ENG Prelim Flashcards
Stages of Writing Process
Pre-writing
Writing
Rewriting
where the writer writes and composes information pertaining to the purpose of his paper, choice of topic, and gathers information
Pre-writing
the part where the writer writes his first draft and works out on the important details of his work
Writing
– also known as the revision stage
– where the writer revises his work to ensure that the content of his paper is relevant, the ideas are well organized, and grammar and mechanics are clearly observed
Rewriting
Basic Principles of Technical Writing
● Know you readers
● Have a clear and exact purpose
● Use simple, concrete & familiar language
● Introduce your report in a well-organized manner
● Use correct format
● Adopt ethical standards
Basic Principle of Technical Writing in which you always have in mind that there is a specific reader, real or imaginary. It focuses on who will be reading your report.
Know your readers
Basic Principles of Technical Writing in which you do before starting to write. It is when you decide decide on what the exact purpose of your report or write-up is. Focuses on what you are writing for and why you are writing.
Have a clear and exact purpose
You use this so that your report is easily understood. Focuses on choosing the words that best suit the level of understanding of your readers.
Use simple, concrete & familiar language
You do this to assist your reader to a complete understanding of your idea through clear description, definition, and explanation. Focuses on whether the report has followed the basic principles.
Introduce your report in a well-organized manner
You do this to attract the attention of the readers and follow the standard forms of writing
Use correct format
You do this to present facts, figures, and statistics that focus only on your subject matter in an impersonal manner and avoid biases and unfairness.
Adopt ethical standards
Legal & Ethical Considerations when preparing Technical Papers
● Copyright Law
● Trademark Law
● Contract Law
● Liability Law
– covers the protection of the rights of the author
– protects original “works of authorship” which covers reproduction, adaptation, distribution, and display
Copyright Law
pertains to federal protection of the writer
Trademark Law
– can be a phrase, symbol, logo, design, or shape
– can be something that has gained reputation in the marketplace like book series, an author’s name or even a signature
Trademark
covers written warranties or the writer’s implied warranties
Contract Law
pertains to responsibilities or obligations of writers especially claims they made on their paper
Liability Law
Qualities of a Technical Writeup
● Accessibility
● Accuracy
● Clarity
● Correctness
● Objectivity
● Thoroughness
means capable of being reached, used or seen, understood or appreciated, and easy to deal with
Accessibility
its aim is for ease of navigation and availability
Accessibility
means that it is definite and precise
Accuracy
Accuracy means that it is ______ and _______
definite & precise
○ It is essential that you as the writer, know and understand the background of your intended reader so that, when he reads your document, it can be easily understood without any doubt or confusion
○ Your document becomes meaningless if the intended reader does not understand your message
○ When you write, avoid unnecessary words that will put your reader in a dilemma
○ Your document must be clear so that the text becomes easy to understand
Clarity
○ Effective technical communications (in writing or verbally) cannot be achieved unless you successfully comply with appropriate grammatical and technical rules
○ Also, you must always ensure that the information (data) you present is accurate and up-to-date
Correctness
Effective technical communications (in writing or verbally) cannot be achieved unless you successfully comply with appropriate ________
grammatical & technical rules
Also, you must always ensure that the ________ you present is ________
information (data)
accurate & up-to-date
These aspects of technical communications should be adiusted according to your audience level:
◆ the amount of detail
◆ organizational pattern
◆ level of technicality
◆ type of vocabulary
◆ mechanics
◆ appearance
○ Just like in communication, we don’t confront someone when we are ruled by our emotions
◆ This is true also in sending messages and in writing
○ The spirit of balance and fairness is important in technical writing
◆ The use of a third-person point of view is preferable because of its impersonal effect
○ Our writing should not be influenced by personal feelings, opinions, prejudice, or interpretation
Objectivity
means that you have examined or reviewed all the details of your written report and sees to it that it is complete and clear
Thoroughness
Thoroughness means that you have _________ or ________ of your ________ and sees to it that it is _______ and ______
examined
reviewed all the details
written report
complete
clear
– a writer’s way of writing
– a manner by which he expresses his thoughts and feelings in language
Style
Effective writing always involves the _________, the __________, and __________
choice of words and expressions
arrangements of words within sentences
variety in the patterns of the sentence
Rules and Guidelines to Achieve Style in Technical Writing
● Keep the Main Idea on Top
● Use Normal Word Order
● Use Active Voice
● Use Parallelism
● Repeat for Emphasis
● Avoid Wordiness
● Avoid Redundancy
● Choose a Tone
● Use Positive Words & Verbs
● Tune to the Audience
the key principle in writing so that your sentences are easy to understand
Keep the Main Idea on Top
– normal word order in English
– this order makes it easier to read as it reveals the topic first and the structures the idea
– this order produces sentences which are clear to the readers and do not cause any confusion
Subject-Verb-Object
– emphasizes performer of the function and not the receiver
– helps the reader follow the meaning quickly as it is sticking to subject-verb-object pattern
Active Voice
When the subject acts, the verb is in the ______
active voice
When the subject is acted upon, the verb is in the?
passive voice
using of similar structures for similar elements
Parallelism
repeating of key words for emphasis so that the reader has better recall
Repeat for Emphasis
○ Generally, concise expressions are more effective than verbosity
○ Eliminate all repetitions, subordinate clauses etc. to make the writing compact and pointed
Avoid Wordiness
words that say the same content
Redundancies
can communicate as much as the content of the message
Tone
– implies that the writer is in command
– appropriate when the writer addresses subordinates
Forceful
used when the reader has more power than the writer
Passive
implies that reader and writer are equal
Personal
employed when the writer is not important and the situation is neutral
Impersonal
– a sure way to involve your audience
– convince the reader the benefits of your subject matter
Use Positive Words & Verbs
the key for effectiveness of your document with the reader
Tune to the Audience
can either be a noun or a pronoun
Subject
can be singular or plural in number or can be both
Indefinite Pronouns
2 ways authors lose their readers
Unfamiliar Words & Overly Long Sentences
useful when the writer does not know or does not want to name the doer in the sentence
Passive Voice
should always be preferred than the passive voice because the verbs are stronger, sentences are shorter, and the reader gets the meaning at once
Active Voice
It is important for the writer to consider that the ________ is to _________. Technical writing emphasizes objective reporting with no __________. To achieve this, the writer must have a proper ________, good _______, and clear paragraph organization.
goal of effective technical writing
make information flow easily and clearly
room for different interpretations
choice of words
sentence structure
_______ is presented in a _________, in a __________ by the use of third-person pronouns and with strict observation of the conventions of standard English.
Accurate information
clear and concise manner
neutral, serious, and formal tone
a way of giving or explaining the meaning of an abstract term or a concept
Definition
the explanation it gives is limited only to what the reader needs to know about the term to avoid confusion with other words belonging to the same class to where the target word belongs
Definition
Definition comes from the Latin words?
finire (to limit)
de (from)
Why do we need to define words?
● It gives the reader a clearer and easier understanding of the concept or idea enough to encourage him to read continuously until the end of the text
● It explains ideas or concepts behind various innovations, methods, and techniques in the field of technology
● It lessens the gap between technological experts or “high-tech” people and the “low-tech” people. It frees a person from any confusing, wrong understanding of a term
● It helps a company member do his job more efficiently towards a certain goal
● It makes any technical written work readable to all kinds of audience or readers
Categories of Definition
● Simple Definition
● Extended, Expanded, or Amplified Definitions
commonly used in technical writing whether formally or non-formally
Simple Definition
goes beyond the sentential level
Extended, Expanded, or Amplified Definitions
expands into a paragraph-length definition using around three (3) to ten (10) sentences
Extended, Expanded, or Amplified Definitions
provides more information besides talking about the category and the use or function
Extended, Expanded, or Amplified Definitions
also provides information on what it is made up of, its structure, its peculiar physical and chemical properties, when, where, and by whom it is used and its merits and drawbacks
Extended, Expanded, or Amplified Definitions
Types of Simple Definition
○ Informal Definition
○ Formal Definition
Informal Definition is also called as?
parenthetical definition or an in-text definition
a substitution of a familiar term or phrase to the unfamiliar or technical term used
Informal Definition
has an incomplete definition, has a brief and particularly adapted for use in the text, and it lacks emphasis
Informal Definition
definition that does not follow a pattern
Informal Definition
its only objective is to give meaning to a word that is unfamiliar or explain the special meaning of a familiar word
Informal Definition
appears in the text in the form of a synonym, a phrase or a clause
Informal Definition
distinguished or separated from other words in the sentence through a dash, a colon, a comma, parentheses, italics, or bold
Informal Definition
Formal Definition is also called as?
Aristotelian and one-sentence logical definition
a logical or a step-by-step method of making the term meaningful
Formal Definition
Defining a term in a formal manner requires:
◆ mentioning the term or species to be defined
◆ name the genus, group or class where such term belongs
◆ give the differentia to indicate its difference from other members belonging to the class
– the word to be defined
– answers the question, “What is to be defined?”
Term
– the category, group, or class to which the term belongs
– answers the question, “In what category, group, or class does the term belong?”
Genus
– tells the unique characteristics of the term making it distinct from other terms of the same classification
– answers the question “What makes a term different from the other term or terms of the same genus?”
Differentia
Ways of Extending, Expanding, or Amplifying a definition of a term
○ Etymology/Word Derivation
○ Historical Definition
○ Negation/Elimination
○ Operating Principles
○ Comparison & Contrast
○ Use of Examples
○ Operational Definition
○ Partition
○ Illustration/Visuals
○ Description
gives the origin of the term based on the country that first introduced the term to the world
Etymology/Word Derivation
– stresses the historical development of the term
– mentioned in this definition are the people, places, and dates that played significant roles in the existence of the word
Historical Definition
those aspects, elements, or properties of the term or concepts that contribute to the existence of such a term, telling what a thing is not
Negation/Elimination
stressed in this is the process involved in the production or creation of the thing referred to the term being defined
Operating Principles
makes you extend your explanation of a concept or a thing by pointing out how such a thing or concept is similar to or different from other concepts
Comparison & Contrast
what determines the meaning of a term or a concept by means of this type of amplified definition is how this concept applies to another concept or how one uses it in a certain situation
Use of Examples
– giving a concept or a term
– explaining the indispensable function or use of this thing in the process, project, or activity
Operational Definition
divides complex topics into multiple categories
Partition
provides a graphic representation of a topic
Illustration/Visuals
explains the appearance of a thing, by describing its shape, size, material, etc.
Description
