BADM final
tables
# and caption above
figures
# and caption below
executive summary
- consolidates principal points of the report -must accurately and concisely reflect the original document -10% of summarized documents following the same sequence -possible to read independent of the report -do not refer by number to figures, tables, or references contained elsewhere in the document
back matter of formal report
-appendixes -bibliography -glossary -index
how to write a literature review
-clear argument -several sections if complex topic -quotations when necessary -reference all quotes and paraphrased -acknowledge opinions that dont support thesis -use formal, academic style, free of colloquialisms -use appropriate reporting words and phrases to refer to opinions of and research -present tense for general opinions, facts and theories and past tense for describing methods and specific research
feasibility reports body
-detailed evaluation of all alternatives under consideration -uses heading and subsections
body of formal report
-executive summary -introduction -text (including headings) -conclusions and recommendations -explanatory notes -references
questions feasibility reports should answer
-is the new construction/ development necessary? -is sufficient staff available? -what are the costs involved? -what are the legal or other requirements?
feasibility reports introduction
-purpose of the report -circumstances that led to the report -background information -may discuss the scope and procedures/ methods -notes limitations of the study
laboratory report
-states the reason why the investigation was conducted, -lists the equipment and procedures used during the test -mentions the problems encountered, conclusions reached, and recommendations made -graphs and tables should be integrated into the report
feasibility reports conclusion
-summarizes the evaluation of alternatives and points to the most feasible ones
feasibility report recommendations
-the writer's opinion on which alternative best meets the criteria
front matter of formal report
-title page -abstract -table of contents -list of figures -list of tables -foreword -preface -list of abbreviations and symbols
progress reports
-used for projects with many steps -provide information about a project and its status -often submitted by a contracting company to client -intro should identify project, materials needed and completion date -subsequent reports should summarize the progress to date (steps the remain, recommendations and any changes)
trouble reports
-used to report such events as accidents, equipment failures or health emergencies -assess causes -suggest changes -internal documents -follow memo format
Things to remember when drafting a questionnaire
1. eliminate non-essential items 2. not to use sophisticated language on a unsophisticated audience 3. not to include ambiguous questions 4. use clear response categories 5. be careful with opinion questions 6. with factual questions do not the respondents to collect information 7. avoid leading questions 8. avoid complex or difficult questions 9. avoid irritating questions 10. to avoid negative questions 11. do not ask over general questions 12. do not ask double questions 13. offensive questions 14. presumptuous questions
limitations of questionnarie
1. tend to be descriptive rather than explanatory 2. information can be superficial 3. lack of preparation
four main advantages of questionaries
1. time is used efficiently 2. anonymity 3. possible high return rates 4. questions are standardized
transmittal letter
A business letter whose purpose is to accompany other written material (sent along with other documents/reports)
multiple choice questions
Gives the respondent several choices, important that the options are made comprehensive enough to include every possible response. Usually includes an "other" option.
factual questions
Questions that raise issues concerning matters of fact like age, gender, profession and place of residence
piloting
a crucial stage to iron out faults in data collection instrument and allows you to see whether the method of collecting data is suitable and whether the questions are adequate in terms of clarity
references
a list of references you used in the work and writing the paper
close
a short closing line expressing goodwill
contraction
a shortened version of a word or phrase, some letters are omitted and replaced with an apostrophe
malapropism
a word that sounds similar to the one intended but has a different meaning
euphemisms
a word used in place of another word that is viewed as more disagreeable or offensive
technical writing style
a writing style which is employed in professional communication of various organizations and businesses, it is aimed at an effective communication between the author of the message and his/her audience
memoranda
a written proposal or reminder
transactional writing
aimed at making the reader understand a concept or a request, driven by practical needs of a business or an institution
reports
aimed at multiple readers and presents results of research
formal reports
aimed at presenting and discussing results of long term or complex projects that include several different parts/ sections and are similar to research papers in structure
full block
all items aligned to the left, paragraphs separated from each other with a blank line, no indentations for new paragraphs, very often used with open punctuation
open-ended questions
allow the respondents to feel they can contribute more individual points of view and more detailed information than is elicited in closed questions, require more sophisticated treatment
index
alphabetical list of major topics and subtopics with page numbers
explanatory notes
amplify terms or points for some readers, if not included as footnotes, they appear in the final section called notes
glossary
an alphabetical list of selected terms used with their definitions
vague words
are those that lack precision and therefore their use may obscure the meaning of a sentence
chronological
arranged in order of time
order of importance
arrangement that reflecting the importance of each element (may be increasing or decreasing)
ranked questions
asking respondents to rank alternatives like indicating your preference from 1 - least favorite to 7 most favorite
classification
assigns products/phenomena to different categories/ groups
references/ work cited
at the end of report or each chapter, styles could differ
gender imbalance
avoid this in your writing
tone of a message
be direct, write in a polite undemanding tone, request a specific action courteously, indicate your gratitude
affectation
behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial and designed to impress; should never be present in documents following technical writing style
concise
brief and to the point
observations
choose times and sites carefully and ask for permission, remain unobtrusive, keep accurate and complete records, save interpretations for future analysis
formal definition
classification, place a term in a category and identify the features that distinguish it from other members of the same category
brainstorming
conversations with your peers, instructors, your own knowledge and finding sources
examples of euphemisms
correctional facility, negative patient care outcome, therapeutic misadventure
clipped words
created by deleting a beginning or an ending of an existing word
examples of buzz words
cutting edge, trendy, luxury, luxurious
modified format
date and closing center of page
definition
defines concepts and supplements the definition with extra details, illustrations, examples, comparisons
negative definitions
definition which inform the reader what a term isnt instead of what a term is
routine letters
deliver neutral information, state the message objectively, follow the basic business message structure, use formal language
methods of development
depend on the subject, audience and goal (sequential, chronological, general and specific, cause and effect)
how to write an introduction
describe importance of study, defend the model, provide a rationale, state hypothesis and reasonings that led you to select it and briefly describe experimental design, use past tense, make one major point with each paragraph, present background info, pay attention to spelling, clarity and appropriateness
body
describes the methods and procedures in details, demonstrates how results were obtained, describes results, draws conclusions and makes recommendations
methods/ procedure
describes what you did, how you did it, gives strategies, sample calculations, diagrams, and circuits, all specialized materials and descriptions of equipment; give reader sufficient information to be able to repeat work; use third person passive voice
topics
determined by need, select one that interests you, that you can research adequately and limit so its scope is small enough to handle it in time and work limit
revision
do it in stages, accuracy, completeness and effectiveness, get rid of unnecessary information, check if the writing is unified and coherent, and correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
cause and effect
draws attention to either causes or effect of something
closed questions
easier to analyze and more communicative than optic, though they are criticized them for forcing respondents to choose from a fixed set of options
cliches
expressions that have lost their freshness because they have been used extensively for a long time
Abstract
follows the title page, and highlights the major points of report, begin with topic sentence, combine ideas, and spell out acronyms and abbreviations
how technical writing is different from academic writing
frequent use of numbering, bullet points, headings and subheadings, different fonts and font sizes, single spaced paragraphs separated by double spacing, different styles of format
parts of a formal report
front matter, body and back matter
types of layouts
full block, semi block or modified
title page
full title of the report, the name of the writer, principal investigator or complier, the date(s) of the report, the name of the organization for which the writer works, the name of organization to which the report is submitted; obligatory
secondary research
gathering information that has been analyzed, assessed, evaluated compiled or otherwise organized into accessible form; books, reports and articles
primary research
gathering raw data through interviews, questionaries, surveys, experiments, recordings and observations
informal definition
give a more familiar word or phrase as a synonym
introduction
gives general information necessary to understand the detailed information in the rest of the report
outlining
giving the document a logical structure
memorandum format
headed by the word memo or memorandum, to, from, date, subject. Aligned to the left, no salutation or closing line
text
how the topic was investigated, how a problem was solved, what alternatives were explored, supported by references; use headings and subheadings, figures and tables, and bulleted and numbered lists
back matter
includes supplementary material
what to avoid in conclusions
including a new topic
appendix
information that clarifies or supplements the body, and provides information that is too detailed or lengthy for the primary audience but that is relevant to secondary audiences
yes-no questions
informative though a little blunt; may also include 'it depends' or 'sometimes' options
response/ action
informs the reader about what is expected of him/her and informs the reader about actions that were or will be taken by someone other than the reader
conclusions/ discussions
interpret your results, state what you have learned or proved, and also describe interesting observations, new questions and future work
pattern of messages
introduction, background, response/action, close
table of contents
list of all the sections and headings
list of tables
listed if there are more than 5 in a report, listed along with page numbers, numbered consecutively with arabic numbers
list of figures
lists visuals included in the report; incorporated when there are more than 5 figures in a report; listed along with page numbers; numbered consecutively with arabic numbers
questionaries
most frequently used data research technique used by students
open punctuation
omitted unnecessary full stops and commas in the inside address of a letter
tips for making a routine request
open by stating your main idea clearly and simply, before complex requests, include a brief explanation, justify the request or explain its importance, explain the benefit of responding, state desired actions in a positive, supportive manner, itemize a complex request in a logical, numbered list, clearly state any important deadline or timeframe, make it easy to comply by including contact information
ambiguous
open to more than one interpretation
foreword
optional introductory statement about a formal report or book written by someone other than the author; includes background and places in context of other works in the field; author's name and affiliation at the end
preface
optional introductory statement written by the author; announce scope, purpose and background, may specify the audience, contain acknowledgements, cite permission obtained for the use of copyrighted works
title page
page (i), back of it is blank but considered (ii), page numbers at the bottom of the page throughout the report (centered)
semi block format
paragraphs are indented, not left-justified
clarity
precise word choice, conciseness, parallel structures and clear transitions
the writing process
preparation, research, organization, writing, revision
scaled questions
present statements and ask for degrees of agreement (strongly agree, agree, no opinion, disagree, strongly disagree)
background
presents details of the message and all that the reader needs to know in order to understand the main idea of the message
feasibility reports
presents evidence about practicality of a proposed project based on specific criteria; used to determine the project's chances for success
front matter
presents the aim and overview of the project, some elements are optional and are not included in some reports
methods of research
primary and secondary
specific questions
provide more standardization than general questions which tend to lead to a range of possible respondent interpretations and may be a poorer predictor of order; aid respondent recall and enable more precise communication
literature review
provide the reader with information on what has been written on the discussed issue, draw attention to other authors' disagreement, show relationship between present study and previous studies, highlight issues which still have not been researched, evaluate and justify the research methodology
spatial
provides a description of the physical appearance of an object/ place/ person
introduction
provides background and motivation for your topic, describes the focus and purpose of the paper you are writing, and gives an overview of what is contained in the paper's various sections
conclusion
pulls together the result of the research and offers conclusions based on the analysis; can include recommendations, predictions, judgements, or summary, ideas for consideration, call for action or thought provoking statement; reinforce ideas presented earlier and must be consistent with what the introduction promised or state what actions should be taken based on earlier arguments and results of study
3 common types of titles
question, summary, 2-part
primary research
raw data through direct observation, interviews, surveys, questionnaires and experiements
examples of vague words
real, nice, important, good, bad, thing, fine
circular definitions
repeat the defined term in another form without explaining what it means in detail
discussion
section of a scientific paper in which the author interprets experimental results, describes how variables may be related, and attempts to explain the phenomenon in question
parallel structure
sentence elements that are alike in function should also be alike in construction, same grammatical form
preparation
set your main purpose, evaluate your audience determine the scope of your coverage, select the appropriate medium
abstract
short summary of the entire paper that includes the scope, overview, definitions, goals and objectives, methods, results and conclusions; one of the last parts of the paper to be written, use complete sentences, write in past tense; what you write should be consistent with that reported in the paper
visuals
show how things look, represent numbers and quantities, depict relationships, make abstract concepts and relationships concrete and highlight most important information
comparison
showing similarities and differences between two concepts/ products/ pieces of equipment
sequential
shows the order of steps/ elements in a sequence
bibliography
sources used in body of report (in alphabetical order)
types of questions
specific, closed, open-ended, factual, yes-no, multiple choice, ranked, and scaled
general/ specific or specific/ general
starts from general information which is narrowed down to specific details or vice versa
introduction
summary at the beginning
ethics in research
the role of funders, sampling, informed consent, confidentiality, managing your data, research methods, researcher safety, citing existing sources, or reporting your results
affectation
the use of language that is more formal, technical or showy than necessary to communicate information to the reader
parts of a research paper
title, abstract, introduction, literature review, methods/procedure, results, conclusions/discussion, references
unity
to achieve this you need to make sure everything is related to the main idea, and identifying the purpose of writing
preparation of research
topics, purpose, scope, readers, brainstorming, types of research
bad news letters
use message statement to say something good to the recipient while at the same time breaking the bad news and use the closing section to keep the communication open
where you use technical writing
user manuals, leaflets, memorandum, letter, email
secondary research
uses information that is analyzed and evaluated
plagiarism
using the words or ideas of others and presenting them as your own
methods of transition
using transitional words or phrases, repeating keywords or ideas, using pronouns with clear antecedents, numbering with enumeration, summarizing a previous paragraph, asking a question, using a transitional paragraph
informal reports
usually a few paragraphs or a few pages long; and they may be composed as letters, memos or email; only include introduction, body conclusions and recommendations
intensifiers
very, quite, rather, such, too; often make your writing weaker
jargon
vocabulary distinctive to a particular group of people
results
where you prove your point with the data; give graphs, and tables of costs, profits; gives some description or guide to help the reader recognize the important points
how to start a questionnaire
with a brief explanation of what you want to do
buzz words
words that become popular and are used extensively for a while
coherent
writing is considered this then the relations among ideas are clear to readers, ideas are in logical sequence and have clear transitions
parts of a letter
you're information, date, addressee, salutation, body, closing line, signing