Susan Brady, Department Head, CSEE

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Technical Writing
Susan Brady, Department Head, CSEE Brown Bag
Session
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How to Write a Technical Paper

• Overview
• DOE guidelines
• Workshop Groups

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Technical Communication

• Accurate
• Clear
• Concise
• Coherent
• Appropriate
• Adapted from The Mayfield Handbook of Technical
  and Scientific Writing

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Clear

• Structural clarity
  (forecasting or organizational strategies,
  graphic representation)
• Stylistic clarity
  (simple, direct language)
• Contextual clarity
  (importance, authorization and implications)

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Accurate

• Document accuracy
  (clear problem statement, outline, appropriate
  detail)
• Stylistic accuracy
  (paragraph and sentence structure, word choice)
• Technical accuracy (understanding,
  representation, conceptual mastery, ability to
  analyze data)

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Concise

• Focus
  (narrow to manageable problem and
  response)
• Eliminate unnecessary text (identify
  words not needed to support claims, use graphics)
• Revise
  (numerous read-throughs, peer review)

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Coherent

• Consistent patterns
  (logical and stylistic consistency)
• Indicate connections
  (road map through document)
• Paragraph development (clear topic
  sentence, supporting text, transitional devices)

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Transitional Devices

• Example
• Reducing drag in an aerospace vehicle is an
  important design consideration with financial and
  operational consequences. Poorly designed rocket
  fuselages can triple fuel and launch costs. Drag
  increases stress on key joints. This proposed
  project will develop a model to reduce
  aerodynamic drag on the RX100.

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Transitional Devices

• Improved
• Reducing drag in an aerospace vehicle is an
  important design consideration. For example,
  poorly designed rocket fuselages can triple fuel
  and launch costs. Moreover, drag increases stress
  on key joints. Therefore, this proposed project
  will develop a model to reduce aerodynamic drag
  on the RX100.

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Appropriate

• Match goals and purpose
• Address the correct audience (expertise,
  purpose, attitude)
• Match context
  (institutional guidelines, general scientific and
  technical community)

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Critique

• The flow of electrical current can induce the
  migration of impurities or other defects through
  the bulk of a solid. This process is called
  electromigration. In simple electromigration, the
  force on the defect is thought to have two
  components. The first component is the force
  created by direct interaction between the
  effective charge of the defect and the electric
  field that drives the current. The second
  component, called the "wind force," is the force
  caused by the scattering of electrons at the
  defect.
• --J.A. Stroscio and D.M. Eigler, "Atomic and
  Molecular Manipulation with the Scanning
  Tunneling Microscope," Science

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Purpose and Benefits

• To clarify your thinking
• Publish in DOE Journal of Undergraduate
  Research
• Grad School application/resume
• AAAS Conference 2010 San Diego

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Resources

• DOE Program Handbook
• Online Mayfield Handbook
• Writing groups with peers
• One-on-one meetings with Clyde
• Ask your mentor

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General Guidelines

• DOE Program Handbook
• DOE will not consider publishing a paper that
  does not conform to its guidelines

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Outline of Research Paper

• Title Page
• Table of contents
• Abstract (2500 Character Max, including spaces)
• Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion
  Conclusions 10 page maximum
• References (IEEE format for citations)
• Acknowledgements
• Figures and tables

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Abstract

• The abstract is a brief summary of your
  research. No more than 2500 characters!
• Includes the following
• Header Title, Names, Affiliations
• Introduction Background Significance
• Methods and Materials How did you do it?
• Results What happened?
• Discussion and Conclusions Interpretation
• Only standard abbreviations (laser, DNA, etc.)
• No citations

See p 15 of DOE guide for details and very good
sample abstracts.
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Sample Title Page
See Page 40 of the Program Guidebook for sample
layout.

• Title of Research
• Name of Student
• Program Name
• Name of Students School
• Host Lab (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
• Location Berkeley, California
• Date
• Signatures (yours and your Research Advisors)

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Table of Contents

• List all sections of the paper with page
  numbers.
• Tables and Figures are included at the end of
  your research paper (after your References.)

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Introduction Objectives

• Provide a rationale for the study
• State the nature and scope of the problem
• Include background/ history and references
  important to understanding the study
• There is no one right approach!
• Use one or some of these.

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General Notes on Introduction

• Hook the reader Make it interesting!
• Start with the familiar or the general

• Poor
• Galaxies are collections of stars and they have
  emission at 100 microns and 1.4 GHz and
  telescopes can detect them.
• Better
• The correlation between the far-infrared and
  radio continuum emission in galaxies is one of
  the most robust and one of the most puzzling
  relations in extragalactic research.

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Materials and Methods

• Complete sentences
• Describe the experimental procedure, and the
  materials used
• Do NOT describe well-known techniques
  examples PCR, NMR
• Do spell out complete names when first
  introduced
• Reference established procedures when necessary

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Results

• Tables and Figures
• Your data are your data
• No interpretation

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Results

• Describe
• We detected 115 GHz continuum emission in 3
  out of 44 galaxies.
• Do not interpret
• Because we detected so few galaxies, there
  must be very little thermal emission from these
  sources.

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Discussion Conclusions

• Interpretation of Results
• Comparisons to similar studies
• Future research

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Figures and Tables

• What is a Figure ?
• Number tables and figures separately.
• Include figure captions.
• Place all tables and figures at the end of your
  paper.

Figure 5. A really great figure!
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Acknowledgments

• Identify where the research was done.
• Acknowledge those who provided major assistance
  to you.
• Thank the DOE, Office of Science, LBNL, and
  CSEE for creating, funding, and organizing the
  program.
• If applicable, thank the NSF for help in
  funding your internship.

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References

• Cite all ideas or information from other
  sources
• In the body of the text 1
• With complete citation in the references
  section
• 1 T. T. Helfer, My Great Paper, Journal of
  Prestigious Research, v. 315, pp. 155-167, 2001.
• Citations should be in IEEE format
• Dont copy citations! Read the original paper
  for yourself!

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Recap of Research Paper

• Introduction
• Use short paper as springboard
• Materials Methods
• Straightforward to write
• Results
• Again straightforward
• Discussion Conclusions
• Your mentor can help out with interpretation
• All those miscellaneous details abstract,
  title page, TOC, figures
• Tedious but straightforward

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Peer Writing Groups

• Sign up for group of 4 students
• Break paper into manageable chunks
• Exchange papers and review before you meet
• Get together and offer constructive criticism
• Read and critique the papers in your group
  before you meet
• Submit your own writing to your group by the
  deadlines
• Attend 3 meetings, 1 hour each
• Why bother? It works!
• Papers published in JUR in past years
• have gone through this process

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Final thoughts schedule

• Sign up for your peer group today.

Meeting Days Time Slots Monday,
Wednesday 12-1, 4-5, 5-6 Tuesday
4-5, 5-6 Friday 11-12, 12-1
Calendar Today Sign up for group June 18
Short Papers due June 15? Meet 3 times, complete
the paper in stages (Intro, MM, Data,
Conclusions, final edits)