Slide2 : Ways to Improving Writing Skill Study writing principles and techniques.
Watch for their appearance in the writing of others.
Try them out in your own writing—over and over and over again.
Imitate sentences and passages of good writing.
Slide3 : Breast cancer strikes more than 212,000 American women each year and kills more than 40,000, making it the most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.
MRI tends to produce false positives at about twice the rate of mammography, forcing more women to undergo repeated tests and sometimes biopsies and subjecting them to anxiety, distress and discomfort. But the panel concluded that the benefits outweigh the downside for those at high risk.
The champion smiled, recalling the roar of the crowd.
His mother waited, tapping her foot on the hardwood floor.
Dicey looked out over the tall marsh grasses, blowing in the wind.
The children stared down at the honeybees, careening from flower to flower.
Slide4 : Congress gave final approval to a broad overhaul of federal student loan programs Friday, sharply cutting subsidies to lenders and increasing grants to needy students.
The United States Air Force has decided to push development of a new type of fuel to power its bombers and fighters, mixing conventional jet fuel with fuels from nonpetroleum sources that could eventually limit military dependence on imported oil.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday urged nations with rampant AIDS epidemics to begin offering free or subsidized circumcisions in hopes of preventing millions of new infections and deaths.
The American Cancer Society’s guidelines stress that the MRI exams should be done in addition to annual mammograms and regular physical exams in the hope of driving down the death toll from the common, widely feared malignancy.
Slide5 : Novartis said it will stop phase II development of NKS104, a treatment for elevated total cholesterol, after data showed the drug wasn't competitive enough to invest further resources.
Outline for “English Technical Writing” Course : Outline for “English Technical Writing” Course Traits of good technical writing
Five steps to successful writing
Structure and content for scientific papers/research reports, and proposals
Elements of composition: words, phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and punctuation
Diction
Phrases
Clauses
Sentences: structures and patterns
Punctuation
Variation of sentences: expansion, transformation, reduction, sentence combining, inversion, and ellipsis Keys to clear, concise, and grammatically correct sentences
Transition words and phrases: conjunctive adverbs and conjunctions
Paragraphs: topic sentence, elaboration, unity, and coherence
Essays: thesis statement, unity, and coherence
Common expressions in technical writing
Critical analyses of published journal articles
Demonstration of editing with drafts of students’ papers
Unit 1 : Unit 1 Traits of Good Technical Writing
Good Technical Writing Is : : Good Technical Writing Is : Technically accurate
Clear
Concise
Correct in spelling, punctuation, and grammar
Compliant with the conventions of institutions or professional societies Well organized
Useful
Targeted
Complete
Consistent
Ethical
Unit 2 : Unit 2 Five Steps to Successful Writing
Five Steps to Successful Writing : Five Steps to Successful Writing Planning
Establish your purpose or objective.
Identify your readers.
Define your scope.
Select the appropriate medium.
Research
Find information and take notes.
Gather all your own data.
Five Steps to Successful Writing (Continued) : Five Steps to Successful Writing (Continued) Organization
Group related information with headings and subheadings.
Arrange information in a logical order (e.g., general to specific, specific to general, chronological, spatial, sequential, cause and effect, and comparison).
Write an outline.
Composing
Articulate your thesis and support it with evidence.
Achieve unity and coherence in structure.
Five Steps to Successful Writing (Continued) : Five Steps to Successful Writing (Continued) Revision
Check for completeness and accuracy.
Check for unity and coherence.
Activate the writing.
Clarify the writing.
Check for sentence variety (i.e., structure and length).
Check for appropriate word choice.
Eliminate problems with grammar.
Check for spelling and punctuation.
Check for the adherence to format guidelines.
Unit 3 : Unit 3 Structure and Content for Scientific Papers/Research Reports, and Proposals
Elements of Technical Paper or Reports : Elements of Technical Paper or Reports Title – What is the paper about?
Need to reflect an overview of the paper’s content and emphasis.
Be brief, honest, and communicative.
Avoid phrase such as “on the”, “a study of”, “research on”, “regarding”, and “use of”.
Avoid nonquantitative, meaningless word such as “rapid” and “new”.
Capitalizing Words in Titles Always capitalize the first and last words and main words of titles and subtitles. Also capitalize in accordance with parts of speech. : CAPITALIZED PARTS OF
SPEECH
Nouns
Pronouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs NOT CAPITALIZED
PARTS OF SPEECH
Articles
Prepositions
Coordinating conjunctions
To in infinitives
Subordinating conjunctions
Capitalizing Words in Titles Always capitalize the first and last words and main words of titles and subtitles. Also capitalize in accordance with parts of speech.
Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) : Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) Abstract – What is the basic content?
– Summarize its objectives, the work performed,
and the major conclusions reached in an
informative, concise, one-paragraph statement.
Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) : Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) Introduction – What is the problem and why should anyone care?
An Opening Attention-Grabber
Point out the problem or issue.
Offer your reasons for studying it.
Background Information
Give a concise and appropriate review of the preexisting literature of the problem.
Describe how your work differs or is related to work previously published.
A Preview of the Whole
State your purpose or thesis and give a blueprint of the contents to be presented.
Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) : Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) Materials and Methods – How was the evidence obtained?
Identify the materials used and give information on the degree of and criteria for purity.
Describe apparatus only if it is not standard or not commercially available.
Describe the procedures used unless they are established and standard.
Note any safety precautions.
Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) : Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) Results – What was found or seen?
Summarize the data collected and their statistical treatment.
Include only relevant data, but give sufficient detail to justify your conclusions.
Use equations, figures, and tables only where necessary for clarity and brevity.
Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) : Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) Discussion and Conclusion – What do these findings mean?
Relate your results to current knowledge in the field and to your original purpose in undertaking the project.
State the logical implications of your results.
Suggest further study or implications if warranted.
Be objective while pointing out the features and limitations of your work.
Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) : Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) Be tactful about disagreements when discussing other people’s results and hypotheses that are relevant to yours. If possible, offer approaches to resolve the conflicts.
Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) : Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) Acknowledgements – Who help, support or sponsor this work?
Thank those persons, other than coauthors, who added substantially to the work, provided advice or technical assistance, or aided materially by providing equipment or supplies.
State grant numbers and sponsors, as well as auspices under which the work was done, including permission to publish.
Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) : Elements of Technical Paper or Reports (continued) References – Who did what?
Check original references for accuracy and appropriate content.
Follow the journal’s guideline or company’s policy on the style of references.
Proposal : Proposal Summary of Proposal
Briefly state the purpose of the proposal.
Need
Define the problem or need.
State why addressing it is important.
Proposed Solution
Present a detailed solution.
Explain its benefits.
Restate the problem or need and the benefits of the solution.
Unit 4 : Unit 4 Elements of Composition: Words, Phrases, Clauses, Sentences, Paragraphs, and Punctuation
Slide26 :
Parts of speech
It describes the class of words to which a particular
word belongs, according to its function in a
sentence. The eight parts of speech in the English
language are:
Nouns (common and proper; concrete and abstract;
singular and collective;count and noncount)
Pronouns (personal, demonstrative, relative,
interrogative, indefinite, and reflexive) 1. Words
Slide27 : Adjectives & Articles (a, an and the)
Verbs, Auxiliaries (be, have, do and modals)
and Verbals (gerund, infinitive, and participle)
Adverbs
Prepositions
Conjunctions (coordinating, correlative, subordinating, and conjunctive adverb)
Interjections
Slide28 : PART OF SPEECH FUNCTION
noun, pronoun name/referring
verb asserting/acting
adjective, adverb describing/modifying
preposition, conjunction linking/joining
interjection exclaiming
Slide29 : The function of a word in a sentence always
determines its part of speech in that sentence.
Examples: The government sent the city aid.
Governments aid citizens.
It is company policy.
He went home.
Slide30 : 2. Phrases
A phrase is a group of related words that is used
as a single part of speech and that does not
contain both a verb and its subject.
Classification
Gerund Phrases, Participial Phrases, Infinitive
Phrases, Prepositional Phrases, Appositive phrases,
and Absolute phrases
Slide31 : 3. Punctuation
Period, Comma, Semicolon, Colon, Dash, Question
Mark, Quotation Marks, Apostrophe, Parentheses,
Brackets, Slash, Hyphen, Ellipsis points, and
Exclamation Mark 4. Clauses
A clause is word group that contains a verb and its
subject and that is used as a sentence or as part
of a sentence. There are two basic kinds of clauses:
Independent (main) Clauses and Dependent
(subordinate) Clauses.
Slide32 : 5. Sentences
A sentence is word group that contains a subject
and a verb and that expresses a complete thought.
Subject + Predicate
STRUCTURE: Simple, Compound, Complex, and
Compound-complex
PURPOSE: Declarative, Interrogative,
Exclamatory, and Imperative
Slide33 : 6. Paragraphs
Topic Sentence (Main Point),
Adequate Elaboration
Unity (Focus or Consistency), and Coherence
Slide34 : 7. Composition Thesis Statement (main Idea or Message), Unity
(Focus or Consistency), and Coherence
Pursuasive Essay : Pursuasive Essay Clearly state the issue and your position on it in the introduction
Use language appropriate to the audience you’re trying to convince.
Support your position with facts, statistics, and reasons.
Answer possible objections to your position.
Provide clear reasoning
Conclude with a summary of your position or a call to action,
Supplements to Unit 4 : Supplements to Unit 4
Slide37 : NOUNS
A noun names a person, a place, a thing, or an idea.
Common Nouns Proper nouns
Event Academy Awards, French
Revolution
Holiday Fourth of July, Mardi Gras
City Houston, New York City
Language Spanish, Chinese
Concrete Nouns Abstract Nouns
Tree, car, pencil peace, courage, honor, citizenship
Slide38 : Singular Nouns Collective Nouns
Person, dog, flower crowd, jury, family, flock,
committee
Count Nouns Noncount Nouns
One chair furniture
Many chairs a lot of furniture
Suggestions advice
Operas, songs Music
Slide39 : Remember that some nouns may be used as count or
as noncount nouns depending on their meanings.
Materials and abstract concepts are noncount nouns,
but they may be used as count nouns to express
specific meanings.
I have a paper due Monday.
Let’s use paper to make the present.
Dr. Chan will receive a special honor at the
graduation.
Slide40 : We need a glass (glasses) for the juice.
She needs to find work.
War is as old as mankind.
Space is the last frontier for man to conquer.
8. It is generally believed that an M.B.A. degree is good preparation for a career in business.
Slide41 : PRONOUNS
A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more
nouns or pronouns.
The word or word group that a pronoun stands for is
called the antecedent of the pronoun.
Examples: Jay enjoys hiking and camping; in fact
they are his favorite pastimes.
The students complained to the principal
about the dress code. They wished he had
consulted with them about it.
Slide42 : Personal Pronouns
A personal pronoun refers to the one(s) speaking
(first person), the one(s) spoken to (second person),
or the one(s) spoken about (third person).
Slide43 : Examples: If I give you my address, will you write
to me?
We told them that they could go with us.
Slide44 : Reflexive Pronouns
A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of a verb and
functions as a complement for emphasis, as an object
to rename the subject, or as an object of a preposition.
Slide45 : Examples: I myself faxed the report to him.
I wrote this script myself.
Mary excused herself from the table.
He hit himself with the hammer.
Robert bought himself a pair of shoes.
They baked the pie for themselves.
Anna lives by herself.
Slide46 : Demonstrative Pronouns
A demonstrative pronoun points out somebody or
something already mentioned or identified or something
understood by both the speaker and hearer. Examples: Is this the one you want?
That may be the only reasonable
solution.
These or those are the pictures from
our vacation.
Slide47 : The new program comes as social-networking sites grabble with how to build on their success among young users and convert this into profit.
Slide48 : Interrogative Pronouns
An interrogative pronoun introduces a question. Examples: Everyone knows many examples of energy and its
use, but what does the term energy really mean?
To whom should I direct your call?
Whose is this red sweater?
The department manager decided who
should be hired.
Slide49 : Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun introduces an adjective clause.
Examples: I thanked the woman who helped me.
The college that I chose is in Ohio.
The birds, which usually have flown
south by this time of the year, were still
congregating in our backyard.
Slide50 : Indefinite Pronouns
An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, a place, a
thing, or an idea that may or may not be specifically
named. In other words, the pronoun may not have a
specific antecedent.
Slide51 : Examples: All of the members have voted.
Does everyone favor a weekly meeting?
Slide52 : The fallen tree provided homes for several
of the creatures of the woods.
One should always be polite.
The cervical cancer vaccine is a
phenomenal breakthrough, one that has
the potential of eliminating this disease
almost completely.
Slide53 : ADJECTIVES & ARTICLES
An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a
noun or pronoun.
Examples: The tired and hungry hikers straggled
into camp.
The hikers, tired and hungry, straggled
into camp.
What time will you be back?
I much prefer this painting to that one.
This confusion is costly.
Slide54 : A and an are called indefinite articles because they refer
to any member of a general group. A is used before
words beginning with a consonant sound; an is used
before words beginning with a vowel sound.
Examples: A manual has been written on that subject.
He seems an unlikely candidate for the job.
The interviewer arrived an hour early.
Slide55 : The is called the definite article because it refers to a
specific person, place, thing, or idea.
Examples: The package was delivered yesterday.
Please open the door.
Slide56 : VERBS
A verb is a word that expresses an action, a condition,
or a state of being.
There are two main types of verbs: action verbs and
linking verbs.
An action verb expresses action. The action may be
physical or mental.
Examples: The band marches onto the field. (physical)
The audience expects a great performance.
(mental)
Slide57 : An action verb that has an object-a word or word group
that tells who or what receives the action of the verb is
called transitive verb.
Examples: They posted a card on her door.
The rain lashed the windows.
This kid’s behavior in school
worried his parents.
Slide58 : An action verb does not have an object is called
intransitive verb.
Examples: The rain fell.
My cousin arrived yesterday.
He travels around the country with
the other musicians.
Slide59 : A linking verb connects the subject to a word or word
group that identifies or describes the subject. Such a
word or word group is called a subject complement.
Common linking verbs:
Forms of Be Verb
am, are, is, was, were
Verbs That Express Condition
feel, look, smell, sound, taste appear, seem, remain,
stay, become (and get, turn, grow when they mean
“become”)
Slide60 : Examples: John is a student.
John is intelligent.
This food tastes delicious.
The children feel happy.
The weather became cold. Note: The forms of be are not always used as linking
verbs. That is, they are sometimes used as
state-of-being verbs. In such cases, words that tell
where or when are generally used to complete the
meaning of the verb forms.
Slide61 : Examples: He is upstairs.
You should have been here yesterday.
Note: While action verbs may be transitive or intransitive,
linking verbs and state-of-being verbs are always
intransitive.
Slide62 : A main verb and one or more helping verbs (also called
auxiliary verbs) make up a verb phrase. A verb phrase
may be used to express a particular tense of a verb (that
is, the time referred to) or to indicate that an action is
directed as the subject.
Examples: Sally is a nice person and you can
speak freely with her.
The stadium is filled to the capacity.
Slide64 : Verbals
A verbal is a verb form that is used as a noun, an adjec-
tive, or an adverb. The three kinds of verbals are the par-
ticiple, the gerund, and the infinitive.
A participle is a verb form that can be used as an adjec-
tive. Three kinds of participles are the present participle,
the past participle and the present perfect participle. Pre-
sent participles end in –ing. Most participles end in –d or
–ed. Others are irregularly formed. Present perfect forms
are formed by adding having or having been to the past
participles of verbs and indicate complete actions.
Slide65 : Examples: The freezing rain made the road slick.
This medicine represents a significant
improvement compared with existing
therapies.
Bowing, the performers acknowledged
the applause.
Did I hear someone knocking the door?
First prize was an engraved trophy.
The lab tested samples of water taken
from wells in the area.
Slide66 : Rested and relaxed, we returned to work.
Having completed his chores, Andy decided
to join his friends playing football in the park.
Having been declared the winner, she called
a press conference to thank her supporters.
Slide67 : Examples: The lecturer was boring.
The audience was bored.
A developing country
A developed country
Trained nurses
Experienced cardiologists
Exaggerated fears
One unshared pair of electrons
A teacher-dominated classroom culture
Note: A present participle should describe a person
or thing causing or stimulating an experience; a past participle should describe a person or thing
undergoing an experience. Also a present participle is used to indicate an on-going or active action whereas a past participle a completed or passive one.
Slide68 : A gerund is a verb form ending in –ing that is used as
a noun.
Examples: Smoking is indisputably a danger to
one’s health.
Please stop whispering.
In answering, give specific examples.
During 2006, incomes from wages and
salaries rose 4.2% after adjusting for
inflation, the strongest year since 2000.
Slide69 : His favorite hobby these days is playing video games.
Delivering long- and short-term results at the same time is what good managers do for a living.
Among other things, figuring out where this one came from will help us prevent future problems.
World powers hoped that approving the resolution quickly and unanimously would signal that Iran will face stricter sanctions each time it ignores a Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to produce nuclear energy or nuclear weapons.
Slide70 : Note: Use a possessive noun or pronoun before a
gerund.
The issue is his whining.
Wang's pitching won the game.
His wife resented his going out and having
business lunches.
What did the teacher say about your
missing the test yesterday?
Slide71 : An infinitive is a verb form that can be used as a
noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Most infinitives
begin with to. In addition to the present form, infi-
nitives have a present perfect form. This form adds
to have or to have been to the past participle of a
verb and indicates a completed action. Examples: To error is human.
No one wants to stay.
Slide72 : The survivors had little to celebrate.
Is everybody ready to go?
The rain seems to have stopped.
Kelly was happy to have been chosen.
Slide73 : Sometimes, infinitives omit the word to.
Examples: All you have to do is [to] write your
book this year.
Who dares [to] challenge a champion?
Help me [to] wash the car.
Let’s [to] wait here.
The clowns made us [to] laugh.
We saw him [to] leave.
Slide74 : Note:
With verbs of perception such as see, hear, feel, smell, notice, observe and watch, we can use a present participle or an infinitive without “to” as its objective complement in a sentence.
Examples: I saw him running (or run) down the stairs.
He could feel his bed shaking (or shake)
during the earthquake last night.
Slide75 : ADVERBS
An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb
or a clause.
Examples: Teresa spoke eloquently.
Have you heard this melody before?
The brochure design used extremely
bright colors.
When Dell first started making PCs, it
entered an industry with lots of built-in
fat, namely reseller commissions and
retailer markups.
Slide76 : The redesigned brake pad lasted much longer.
Surprisingly, the machine failed.
Frankly, I could do without it.
Sadly, he died before I managed to reach him
again.
Fortunately, I had enough money left to pay my
fare home.
Hopefully, it will be over by Christmas.
Slide77 : PREPOSITIONS
A preposition shows the relation of a noun or pronoun,
called the object of the preposition, to another word.
Examples: I found this information on the internet.
The manager sat behind the desk in
her office.
As of today, she hasn’t made her final
choice.
You can log on to this web site to
access the following information.
Slide78 : Bond prices rose, taking the yield on the 10-year note down to 4.41 percent, the lowest interest rate on that closely-watched bond since December.
Slide79 : CONJUNCTIONS
A conjunction is a word that joins or connects words,
phrases, or sentences.
Slide80 : Examples: The old man is extremely kind and
generous.
He will leave at eight and arrive at nine.
It was raining hard, and there was a
strong wind.
It was raining hard. And there was a
strong wind.
Slide81 : There have been a series of studies over the
past 20 years which show that people in their
70s, 80s and 90s are functioning at a
substantially higher level than they were only 20
years ago, and there is a much lower
percentage of disability in older people than
there was 20 years ago. And of course, life
expectancy has gone up dramatically, as you're
well aware, for the last 80 years.
Mr. Bush needs to make clear to the Iraqi
leader that continued American support will
depend on his active cooperation. And that,
ultimately, the Iraqis have even more to lose
than the Americans from an unending civil war.
Slide82 : This disease is incurable but treatable.
We missed the opening scene, but we enjoyed
the rest of the play.
The U.S. expansion has shown it can tolerate $50 oil with hardly a hesitation. But how will it handle $60 oil when the Federal Reserve has more than tripled short-term interest rates over the past year, signs of corporate jitters have resurfaced, and the dollar has rallied, making exports once again more expensive on global markets?
Slide83 : A major change in the national diet is under way: Heart-damaging trans fat is rapidly disappearing from grocery aisles and restaurant food, too. But are its replacements really healthier?
He was tired, so he went to bed.
The ch