ENGR 190W: Tateri

HINTS

There are many hints about how to become a more effective communicator, writer and presenter.  Remember that this first and foremost is an advanced technical writing class.  Some ideas include:

1.  Write from an outline

2.  Expect to write several drafts

3.  Use Tracking to see revisions

4.  Create Bibliography as you write - consider using Bibliographic Management Software -

5.  For a research paper, you may find the following outline helpful:

Hypothesis

Background/ Description of Problem or Question/Context/Importance

Research Methodology

Findings

Summary of Literature Review

Conclusions

Acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis

6.  Read paper aloud - see cadences and length of sentences - shorten when possible for clarity

7.  Create your portfolio.

Some hints for achieving success iin group projects:

1. establish a group leader to keep everyone focused and on task
2. contract with one another about what each will deliver
3. share information widely
4. work from an outline
5. you may want to use the Tracking Feature in MS Word so that you can see each other's contributions and track the revisions for your individual papers
6. save all versions or editions of your work
7. remember that group effort contributes to defining everyone's outcome
8. consider using a platform such as Google Drive (http://www.google.uci.edu/)  to share writing passages and ideas - you will need to register - see http://www.google.com/google-d-s/documents/ -
9. also remember to consider what eMail address you login with - @uci.edu or @gmail.com

There are several different assignments to be completed in this brief term and some hints follow for each assignment:

1. Ethics essay - follow the recommended methods to consult appropriate resources about a real-world engineering case study or scenario
2. Project 2 - Collaborative or Group Research Project - establish some basic ground rules in conducting research, sharing information, drafting sections, editing to create a "common voice" - set up some ways that each group member can lead and be aware of progress of other members; Group paper and slides
3. Project 1 - Technical Research Paper - write from an outline; conduct research early on; consider consulting with a librarian; Paper and slides
4. Presentations - consider any supplemental materials that you will use in your presentations - posters, powerpoint, and make sure that it is a blend of text and images, with everything well documented and cited
5. Finding appropriate journal article.  Consider audience to whom you will present so that content is appropriate and interesting - Think of your topic.  Browse or search in appropriate database or index to find several articles and then choose the one that is most relevant.  Consider the main points of the article when you write up the summary and prepare oral presentation.
6. Technical description to a generalist audience - consider directions to a new gadget or appliance or summary of something that is complete - a good exercise is to read the general news magazines or newspapers and compare the coverage of it with the original scientific or technical article on which it is based
7. Public speaking - inject humor and relevance to the talk or presentation; appear relaxed and comfortable with topic as well anticipate any questions that may be posed

In order to avoid plagiarism and to honor intellectual integrity, make sure that you cite the authority in a bibliographic reference to anything that is not your original writing or creation - that means when you quote a passage, insert a graphic image, figures, or illustration, that you cite the original source. The style manual you choose to follow should document how you cite electronic resources. Examples of resources that support multiple style manuals is noted in the Quick Reference Guide for Writing.  A specific book that addresses several style manuals including IEEE is Cite Them Right. (2022).   Standard formats include the following reference elements:

Standard formats include the following reference elements:

For a Journal article or conference proceeding:

Author(s) - last name, first name, MI, - [include multiple authors if noted] (date), Title of article. Source of Article/Title of Journal. volume #, (issue #): pages. If it is only an electronic publication with no reference to print pages, then you cite the DOI - Digital Object Identifier and the date last visited.

If it is a conference paper, then you cite the Source of the Publication, Title of conference, date and location of meeting.

For books, the format is:

Author, editor of volume or chapter, (imprint date). Title of chapter in Title of Book, edited by editor if different. City of Publication: Publisher, page references. Note if it is an eBook.

For full volume:

Author, (date). Title of Book. City of Publisher, Publisher: pages

There are numerous different style guides and for this course you will use the APA Style Manual noted below in red.

IEEE Citation Style - The IEEE Editorial Style Manual (2019) notes the specific ways that references and footnotes are to be handled in submissions to IEEE publications.  The IEEE Referencing Guide notes practices and they are different than other styles, so follow this and perhaps these guides from the following university libraries will give more examples:  Murdoch University or Purdue University's Owl series for IEEE.

ACM Style Manual - supports the Association of Computing Machinery publications.

Comparison of Computer Science/Engineering Style Manuals - Compares IEEE, ACM and APA for every form of output.

*MLA Style Format is documented in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 2009 at any of the UCI Library Reference Desks at      REF LB 2369 G53 2009

*APA Style Format  - The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., 2020 is at every Reference Desk - REF BF76.7 .P83 2020.  Additional resources with examples are noted at this site. A cheat sheet with many examples of how to cite different types of sources in many formats can be consulted.  

Chicago Style Manual - an online version of the Chicago Style Manual is now available

Other hints:

1. Avoid plagiarism, be ethical – OVERCITE!
   Plagiarism: what it is and how to recognize and avoid it. A guide prepared by the Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN http://www.indiana.edu/~wts?plagiarism.html

    

2. Consult http://www.turnitin.com, a plagiarism detection program - ask your professor if you are interested in this.

    

3. Be consistent

    

4. Work on your presentation skills
   • very important now
   • when interviewing for job

    

5. For additional information, consult with instructor, librarian, examine your style manual.