MET 100W Writing Workshop: Meteorological Reports

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MET 100WWriting Workshop Meteorological
Reports
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MET 100WTechnical Writing and Communication
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Overview

• What is technical writing?
• Who cares? We are scientists!
• Unfortunately (?), even scientists have to write
  ?

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Reasons for writing(scientific writing after
youve left SJS)

• Disseminate information
• Papers in journals (JAS, BAMS)
• Books
• Instruction manuals
• Theses (senior, MS, PhD)

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Reasons

• Gain funding ( for you and your workers)
• Justify your funding
• Final reports (i.e., to justify the funding you
  got, and maybe help secure future funding!)
• Other
• Seek new jobs (resumes)
• Letters to newspapers

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Reasons

• According to the AMS website (URL on homework),
  roughly 50 of students graduating with a
  Meteorology degree will go into the private
  sector.
• Where do the come from?

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Reasons

• The company writes a proposal to an outside group
  (e.g., dairy farmers association) to perform a
  task (decide where to install power-generating
  windmills, say).
• This may be written by the boss, or parts may be
  assigned to different workers, but the point is
  that there is some technical writing.

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Reasons

• If the proposal is granted, the task is performed
  (thats the fun part!)
• Afterwards, a final report is written, and
  perhaps also some technical documents and
  instruction manuals.
• Technical reports may also have to be generated
  for other groups (e.g., shareholders).
• You may be involved in any/all of these steps!

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Technical writing is what?

• How does technical writing differ from
  non-technical writing?
• Consider

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Technical writing is what?

• I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
• That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
• When all at once I saw a crowd,
• A host, of golden daffodils
• Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
• Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
• William Wordsworth (1804)

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Technical writing is what?

• we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost
  may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall
  fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in
  the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in
  the hills we shall never surrender.
• Winston Churchill (1940)

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Technical writing is what?

• Both evoke emotion!
• Technical writing does not.
• A typical novel (sci-fi, mystery, Pride
  Prejudice) is written in a style that
• Evokes emotions
• May have long, complicated, involved sentences
• Makes you think (a lot). Try reading Sartre!

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Technical writing is what?

• A typical technical report is written in a style
  that
• Does not evoke emotions.
• Should have shorter, less complex sentence
  structure (so you can find your way through
  easily).

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Technical writing is what?

• For example, if you are writing a proposal for
  funding, you do NOT want to confuse the reader!
• You want the reader to understand what you are
  saying, and finally decide Yes! I will give you
  the money!

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Technical writing style

• Thus, the technical writing style has certain
  elements (which we will examine later in the
  class), including
• Clarity
• Honesty
• Correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
• Is well-organized

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Technical writing style

• Is written in the 3rd person
• we performed an experiment even if you did
  everything alone.
• Is written in a rather formal style
• No contractions (we have rather than weve)
• No jargon or commonly used expressions (like,
  dude!)
• Nothing offensive (duh)(dont use duh or
  doh)

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Structure of the course

• First few weeks of class
• Focus on technical writing issues
• How to get started
• Developing a plan
• Developing a timeline
• Writing a draft
• Editing etc.

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Structure of the course

• Mid-semester
• Focus on non-written technical presentations
• How to make an effective powerpoint presentation
• Posters

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Structure of the course

• Last part of semester
• Students will choose a project (literature
  survey, chosen with help of faculty) and will
  generate
• A written report containing all the elements we
  will have discussed by then (good title,
  abstract, introduction etc.)
• A powerpoint presentation of their work.
• A poster presentation of their work.

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How the class will be taught

• Mondays
• Lecture
• Wednesdays
• In-class writing tasks
• These will be graded and will be due at the end
  of class.

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Lets get started!

• TASK Write a complete list of instructions for
  how to log into cnn.com on the computer.
• Your target audience a group of 20 senior
  citizens with these characteristics
• ½ male, ½ female
• ½ born overseas (England, Russia, Vietnam), ½
  born in US (N. Dakota, Texas, New York)
• Thus, a fraction are non-native english speakers.
• None owns a computer or has ever used one.
• The computer is powered OFF and is running the
  same OS as in DH 614.
• START!