Lec 2

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Presented by: Dr/ Hanaa Talha

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Presenter Info. Who Am I?

Prof. in computer science, faculty of computer and information science.

What Do I Know?Image and pattern recognition, computation and programming 2techniques, artificial intelligent techniques.

What Do I Do?Vice dean faculty of computer and information sciences, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

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Course Objectives

• Prepare the students for writing their assignments work in report form.

• To know the possible organization of reports.

• To be able to organize and write correctly the contents of a report sections.

• To improve the writing style of a report.

• To practices preparing and analysis the contents of a report.

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(Additional related objectives)

• To get the concepts of improving the writing skills is a part of the communication skills.

• To implement the logical thinking through the writing process.

• To know some advanced methods for search digital resources online.

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Assignments

1- Collect specific parts of reports papers, such as abstracts, introductions, conclusions

2- Start to get resources to write a report and to present it, in any subject related to writing report field. The report should be ready after 2 weeks from now, with the presentation.

3- Write an analysis report on one of your colleges reports. To be submitted after the mid term.

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Related topics

- Types of reports- Critical and logic thinking- Reading skills- Searching online- Soft skills - Typing & word processors- Terminology & plain language- Scientific writing- Writing style

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The Lectures topics

• 1- Introduction• 2- Report sections-1• 3- Report sections-2• 4- Writing style-1• 5- Writing style-2• 6- Letters writing• 7- Searching for online resources• 8- Communications skills (presentation)

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Chinese Wisdom

• I Read I Forget

• I Write I Remember (Summaries & Mind-Maps)

• I Do I Understand (Problem Solving ..)

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Defining “Soft Skills”

Soft skills (or employability skills) can best be defined as skills which allow students to become more effective learners and workers. They can include:

communication skills time management organizational skills analytical, problem solving, and reflective thinking

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Communication Skills

These skills can include:

listening, speaking reading, written, Non verbal language presentation skills documentation teamwork customer service professional behavior

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Why Do We Care?

These skills are key to succeeding

Many students have no idea how to function in the real world

Many computer science students mistakenly believe that technical skills are the only skills that are important

It makes life in the classroom more civilized and you can get more of the curriculum covered!

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Writing is learned by writing

• Practice, practice, practice

• Choose good role models

• Study good examples

• But there are also techniques and rules to learn

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Listening, Speaking, Listening, Speaking,

Reading, and WritingReading, and Writing

Communicators are paired: • speaker-listener • writer-reader

•If only half the pair operates effectively, something is lost in the communication process.

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Critical Thinking & Writing

• To develop your critical written analysis, remember the following strategies:

• Question or “interview” the idea or topic.• Use an outline, a cluster, or flowchart to organize your analysis.• • Use appropriate diction & academic tone.

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How to be a good writer- Search and learn how to find resources for your topic.

- Read as you can in the interested and related fields of the selected subject.

- Use the critical thinking if you are looking for improve the knowledge.

- Focus on the style of sentences and the common terminologies of the subject.

- Write down short notes for the coming idea during reading, as well as guided paragraph.

-Begin writing before the research is finished. Writing should force you to strengthen your arguments.

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Characteristics of Good Writing

• Completeness: all information needed is provided

• Correctness: relevant and precise information

• Credibilityمصداقية : support your argument

• Clarity: reader decides what is vague, confusing, ambiguous

• Conciseness ايجاز: get to the point

• Consideration: anticipate the reader’s reaction

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The essential steps before start writing

• 1- Gathering the Basic information & Data

• 2- Analyzing and Sorting the Results

• 3- Outlining the Report

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The Writing Process• Planning:

– Keep objectives in mind and research the topic– Think about the audience– Outlining helps organize thoughts

• Writing:– Follow your outline, use your handbook– Inspiration is acceptable but must be carefully reviewed– Use the interview approach to supplement the outline who,

what, where, when, how)

• Quality control:– Reread your work– Be critical of your own work

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Tell a Story

• Humans communicate through storytelling

• We are fascinated by stories

• Pose the problem, ask a question, pose a solution, note problems that arise, address

them.

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Scientific writing differs from other kinds of writing

Subject Matter Writing Constraints

audience

purpose

occasion

Purpose of Writing

To inform

To persuade

[Franklin, 1952]

Writing Style

[Peterson, 1987]

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You should begin the writing process by analyzing your constraints

Purpose

Audience

Occasion

Format

Formality

Politics and ethics

Process and deadline

Who they are

What they know

Why they will read

How they will read

To inform

To persuade

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Three aspects of writing affect the way that readers assess your documents

Content

Style

Form

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Style is the way you communicate the content to the audience

Structure

wordswordswordswordswordswordswordswordswordswordswordswords

wordswordswords

wordswordswordswordswordswordswords

Languagestyle

Illustration

[Peterson, 1987]

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Form embodies the format and mechanics of the writing

format

typography

layout

mechanics

grammar

usage

punctuation

spelling

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Types of Writing

• E-mail

• Letters and Memos مذكرات• Agendas

• Reports

• Academic Documents

• Research (scientific) manuscripts

• Continuing education papers

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Report writing

• Reports communicate information which has been compiled as a result of research and analysis of data and of issues.

• Reports can cover a wide range of topics, but usually focus on transmitting information with a clear purpose, to a specific audience.

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• Good reports are documents that are accurate, objective and complete.

• They should also be well-written, clearly structured and expressed in a way that holds the reader's attention and meets their expectations.

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Different types of report

• Scientific/lab

• Technical

• Business

• Research

• Academic overview

All vary slightly in their purpose & structure.

What kind of report are you writing?

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Types of reports

• At university, you may be required to write several different types of reports:

• Technical and Business disciplines with an applied focus such as Engineering, Information Technology, Commerce, Accounting and Finance, will set report writing assignments that simulate the process of report writing in industry.

• Assignments are set in the form of a problem or a case study. The students research the problem, and present the results of the research in a report format to an imaginary client.

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Sample

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In scientific writing, formats vary considerably to serve different situations

FormalReports

JournalArticles

PresentationSlides

The most effective combustion methodis an atmospheric fluidized bed

separator

airinlet

cleanedexhaust

grid

• 90% removal capability

• low capital cost—able touse in existing equipment

• high operating cost

• ability to use differentgrades of coal

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Writing stages

Writing is a staged process

1. Review/design/planning (prewriting)2. Experimenting/research3. Writing4. Rewriting

Easy to emphasize writing stage & de-emphasize other stages

Leads to poor communication

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Key components of effective writing/presenting

• The structure and content• – Is it focused?• – Is it logical? Is the thinking clear and concise?• – Does it answer the question (s) in the reader’s mind?• – Is it easy for the reader to understand?

• The ‘look’ of the document• – Does it look professional?• – Has consideration been given to highlighting structure?• – Is the document well referenced?

• The style of writing and presenting• – Type of introduction and conclusion• – Use of stories, open questions• – Use of visuals, supporting documentation

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Improve your technology skills(Word processor skills)

• One of the important issues for writing a report by your own , is knowing how to use the whole features of the used word processor, e.g. insert equations, objects, page format, as well as have a appropriate typing skills in the both languages (Arabic/English).

• (office 2007 tutorials)

• http://www.fgcu.edu/support/