HUM120 Handouts - Lecture 11: Technical Writing PDF

Lecture 11 11.1 Objectives/Traits in Technical Writing In previous lecture, two C’s of Communication viz. clarity and conciseness were discussed. These C’s enhance the probability of comprehension for the audience. The list of traits that we have been following is as follows: - Clarity -...

Lecture 11 11.1 Objectives/Traits in Technical Writing In previous lecture, two C’s of Communication viz. clarity and conciseness were discussed. These C’s enhance the probability of comprehension for the audience. The list of traits that we have been following is as follows: - Clarity - Conciseness - Accessible document design - Audience Recognition - Accuracy (Grammar) 11.1.1 Accessible document design Document design means your report (or any other technical piece of writing) should have a clear format, legible printing, and accessible layout. You have to guide your audience so that they can easily access content. 11.1.1.1 How to create an accessible document design? Follow the techniques of highlighting given below to make a clear, accessible document design: - Use graphics The use of graphics (tables and figures) organizes information. It presents a vivid layout and division, especially when you are dealing with statistics. Figure 1 Available Microsoft Word® features for charts - Use white spaces Use of white spaces provides focus within the layout of your document. By white space, we mean a space on the page where there is no text, usually used to add visual clarity to a document. White spacing may be accomplished by using margins, adding space between lines and paragraphs. Indentation, lead-ins and arranging bullet text, as in this document, offer a more accessible document. This was accomplished using Styles and Formatting option in the Format Menu of Microsoft Word®. White spaces make sure you don’t overcrowd the document with text and important info is not missed out by the reader. See the poor example given in Figure 2, which provides better insight on this matter. At the first look, the document looks messy and overwhelming and the reader is discouraged to read it. Avoid using extra white spaces as this may negatively impact the presentation of your document. See Figure 3 as an example which offers comparison between different levels of white spacing. Figure 2 A memo with poor spacing - Use different font formatting options If you want to highlight certain terms of your text, make them bold. This way they get more prominent than rest of the text, and the reader understands that you want them to pay more attention to it.  Figure 3 Balancing use of white space Figure 4 Use of bold font style as a highlighting technique In APA style of formatting, italics are used when you mention titles of books, journals and periodicals, films, and videos.  Italics and underlining serve the same purpose. You can use underlining when the document is handwritten as then it may be difficult to use italics. Use of bullets makes details of your text look neat, clearly laid out and accessible. Numbered lists are formed to describe the order in which things have been mentioned. Tabular representation of information is another way of offering a clearer presentation and falls under the category of highlighting techniques. - Use different heading levels Use of headings and sub-headings provide a skeleton to your report. It organizes your document details by giving it proper divisions. The reader can easily make out what is discussed and in what order by just glancing at the document. Figure 5 Heading options Varied font sizes are used to determine the level of headings. Notice in this handout, the first level of heading (9.1) is written in a bigger font than second (9.1.1) and third (9.1.1.1) level of heading. 11.1.2 Audience Recognition Audience involvement is necessary for achieving the basic purposes of report writing. Do not make your audience feel you have not taken their needs and wants into account. Use a personalized tone to step into their shoes, and make them recognize their benefits. 11.1.2.1 Types of Audience The level of education and background knowledge of the audience determine their type. High tech audience Your boss, supervisor, CEO, Head of the department are categorized as high tech audience. They are knowledgeable, informed and thus require minimum background knowledge. What they are looking for is new knowledge that you are presenting in your report. For example, updates regarding the status of a project. Low tech audience Your colleagues working in some other department, or your batch mates are examples of low tech audience. They are familiar with the technology you are using but their job responsibilities are peripheral to the subject matter. To ensure that low tech readers understand your content, define your terms and abbreviations. For example, the abbreviation “VLSI”, which stands for Very Large Scale Integration, cannot stand alone; you will have to define it parenthetically. Since low tech reader is not in your normal writing domain, i.e., as someone to whom you don’t write often regarding your field of expertise, you need to provide more background information. Lay audience Lay readers are unfamiliar with your subject matter. They don’t understand your technology; therefore, write simply. Explain in-house jargon abbreviations or acronyms. Along with providing background information, give details, interpret data and make inferences. Do not expect them to read between the lines. Clients or customers, students, peons, and clerks are examples of lay audience. Multiple Audience (Multi-level) Along with your primary audience, your document might be read by other people that will form your secondary audience. It means you have to choose the content in order to cater for a multi- level audience. Some of them will have background information while some will need it. It is, therefore, recommended to give some background information. If your readers are diverse, you  might need to define your jargons, acronyms and abbreviations. Keep your tone neutral and positive. Figure 6 An example of multi-level audience Multi-Cultural Audience The considerations for mutli-level audience apply in for this audience, as well. Additionally, you will need to watch for cultural biases. Also, avoid figurative language and puns to increase its comprehension. 11.1.2.2 Defining Terms for Different Audience Levels Since every industry has its own specialized vocabulary, so a writer must use: - glossary items - familiar terms - short and precise sentences to define terms - extended definitions for explanations - endnotes/footnotes - electronic communication (pop-up screen) 11.1.2.3 Techniques to Avoid Sexist Language As both genders contribute to the successful functioning of society, do not refer to either gender as secondary nor ignore them. Have the same courtesy for transgenders, as well.  Some more examples are presented in the table below: Sexist Gender Neutral Spokesman Spokesperson, representative Manpower Staff, workforce Chairman Chairperson Man the counter Staff the counter Man-made Synthetic, manufactured Mankind Humanity, people, human beings The common man The average person, ordinary people Businessman Business executive, business person Steward and stewardess Flight attendant 11.1.3 Accuracy Accuracy means right, proper and correct content. There are three types of accuracy that you need to take care of: 1. Document accuracy This refers to proper formatting, line spacing, font size, font color, margins, page numbers and headings in the document. If there are tables and graphs, place them properly within the document. 2. Style accuracy This refers to correct language use. There should be no grammar and spelling errors. The sentences and paragraphs should be of moderate length, clear and coherent. The document should be free of typos as well. 3. Technical accuracy The content presented in the document should have a sound theoretical basis. The statistic should be accurate. Also, the document should reflect the concepts of the subject clearly. 11.1.3.1 How to proofread the text? Accuracy in technical writing requires that you proof read your text. Tips of proofreading are as follows: - Let someone else read it. - Use the delay approach. - Read one line at a time. - Read long words syllable by syllable. - Use technology. - Check figures, scientific and technical equations, and abbreviations. - Read it out loud. - Use a dictionary. - Try scattershot proofing. - Use the computer’s spell check – remember, however, that a spell check may not be able to catch: ▪ form if you mean from ▪ to if you mean too ▪ except if you mean accept - Let it sit – for a day or a weekend. When the document is cold, you are more objective about the writing. - Use peer evaluations as others see the errors we miss. - Read it out loud as sometimes we can hear errors. - Read it backwards because then you read words out of context. You cannot anticipate the next word. 11.1.3.2 Organization Patterns There are five patterns to organize your content: spatial, chronological, order of importance, comparison/contrast and problem/solution. i. Spatial  If you are describing the parts of a machine or a plot of ground, you might organize your text spatially. You would describe what you see, as it appears in space, left to right, top to bottom, inside to outside or clockwise. These spatial sequences help your readers visualize what you see and therefore better understand the physical qualities of the subject matter. ii. Chronological At 1:15 PM, we arrived at the site and assessed the patient's condition, taking vitals (pulse, respiration, etc.). At 1:17 PM, after stabilizing the patient, we contacted the hospital and relayed the vitals. By 1:20 PM, the patient was on an IV drip. Our vehicle arrived at the hospital at 1:35 PM and hospital staff took over the patient's care. iii. Importance If spatial and chronological patterns don’t suit your writing, organize your ideas by importance by deciding which ideas you want to emphasize and then place that information on the page accordingly. iv. Comparison/Contrast Many times, in business, you will need to document options and ways in which you surpass a competitor. These require that you organize your text by comparison/contrast. You compare similarities and contrast differences. For example, if you are writing a sales brochure, you might want to present your potential client alternatives regarding services, personnel, timetables and fee structures. v. Problem/Solution Every proposal and sales letter is problem/solution oriented. When you write a proposal for instance, you are proposing a solution to an existing problem. Similarly, if your sales letter promotes a new product, your customers will purchase it only if their current product is inferior. 11.2 Summary of Objectives/Traits in Technical Writing Lecture 09 9.1 Purpose of Technical Writing In general, technical writing has two basic purposes, which are to inform and to persuade. As technical writing is carried out in the field of science, industry and business, its basic purpose is to inform by providing the audience with factual information in the form of reports, instructions and descriptions. Along with stating facts, it persuades the audience enough information to make inferences. 9.2 What do Technical Writers Create? 9.2.1 Instructions Technical writers create a link between knowledge and its application, usually the machine. Their job is significant as they describe the knowledge and concepts that are at work in the machine.  9.2.2 Directions In business settings, memos and business letters are composed both when employees of an organization communicate with each other and when communication is carried out between two or more organizations. Directions are provided by composing business reports, letters and memos. 9.2.3 Technical Reports Progress reports are composed on weekly, monthly and/or yearly basis to record and communicate the progress of an organization in general and employees in particular. Likewise, proposals and feasibility studies are carried out to discuss probable solutions of a problem or to describe the best possible and feasible option. Summaries of staff meetings are also recorded on a regular basis to preserve the happenings of the meeting in black and white. Advertisements like tender notices and job vacancies are also created using technical writing. A sample advertisement may be found in Figure 1. 9.3 Recognizing Your Audience Identifying your target audience holds great importance before you start composing your report. Their needs and wants have to be kept in consideration before choosing the content of your write-up. The manner of writing, information provided in the report and recommendations given will be different when the audience changes, for example, from your boss to your colleagues. Audience Analysis Analyze Who is/are the recipient(s)? Understand What is their knowledge of your message? Demographics What is their age, gender, education level and position? Interest What are their interests or investment to your message? Environment What is your relationship to the audience? What is their likely attitude to your message? Have you taken cultural differences into consideration? Needs What information does your audience need? Customize How do you adjust your message to your audience? Expectations What is your audience’s expectation?  Figure 1 A sample advertisement, as appeared in a local newspaper 9.4. Technical Writing Scenarios Based on the general purpose of information and persuasion, following are some of the technical writing scenarios that you may come across. Apart from reports, documents you may create in technical writing include: ▪ E-mails ▪ Memos ▪ Letters ▪ Reports ▪ Proposals ▪ User manuals ▪ Websites ▪ Brochures  ▪ Newsletters 9.4.1 Emails Emails are one of the most commonly used forms of communication today. However, composing emails for your boss or supervisor is different from writing emails to your friends. Composing formal email messages demand the usage of a proper format, and appropriate language. Example: As a chemist working in a university laboratory, you may receive an email that asks about the current status of the chemical supplies you have in stock, and the new supplies you need for future experiments. You need to reply to this email by citing authentic facts so that the authorities get a true picture of what is needed. 9.4.2 User Manuals User manuals are a form of instructions that we discussed in the previous section. They are written for explaining the steps for building a piece of equipment, performing preventative maintenance, or for shipping and handling procedures. For example, for an automatic washing machine, its user manual comes with clear instructions regarding the handling of its parts, their functions and precautions. 9.4.3 Proposals In an academic setting, proposal is composed to present the hypothesis and overall framework of your research study. Once it gets approved, you proceed with conducting the study. In a business setting, proposals are sale offers from a seller to prospective buyers. Example: As a trust officer in a bank you may compose proposals for potential clients. To do so, you must write a 20- to 30- page proposal about your bank’s services. 9.4.4 Letters Letters composed in a business setting or in the field of science and industry are different from the ones you compose for a friend. You need to follow all the principles of technical writing when composing one. Example: You are a customer who ordered an automotive part from a national manufacturer. Unfortunately, the part was shipped to you five days later than promised, it arrived broken, and you were charged more than the agreed-upon price. You need to write a letter of complaint. 9.4.5 Websites A website is a collection of content and images related to a specific topic published with a common domain name. The expertise of technical writers is needed when the content for a website has to be written. Example: Your job is to create a corporate website. The website gives information to clients about locations, pricing, products and services, mission statement, and job openings. The drop-down help screens provide easy-to-access answers for both customer and employee questions. 9.4.6 Brochures Brochures are written to give information and to persuade the audience to make certain inferences based on that information. Example: As a professor of genetics, you are asked to write and design a brochure for a community where cousin marriages are rampant. Your task is to spread awareness among them regarding its negative outcomes like Down’s Syndrome. 9.4.7 Résumés Resumes are the written description of your personality. They describe your background and skills in an appealing manner to your prospective employer. Example: You have just graduated from your university/college and it’s time to get a job. You need to write a résumé and a letter of application to show corporations what assets you will bring to their company. 9.5 Examples Figure 2 An instructional manual for repairing machinery Figure 3 A memo on reporting incidents Lecture 16 We’ve covered 3 C’s in the previous Lecture. In this Lecture, we will proceed with the rest. 16.1. Concreteness Concreteness literally means something real, particular or solid. This C, too, is an important part of 7 C’s of communication. In the context of communication, concreteness requires us to be specific in giving information instead of being generic or general with reader or audience. Thus, concreteness is an aspect of communication that means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general. Communication is concrete if it uses specific facts and figures. An impact (strong effect) must be created by the sender so that the receiver feels comfortable to provide a positive response. This C is connected with the C’s of clarity, conciseness and consideration. This is because concreteness depends on facts and figures, which should come up with interpretation. Since concreteness refers to the quality of being correct, it must be kept in mind that communication must be clear by providing factual information with grammatical precision, so that your audience don’t ask you for any other information. We should avoid vague words, particularly with similar meanings. For example, “several” and “multiple” give us only part of information and are not to the point. Furthermore, both may be synonymous but there are situations in which the meanings differ. Another aspect to consider regarding concreteness is the avoidance of avoid non-reliable sources. Always go for valid, reliable, authentic and credible sources for giving any type of information. We should use the right level of language keeping in mind the standards of languages. To achieve concreteness, we may follow these four rules: 1) Use specific facts and figures: Only the important information should be provided to the receiver. If extra information is included, then the receiver would lose the concentration and important information may be overlooked or ignored by the receiver. Relevant and important facts or information must be included so that the receiver gets the whole idea and no query remains unanswered. Answer of all the questions like “when, where, why, who, whom, what” should be included. 2) Put action in your verbs: Sometimes, if verbs are not used in Active form, they take the shape of Noun. e.g., “She compiles the data.” Here, the verb “compiles” is in Active form but if we rewrite this sentence, then the verb transforms into a noun as follows: “Data compilation is done by her.” Here, “compilation” is a noun and the information becomes a bit complex. Consider the following examples to hit this point home: Action hiding in a “quiet” noun Action in the verb  The function of this office is the collection of This office collect payments and compiles payments and the compilation of statements. statements. Professor H. will give consideration to the report. Professor H. will consider the report. The proposal has a requirement for Concept X The proposal requires Concept X Students held a meeting in the office Students met in the office. 3) Choose vivid (brilliant), image-building words: Use attractive words or terms, which can stay in the memory of the receiver. If some new idea or mode of expression is used, then automatically the receiver would focus on it and positive response would be generated. Flawed Example Better Example “Hilltop Resort is the best resort. Do come “Hilltop Resort is the jewel of the western hills. to us on your next holiday” Take a break from your work. Escape from life’s chaos and stress. Relax and rejuvenate yourself at Hilltop. Go back fresh and energized!” Source: www.invensislearning.com/blog/7-rules-of-effective-communication-with-examples/ This example on the left is flawed because it is a vague ad message. It is made to sound like just another resort advertisement among a hundred others. The audience will never remember this ad message. There are no concrete details to take away from this message. 4) Be accurate Check the accuracy (exactness) of figures, facts and words. This requires the information you provide to be correct and exact. As an example, consider the case that a single 0 can create problems: there is great difference between Rs. 100 and Rs. 1,000. Secondly, grammar and punctuation are another important aspect. Place the commas, questions mark and other punctuation on their proper place. Facts may change with time, so before writing about anything, verify that your fact still holds. For example, C++ used to be the most used programming language but now other programming languages have taken the place. So, this fact that “C++ is the most used programming language” is not true now, even if this was valid for a period after its release. Wrong placement of words can also cause problems. There are many words which are used at the place of each other because they have similar sounds or they have somehow similar meanings. But in Report writing, be careful while using the words; confirm the exact meaning of the word. Consider this example, “Most of the time, travelers worry about their luggage.” Now delete the comma after the fourth word to totally change the meaning of this sentence: “Most of the time travelers worry about their luggage”. 16.2. Consideration Consideration generally means to show importance or respect or to show some care. For the purposes of communication, importance must be shown to the receiver and, in this regard, a popular rule of thumb is the “you-attitude”. In this approach, instead of using “I”, “you” is used to make the receiver feel important. This, however, should not be blindly adopted. In some cases, “I-attitude” may be preferred over the “You-attitude” as it can be harsh in such situations. For example, the sentence “You have not paid the bill this month” not only sounds impolite but may be a downright accusation. The consideration C requires that this sentence be paraphrased in line with the “I-attitude” as follows: “I am waiting for the bill this month”. In general, it is better to use “I” when: You disagree with someone. You refer to the mistake of the receiver. You are irritated and want to hide that irritation or frustration. With the help of the Consideration C, you may be able to attract the receiver towards your new project or business, show some benefits to the receiver so that the receiver understands his/her place or importance in that project or business and decides to provide you positive response. To show consideration, give positive and friendly response to the receiver. In this regard, use polite language so that even a harsh message does not disappoint or hurt the receiver. What can be done What should be avoided Show possibilities Avoid discouragements Introduce other options Don’t end up with the only option The following examples illustrate these points: Flawed Example Better Example Dear Mr. Sadan Dear Mr. Sadan I'm sorry that we are presently out of stock of black Thank you for ordering a black hand bag. hand bags and will be unable to fill your order now. The color you chose proved to be very popular, and An order has been placed with the manufacturer in we quickly sold all we had in stock. However, the color you want. We will receive shipment after we've placed a rush order for more and are ten days. promised delivery within ten days. Yours will be I trust this delay will not inconvenience you. shipped the same day our new supply arrives. I Sincerely, know you'll be delighted with the unique carry-on Mudassir bag Mr. Hassan. It's not only very handsome, but incredibly inexpensive. Sincerely, Mudassir You will be (or customers will be) able to do We are happy to announce that transaction can be transactions after office hours, at the Teller counter made even after 3.00 PM till 5.00 PM at the teller- till 5.00 PM. counter. It is not possible for us to extend locker facility to Extending locker facility will be attended to as soon you since you do not have a fixed/term deposit in as we receive an investment in fixed/term deposit our bank. from you. 16.3. Courtesy True courtesy involves being aware not only of the perspective of others, but also their feelings. Courtesy stems from a sincere you-attitude. It’s not merely politeness with mechanical instructions of “please” and “thank you” although applying socially accepted manners is a form of courtesy. Rather, it is politeness that grows out of respect and concern for others. In addition to following the guidelines discussed under “consideration”, courteous communicators generate a special tone in their writing and speaking. The following are suggestions for generating a courteous tone. Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative. Use expressions that show respect. Choose nondiscriminatory expressions. Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative Though few people are intentionally abrupt or blunt, these negative traits are a common cause of discourtesy. Sometimes, they stem from a mistaken idea of conciseness, sometimes from negative attitudes, sometimes from not knowing the culture of a country or even groups of people. Inconsiderate, Blunt Considerate Stupid letter; I can’t understand any of it. It’s my understanding that… Clearly, you didn’t read my latest fax. Sometimes, my wording may not be precise. I rewrote the letter three times. Let me try again Point I’m sorry the point wasn’t clear; here is another version. Offensive Considerate Hey man, what’s this I hear about the good news? Warm congratulations on your wedding! You sure pulled a fast one this past weekend – and Well, you certainly took us by surprise. In fact, just they didn’t tell any of us about. Give my regards to a few of us even suspected you were taking off to the little lady, and wish her the best; she’ll need it. get married. But even though we didn’t hear about it until later, we my wife and I wish you the best. Give our regards to your new partner. Hi Ali, Hi Ali, I really do not appreciate how your IT team ignores I understand that the IT team is swamped with the requests of my team, alone. My team is an work and gets requests from every department in important function in this organization, too, and we the organization. My team, however, is working on have our own IT requirement. Can you ensure that a high-priority project and I would greatly your team responds promptly to my team’s appreciate if you could ask your team members to requests hereon? respond to my team’s queries promptly and help Regards us complete this project on time. Please do let me Muzammil know if you need anything from me. Regards Muzammil Note: Some examples are taken from Business Communication 7th Edition Herta A. Murphy, Jane P. Thomas and Herbert W. Hildebrandt Lecture 15 15.1. Communication Communication concerns itself with sharing or conveying of information through experience, speech or behavior and it is usually two-sided. Any source of information is ineffective if it is not communicated well. Thus, communication per se is considered as a great skill and its importance is not negligible at all. 15.2. Communication Process To identify the communication process, one first needs to identify the stakeholders involved in communication. These are the Sender (who sends a message) and Receiver (who receives the message or report, to whom the message is sent). These two members form core of the communication process. Additionally, feedback is also an integral part, in which the response of the receiver and sender are gauged. Generally, there are 5 elements of this communication process: ▪ Sender’s initiative ▪ Receiver’s reception ▪ Message or content ▪ Medium of instruction ▪ Feedback of both sender and receiver Integral parts of communication include the following: Be very specific. That is, use only actual information and not any distracting, overwhelming or unnecessary information. Time is of crucial importance. Use supporting facts and figures, whenever possible, to be more credible. Keep the reader benefit and interest in mind. As for reports, this is covered with your audience analysis. Your communication should be coherent and clear in meaning, with one basic idea. When it comes to report writing, bear in the mind the previous discussion on thesis statement, unity and coherence. Consider using the right level of language. This is based on the level of the person for whom you are writing a report for or generally with whom you are communicating. Ensure that your communication has no emission or errors. That is, do not let important information be omitted or erased from the report. Furthermore, errors must be avoided. 15.3. Reasons to Communicate To persuade an audience to accept your point of view  To instruct an audience by directing actions To inform an audience of facts, concerns, or questions you might have To build trust and rapport by managing work relationships 15.4. Seven C’s of Effective Communication On a professional level, there is no space for mistake in our communication. To achieve this, a popular checklist called Seven C’s of Communication help you improve your professional communication skills and increases the chance that the message will be understood in the same way as it was intended. On Professional level, we communicate through meetings, emails, conference calls, reports, presentations etc. These Seven C's are likewise known by the name of the “Principles of Effective Communication (EBC)”. The name “Seven C's” stems from two facts viz. that each letter starts with a “C” and that they are seven in number. These Seven C’s may look innocuous but do act as good aides with a significant standing. These are listed out in Figure 1. 15.4.1. Clarity This C aims to getting the meaning from your head to the head of your reader, accurately. This is not as simple as it sounds. The process is muddled by the fact that we all carry around our own unique interpretations, ideas and experiences associated with each word or non-verbal gesture. To achieve clarity in communication, choose precise, concrete and familiar words. Consider the following examples: Another way to achieve clarity is by constructing effective sentences and paragraphs The core approach to achieving clarity lies in the construction of the sentences. Any grammatically correct statement, when clearly expressed, moves thoughts within a paragraph. The important mnemonic to help you remember is LUCE, which stands for Length, Unity, Coherence and Emphasis. 15.4.1.1. Length Constructing effective sentences and paragraphs requires a balanced consideration of length. In order to manage any sentence properly, there is recommended strength of words in a sentence. ▪ The upper limit of recommended length of words for sentences is 17 to 20 words. It can exceed to 30 words, if there is such a need. The only emphasis lies in helping the receiver to get a full grip or understanding of the sentence. ▪ If the length of a sentence exceeds 40, then divide the sentence into 2 sentences.  15.4.1.2. Unity The sentences must be constructed in such a way that the idea must stand united. The ideal approach is to have a single idea per sentence. However, if a supporting idea is needed, you may add these, with appropriate use of transition words and phrases. The very aim must still be constructing sentences in which ideas which are related to each other. For example: “Economics is taught at CIIT to prepare students to contribute to Pakistani economy in a better way.” In this sentence, two interrelated ideas are shown but they are connected. 15.4.1.3. Coherence This may sound synonymous with “unity”, and indeed, the fundamental purpose is the same. However, what makes this different is that coherence is more global than unity. By this, we mean that sentences together should be weaved together to discuss a common theme. 15.4.1.4. Emphasis The quality that gives force to important parts of sentences and paragraphs is emphasis. Good writers understand what should be emphasized and what shouldn’t be. There are various ways to emphasize different ideas which include the use of headings, tabulations, pie charts, graphs, underlining, Italics, colored fonts etc. The following examples may be of more help: Little Emphasis Better Emphasis Candidates should be motivated and have Prerequisites in candidates should include interest in static and dynamic testing of expertise in static and dynamic testing of material, and have those prerequisites and material. other. Collectively, the LUCE approach is applied in the following examples: In the first “bad” example, we do not know who Waseem is, what his duties are, let alone the purpose of the conversion. The “good” example corrects this. Flawed Example Better Example Hi Ahmad, Hi Ahmad, I wanted to write you a quick note I wanted to write you a quick note about Waseem, who's working in your about Waseem Khan, who's working in your department. He's a great asset, and I'd like department. In recent weeks, he's helped to talk to you more about him when you the IT department through several pressing have time. deadlines on his own time. Best, We've got a tough upgrade project due to Kamran run over the next three months, and his knowledge and skills would prove invaluable. Could we please have his help with this work? I'd appreciate speaking with you about this. When is it best to call you to discuss this further? Best wishes, Kamran Similarly, in the following example, the flawed example doesn’t inform readers which conversation Ali is referring to. If Ali had met Saba on multiple occasions that day, then he wouldn’t know what Ali is actually talking about. In the corrected example, the reader knows exactly what is expected of him because the message is clear. Flawed Example Better Example Hi Saba, Hi Saba, I would like to schedule a meeting with you I would like to schedule a meeting with you in regards to yesterday’s conversation. The in regards to your presentation on email topics you covered were great, and I’d like marketing. The topics you covered were to speak about it in detail. Please let me great, and I would like to discuss know when you would like to have this implementation on our current clients. meet. Please let me know when you have the time Regards, so that we can discuss it in detail. Ali Regards Ali 15.4.2. Conciseness The word “concise” means “to the point”. In our context, in simple terms, this means avoiding the use a lot of words. A concise message saves time and expense for both sender and receiver. Conciseness contributes to emphasis; by eliminating unnecessary words you let important ideas stand out. When combined with “you-view”, concise messages are more interesting to the recipients. Conciseness includes, but is not limited to: ▪ Eliminating wordy expressions: Use single word substitute instead of phrases without changing meaning. Wordy Concise As this time Now Due to the fact that Because In due course Soon Allow me to say how helpful your response was Your last response was helpful.  ▪ Including only relevant material: Stick to the purpose of the message. Delete irrelevant words and sentences. Omit information obvious to the receiver. Avoid long introductions, unnecessary explanations, excessive preposition and adjectives etc. Get to the important point, concisely. Wordy Concise At this time, I am writing to you to enclose an Please return the enclosed interview card to interview card, which has been post-paid, for setup a convenient time for an interview. the purpose of arranging a convenient time when we might get together for a personal interview. ▪ Avoiding unnecessary repetition: Use short forms the second time e.g. instead of ‘Benazir Income Support Program’, ‘BISP’ should be used and instead of citing “American Association of Technical Analysts” again and again use “it” or “they” or AATA. Use pronouns. Single Word Substitutes With regard to About Despite the fact that Although At the present writing Now Is of opinion that Thinks In the first place First At a rapid rate Fast Following are some other examples: Flawed Example Better Example Hi Ayyan, Hi Ayyan, I wanted to touch base with you I wanted to quickly discuss the email about the email marketing campaign we marketing campaign that we analyzed last kind of sketched out last Thursday. I really Thursday. Our target market will want to think that our target market is definitely know about the company's philanthropic going to want to see the company's efforts, especially regarding our goals to philanthropic efforts. I think that could become sustainable and to help local make a big impact, and it would stay in their schools. minds longer than a sales pitch. This would make a far greater impact, and it For instance, if we talk about the company's would stay in the minds of people longer efforts to become sustainable, as well as the than a traditional sales pitch. charity work we're doing in local schools, What do you think? then the people that we want to attract are Ali going to remember our message longer. The impact will just be greater. What do you think? Ali  The flawed example is too long! There's repetition, and there's plenty of "filler" taking up space. The better example corrects this. Flawed Example Better Example Dear Zakir, Dear Zakir, I wanted to talk about the video editing I wanted to discuss the video editing ideas ideas we sort of planned the other day. we planned yesterday. It would be better to Don’t you think it would make a lot of sense add additional elements to the video to to also add additional elements to the have a stronger impact on the client’s videos? I mean, I think that would sort of message. improve the quality of the videos as well as A dissolve transition would give a seamless have a stronger impact on the client’s flow to each movie and make the videos message. cleaner and appealing in the minds of the For instance, we could add a dissolve target audience. transition on each movie, which would then What do you think? give it a seamless flow. This would then Regards make the video cleaner and be more Bilal appealing in the minds of the people. The impact would just be a lot greater. This makes a lot more sense according to me. What do you think? Regards Bilal Again, this email is quite long and there is a lot of repetition. The email has been made shorter and to the point. 15.4.3. Completeness Business message is complete when it contains all facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction you desire. As you strive for completeness, keep the following guidelines in mind: Provide all necessary information Answer all questions asked Give something extra when desirable Answer all questions that are asked. Give something extra when desirable. Check for five W’s & one H (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How). Answering the five W’s helps make messages clearer. Look for questions: some may even appear buried within a paragraph. Locate them and then answer them precisely. Use your good judgment in offering additional material if the sender’s message was incomplete. Flawed Example Better Example Hi all, Hi all, Let us meet tomorrow to discuss the Let us meet tomorrow at 11 AM at product lunch event. Please be there on Conference Room 3 to discuss the product time. launch event. We should decide the keynote Thanks speakers and complete the event invite Muraad draft tomorrow. Please be there on time. Thanks Muraad In the flawed example, there is no agenda, no location and no time is given in this example. If the flawed example above, there is another error. The writer has spelled “launch”. Spell checkers don’t always work so make sure you proof read everything. Flawed Example Better Example Hi everyone, Hi everyone, I just wanted to send you all a I just wanted to remind you about reminder about the meeting we're having tomorrow's meeting on the new tomorrow! telecommuting policies. The meeting will be See you then, at 10:00AM in the second-level Conference Asad Room. Please let me know if you can't attend. See you then, Asad The flawed example misses the following: What meeting? Where is this meeting? When will it begin? Note: Example are taken from 1. http://www.stpaulsice.com/Students/Blog/7-C-s-of-Effective-Communication 2. https://www.invensislearning.com/blog/7-rules-of-effective-communication-with-examples/ 3. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_85.htm 4. Murphy, H. (2008). Effective Business Communication. Tata McGraw Hill Education Private Limited. Lecture 12 12.1. The Writing Process Writing is the ultimate outcome or goal of a language. It has three different stages divided chronologically, i.e., Pre-Writing, Writing and Post-Writing. One stage leads to the next one, so writing process also called as a cycle through which we produce writing again and again. The three stages are: Pre-writing (Planning) Writing (Drafting) Post-writing (Finishing) 12.2. Pre-writing Pre-writing is the first stage of writing process. As its name suggests,the prefix “pre” means ‘before’, which is something you do before you write a paragraph or an essay or other writing work. In pre- writing, your aim should be to discover and explore ideas about your chosen subject. This requires you to brain-storm a little and jot down different ideas. The Pre-Writing stage is also called invention stage, because it gives you the ground on which you can come up with the final product. Writing, in this stage, should be done by looking at the purpose and nature of the audience; this will help to simply pick up the right kind of structure and organization in mind regarding the type and mode of writing. As a guide, you may use the following: o I am curious about… o I am confused about… o Recently, I have been thinking a lot about… After planning your write out, the next step is to narrow down the topic. A topic, within itself, may generate sub-topics from it and good writers, during their brain-storming session, are able to overcome the temptation to write out whatever it is they think of first. For example, the broad subject would be Pakistan Studies and an interest from this would be The Partition Movement, War of independence or Partition of Bengal. These may be further narrowed down to a particular scope. As another example, if you’re asked to write on Education, you may narrow the topic down to yourExperience with Hybrid Learning. After this first step, you then use different techniques to generate ideas. Some of the techniques are the following: Listing Rapid sketches Conversation Doodling or sketching Circle technique Clustering Freewriting Note keeping Brain storming Mind mapping Journalistic questions 12.2.1. Listing The use of free mental associations is primarily called listing. In this technique, one generates a list of ideas which might eventually lead to another list. After the list has been exhausted, you will need to review your list for best ideas.This brainstorming technique does not require much organization; simply list one idea after the other. 12.2.2. Rapid Sketches By rapid sketches, we mean a rough design without much detail. In rapid sketches, a writer is supposed to write down all the points as quickly as they come to his or her mind. Later, items on this list can be grouped, categorized, or deleted as your topic becomes narrower. This technique, too, narrows down your topic. 12.2.3.Conversation Conversation is a two-way traffic to share your ideas and simultaneously, getting feedback. This technique is useful if you have a friend or a mentor to help you explore and discover better ideas also. 12.2.4.Doodling or Sketching In this technique, you just scribble (write or draw) your ideas for linking some ideas together e.g. scribbling or doodling the contribution of ICT technologies in human life. 12.2.5.Circle Technique: This technique is simple and easy to make progress more visible. In circle technique, you canlook past your own perspective to a broader perspective. The idea is to start with yourself and your opinion in the center and then broaden it further. As an example, consider the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Pak-china relationship CPEC ( given by media) OBOR(one belt one road) 12.2.6.Clustering: The general idea behind clustering is the use of several ideas of the same kind, growing or held together.This get a sense of how the essay could eventually be organized. Like doodling, this technique is also more apt for visual learners. This technique allows the writer to generate different ideas which may be logically related. 12.2.7.Questioning Asking questions can be an important early step in the writing process. In a sense, we could even say that an essay answers questions about its subject, so a good early step can be to ask questions about the subject of the essay. Use the reporter's questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. 12.2.8. Free Writing For these techniques, the basic premise is that to write down everything that comes to mind without censoring yourself or worrying about grammar. Give yourself a set amount of time to write, and don't let yourself stop writing for the entire time, even if you get off track. Then, read back through your notes, find the best ideas, and repeat the process until you have enough ideas for an essay. 12.2.9. Heuristic Methods Heuristic method is a problem-solving approach and its basically implied as practically sufficient to achieve goals. The first and most common heuristic method is the simple brain-storming which has already been covered. There are others, as well, to bring out different ideas. No technique can be considered absolute because what works for one individual may not work for another. The following are different heuristic methods: Cubing Tagmemics Aristotle’s Common Topics Dramatism Journalistic Questions 12.2.9.1. Cubing This technique gets its name from the geometrical object “cube” because there are six angles to approach, that is, asking six questions and working with six different angles. These “angles” are describing, comparing, associating, analyzing, applying and arguing. 12.2.9.2. Tagmemics Tagmemics contains three main parts. A particle, which describes a self-contained object, a wave which changes over time and a field, which describes how something fits into a bigger picture. The corresponding examples are example a reason, its evolution and its outcome. 12.2.9.3. Aristotle’s Common Questions There are five main questions which should be asked. These are named after the famous philosopher Aristotle because he was known to ask such questions. The questions relate to definition of an object under consideration, its circumstances, its relationship with other objects, a comparison with other similar ideas and finally a testimony or facts supporting the idea. 12.2.9.4. Dramatism The technique of dramatism draws its name courtesy of five element, which may be found in any drama. These are Act, Agent, Agency, Scene and Purpose. 12.9.2.5. Note Keeping The practice of keeping notes and jotting ideas down in a notebook is a good way to jot down different views, whenever they come to mind. This include daily diary writing by using such a collection of notes with short phrases. This interesting technique rids author of judgement, assessment and grammatical mistake because it’s a private piece of work. 12.9.2.6. Mind Mapping Mind Mapping is the technique which is used to create an image of the ideas which come in mind in a non-linear train of thought by using imagery. First think, then develop a map to navigate different ideas and then draw the map in front of you for help. We can use this technique to organize ideas and link them together in the shape of image or phrases. 12.9.2.7. Journalistic Questions The journalistic questions are also known as WH questions. Consider a host on a TV channel. What sort of questions does this journalist ask? These are usually the WH questions: what, where, who, when, why and how. Asking these questions in conjunction with different ideas may help refine them. Lecture 14 14.1. The Writing Process The three stages of the writing process are as follows: 1. Pre-writing – Planning 2. Writing – Drafting 3. Post-writing – Finishing We have discussed two stages of the writing process in Lecture 10 and Lecture 11. In this lecture, Post- writing stage will be discussed. 14.1.1. Post-writing This stage comes when the writing stage is complete. You groom and prune your text, remove errors and fix formatting problems. There are five steps that are involved in this stage: i. Responding ii. Revising iii. Editing iv. Proofreading v. Publishing 14.1.1.1. Responding Responding to the text is a cyclical process. You may have to move back and forth through the text while editing it. For example, you go through your text once to fix spelling errors and consider it final. In second reading, you may find another error that you missed in the first and you fix it. In short, the process of proofreading and editing requires several careful readings. You respond to each detail of your writing so that the final product is correct and concrete. This is called self-evaluation. Self-evaluation does not ensure that the document is sound and correct in all respects. Peer-evaluation is necessary for that. Ask your classmate, friend or colleague to go through it to find errors and give suggestions for fixing them. This gives you feedback of the reader and any information gap or confusing pattern of organization is fixed before you pass it on to its target audience. 14.1.1.2. Revising – A.R.R.R Approach The revision stage is sometimes summed up with the A.R.R.R approach: i. Adding ii. Rearranging iii. Removing iv. Replacing i. Adding This step involves filling information gaps, adding points/figures and tables if you have missed any. One good tip is to go back to your prewriting notes and verify if you have covered all the headings and relevant details. ii. Rearranging While going through the document, you may need to rearrange sections. Reordering paragraphs may also be done for better flow of argument. For instance, a report that drags in the middle but packs in too much at the end requires rearrangement. iii. Removing Sometimes, one of your ideas don’t work out while composing the report. Perhaps you’ve gone over the word count, and you need to take out a few paragraphs. Similarly, you may want to remove unfamiliar, extra words that are not adding any meaning. iv. Replacing Some paragraphs/sentences of your report may have to be rewritten if they are not cohesive and coherent. There might be a better example that you want to include in place of some inappropriate one. 14.1.1.2.1. Examples of Revision The following sentences have been revised to avoid flabby (weak) expressions, long lead-ins, and unnecessary fillers: The following sentences have been revised for conciseness: The following sentences have been revised to avoid redundancies, dull and overused expressions, jargon, and slang. In the following sentences, the use of verbs and exuberance has been controlled:  The paragraph has been turned into a concise, bulleted vertical list. 14.1.1.3. Editing The editing stage is distinct from revision, and needs to be done after revising. It involves a close-up view of individual sentences and words. It needs to be done after you’ve made revisions on a big scale. When editing, go through your text line by line, and make sure that each sentence, phrase and word is as strong as possible. Here are some strategies that you may follow: - Use a thesaurus to find alternatives if you are using one word many times in one sentence or paragraph. - If sentences are hard to understand, rewrite them to make your thoughts clear. - Words like “just” “quite”, “very”, “really” and “generally” can often be removed. - Keep a careful look out for problems like subject-verb agreement and stay consistent in the use of tense. - Don’t trust your spell-checker; it won’t pick up every mistake. Proofread as many times as necessary. - Check the use of punctuation marks. Commas often cause difficulties. You might want to check out the Daily Writing Tips articles on punctuation. - Re-reading is a key part of editing; make sure everything is exactly how you want it. 14.1.1.4. Proofreading Proofreading is the final phase of post-writing stage. Make a final check and fix mechanical or technical flaws, such as grammar, punctuation, names and numbers, and format. Also, check different elements of layout (such as headlines, paragraphs, illustrations, and colors) for their correct dimensions, placement, type, etc. Follow these phases to proofread your document: First-Phase Review - Appropriate format (reports or correspondence?) - Consistent style, including headings, terminology, spacing, fonts - Correct numbering of figures and tables Second-Phase Review  - Specific grammar and usage problems - Appropriate punctuation - Correct abbreviations and capitalization - Correct spelling (especially names and places) - Complete web or e-mail addresses - Accurate data in tables and lists - Cut-and-paste errors; for example, a result of moved or deleted text and numbers Final-Phase Review - Survey of your overall goals, audience needs and purpose - Appearance of the document (see layout and design) - Review by a trusted colleague, especially for crucial documents 14.1.1.4.1. Proofreading Marks While proofreading a document, you may use these marks for convenience. 14.1.1.4.2 Example of a Proofread Text 14.1.1.5. Publishing The final step of the writing process is publishing. It’s the step where you’re given an opportunity to share your work. This often means adding a bibliography, ensuring that citations are correct, to secure copyrights of your original work and securing any necessary co-authorship and/or copyright permissions. Lecture 13 13.1. Writing Writing is a recursive process, which means there is an idea of repetition and refinement involved. Writing occupies a central role in the development of any civilization and indeed is a point of departure from other animals. The iterative process involved in any piece of writing revolves around three stages viz. prewriting, writing and rewriting. Whenever we start writing, we first gather our ideas. This was discussed in Lecture 10. These are then written out in the shape of a draft. This draft is refined over and over again during the rewriting stage after we feel that some aspects are amiss. These three steps are dynamic and overlap. The ultimate aim of this process is to improve correspondence and enhance professionalism. 13.2. Drafting Drafting refers to a preliminary form of writing. It’s a tentative piece of writing, which is subject to improvement. This draft leads us towards the final shape of the content which by organizing our ideas and considering the audience. In order to complete the draft, we organize paragraphs considering aspects of unity, support and coherence. 13.2.1. Generation of Ideas Ask yourself questions regarding your knowledge, your requirements and your audience. Experiment with different ways to organize your ideas. Write content in such a way that it is comprehensive and readable to your audience. Before making a draft, write all the points so that the core idea doesn’t get mixed up. To generate ideas, ask yourself the following: How can I group my ideas in paragraphs? What is the focus and purpose of each paragraph. In what order, should I present my idea? 13.2.2. Rough Draft Remember, the first draft is always a rough draft and is formed by letting ideas follow freely. You can then craft a structure for our thoughts by shaping the rough draft by following a specific structure; restructuring your ideas to follow a certain order; having a strong sense of organization that supports your main idea; or  having a clear reason to choose a specific structure for our ideas. 13.2.3. Steps in Writing a Draft There are three parts of writing a draft. 1. Research 2. Organizing Ideas 3. Composing/Drafting 13.2.4. Research Research is based on collecting specific data for your piece of writing by different means and resources. Such resources may include books, newspapers, research journals, magazine articles, internet etc. What must be ensured is that the source us credible enough. 13.2.5. Organizing Organizing is somehow tricky. There are two basic ideas to organize content. One method is called the “divergent” method and other, “convergent”. The “divergent” method applies when argument stems from one focal point and branches off. This is usually assumed to be a productive strategy. This way, the argument probably develops into different directions. The convergent method, on the other hand, is about gathering information and then coming close to an objective. This method may work well for those who subject experts and know which area to branch off and which to stop. Thus, for beginners, this approach may not be very productive. 13.2.6. Composing/Drafting After the preliminary research has been done, you can then move on to write your first draft. This will usually be a rough draft wherein you let the ideas come freely. This rough draft is then refined to develop connection between ideas. 13.3. Structure of a Draft When we begin to write a draft, we need to keep in mind the following: 13.3.1. Thesis Statement A thesis statement usually appears at an appropriate place in the introductory paragraph of a paper, and it offers a concise summary of the main point or claim of the essay, research paper, etc. A thesis statement is usually one sentence that appears at the beginning, though it may occur more than once. This statement should form the basis for your entire draft. 13.3.2. Topic sentence A sentence that expresses the main idea of the paragraph in which it occurs is usually the topic sentence. This differs from the thesis statement in that the topic sentence is more local whereas the thesis statement is global. 13.3.3. Sufficient Support Supporting details aren’t just meant to give more information about a situation – they’re also meant, literally, to support your point, meaning that without them, you may not succeed in making your argument successfully. Using supporting details properly could be crucial in a variety of situations, whether you’re defending your innocence or just your thesis. 13.3.4. Coherence Coherence is combination of many different factors, which combine to make every paragraph, every sentence, and every phrase contribute to the meaning of the whole piece. It is supposed to relate each paragraph to each and other and develop connection between them. To achieve coherence, you may resolve to using transitional words such as “however”, “otherwise”, “in contrast”, “nevertheless” etc. 13.3.5. Unity Unity is a very important characteristic of good paragraph writing. Paragraph unity means that one paragraph is about only one main topic. That is, all the sentences, the topic, supporting sentences, the detail sentences, and sometimes the concluding sentence are all telling the reader about one main topic. This differs from “coherence” in this it is more local. 13.4. Sequence of a Draft The above can help organize your draft according to a sequence which your readers can follow. To achieve the above, you can develop a sequence based on one or a mix of the following approaches: 13.4.1. Chronological Writing The word “chronologic” refers to movement in a temporal sequence. Writing chronologically is the method of organization to present events and actions as they occurred in time. 13.4.2. Spatial Writing Spatial writing method describes and explains items according to their physical position or relationship. This may be, for example, in the form the top-to-bottom approach or the left-to-right approach. 13.4.3. Writing for Importance Another way to organize a draft is in increasing or decreasing order of significance to highlight and emphasize the significance of a subject matter. For example, the sentence “CIIT-pioneered Hybridlearning is gaining momentum across Pakistan, offering education at par with international standards” starts with a general observation and then emphasizes its importance. 13.4.4 Writing for a problem This type of logical sequencing is used to provide a solution for a problem. Consider the sentence “Eco- Idle system has been integrated in the modern automobiles to reduce the percentage of Global Carbon Emission, which are responsible for increasing the greenhouse effect and consequently Global Warming.” This method first talks about an implementation and then about the problem the implementation addresses. 13.4.5. Writing for Comparison/Contrast As the term implies, this method is used in writing for comparing and contrasting two different ideas and to furnish an analysis. This may include comparison between two car companies, universities, airlines etc. After finalizing a draft, remember to make your piece of writing clear and follow logical formatting. The use of white space, headings, bullets, graphics, numbering, font size, color etc. as discussed in Lecture 10, all apply. Lecture 08 Four Skills of Language Learning The communication process starts when a child starts cooing and babbling. With the passage of time this process becomes complex. The child acquires different words and sometimes, the child learns two languages at a time. Gradually the child learns to combine words to make phrases and sentences. This helps the child become a good interlocutor. As time passes, the need arises for written communication. It is the most advanced of the four skills and helps to preserve culture and history. Civilizations pass on their cultural knowledge and interpretations of scripture through books and sometimes engravings on tablets. 8.1 Receptive Skills& Productive Skills Reading and listening are called receptive skills as knowledge is coming towards you from some sender. Whereas, speaking and writing are productive skills as you are sending out information towards your audience. If you observe, you cannot develop productive skills without using your receptive skills. If a child is hearing impaired, he/she won’t be able to speak as there is no input. Similarly, if you are not reading anything, you won’t be able to compose anything well as your brain won’t have the knowledge of sentence structure, punctuation and organization patterns. Writing skill develop at the end as it is the most advanced of the four skills. Then, there are different types of writing skills according to the audience, context and objective. Report writing comes under the general category of Technical writing. 8.2 What is Technical Writing? Involving special knowledge, language, etc., that is used or understood by experts but usually not by others”  (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2015) According to Merriam Webster (2015), technical writing involves special knowledge that is not used by lay people. For example, a mechanical engineer describing the working of a boiler plant would be sharing specialized knowledge using technical vocabulary. “Relating to the knowledge, machines or methods used in science and industry” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2015) Similarly, according to Cambridge dictionary, a link is established between the knowledge of science and industry and machines when technical writing is used to describe their working. Thus, we come to the conclusion that technical writing communicates specific and factual information to a defined audience for a defined purpose.When composing any report, letter or memo, the information you are giving is of specific nature; it is related to your topic and focuses on facts. The facts you state need to be authentic and reliable. Even information present on Wikipedia cannot be cited in your report. Proper research and citation is necessary if you are stating statistics or figures. This erases out the possibility of assumption and conjecture and makes your writing factual. The next thing to focus is your defined audience. The report is structured according to your target audience. The target audience may be low tech, high tech or lay audience as discussed in earlier lectures. The identification of purpose for which you are composing the report comes next. At the very outset,you should be clear about the objectives that you have to achieve through your write-up.An analytical report has different objectives as compared to an informative report. Specific Defined Defined Factual Audience Purpose Information 8.2.1 Three Criteria to Make your Writing Technical The following figure provides three criteria that your writing should meet in order to become technical. First, it should provide technical information. Second, the audience should get the knowledge they seek through your write-up. If a report is about the effects of aerosol sprays on ozone layer, the audience should receive authentic, up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on the topic. Third, as your report is in black and white, you need to follow all the rules of language and of report writing that you are learning in this module. 8.2.2 Definition of Technical Writing by Markel If you look at the definition provided by Markel, you notice the word ‘practical’. As technical writing is carried out in the field of business, science and industry, the language and format should be suchthat it helps the target audience understand the working of a machine, for example, or such that it provides them instructions to carry out a task successfully. Imagine getting a manual with an air-conditioner that you have purchased. If the manual is composed in obscure language and you fail to comprehend it, you won’t be able to set up your appliance and the manual will fail to achieve its objective. “Technical writing conveys specific information about a technical subjectto a specific audiencefor a specific purpose… The words and graphics of technical writing are meant to be practical: that is, to communicate a body of factual information that will help an audience understand a subject or carry out a task.” -Michael H. Markel 8.3 Origin of Technical Writing The origins of technical writing date back to the time of Da Vinci. He gave the idea to set up a machine by composing an instruction manual. That machine was helicopter. Moving on in history, there is another prominent name, Copernicus. He gave the heliocentric theory and rejected the geocentric theory. According to heliocentric theory, sun is the center around which all other planets revolve. When he documented that theory, it certainly needed the proper use of technical language. Increasing rate of literacy in the 19th century also increased the need of technical writers as knowledge of science and technology needed to be preserved in writing. The Second World War augmented the need even further as manuals were published along with the massive production of weapons. Similarly, books and manuals were composed describing the technology of nuclear bombs. Computer revolution at the end of 19th century made technical writing essential for anybody who wanted to become a member of the global village as composing content for websites, webinars, videos and audios demanded the use of technical writing. Lecture 10 10.1 Objectives/Traits in Technical Writing The first question that comes up when you are preparing to compose a report is ‘Why are you writing?’ There are three basic components that decide the answer of this question: information needed, persuasion required, and audience’s needs and wants. Exercise: As a health advisor in an atomic plant, imagine writing a report for technicians on the harmful effects of radiation. As you are writing for low-tech audience, give detailed information (facts, stats, references) and move on to recommend ways to reduce exposure time in radiation area, measures to be taken if exposed to radiation and precautions to be observed while working there. Your task is to make them aware of the potential hazards of radiation so that they are persuaded to practice caution. 10.1.1 Understanding Audience The first step in understanding audience is to consider their level of education. For instance, while composing a report on how to tackle bullying in educational institutions, the nature of content and the manner of writing will differ for students of Grade 05 and students of O levels. The second step in understanding audience is to gauge their level of knowledge about the subject you are writing. The background knowledge of the audience on the topic provides the foundation on which you will build up further. It helps you avoid giving out information that they already know and focus on knowledge that they lack. Third, keep in mind your relationship with the audience. Your audience maybe your boss, your students or your colleagues. Choose your content, tone and language accordingly. According to Guffey and Du-Babcock (2008), if you give priority to audience’s benefit by putting yourself in their shoes, your writing will appeal to the audience. To develop empathy for the readers, they suggest, adopt a positive tone, cultivate a “You-Attitude”, sound conversational, and use familiar vocabulary (p.33). 10.1.2 How to enhance the probability of comprehension for the audience? If you consider the following points while composing your report, the probability of comprehension increases for the audience: ▪ Clarity ▪ Conciseness ▪ Accessible document design ▪ Audience recognition ▪ Accuracy (grammar) 10.1.2.1 Clarity By clarity we mean that your writing is easily understood by your intended audience. Murphy, Hildebrandt, & Thomas suggest these two guidelines for achieving clarity (2008, p. 48): - Use of ‘precise, concrete and familiar’ vocabulary - Make ‘effective sentences and paragraphs’ Example: Unfamiliar: Employees’ remuneration is still not decided. Familiar: Employees’ pay hasn’t been decided yet. Keeping sentence length to about 17 to 20 words, introducing single main idea in the beginning of paragraph and supporting it with vivid details help you create effective sentences and paragraphs. Example: Unclear: Students should be confident and have clear understanding of the subject, and these qualities are the prerequisites that we need. Clear: Prerequisites in students include clear understanding of the subject and confidence. Here are some more points to be practiced to achieve clarity: i. Avoid ambiguity ii. Prefer the active voice iii. Exclude personal introduction and conclusion iv. Use transition words i. To avoid ambiguity, choose a clear sentence structure. Example: Ambiguous:When the presentation was going on, our students expressed dislike for it. Clear:Our students expressed dislike for the presentation when it was going on. ii. When active voice is used, the subject is the doer of the action, comes first and gets the emphasis. It results in making sentences clearer. Example: Passive: The pact was signed and approved in the last meeting. Active: The President signed and approved the pact in the last meeting. However, passive voice should be used if you want to deemphasize bad news or want to avoid blaming a certain individual for some wrong deed of her. Example: Passive: Your laptop has not been repaired yet. Active: We have not repaired your laptop yet. Example: Passive: This loss has been caused due to delayed response. Active: The delayed response of Mr. Naveed caused this loss. iii. Excluding personal introduction and conclusion makes your writing neutral and free of bias. Example: I think that Pakistani society was more liberal and tolerant back in 1990s. Pakistani society was more liberal and tolerant in 1990s. iv. Use of transition words creates cohesion in your writing. They combine thoughts between sentences for making the flow smoother and the switching of idea less abrupt. Some commonly used transition words are as follows: However Therefore Although Furthermore Nevertheless Likewise Alternatively Consequently Example: It rained heavily last night. Several streets got flooded with water and there was no electricity. As a consequence of heavy rain last night, several streets flooded with water and power failed.  Example: Pour one cup milk in the saucepan, then add one egg, add sugar and then mix it. First, pour a cup of milk in the saucepan; second, add an egg and sugar; and third, stir the mixture. 10.1.2.2 Conciseness Conciseness means communicating in the shortest possible way without compromising meaning. A concise text is complete but is not wordy. Moreover, it saves time and lets you emphasize important details. Observe the following guidelines in your writing to make your document concise: i. Write positively Using positive language makes your text concise. Consider this example Wordy: You did not attend the class yesterday. Concise: You missed the class yesterday. ii. Paragraph often When you paragraph often, you divide lengthy ideas in small paragraphs with vivid details and examples. Reader finds the main idea and supporting details laid out neatly in the form of a small paragraph and there is no need to go into unnecessary detail. Also, the average length of your paragraph should not exceed 60 to 100 words. iii. Use reasonable sentence length Keep sentences short so that readers don’t have to remember too much information to understand the sentence. Most sentences should have an average of 20 words. If a sentence exceeds 40 words, try to find a way to break it up into smaller sentences. Example: Wordy: The instructor taught us several new ways to make our writing to-the-point, and less wordy. Concise: The instructor taught us ways to write concisely. iv. Avoid redundant expressions Wordy Concise We are working together in collaboration. We are working together. Any specific type of pasta dish is fine with Any pasta dish is fine with me. me. The toy is round in shape. The toy is round. My clutch is shiny in appearance. My clutch is shiny. v. Avoiding prepositional phrases Wordy Concise The obvious effect of such a The wide-ranging references in this talk range of reference is to assure the assure the audience that the author is audience of the author's range of learning and intelligent and well-read. intellect. (Heffernan, Lincoln, &Atwill, 1996, p. 55) She needs to put up with their tantrums. She should tolerate their tantrums. It was such an unexpected surprise. It was a surprise! At the current point in time we ought to have, As always, we should trust our as has always been the case in the past, some President now. trust in our worthy President. vi. Delete meaningless words Avoid words that do not add any meaning to a sentence: ▪ Basically ▪ Generally ▪ Kind of ▪ Actually Wordy Concise Basically, a report is structured according A report is structured according to its to its purpose. purpose.  I was kind of confused. I was confused. Generally speaking, they played well. They played well. vii. Delete doubled words Do not use word pairs that mean the same thing. Wordy Concise Be clear about the aims and objectives. Be clear about the objectives. Each and every one of my classmates Each of my classmates attended the party. attended the party. First and foremost, look for hypothesis. First, look for hypothesis. viii. Deleting redundant categories ▪ Round in shape ▪ Large in size ▪ Blue in color ▪ Heavy in weight ▪ Sour in taste ▪ Shiny in appearance ▪ Smooth in texture ▪ Honest in character Concise Wordy The latest happenings are unusual in The latest happenings are unusual. nature. Alfredo is creamy and delicious in taste. Alfredo is creamy and delicious. Often times, I forget to remind him. I often forget to remind him. ix. Reduce phrases to words Many phrases can be expressed in fewer words or even in a single word. Phrases Words For this reason So Due to the fact that Because  At a much greater rate than Faster Despite the fact that Although A great deal of Much References Guffey, M. E., & Du-Babcock, B. (2008).Writing for business audiences.In Essentials of business communication (p. 33). Pakistan: Cengage Learning. Heffernan, J. A., Lincoln, J. E., &Atwill, J. (1996). Writing, a college handbook. New York: W.W. Norton. Murphy, H., Hildebrandt, H. W., & Thomas, J. P. (2008). The seven C's of effective communication. In Effective Business Communication (7th ed., p. 48). Tata McGraw Hill Education Private Limited. Lecture 07 Types of Report A report is generally divided into two major categories: Informal Report and Formal Report 7.1 Informal Report A report which is short in length and used to deliver information within an organization is known as Informal Report. It deals with the analysis of everyday problems and issues along with some suggestions and recommendations. There are many types of informal report. Some of these are discussed below: 7.1.1 Sales Activity Report This type of report exists as a template used by a salesperson to keep a record of all the sales activity of an organization. It also acts as a picture of all the progress made by an organization for the manager. An example is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 Sales Activity Report 7.1.2 Progress Report A progress report is generally used to present the status of an ongoing project and the attained progress. This category is used in different forms of scientific projects and is generally drafted for providing all the details to a funding agency supporting the project. An example of such a report is also shown in Figure 2.  Figure 2 Progress Report 7.1.3 Personnel Evaluation Report The type of report which is used to assess and present the performance of an individual working in an organization is known as Personnel Evaluation Report. An example of a personnel evaluation report, shown in Figure 3, is an Annual Report, which shared with an employee to fill in his/her personal details and to be verified by his/her direct supervisor. 7.1.4 Financial Report Type of report which is used to provide a detailed description of all the financial activities of some person, business, market or an organization in the form of a statement is known as Financial Report. Examples of such details may be found in Figure 4.  Figure 3 Personnel Evaluation Report. 7.1.5 Feasibility Report Such types of report are used to provide a description of the assessment carried out to evaluate the recommended solutions and recommendations with respect to a problem or analyzed subject matter. The example shown in Figure 5 covers basics of a feasibility report, which include the necessary background for the assessment, scope of what the proposal covers and some financial details. Figure 4 Financial Report  Figure 5 A feasibility report 7.1.6 Review Report Review Reportsare used to present a review on the studied literature or subject matter. Such reports areused with an intent to make a detailed content more specific for the readers of your draft so that they may not have to scan the details of a text. Generally, the audience for this is high-tech but may be modified to be read by the low-tech audience, if necessary. 7.1.7 Credit Report Credit reports are usually prepared by a Credit Bureau to provide details of an individual’s or an organization’s credit history. Such reports help in maintaining a written record of all the transfers of money in the form of loans or mortgage. Figure 6 A Credit Report 7.2 Formal Report The second major type of a report which is long, detailed and complexis called a formal report. These are separately classified as these reports cover a written account of a major project and provide a review or results of a study based on the data collected and its interpretation. A formal report is generally divided into three major categories: Informational Report, Analytical Report, Recommendation Report. These are discussed separately below. 7.2.1 Information Report As the name implies, these reportsfocus on the provision of specific information. In such reports, specific information refers to the status or updates regarding an ongoing project. If some mechanism is being applied to carry out a survey or an experiment, an information report is used to provide details about the extent to which this mechanism is getting successful in achieving the set goals and objectives. In other words, the focus of this report remains on the provision of results in general or the outcomes. An example could be a report on the payment of electricity bills by consumers. The example shown in Figure 7 provides details regarding the analysis of an interview of an existing employee. Figure 7 An Information Report 7.2.2 Analytical Report The type of report which is used to provide a detailed analysis of the results and outcomes to draw a conclusion is known as Analytical Report. This type is used to focus on the interpretation of the incident, event or subject matter being investigated(analysis of what happened). An example could be of a report analyzing the results of a report on traffic accidents,so that the outcome could be achieved in the form of suggestions. 7.2.3 Recommendation Report These reportsare used to advocate a particular course of action based on the study of suggestions and recommendations. Such a report should include discussion on results either supporting or negating a proposed suggestion. The example shown in Figure 8 analyzes why a certain medicine may be replaced with another and discusses required details to support the particular recommendation.  Figure 8 A recommendation report 7.3 Some Additional Forms of Report 7.3.1 Narrative Report A narrative report is a report which has information in a logical sequence of events, usually in a chronology. Case Studies can be considered as an example of these reports. 7.3.2 Non-chronological Report A report which provides a discussion of various aspects of a subject matter irrespective of the order in which the information is being provided. 7.3.3 Specialized Report To accommodate the need for a report to provide a summary of all the other reports related to a single subject matter, specialized reports are made. This is different from a review report; a review report will discuss a particular subject matter whereas a specialized report may consider reports related to allied subject matter, as well.The example in Figure 9 is one such report intended for high-tech readers. Figure 9 Review Report 7.3.4 Accident Report A report which provides all the documentation and investigation regarding an accident. Lecture 5 5.1 Sections of a Report A report is structured according to the following sections: 1. Title page 2. Executive summary 3. Table of contents 4. Introduction 5. Discussion 6. Conclusion 7. Recommendations 8. Bibliography 9. Appendices 5.1.1 Title Page The title page is the face of a report. It should be clear and proper both in terms of content and formatting so that the reader may form a good idea of what is the report about. There are four basic components that should be present in the title page: 1. It should have a clear title. 2. It should have date of submission. 3. It should have the detail of the person who has prepared the report, that is, addresser’s name. 4. It should have the addressee’s name. PRELIMINARY REPORT BAKERY PREPARED FOR MANAGING COMMITTEE HAYATCHI ENTERPRISES PREPARED BY INCUBE-RESEARCH JANUARY 25, 2012 Figure 1 Sample title page 5.1.2 Executive Summary The next section is executive summary, also known as Abstract. This section provides the gist of the whole report. Findings, objectives and recommendations in the report are put in a nutshell in this section. There are six points that are to be considered for structuring the executive summary: 1. You should be clear about your aims and objectives. Identify them by keeping in view the environment (business/organizational/academia) and the person by whom you have been assigned the task of composing the report. 2. The design and methodology comes next. 3. The findings of the report that you have found after carrying out the analysis should be provided. 4. The conclusion should cover all the important points covered in the main body. 5. A set of recommendations is outlined on the basis of conclusion. 6. Limitations of the report may also be given at the end. As the findings of any report cannot be considered absolute, the limitations may be identified so that other people know the areas where they may work further in future. Figure 2 Sample Executive Summary, covering purpose, method, result, conclusion and recommendation 5.1.2.1 Points to Consider while composing Executive Summary 1. It is always written in the endwhen the report is complete in all respects. 2. It should be written in a manner that grabs reader’s attention. 3. Keep in mind the nature of the target audience. The language used to compose the executive summary may be modified according to the audience’s background and level of knowledge. 4. The central idea or theme must be presented in the executive summary. 5. It should clearly define your main aim and purpose of writing the report. 6. Prepare a mind map/business planso that you are able to compose the report in an orderly manner and within the given time limit. 5.1.3 Table of Contents The Table of Contents is a sequential list of the report’s organizational structure. It is important because it gives reference to the scope of the report and provides references with page numbers. The decimal system for numbering and differentiating different levels of headings should be used. Such numbering also shows that there are subsections of a section. Figure 3 Sampl