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En provenance du cours de Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

Technical Writing

33 notes

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

Technical Writing

33 notes

Cours 4 sur 5 dans Specialization English for Research Publication Purposes

The course develops technical writing skills necessary to communicate information gained through a process of technical or experimental work. The course highlights the factors that determine the degree of technicality of the language and concepts involved. You will learn how to write different technical reports, e.g., laboratory reports, research reports, design and feasibility reports, progress reports, consulting reports, etc. The course also approaches several language, structure, style, and content issues that you can encounter while reporting the results of your research.

À partir de la leçon

Module II: Organizing the Information

In this Module, you will learn how to use visuals to communicate a large amount of information quickly and efficiently. The Module provides general guidelines for using graphical tools that you can use to design visuals with the output process of the report in mind. In addition, you will learn how to define a term using various techniques of extended definitions. The Module also provides guidelines for effective planning of technical report writing.

Introductory video0:32

Technical definition6:08

Rencontrer les enseignants

Elena Bazanova
Director of the Language Training and Testing Center
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

It is not surprising that one of the most important tools for a technical writer is

visuals, which include equations, formulas, figures, diagrams,

drawings, illustrations, graphs, charts, schematics, maps, photographs and tables.

Visuals communicate a large amount of information quickly and efficiently.

When you are designing visuals, be sure to include only

information that directly relates to the mechanism description and

is specifically keyed to the description provided in the text.

Do not include visuals that do not match the mechanism description

in subject matter or terminology.

Also, avoid visuals that include too much or too little complexity for the level of

discussion in the paper, these are general guidelines for using visuals.

Include visuals in a technical paper only when you have a reason to do so.

If you do not know why you're putting a visual into your paper,

you probably do not need it.

Be sure to reference a visual in the text discussion

prior to its placement in the report.

If the visual proceeds its reference the reader will wonder why is it there,

be sure to number and title all visuals.

Ensure all visuals directly clarify or otherwise, enhance the text discussion.

You need to integrate them into your report, not just stick them somewhere.

That means that the labels and the captions used in the visual

should match the text description that refers to the visual.

For example, if you're describing the negative terminal of a diode,

do not call it in the negative terminal in the text and the cathode in the visual.

Document your visuals when they contain copyrighted information or

represent borrowed ideas because visuals often get separated from the report.

Do not rely solely on notational or

parenthetical documentation, include the source line with

the visual itself, usually, under the visual's number or title.

Then designing your visuals, keep in mind the following criteria,

reproducibility, design your visuals with the output process of your report in mind.

If your report will be printed or duplicated in a single color link, or

toner, consider the fact when you are developing graphs or diagrams.

Be especially wary of different colors that may look great on your video display,

but could print with exactly the same shades of grey or

even blend into the color of the paper on which the report is printed.

A safe approach is to use pattern fields instead of color

when the reports will be printed or duplicated in a single color.

Simplicity, remember that the purpose of visuals is to supplement and

clarify the information you are presenting.

Some concepts are so

complex that they do not lend themselves to visual presentation, other concepts

may need to be broken down into smaller components for effective presentation.

Accuracy, ensure that any visual you use accurately represents the information.

Do not exaggerate the by manipulating scales or misinterpreting relative sizes.

Visuals fall into one of the following categories, equations, formulas,

diagrams, graphs, schematics, tables, or images.

Equations and formulas in mathematics are symbolic expressions that represent

a rule, statement, principle or a relation between two expressions.

Formulas in chemistry are symbolic representations of atoms,

molecules and/or different chemical reactions.

Diagrams are drawings that show a mechanism or its components.

Graphs, however, display and represent sets of numbers,

values, quantities or proportions.

Schematics are visual representations of the structure of a mechanism or

process and tables display the orderly arrangement of data or

other information in columns and rows.

Images and photographs provide accurate visual reproductions.

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