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Chapter 2
Written Communications

Examples
Business Correspondences
Reports
Technical Papers
Technical Specifications
PR Materials

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Basics of Written
Communication
What
What'syour motivation?
What impact do you want to have on the
reader?
What do you want the reader to do after
reading your work?

Basics of Written
Communication
Who?
Who is your audience?
How old are they?
What relationship do you have with them?
(personal and business)
What are their expectations?

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Basics of Written
Communication
How?
What's the context?
Business, personal, public?
Part of a joint publication?
An isolated piece
A collection of separate pieces

Where is it physically located? (medium)

Basics of Written
Communication
What Makes Good Writing?

Allbasics covered - spelling, grammar,

punctuation.
A clear message
Know exactly what you want to say
A consistent style
Consistent level of formality
Consistent tone
Consistent spelling

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Basics of Written
Communication
Clear language
Use simple terms wherever possible
Use direct, active language
"She was kicked by me" versus "I kicked her
Language your reader(s) can relate to
Coherent flow
Linking between paragraphs
Logical progression of content
Lead the reader through the text
Signpost - tell the reader what to expect

Tips for Good Writing

Short sentences
Try reading your sentences out loud, with no
pauses except where there are commas (short
pause) and full-stops (longer pause).
Short paragraphs (but not too short)
In general, each paragraph should have one
point.
Don't use newspapers as guidelines - their
"paragraphs" are often only sentences.
Write a list of all the points you want to make.
Put each point into a paragraph.

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Tips for Good Writing

Simple words, but not at the expense of meaning
No acronyms
Even if your readers will be able to work out the
acronyms, they make reading harder.
Only jargon appropriate for your audience
If in doubt, explain your jargon, or use non-
technical terms instead
What if you get stuck?
Brainstorm
Tell a friend
Restate your aim
Write an outline

Spelling & Grammar

You are EXPECTED to know the difference
between:
their, there, they're
where, we're, wear, were
here, hear
its, its
& many others homonyms

Use the spell checker carefully!

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Spelling & Grammar

Common problems:

Punctuation
Capitals and full stops
All sentences must start with a capital.
All sentences should end with a full stop.
You can not put a full stop in the place of a comma.
Commas
A good basic rule is to put a comma where you
would normally take a breath when you read the
sentence out loud.
If you are short of breath, be sparing!

Spelling & Grammar

Common problems:

Punctuation
Apostrophes
Apostrophes denote possession except in a few cases
where they indicate a contraction.
Basil's pocket calculator.
James's lab coat.
The dog wagged its tail.
It's a bright, sunny day.
Do not put an apostrophe at the end of every word
ending in 's.

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Spelling & Grammar

Common problems:

Punctuation
Semi-colons and Colons
like commas, can be used to indicate the need for a
pause in the sentence. They can also be used to
indicate that additional related information is to
follow the preceding part of the sentence. In general,
the two parts of the longer sentence could be stated
as sentences in their own right.
It is never necessary to use either a semi-colon or a
colon although you may choose to use them to make
your sentences more readable.

Spelling & Grammar

Common problems:

Punctuation
The Ampersand
The ampersand (&), should rarely be used in
writing prose. It is effectively an abbreviation for
the word 'and'. You should only use it where you
are quoting text that contains the ampersand,
e.g. a company name or similar.
The ampersand is most generally associated
with use for design purposes only.

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Spelling & Grammar

Common problems:
Capital Letters
The first letter of every sentence, or fragment of a sentence, should be a capital
letter.
Within sentences, capitals should only be used in proper nouns
Capitals should also be used in official titles, for example the names of books or
films, but conjoining words, like 'and', 'the', 'of' or 'on', should never have a
capital letter. For example:
Monday
July
John F. Kennedy
The Silence of the Lambs
capitals should be used for abbreviations (see also the 'Language Tips' page).
For example:
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
National Trust for Scotland (NTS)
Where the abbreviation itself has become a recognised word, capital letters
should not be used, as in the use of the word 'laser'.

Spelling & Grammar

Common problems:
Capital Letters
The first letter of every sentence, or fragment of a sentence, should be a capital
letter.
Within sentences, capitals should only be used in proper nouns
Capitals should also be used in official titles, for example the names of books or
films, but conjoining words, like 'and', 'the', 'of' or 'on', should never have a
capital letter. For example:
Monday
July
John F. Kennedy
The Silence of the Lambs
capitals should be used for abbreviations (see also the 'Language Tips' page).
For example:
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
National Trust for Scotland (NTS)
Where the abbreviation itself has become a recognised word, capital letters
should not be used, as in the use of the word 'laser'.

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Spelling & Grammar

Common problems:
Numbers
If the number is less than ten, the word should used. For
example, write 'two' and not '2'.
If the number is more than ten, numerical digits can be used.
This can, however, look out of place in normal prose, particularly
in fiction writing where numbers are spelled out until 100.
For numbers up to 9999, commas should not be used to
separate the first digit from the latter three. For numbers of
10,000 or higher, a comma should be used, as shown. This makes
the number easier to read.
In technical or academic writing, however, it is often important
that numbers stand out and can be readily found. For this
reason, it is entirely appropriate to express all numbers
numerically in technical or academic reports or assignments.

Technical & Research Writing

Elements:
Title Page
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Body of Work
Results
Conclusion and Recommendations
References
Appendices

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Essentials of Research
Finding Information
Verifying Information
Using Information

Finding Information
On the web
Can you trust information on the web?
Where to look?
Depends on what you're looking for
Some topics better covered than others
Where to start?
Yahoo/Google directories
In the library
In a Citation Index
CDROM publication databases

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Verifying Information
On the web
Who hosts the site?
It is a personal page or an official one?
What is the host's agenda?
What is the author's agenda?
Who links to the site?
Other sources of information, like research papers
and media reports
Who quotes them?
Check citation indices
Look for other sources
But be wary of multiple reports all stemming from the
same source

Verifying Information
General Rules for information verification:
Who said it?
What is their motivation?
Who else says it?
Who else quotes it?
No guarantees!

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Using Information
Quoting
Name your source
Make it clear when you are quoting
Be precise
If the quotation is edited, use an ellipsis (...)to
indicate something was removed
"Part of the quotation...another part
If you edit, make sure you don't change the
meaning!
"I am...in favor of this decision
Never quote a quotation - always check the
original

Using Information
Referring to results or findings
Acknowledge work which has has been done before
Name all of the authors (possibly as "Author1 et al" in the
text, with the full reference in the references section)
Be accurate
Above all, be careful
If you're not 100% sure of your source, use cautious
wording
"Author1 reports that...
"It has been reported that...
"Some studies have found...
"It has been suggested...

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Using Information
Plagiarism
"The (legitimate) use of another person's work, with an
(illegitimate) lack of due acknowledgment of the source of
that work

What does that actually mean?

Using someone else's ideas or words in your own work and
not acknowledging whose ideas/words they are.
You may NOT use anything from the web, newspapers,
journals, books or any other media unless you reference
your sources in an appropriate manner.
To avoid any problems you should reference correctly!

Referencing
Away of telling your reader what you
have read (How informed are you?)
Did the author read one or many sources?
Did the author try to find primary sources or
did s/he rely only on secondary sources?
Has the author read the essential sources
for the topic?

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Referencing
Amethod of informing your reader where
you got your information (How widely did
you research?)
Did the author read a wide range of
sources to get a balanced view?
Did the author try to verify what s/he read
by doing further research?

Referencing
A system that allows the reader to verify
your statements by reading background
information (Is your research credible?).
Can the reader check the validity of the
author's statements by reading the same
background info?
Did the author present both sides of the
argument, or only discussed one aspect?

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Referencing
Why do you need to reference?

Credibility,
reliability, transparency:
readers can check your facts.
Expected aspect of university-standard
writing.
Avoids problems with plagiarism.

Referencing
When do you need to reference?

1. When using a direct quote

A direct quote is used when rephrasing the idea is not
possible without altering an author's intended meaning.
Must use quotation marks " .
2. When paraphrasing someone else's idea
Paraphrasing is discussing what someone else has written in
your own words
This does NOT mean you can just change a couple of words
here and there and say it is in your own words.
3. When referring to a work that provides background
information that is crucial to your work.

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Assignment P-2
Create a research plan:
1. Topic - describe the relevance
2. Tentative Title
3. Objectives of the research
4. Assumptions and hypothesis early
information about the topic
5. Possible sources of information

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