Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography Technical Writing: Some Guidelines Dr V N Krishnachandran Professor of Computer Applications Vidya Academy of Science & Technology Thalakkottukara, Thrissur - 680 501 Dr V N Krishnachandran Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
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Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Technical Writing:Some Guidelines
Dr V N KrishnachandranProfessor of Computer Applications
Vidya Academy of Science & TechnologyThalakkottukara, Thrissur - 680 501
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
A talk delivered tofirst semester M Tech students of
Vidya Academy of Science & Technologyon 27 July 2015
as part of aBridge Course for M Tech studentsof Kerala Technological University
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Acknowledgment
The content of these slides are based on thedocuments cited in the Bibliography.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Basic reference for style
Cover page of the 16th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, one ofthe most widely used and respected style guides in the United States
(first published in 1906, now a classic with 1045 pages).
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Outline
1 Never forget these universal aspects
2 Abbreviations
3 No plagiarism
4 Document elements
5 Punctuation
6 Examples of style
7 Citations
8 Bibliography
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Never forget these universalaspects
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Never forget: Spelling
Spelling mistakes are totally unacceptable.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Never forget: Spelling, grammar
Write in an active voice in the third person
Correct spelling
Correct grammar
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Never forget: Figures
Neatly drawn diagrams
Use software to draw diagrams
Number the figures
Give a title to each figure
Include a List of Figures
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Never forget: Tables
Neatly drawn tables
Number the tables
Give a title to each table
Include a List of Tables
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Abbreviations
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Abbreviations
Define acronyms or abbreviations prior to usingthem.
Example:The National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA) was founded in 1958
Include a List of Abbreviation in alphabeticalorder.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Abbreviations
Use periods with abbreviations that end in alowercase letter.
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
No plagiarism
When copy-pasting, always cite thesource.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
No plagiarism
Any information in a document that is directlyquoted or copied from a source must be properlycited.
Any information in the report that is directlyderived or paraphrased from a source must beproperly cited.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
No plagiarism
Example: Improper citationAnton, Bivens and Davis, Calculus, John Wiley andSons.[See: KTU Syllabus for I & II Semester BTechDegree (as on 01.07.2015), MA 101 Calculus]
Example: Proper citationHoward Anton, Irl C. Bivens, Stephen Davis,Calculus, 10th Edition, John Wiley and Sons, 2012.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
No plagiarism
Any material derived from the web must comefrom credible and documentable sources.
Wikipedia is NOT a credible reference.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements: Front matter
Title page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction (if not part of text)
List of Abbreviations
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements: Back matter
Appendix(es)
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography or References
Index(es)
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements: Pagination
Lowercase roman numerals for front matter
Arabic numbers for text and back matter
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements: Title page
The title page gives:
the title of the report
the authors’ names and ID numbers
course name and number, department,institution
date of submission.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements: Title page
Title should indicate exactly what the report isabout.
ExampleBridge Analysisvs.Analysis of a Pre-stressed Concrete Bridge
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements: Summary
The summary section/chapter:
states the topic of the report
outlines your approach to the task if applicable
gives most important findings, or key aspects ofdesign
states the main outcomes or conclusions.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements: Summary
The summary section/chapter does NOT:
provide general background information
explain why you are doing the research,investigation or design
refer to later diagrams or references.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements: Introduction
The introduction section/chapter includes:
the background to the topic of your report
a clear statement of the purpose of the report(for example, to present the results of yourresearch, investigation, or design)
a clear statement of the aims of the project
technical background necessary to understandthe report (for example, theory or assumptions)
a brief outline of the structure of the report ifappropriate.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Document elements: Conclusions
The conclusions part sums up the essential featuresof your work. This section
states whether you have achieved your aims
gives a brief summary of the key findings orinformation in your report
highlights the major outcomes of yourinvestigation and their significance.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Punctuation
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Punctuation
(Image courtesy: www.proofreadersproofreader.com/
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Punctuation: One space rule
One space should be used between twosentences – whether the first ends in a period, aquestion mark, an exclamation point, or aclosing quotation mark or parenthesis.
One space should follow a colon.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Punctuation: Quotation marks
Periods and commas precede closing quotationmarks, whether double or single.Examples:Correct: He said: “Tomorrow is a holiday.”Incorrect: He said: “Tomorrow is a holiday”.
Colons and semicolons follow closing quotationmarks.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Punctuation: Periods
If the ellipsis (that is, . . . ) is at the end of asentence, do not a full stop after it.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Punctuation: Vertical list
The following conventions are suggested:
A vertical list is to be introduced by a completesentence followed by a colon.
Items carry no closing punctuation unless theyconsist of complete sentences.
Can have any number of items
Choose a numbering scheme and be consistent
Example: Study this slide.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Examples of style
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Examples of style: Inconsistency
The contents page of a draft document before corrections(continued in the next slide)
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Examples of style: Inconsistency
The contents page of a draft document before corrections
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Examples of style: Titles
In chapter, section, etc. titles
All capitals (not favoured)Example: THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE
Initial capitals (IEEE style, see next slide)Example: The Chicago Manual of Style
First letter only capitalized (sentence case)Example: The Chicago manual of style
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Examples of style: Titles
In titles, do capitalize:
Nouns (man, bus, book)
Adjectives (angry, lovely, small)
Verbs (run, eat, sleep)
Adverbs (slowly, quickly, quietly)
Pronouns (he, she, it)
Subordinating conjunctions (as, because, that)
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Examples of style
In titles, do not capitalize:
Articles: a, an, the
Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, for,nor, etc.
Prepositions: on, at, to, from, by, etc.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Examples of style: Capitalization
Avoid unnecessary capitalizations
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Examples of style: Capitalization
Correct usageVAST is an engineering college in Kerala state. Thecollege offers B Tech programmes in six branches,namely, civil engineering, production engineering,etc.
Incorrect usageVAST is an Engineering College in Kerala State.The College offers B Tech programmes in sixbranches, namely, Civil Engineering, ProductionEngineering, etc.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Examples of style: Capitalization
Capitalize the first word of every sentence
Capitalize proper nouns that specifically name aperson, place or thing
Capitalize the proper names of nationalities,peoples, races
Capitalize official job titles when used as part ofa name
Capitalize the full name of official programs,projects or plans. Always lowercase program,project or plan when the word stands alone.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Citations
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Citations
IEEE Citation Style
The author name is first name (or initial) and last.
The title of an article (or chapter, conferencepaper, etc.) is in quotation marks.
The title of the journal or book is in italics.
The references should be numbered and appear in theorder they appear in the text.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Citations: Books
Books
J. K. Author, “Title of chapter in the book,” inTitle of His Published Book, xth ed. City ofPublisher, Country if not USA: Abbrev. ofPublisher, year, ch. x, sec. x, pp. xxx-xxx.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Citations: Conference Technical Articles
Basic format
J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” in UnabbreviatedName of Conf., City of Conf., Abbrev. State (ifgiven), year, pp. xxx-xxx.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Citations: Conference Technical Articles
For an electronic conference article when there areno page numbers
J. K. Author [two authors: J. K. Author and A. N.Writer ] [three or more authors: J. K. Author et al.],“Title of Article,” in [Title of Conf. Record as ],[copyright year] [IEEE or applicable copyright holderof the Conference Record]. doi: [DOI number]
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Citations: Conference Technical Articles
For an unpublished paper presented at a conference
J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” presented at theUnabbrev. Name of Conf., City of Conf., Abbrev.State, year.
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Citations: Electronic Sources
Basic format
J. K. Author. (year, month day). Title (edition)[Online]. Available: http://www.(URL)
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Bibliography
Dr V N Krishnachandran
Technical Writing: Some Guidelines
Never forget Abbreviations No plagiarism Document elements Punctuation Examples of style Citations Bibliography
Bibliography
1 The Chicago manual of style, 16th ed., The University ofChicago Press, 2010.
2 Philip Rubens (editor), Science and Technical Writing: AManual of Style, 2nd ed., Routledge, New York, 2002.
3 Leah M. Akins and Jefferson H Akins, (January 2009),“Technical Report Writing Guidelines,” [Online]. Available:http://www8.sunydutchess.edu/ faculty/akins/