1
If you are going to write it, write it right.
Some thoughts about writing as an engineering
process for the 2001 SIGCSE doctoral consortium.

Fintan Culwi n SBU London
2
In the past year I have refused to be invited to
examine a PhD on the grounds that the sample
sent me was almost unintelligible . . . I have
also (tried to) read a PhD thesiswhich contained
little of any value and which was very poorly
written . . . Of course this may be a UK thing!
3

• Read the sample given and mark in red
• any technical terms introduced without
  explanation
• any rhetorical flourishes
• any hyperbole
• any incomplete or incomprehensible sentences
• any changes in voice, style, tense, etc.
• any redundant phrases
• any unsupported claims
• any jumps in argument
• any overloaded terms
• any concepts elaborated before introduction
• anything else that seems wrong

4
Writing is an engineering process
The first and most fundamental rule of writing
is to know who you are writing for and to write
with a suitable style.
5
Writing is an engineering process
Engineering is the production of an artefact with
regard to the resources available, the costs and
time scale involved whilst ensuring fitness for
purpose.
6
Writing is an engineering process
Which requires production planning and process
management. How many chapters? How many
iterations of each chapter? Who decided when a
quality threshold has been reached? How is a
chapter signed off? What is being said in each
chapter? In each section?
7
Your word processor is not your only tool
8
Some fundamental rules!

• Keep your sentences short (average 15-20 words)
• Keep your paragraphs short (average 5 sentences)
• Active or passive - but be consistent
• Personal or impersonal - but be consistent
• Less is more - cut out useless words
• Positive rather than negative
• Item lists rather than sentence lists
• tell them way you are about to say!
• tell them what you want to say!
• tell them way you have said!

The most important thing about rules is to know
when and how to break them!