Is data singular or plural?Technical English

Is data singular or plural?Technical English

The following table summarises the results of of an investigationof 750 randomly-selected citations for data from each of thefollowing publications:

The prestigious high-level research journal Nature.

The weekly science magazine New Scientist

The Guardian newspaper

Publication Frequency Plural Singular

Nature 1:563 93.6% 6.4%

New Scientist 1:1,970 69.9% 30.1%

The Guardian 1:22,047 39.5% 60.5%( ref. Tim Johns University of Birmingham - http://web.bham.ac.uk/johnstf/revis006.htm)

Is data singular or plural?Technical English

Metaphors and clichésTechnical English

Metaphor

A metaphor is a word used for effect in a way in which its meaning cannot be taken literally:

there are new projects in the pipelinehe is a giant in his fieldit was a stormy meeting

can result in quite laughable statements:

new water supply projects are in the pipelinehospitals warn that supplies of blood are drying up this summer

Clichés

A cliché is an expression which has become stale or worn-out

moving the goal postsballpark figureat the end of the day

Definition of a sentence

• A sentence is a group of words which makes sense in itself

• A sentence contains at least one main item of information to which various subsidiary ideas may be attached

• A sentence must contain at least one complete verb

In reply to your enquiry about maintenance.

With reference to your telephone call.

Incorrect

Technical English

When you have logged into the computer and typed in your username, the computer will respond with a dollar prompt, you can then set your password by invoking the ‘passwd’ command,

this password should be used whenever you log in in future.

Sentence length

When you first log into the computer, type your user name and the computer will respond with a dollar prompt.

You can set your password by invoking the ‘passwd’ command.

This password should be used whenever you log in.

Technical English

1

2

3

Proof reading a document

• Don’t do it yourself - Get someone else to do it. But who to choose?*

• Cool off - Don’t attempt to proof read a document as soon as you have written it.

• Use a style guide - English or US spelling, data is or data are etc.

• Useful aids - Read your text line by line. Read backwards word by word.

• Don’t trust the spellchecker - Many mistakes are not detected.*

• Check - consistency - e.g. hyphenation “micro-computer”

- text vs. diagrams - same terms in both? Does Fig.2b still exist?

- Acronyms - should always be spelled out first.

- Numbers - the numbers 0 - 9 should be spelled out.

Technical English

Proof reading a document

• Don’t do it yourself - Get someone else to do it. But who to choose?

Technical English

A colleague working in the same field

A native speaker

A native speaker with a technical background

Proof reading a documentTechnical English

Don’t trust the spellchecker - Many mistakes are not detected.*

bellowlaterthenfiledmeltnow

belowlatter (only for two)

thanfieldmaltnot

The power supply is not safe to operate

The power supply is now safe to operate

Technical English

Letters

Ljubljanska Cesta 191001 LjubljanaSlovenia

5 January 1999

Mr D. GreeneManufacturing ManagerMedium MakersHalo Industrial EstateBurridgeDevon BU7 4RT

Dear Mr Greene

Final year student project

I am a final year student at the Mechanical Engineering Facultyof the University of Ljubljana. I am carrying out a project onaspects of the modelling of manufacturing processes. I am hopingto improve my knowledge in this area by gaining some workexperience during the summer at a manufacturing plant in the UK.

Could you please inform me of any summer vacancies you haveavailable for students in your company. I am particularlyinterested in working with computer simulations of hightemperature forming operations.

My lecture courses will be completed by June 25 after which Iwill not be required to attend the University again untilSeptember 6. I have enclosed a copy of my CV and a short projectreport on hot forming which will give you an indication of myexperience to date in this field.

Yours sincerely

Signature

Janez Novak

Encl.

Your addressDo not use punctuation. Do not abbreviate Road to Rd etc.

DateUse the format: 5 January 1999.No need to write 5th.Never write 05. 01. 99

Their name and addressOnly necessary with a formal letter.Position to the left.No punctuation

Dear . . .Do your homework. Only write Dear Sir/Madam as last resort.No ‘.’ after Mr or Dr

HeadingClarifies the purpose.Always Bold or underline

MEDIUM MAKERS,Halo Industrial Estate, Burridge, Devon BU7 4RT

Phone: 012121 666444 Fax: 012121 666445

Our ref: DFG/hj

6 February 1999

Janez NovakLjubljanska Cesta 191001 LjubljanaSlovenia

Dear Janez Novak

Final year student project

Thank you for your letter of 5 January. I am pleased to inform you thatwe will be recruiting a number of students from the UK and overseas towork with us on 6-8 week projects during the summer. This is part of theEuropean Archimedes Programme of which Slovenia is a partner.

I am enclosing a copy of our company Student Application Form which Iwould ask you to complete and return to us before April 17, together withthe other documents specified on the form.

If you have any further enquiries regarding the projects, please contactMr Michael Williams, at the same address, who is responsible for thecoordination of the Programme.

Yours sincerely

Signature

Derek GreeneManufacturing Manager

Encl.

Technical English

Letters

Headed paperLetters from companies, institutes etc. alwaysuse headed paper.

Reference codeReference code must follow office convention

Dear . . .Dear Janez is too familiarIf in doubt use full name rather than Mr, Mrs etc.If you know title, use it. e.g. Dear Dr Jones

Yours . . . Dear Sir/Madam …… Yours faithfullyDear Dr Jones ……Yours sincerelyDear Paul ……..Best wishes, regards, love etc.

Below the signatureType your name and specify your position

Enclosed document(s)Encl. Indicates other documents are included

Technical English

Letters

Some general rules when writing letters

• If your letter refers to previous correspondence you should make it clear.

e.g. I refer to your letter of 11 February. - (bit cold) Thank you for your letter. - (better)

• Come to the point quickly.

• There is no need to round off a letter with a special closing remark.

e.g. I look forward very much to hearing from you. I would like to thank you in advance for your help with this matter.

• Never be over polite or obsequious.

e.g. I would be very grateful if… If you could possibly find the time….

• Don’t summarise at the end, a a letter should not normally be longer than one page.

Technical English

An accurate memo

MEMO

To: Alpha Project From: Mike Smith Date: 6 July personnel

The purpose of this memo is to notify all companypersonnel involved with the Alpha project of the presentsituation regarding outstanding items not delivered tothe customer yet for one reason or another.

MEMO

To: Alpha Project From: Mike Smith Date: 6 July personnel

We’ve problems of late delivery on the Alpha project.

Technical English

Difficult pairs

stationery

writing paper

principal

chief

draft

rough version

accede

assent to

access

entry

affect

to have influence on

stationary

without movement

principle

underlying rule

draught

current of air

exceed

surpass

assess

weigh up

effect

to bring about / an influence

Technical English

Difficult pairs

affect and effect

affect is a verb:

Studying engineering to an advanced level has affected his job prospects.

effect is a verb and a noun:

Study, hard work and experience combined to effect an improvement in his career prospects.

His overseas experience has had an effect on his career pattern.

Technical English

Difficult pairs

advice and advise

I can advise you to study engineering, but will you take my advice?

He perfected a device for sounding the alarm but could not devise a way of ensuring that people would respond.

I will license you to issue licences

device and deviselicence and license

Rule: the noun has a c and the verb has an s

Technical English

Don’t be vague or pompous

Vague:Our experiments were quite successful and we are generally hopeful that we shall be able to make the results public in due course.

Exact: We were successful with 60% of our experiments, and provided that there are no unforeseen problems, we shall make the results public within the next two months.

Pompous:Following our recent meeting, we feel we must put in writing which we believe to be the justifying factors leading to our proposed modest increases in costs.

Straightforward:In the light of our meeting on 21 January, I confirm our need to raise our prices.

Technical English

Sentence length

Further to our recent meeting regarding electricity supply and utilisation, I would like very much to arrange a further meeting with you to discuss the subject, coupled with a general discussion on electrical applications and equipment capable of providingpossible reductions in unit production costs, such as electric/steam generators and convection/radiant ovens coupled to load control equipment.

This sentence contains fifty-nine words

I should like to arrange a further meeting.(the main clause)

1. further to our recent meeting2. regarding electricity supply and utilisation3. to discuss the subject(three subsiduary ideas)

We could have a general discussion(the next idea)

1. about electrical applications and equipment(another subsiduary idea)

2. capable of providing possible reductions in unit production costs(more details)

3. such as electricity/steam generators and convection/radiant ovens coupled to loadcontrol equipment(more examples)

Technical English

Sentence length

Further to our recent meeting regarding electricity supply and utilisation, I would like very much to arrange a further meeting with you to discuss the subject, coupled with a general discussion on electrical applications and equipment capable of providingpossible reductions in unit production costs, such as electric/steam generators and convection/radiant ovens coupled to load control equipment.

The main ideas:

1. I should like to arrange a further meeting.

2. At the same time, we could discuss equipment

3. I can give you examples of the kind of equipment I have in mind.

I should like to arrange a further meeting with you to continue our discussions of [date] on electricity supply and use. At the same time, we could have a general look at electrical applications and equipment capable of providing reductions in unit production costs. I have in mind electric/steam generators and convection/radiant ovens coupled to load control equipment.

Technical English

Sentence length

Summary

Sentences should contain one idea, or two or three closelyrelated ideas which must be correctly joined together.

Good style requires variety of sentence length.

Sentences must not be too long, forty words is a sensible maximum.

Too many short sentences give a rather childish effect.

Technical English

Sentence length

Sentences cannot simply be put together, they need a word or phrase which joins them, they should otherwise be separate, the commas should be changed to full stops.

Sentences cannot simply be put together. They need a word or phrase which joins them.They should otherwise be separate. The commas should be changed to full stops.

Sentences cannot simply be put together. Either they need a word or phrase which joins them or they should be kept separate. The commas should be changed to full stops.

Technical English

Redundant words

Initially, we began by

a new innovation

future consequences

heated to a temperature of 1300°C

it was clearly obvious

both of the two rivets became..

fewer in number

an approximate estimate

each and every person

very expensive quite small rather large

Technical English

Sounding positive

If the trend shown continues, then there should be no reason why an improvement in productivity of approaching 40% is not achievable.(too negative)

If we keep up the good work, we’ll just about make a 40% rise in production.(too informal)

If the present trend continues, we should approach a 40% rise in production.(better)

A 40% rise in production is forecast if the present trend continues.(positive)

Technical English

Tension is irrelevant

As night fell, and with it the hard, driving rain, his determination increased and, breathless, exhausted, running onwards although he no longer knew in what direction, stumbling and nearly falling so that he grazed his hands and twistedhis ankle, he now knew more certainly than ever that he would, if need be, die rather than surrender.

Avoid ‘back-to-front’ sentences

To present detailed waste water proposals in the absence ofcommunity structure plans is not possible.

It is impossible to present detailed waste water proposals in the absence of community structure plans.

Technical English

Colons and semicolons

Semicolon

1. Can be used to link two sentences with closely related subject matter:

The design of the bridge was superb at the time; today it has to carry too much traffic.

The two parts must be able to stand alone as individual sentences. The link must be strong.Can produce an elegant style if not overused.

2. Semicolons can also be used to separate sections of information in a list:

The following hazards must be considered:(1) insulation and protection from electric shock;(2) fire risks and the location of fire extinguishers;(3) testing of pressurised or other highly stressed components.

Not necessary if items on the list are short.

Technical English

Colons and semicolons

Colon

1. A colon is used to introduce a list:

The equipment needed for this test is as follows:

oscilloscopedigital voltmetersignal generatorlogic analyserpower supplies

or

There are three main types of stepping motor: variable reluctance motors, permanent magnet motors and hybrid motors.

Colons can be followed by a dash ( :- ), but this is a little old fashioned.

Technical English

Hyphens

Hyphens are used to join two words together to give them a new meaning:

Optional in most cases

online or on-linebandwidth or band-width

wordprocessor or word-processor

Never omitted

bio-degradeablethree-dimensionalsingle-track

Change of meaning

re-cover or recovercross-section or cross section

Easier to read

re-emerge not reemergereal-life not reallife

Word-breaks

Try to avoid:rear- range and leg- end

Technical English

Singular and plural with verbs

In-process inspection and testing now involve more attention to the documented quality plan.

The method of in-process inspection and testing now involves more attention to the documented quality plan.

Professor Jones, accompanied by his research group, is going to visit the department next week.

Professor Jones and his students are going to visit the department next week.

1.

2.

Technical English

Try to use short words

Fill in the blanks with short words that can often take the place of longer ones.

anticipate ---------------- foreseecognizance ---------------- knowledgecompensation ---------------- paydemonstrate ---------------- showendeavor ---------------- tryinitiate ---------------- beginlocality ---------------- placemodification ---------------- changeobjective ---------------- aimoptimum ---------------- bestsubsequent ---------------- nextvoluminous ---------------- bulky

Technical English

Writing a report

Title

Abstract / Summary

Introduction

Procedure / Method / Experimental

Results / Results & Discussion

Discussion

Conclusions

Recommendations

Technical English

Writing a report

The title

• Try not to exceed one line of text.

• Think in terms of keywords

• Make sure the title reflects the contents

• Make it stand out

High temperature impact testing of 69-A19 molybdenum alloys

Investigation into the indentation behaviour of a range of conventionally produced molybdenum based 69-A19 alloys using a variety of high impact tests at elevatedtemperatures

Technical English

Writing a report

Abstract / Summary

• Must cover techniques, all main findings and conclusions

• Think in terms of keywords

• Understand that 90% of people will only read the abstract

• Half a page is enough

The level of traffic flow in Ljubljana has been assessed using the fixed field method. Vehicles were counted for one hour periods between 8:00 - 9:00 and 16:00 - 17:00. Results indicate a 15% overall increase in the volume of traffic, compared with the figures for January 1997. Individual vehicle …….

Technical English

Writing a report

Introduction

• State the reasons for carrying out the investigation

• Provide background information on previous studies

• Make it clear what you intended to do

• Use active and passive language

The last 10 years have seen a large increase in traffic on the roads of Ljubljana. As result of this, we have decided to look at ways in which the problems associated with this traffic can be reduced. We have decided to build on our earlier study [1] which focused on the area around Kino Vič.

Technical English

Writing a report

Procedure / Method / Experimental

• Specify the equipment used in the investigation

• Be clear as to the conditions of the experiment / investigation

• Describe the techniques

• Use passive language

Twenty-four samples of the TiAl2 material were produced using a Philips 1239 atomiser in a nitrogen atmosphere of 1 bar. Each sample was then crushed in a BZT mill for times between 15 and 120 minutes. The powders were then mounted on aluminium sample holders and allowed to dry in a 5% relative humidity atmosphere for 24 hours. Sample morphologies were……….

Technical English

Writing a report

Results / Results & Discussion

• Relate results obtained to the experiment / procedure

• Use tables and graphs to add clarity

• If one experiment follows on from a previous one tell the story

• Use active and passive language

The number of vehicles passing a particular point on Slovenska Cesta between 8:00 am and 9:00 am, recorded by the Sony X1 Digicounter, is shown in Table 1. We have divided the vehicles into three classes: cars, light vans and trucks. Thetable also records the average velocity for each class of vehicle and the numberof occupants, which we considered important….

Technical English

Writing a report

Conclusions

• Do NOT re-state the results or discussion

• Bring together the points discussed and draw conclusions

• List the conclusions

• Indicate future experiments / studies

• Use active and passive language

The absence of any significant deformation of the material indicates that the 3%boron doped FeNd alloy will be suitable for applications at 350°C.

Additional boron substitutions did not lead to any further strengthening and we propose that further investigations should focus on the use of other light elements.

Technical English

Technical English

Writing concisely

Sentences

Word choice

Writing a formal letter

Colons, semicolons and hyphens

Writing a report

Proof reading

Summary

Technical English

Technical English

Avoid redundant words and long sentences

Keep your texts short

Be accurate not vague - be polite not pompous

Avoid metaphors and clichés

Use simple straightforward language

Summary