Communicating Effectively

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Communicating Effectively

• Tips for Improving Your Writing
• Marie C. Paretti
• Director, Engineering Communications Program

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Developing Communication
a report must be put together with as much care
as a precision instrument. Ernest M. Cohn,
Approaches to Scientific Writing Form follows
function. Frank Lloyd Wright
Analyze Audience, Purpose, Context, Goals
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Successful Writing Is Useful

• It achieves your goals
• It achieves your audiences goals . . .
• for information
• for action
• for ease of use
• It adapts content, organization, language, style,
  and design to audience needs

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We Write What We Know

• In conducting the research for this project, I
  first went to the library and searched the
  catalogue for material on biosensors. I found
  several books listed in the catalogue, but only
  two of those were helpful. I then talked to the
  reference librarian about where else to look. She
  pointed me to the relevant databases and showed
  me how to search on-line. My initial search
  yielded 10,624 sources, so I narrowed my topic to
  biosensors for detecting glucose levels in
  diabetics, and have found 14 current articles
  that seem helpful. I still have about 30
  abstracts to review to complete this portion of
  the literature search.

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Instead of What Readers Need

• I have completed 75 of my research.
• Based on the information found to date, I have
  narrowed the topic to biosensors for detecting
  glucose in Type I diabetics. Thus far, my
  research has yielded
• 2 texts covering the history and current use of
  glucose biosensors
• 7 articles dealing with potential new materials
  for these sensors
• 4 articles on the limitations of current sensors
• 3 articles on pilot studies of alternative
  sensing mechanisms
• Work Remaining By April 8, I will have reviewed
  and evaluated the remaining 30 articles found in
  my preliminary search.

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Analyze Your Audience Before You Write

• Key Factors
• Purpose what do they want to do?
• Learn
• Act
• Characteristics who are they?
• Responsibilities, Concerns, Motivations
• Contexts what circumstances influence them?
• Budget, Resources, Schedules, Relationships

• Key Decisions
• Content
• Organization
• Language/Tone
• Design

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Determine Content Based on Audience and Purpose

• What questions does the audience need to answer
  to meet their goals (learn, act/decide)?
• Generate a list
• Key Question How does this information help my
  audience accomplish their goals?
• Evaluate your draft based on purpose
• If you dont know how it supports the purpose,
  strongly consider deleting it.
• Be brutal you will know far more than you end
  up putting in a given document/presentation

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Content vs. Organization

• Content provides the audience with all the
  information they need to meet their goals
• Why is this information here?
• Organization presents that information in the
  order that best (most easily) allows them to meet
  those goals
• Why is this information here?

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Adapt Common Strategies to Audience Needs

• Sequential /Chronological
• Cause ? Effect / Effect ? Cause
• Problem ? Solution
• Thesis ? Evidence
• Division / Classification
• Spatial

• General ? Specific / Specific ? General
• Order of Importance
• Comparison
• Point by Point
• Object by Object

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Explain Your Strategy to the Audience

• Document overviews orient the audience.
• This report outlines the work done by each member
  of the team, then provides a summary of work
  remaining and the required personnel.
• This proposal summarizes the history of the
  department, outlines the current problems we are
  facing, and provides a detailed plan for
  resolving these problems.

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Use Logical Transitions to Reinforce Your
Strategy

• Sequence
• First, Second, Third
• Next, Previously, After, Before, While
• Cause/Effect
• Therefore, Consequently, As a result
• Comparison/Contrast
• Similarly, Likewise
• However, Otherwise, Although, Nonetheless,
  Despite
• http//www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/Transitions
  .html

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Visual Design Can Communicate

• Organization how the document is structured
• Hierarchy how the parts relate to each other
• Importance what information matters most

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Headings

• Help the audience understand the organizational
  strategy
• Provide quick access to major points
• Make documents easier to skim

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Developing Effective Headings

• Use headings to convey information

• Introduction
• Background
• Method
• Results
• Discussion
• Recommendations
• Conclusions

• Maintaining Soil Health
• The Nature Conservancy Philosophy
• Key Strategies
• Soil Quality and Forest Health Underlying
  Principles
• Benefits of Healthy Soil
• Threats to Soil Health
• Erosion Resulting From Road Building
• Other Potential Effects of Timber Harvests
• Related Management Practices

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Developing Effective Headings

• Use headings to convey hierarchy

• Introduction
• Background
• Mark Generators
• Line Pulse
• Beam Generation
• Transporting Beam
• Pellets
• Results
• Conclusions

• Introduction
• Past Designs for Particle Beam Fusion
• New Design for Particle Beam Fusion
• Charging Mark Generators
• Forming Line Pulse
• Generating Particle Beam
• Transporting Particle Beam
• Irradiating Deuterium-Tritium Pellets
• Performance Results of New Design
• Conclusions and Recommendations

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Lists

• Visually segregate pieces of like information
• Provide checklists
• Reflect sequence
• Highlight important/useful/relevant findings
• When everything becomes a list, the visual effect
  declines

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Developing Effective Lists

• Design lists to meet audience needs.
• Use numbers for lists that reflect sequential
  information.
• Use bullets for list items without clear
  sequence.
• Use lists judiciously to maintain their impact.
• Limit the number of items in a list.
• 7 Consider adding a layer of organization
• Consider in-paragraph format for very short
  lists.
• Punctuate all list items the same way.

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Tools for Illustrating Concepts

• Tables organize information
• Charts graphs show numeric relationships
• Pie
• Bar
• Line
• Diagrams show relationship of parts or concepts

• Flow charts illustrate processes
• Drawings show physical or spatial relationships
• Photographs present reality
• Maps locate objects in space

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Three Levels of Editing

• Coherence Make the move from one idea (phrase,
  sentence, paragraph) to the next as logically
  coherent as possible
• Clarity Make your sentences and sentence
  structures as clear as possible
• Conciseness Make your sentences as concise and
  direct as possible

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Coherence

• Help readers follow the logic of your ideas
• Section ? Section
• Paragraph ? Paragraph
• Sentence ? Sentence

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Coherence Move from Old to New Information

• Large earthquakes along a given fault segment do
  not occur at random intervals because it takes
  time to accumulate the strain energy for the
  rupture. The rates at which tectonic plates move
  and accumulate strain at their boundaries are
  approximately uniform.
• Large earthquakes along a given fault segment do
  not occur at random intervals because it takes
  time to accumulate the strain energy for the
  rupture. Strain accumulates at the boundaries as
  the tectonic plates move the rates of this
  movement are approximately uniform.
• Source Gopen, George and Judith A. Swan. The
  Science of Scientific Writing. American
  Scientist, 78550-558.

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Coherence Use Transition Indicators to Provide
Logic

• Sequence
• First, Second, Third
• Next, Previously, After, Before, While
• Cause/Effect
• Therefore, Consequently, As a result
• Comparison/Contrast
• Similarly, Likewise
• However, Otherwise, Although, Nonetheless,
  Despite
• http//www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/Transitions
  .html

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Using Transition Indicators

• Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. A cloud
  of rock and gas surged northward from its
  collapsing slope. The cloud devastated more than
  500 square kilometers of forests and lakes. The
  effects of Mount St. Helens were well documented
  with geophysical instruments. The origin of the
  eruption is not well understood. Volcanic
  explosions are driven by a rapid expansion of
  steam. Some scientists believe the steam comes
  from groundwater heated by magma. Other
  scientists believe the steam comes from water
  originally dissolved in the magma. We have to
  understand the source of steam involved in
  volcanic eruptions. We have to determine how much
  water the magma contains.

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Using Transition Indicators

• Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, causing
  a cloud of rock and gas to surge northward from
  its collapsing slope. This cloud devastated more
  than 500 square kilometers of forests and lakes.
  But while the effects of Mount St. Helens were
  well documented with geophysical instruments, the
  origin of the eruption is not well understood.
  Although we know that volcanic explosions are
  driven by a rapid expansion of steam, the source
  of the steam remains unclear. Some scientists
  believe it comes from groundwater heated by
  magma however, others believe it comes from
  water originally dissolved in the magma. Only
  when we determine the water content of the magma
  can more fully understand the source of steam
  involved in volcanic eruptions, and consequently
  understand the eruptions themselves.

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Coherence Repeat Key Words to Make Connections

• The challenge before us is to create a residual
  stand that can readily reproduce itself with a
  full complement of species and so remain useful
  to people. But if theres one thing Ive learned
  in the last 30 years working as a logger,
  procurement forester, and consulting forester, it
  is that there are no pat, easy answers. The
  situation is complex, because we are dealing with
  both people and the forest. To diagnose means to
  analyze the nature of a situation analysis
  involves asking a lot of questions. This article
  will deal with the questions we will cover the
  tools in the final article.

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Coherence Repeat Key Words to Make Connections

• With that in mind, the challenge before us is to
  create a residual stand that can readily
  reproduce itself with a full complement of
  species and so remain useful to people. But if
  theres one thing Ive learned in the last 30
  years working as a logger, procurement forester,
  and consulting forester, it is that there are no
  pat, easy answers for meeting that challenge.
  The situation is complex, because we are dealing
  with both people and the forest. Addressing that
  complexity means we have to diagnose the
  situation before we act. To diagnose means to
  analyze the nature of a situation analysis
  involves asking a lot of questions. This article
  will deal with the questions we will cover the
  tools for answering those questions in the final
  article.

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Clarity

• Create sentences that communicate their meaning
  easily
• Clarity is not a function of length,
  technicality, or complexity of ideas
• It is a function of language and structure
• Meet your audiences needs and expectations

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Clear Language Avoid Ambiguity

• Place modifying words carefully
• The proposed schedule is discussed below for the
  next four years.
• Use concrete language
• The solar receiver worked well.
• Choose words carefully
• We wanted to reduce the vibration at the exhaust
  as the exhaust duct was cracking.

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Avoid Ambiguity

• Be careful with pronouns especially it and this
• Although engineers realized the design flaws in
  the Titanic soon after its sinking in 1912, the
  reason for the severe damage inflicted by the
  iceberg remained a mystery until its discovery in
  1985.
• If you receive an email titled Win a Holiday,
  do not open it. It will erase everything on your
  hard drive. Forward this email to as many people
  as you can. This is a very malicious virus and
  not many people know about it.

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Clear Language Avoid Unfamiliar Terms

• Highly specialized language Highly specialized
  audience
• The smallest of the URFs (UFRA6L), a
  207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out
  of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the
  adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene
  has been identified as the animal equivalent of
  the recently discovered H-ATPase subunit 8 gene.

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Clear Sentences Keep the Subject Near the Verb

• In this study, the opinions of both patients and
  physicians on the quality of health care are
  considered.

A
B
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Subjects Belong Near Verbs

• This study considers the opinions of both
  patients and physicians on the quality of health
  care.

A
B
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Clear Sentences Avoid Strings of Modifiers

• The more modifiers you place in front of the
  noun, the more information the readers must hold
  in their heads before they have a context
• Solar One is a 10-megawatt solar thermal electric
  central receiver Barstow power pilot plant.
• Solar One is a solar-powered pilot plant located
  in Barstow. It produces 10 megawats of
  electricity by capturing solar energy in a
  central receiver.

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Clear SentencesPut Subjects in Topic Position

• The opening section of the sentence, particularly
  the subject, establishes the focus of the idea
  presented
• Bees disperse pollen.Pollen is dispersed by
  bees.
• The company conducted a review that compares
  productivity level by department.The review
  conducted by the company compares productivity
  level by department.

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Clear SentencesPut Main Ideas in Stress Position

• The stress, or emphasis occurs at the end of
  the sentence
• This study considers the opinions of both
  patients and physicians on the quality of health
  care.
• This study considers the opinions on the quality
  of health care from both patients and physicians.

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Main Ideas in Stress Positions

• Although our productivity was down, our profits
  were up.Although our profits were up, our
  productivity was down.
• The department performed superbly in all
  areas.In all areas, the department performed
  superbly.

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Clear Paragraphs Develop Meaningful Topic
Sentences

• Like the subject in a sentence, the topic
  sentence in a paragraph establishes the focus of
  that unit of thought.
• The specimens were thin-walled tubes of 304L
  stainless steel
• The experiment tested several specimens placed
  inside a circulating wind tunnel. The specimens
  were thin-walled.

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Clear ParagraphsDevelop One Idea Per Paragraph

• Visually, paragraphs serve as signals or cues for
  units of thought.

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Conciseness Part 1 Go for the Verb

• English is a verb-driven language our verbs do
  the work
• The natural sentence pattern in English is
  subject verb, or actor - action
• Write to take advantage of reader habits and
  expectations.

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Choose Active Over Passive Voice

• Passive voice hides the subject and generally
  requires more words
• A new process for eliminating nitrogen oxides
  from diesel exhaust engines is presented in this
  paper. Flow tube experiments to test this process
  are discussed. The percentage decrease in
  nitrogen oxide emissions is revealed.
• This paper presents a new process for eliminating
  nitrogen oxides from diesel exhaust. The results
  from flow tube experiments indicate that this
  process decreases nitrogen oxide emissions by
  eighty percent.

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Avoid Nominalization

• Using the noun form of the verb weakens its
  impact and, as usual, takes more words
• -ment, -ion, -ance, -ing
• The committee made a recommendation to hire
  additional staff.
• The committee recommended hiring additional
  staff.
• After submission of the proposal, the researchers
  awaited the results.
• After submitting the proposal, the researchers
  awaited the results.

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Rely on the Verb to do the Work

• initiate a development ? start developing
• make a decision ? decide
• take measurements of ? measure
• undertake the maintenance of ? maintain
• provide indications of ? indicate
• offer suggestions ? suggest

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Limit Expletive Constructions

• There are and It is constructions weaken the
  impact of sentences and . . . use more words!
• There are several factors causing engineers to
  question the strength of the dam.
• It was the final argument that finally persuaded
  the committee.
• It is imperative that government officials
  respond to these issues.

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Conciseness Part 2Cut the Fat

• Often we add words or inflate language to sound
  professional. In reality, that inflation usually
  only makes our sentences longer!
• A superfluity of culinary experts has a
  tendency to reduce the overall quality of the
  pottage.

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Avoid Inflated Language

• In light of the fact that ? Because
• Despite the fact that ? Although
• In the event that ? If
• On the occasion of ? When
• Has the capability to ? Can
• Subsequent to ? After
• In the vicinity of ? Near
• In the absence of ? Without
• http//wiz.cath.vt.edu/tw/TechnicalWriting/style/
  clarityphrases.htm

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Avoid Redundancy Dont Repeat Words Needlessly

• already existing
• alternative choices
• basic fundamentals
• currently under way
• continue to remain
• completely eliminated
• end result
• first began
• first and foremost

• introduced a new
• mix together
• none at all
• personal opinion
• separate entities
• start out
• still persists
• whether or not