BADM final

tables

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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