The Do’s and Don’ts of Good Technical CONTENT能做和不能做的很好的技术含量.pptVIP

The Do’s and Don’ts of Good Technical Writing Pre-Write Fill your well. Have a plan. Use whatever pre-writing strategies work for you (brainstorming, lists, clustering, outlining). If necessary, research your topic. Have an Arrow! Think of the word arrow rather than thesis. The word arrow may apply to any type of writing. What is your point? Can you state it in one short sentence? When you lose your arrow, your writing becomes vague (go back and fill the well). Arrow – Part 2 Your “arrow” should pierce each paragraph on some level. Use Transition Give Your Reader Road Signs! Use ACTIVE Verbs Do you know what PASSIVE VOICE means? Use the Readability Statistics, but don’t rely on them (they miss a lot of passive constructions). Know when passive verbs are necessary and when they are not! Get These Words Out of Your Writing! It (many of you already have fatal it-itis) Those There Them Which That They Eliminate Unnecessary Prepositional Phrases Prepositional phrases begin prepositions and end with a noun, e.g., to the house, in my yard, for the mayor. Too many PP phrases make a sentence stringy and set up the potential for dangling modifiers and noun/verb disagreement. Use Strong Nouns and Verbs Let active verbs and strong, precise nouns communicate the bulk of your sentences. Avoid overusing intensifiers such as very, really, actually, virtually, etc. Remember less is more; reduce the number of adjectives and adverbs in your sentences. Gloss for Coherency A “gloss” is a short marginal note that sums up a paragraph. Glossing lets you know if your paragraphs are in the right order. Glossing lets you know if your paragraphs advance your arrow. Don’t Use Engfish Engfish is dead language written by the dead for the dead. Write for the living. Communicate, don’t obfuscate. Write honestly. Eliminate filler. Types of Filler Redundant pairs: e.g.,first and foremost, basic and fundamental Redundant modifiers: e.g., exactly right, true facts, terrible tragedy Redundant categ