Language: The Way Words are Use (Technical Writing CS212))

Lecture 2

Language:
The Way Words are Used
(Technical Writing CS212)

Abdisalam Issa-Salwe

Taibah University
College of Computer Science & Engineering
Computer Science Department

Topic list
Consistency of Writing
The 5 C’s
Basic Technical Overview
Professionalism & ethics in reporting
Knowing Your Audience

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College of Computer Science & Engineering, Taibah University

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Consistency of Writing
When writing about technical information,
it is important to be concise and exact
about the subject matter.
The task assigned may be in the form of a
help document for a piece of software or a
machine or it may concern a process or
way of performing a task.
User manuals, assembly instructions,
analysis reports or summaries of lengthy
reports are all types of technical writing.

3

Consistency of Writing (cont…)
Comprehensiveness -- all of the
necessary information is present
For precise language, you should
avoid over-specifying details
For precision, you must choose the
appropriate level of detail
Complex wording buries ideas
Complex sentences misdirect

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2

The more muddled the original, the more
revisions are needed to streamline it
Avoid ambiguity: Ambiguity is a group of
words that can have more than one
meaning.

5

Word choice is a factor in clarity: use simple
language wherever possible to counteract the
abstract, highly specialized terms of science and
technology.
Enumeration: a powerful way to establish a
series of observations and to emphasize each
element.
Stylistic clarity: promotes simple, direct
language using simple sentences
Overloaded sentences: Avoiding overloaded
sentences and excessive normalization also
contribute to clarity.
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3


Structural Clarity: makes easy for the
reader to get the large picture.
Contextual clarity: contributes to ease of
understanding.
Simplicity: Simplicity in language is
obtained with directly worded sentences
Transitional words and phrases: to clarify
and smooth the movement from idea to
idea.
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Varying sentence openers allows for more
kinds of transitions between sentences

Sentence #1 Sentence #2 Sentence #3

Topic of Sentence Subject
Time of action Prepositional Phrase
Location of action Prepositional Phrase
Manner of action Adverb
Subordinate action Dependent Clause
Reason for action Infinitive Phrase

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4

Vary sentence openers to vary rhythm
subject-verb Mount St. Helens erupted
on May…

prepositional phrase In minutes, the mountain
emitted…

adverb Recently, debate has arisen...

dependent clause Although the exact time of the
eruption surprised scientists,
evidence had been collected...

infinitive phrase To understand the
eruption, we have to...
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The 5 C’s
1. Clarity: Clarity it is easily understood by your
intended audience.
2. Comprehensiveness: all of the necessary
information is present
3. Conciseness: it is clear without excess
verbiage
4. Coherence: it is the quality of hanging
together.
5. Correctness: grammatical and follows
conventions

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5

Clarity
A characteristic of a speech or a prose
composition that communicates effectively
with its intended audience Clarity is a
special problem in technical and
professional writing
Clarity can be increase by:
Structural Clarity
Stylistic Clarity
Contextual Clarity

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Comprehensiveness
Comprehensiveness means that all of the
necessary information is present; It has
three main aspects:
Document Accuracy
Stylistic Accuracy
Technical Accuracy
Document accuracy is generally cultivated
by a clear problem statement and by a
preliminary outline.

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6

Conciseness
Conciseness has a special value in
technical fields.
Writers are often tempted to include
everything that could be relevant to
their subject, rather than merely
everything that is relevant to the
communication task at hand.
The concise document is a piece of
writing that conveys only the needed
material.
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Coherence
Coherence is the quality of hanging together, of
providing the reader an easily followed path.
Coherence is especially valued in technical
communication and writing because of the
inherent complexity of the subjects.
Things which can promote coherence:
Abstracts
Clear titles
Introductions
Problem statements

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7

Correctness

The state or quality of making correct
approach to writing;
Correctness in writing or speaking;
the correctness of a text or copy.

15

Technical Basics

1. Professionalism and ethics in reporting
2. Knowing your audience
3. Outline writing
4. Report writing (rigid structure)

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8

Professionalism & ethics in reporting
Different individuals have different
personalities, and different modes for
communicating.
If you apply a canned formula to your
technical communications, the result may
be awkward.
Within the general structure of formal
technical communication, there is room
for your personality to show through.

17

Knowing Your Audience
At the very beginning… think about your
likely audience.
To whom you are presenting your
work? What do I want the audience to
get out of this work/document?
The word selection, level of motivation,
and background required for a report (or
a presentation) depends greatly on the
background of the audience.

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Reference
How to Write a Technical Report from
Alan Smithee - A format using single
column.pdf,
http://www.zaipul.com/download/tdp
Mohammad Alsuraihi, Technical Writing,
CS212 Course notes, Taibah University,
Madinah, KSA
Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, lecture notes,
Taibah University.
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Language: The Way Words are Use (Technical Writing CS212))

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Language: The Way Words are Use (Technical Writing CS212))