, it is particularly important that you do not offend your audience

by showing biases. Bias-free words are free of prejudice, or unfair assumptions, and do not

influence the audience in any particular or unfair direction. Courteous communications are

sensitive to stereotypes and biases that involve gender, race, age, and disability.

Gender Bias. In today's workplace, women work as pilots, air traffic controllers, police

officers, and construction workers. Men work as nurses, administrative assistants, and

kindergarten teachers. The words used for today's workers should be free of gender bias to

reflect these realities. Note the difference between the gender-biased words and the neutral

words in the following list.

Race and Age Bias. A simple way to avoid biases of race and age is to avoid

mentioning these factors at all unless they are essential to your meaning. The following

sentences are examples of avoiding race and age bias

Disability Bias. Avoid disability bias by avoiding reference to a disabling condition. If

you must mention the condition, use unbiased words, as shown in the following examples.



Biased Words

Unbiased Words

Afflicted with, suffering from

Crippling defect, disease

Has

Condition

Biased Words

Unbiased Words

We hired an Asian lawyer. Have you met the little old man?

We hired a lawyer. Have you met the man?

Gender-Biased Words

Neutral Words

Foreman Waiter/waitress Stewardess Salesman Policeman Fireman Manmade Executives and their wives

Foreperson, supervisor Server Flight attendant Salesperson Police officer Fire fighter Manufactured Executives and their spouses

ESP 2022


Editing and Proofreading

To edit is to alter or refine a written message to improve it. When you edit, you are fine-tuning

your message with an eye on sentences, phrases, and words. Editing tools to keep on hand

or to reference online include the following:

A language handbook or style guide.

A dictionary

A thesaurus

The Grammar and Style Handbook can help you answer specific grammar and mechanics

questions. An editing checklist is another useful tool. Consider the points in the Checklist

whenever you edit your work.

Proofreading is the process of reviewing and correcting the final draft of your message. As

you proofread your document, look for general content errors as well as mechanical errors,

such as incorrect spacing, misspelled words, incorrect capitalization or incorrect punctuation.

Nearly all word-processing software programs include a spell checker and a grammar

checker. These programs are helpful, but do not assume that they will replace the editing and

proofreading process. Spell checkers will not help you with most proper nouns or with word

substitutions. Your spell checker won't know that you meant to key in 'being' instead of 'begin'.

Only careful proofreading can detect errors like this one.



Checklist

Effective Editing

Read your document aloud and listen for awkward sentences. If you stumble over a

phrase, chances are it needs editing.

Check sentence types and lengths. Are all your sentences about the same length? If

so, create some variety. Are any sentences long or complicated? Consider splitting

them into two sentences.

Look at sentence beginnings. If many sentences start with the same word, add some

variety. Avoid starting sentences with I, my, it is, and there is.

Use language appropriate for your audience. Avoid the slang, jargon, and informal

language commonly used in everyday speech.

ESP 2022


The following list describes six effective proofreading methods.

1. Scroll the screen. Move the cursor down the screen of the computer as you proofread

each line.

2. Read aloud. Read aloud to slow down and examine words more carefully.

3. Compare drafts. Check the final draft against the previous edited copy.

4. Proofread the hard copy. Proofread the printed document even if you've already

edited it on the screen.

5. Proofread backwards. Read each line from the right to left, or start at the end of the

document and read the entire message backwards.

6. Use two proofreaders. One proof reader reads aloud from the previous edited copy,

while the other proof reader checks the final copy.

Publishing

When your proofreading process is complete, you're ready to prepare and publish the final

document. To publish your message is to deliver it to the receiver or make it available to

the public. Before publishing, evaluate your message from a visual viewpoint. Your

finished product should not only sound good when your receiver reads it, it should look

good too. Effective visual presentation of material in your technical communication is

critical to your success.



Watch for overused words. Be original. Replace overused words and phrases with

fresh, vivid language.

Check for clarity, completeness and tone. Look at your message from your

receiver's viewpoint. Is the message clear? Will the receiver know exactly what to do

or how to respond? Does the tone promote goodwill?

ESP 2022


TYPES OF REPORTS

At one time or another, you'll be asked to write a report. Reports can vary in length.

Generally, a shorter report (approximately one to five pages) will be formatted differently than

a longer report (more than five pages long). Your report will satisfy one or all of the following

needs :

Supply a record of work accomplished

Record and clarify complex information for future reference

Present information to a large number of people

Record problems encountered

Document schedules, timetables and milestones

Recommend future action

Document current status

Record procedures

The most common types of reports include the following:



Accident/Incident reports

What happened, how did it happen, when did it happen, why did it happen, who was involved

Feasibility reports

Can we do it, should we do it?

Options for the recycling/re-use of waste materials in a

paper-production plant

Potential applications of a small industrial robot system

Inventory reports

What is in storage, what has been sold, what needs to be ordered?

Staff utilization reports

Is labor sufficient and efficiently used?

Progress reports (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually)

What is our status? What have been accomplished and what needs to be done?

Construction of an urban storm-water drainage system

Installation of an industrial heating and air-conditioning

system

ESP 2022




Travel reports

Where did I go, what did I learn, who did I meet?

Lab reports

How did we do it?

Performance appraisal

reports

How is an employee doing on the job?

Incident reports

A document that records what happened in a particular situation. Also assumes that the incident is not likely to be repeated.

A report from a safety officer on an accident in a large

industrial operation

A report on the installation of a new telephone exchange

Proposal reports

How to convince readers to adopt an/a idea/product/service?

A proposal to reduce energy consumption in a wool- processing plant

An improved layout for a school chemistry laboratory

Inspection reports

The act of considering or examining something in order to judge its value, quality, importance, extent, or condition. Is the condition up to the expected standard? What can be improvised?

Critical examination of something aimed at forming judgement or evaluation

An evaluation of the machinery/tools/vehicles/office supplies/computer software or hardware

ESP 2022


CRITERIA FOR WRITING SHORT REPORTS

All reports share certain generic similarities in format, development and style.

FORMAT

Every report should contain four basic units: heading, introduction, discussion, and

conclusion/recommendations.

1) Heading

The heading includes the date on which the report is written, the name(s) of the people to

whom the report is written, the name(s) of the people from whom the report is sent, and the

subject of the report (subject line should contain a topic and a focus).

2) Introduction

The introduction supplies an overview of the report. It can include three optional subdivisions :

Purpose - a topic sentence (s) explaining why you are submitting the report (ratio

esp 2022 handbook jan15

Documents

purposes technical writing

purpose of technical

transactional writing

specific purposes

writing states specific

budget expenditures

budget decrease

vague adjectives