Technical Communication: Guidelines for Writing Reports and Oral Presentations, Assignments of Biology

Download Technical Communication: Guidelines for Writing Reports and Oral Presentations and more Assignments Biology in PDF only on Docsity! BENG 187B Technical Communication: - General Guidelines - Technical Reports - Oral Presentations Reading: Voland pgs 12-18 and 62-67 Technical Writing Guidelines • Think about why your are writing • Think about who the readers are • Be concise; shorten & combine sentences • Take out irrelevant information • Be precise • Organize material logically into paragraphs and sections • Avoid conversational or humorous tone • Use headings to make ideas accessible Example from Faulty Design Assignment Change: The biggest problem most people have with car alarms is when they go off when there is not a thief around. Most of the time the car alarm goes off when someone is trying to park nearby and they accidentally tap into the car in front or behind them. To: Car alarms frequently activate unnecessarily, for example, when another car accidentally taps the bumper. Example from Faulty Design Assignment Change: When opening an envelope, one has to grab onto the corner of the flap and then pull back gently on the flap until the envelope is open. Sometimes this process cannot be performed successfully because the envelope flap rips before it is open. When the envelope does not open as it is supposed to, then, one might need to find another way of opening the envelope, such as ripping the top open. This can cause the contents to become wrinkled. To: Opening an envelope can be difficult and, in the struggle, the contents may wrinkle. Oral Presentations Purpose: To present work to an audience typically in 10-15 minutes Audience: Varies Be sure to think about your target audience while making the slides • experts in the field • peers • scientists & engineers but without knowledge in this area • general public • children Generic Talk Outline An example outline for a 15 min presentation: 1) Title Slide: Include authors & affiliations 2) Talk Outline: optional depending on length of presentation 3-4) Background: limit to 1 or 2 slides for a short presentation 5) Objective, Hypothesis, or Problem Statement 6-7) Methods: - not as much detail as in a technical report - schematics can be more useful than text 8-10) Results (note: it may make sense to alternate between methods and results when presenting data from > 1 experiment) 11-12) Discussion: summarize results and highlight their significance 13) Future Work (optional) 14) Summary: Can be helpful to reiterate most important finding 15) Acknowledgments: Include funding sources and contributors who are not authors Tips • Prepare ~1 slide per minute • Utilize all the space on your slides without overcrowding • All text (including within figures) should be !18 pt • Replace text with figures & schematics when possible • Minimize text on slides using abbreviations and short phrases • Use consistent format • Provide audience with a verbal roadmap • Streamline info into easy to digest pieces • Recognize that you don’t have to present everything • Define terminology • When presenting results, be sure to orient audience to slides; point out axis, describe key, etc. • Use a laser pointer (bring one with you if possible) • Reiterate most important points Tips Continued • Reiterate most important points • Stick to allotted time • Speak slowly and clearly • Be prepared to present from a computer that is not your own • Have .ppt and .pdf versions of your slides and use the View/Full Screen mode in Adobe Reader if necessary • Arrive early to transfer slides onto the appropriate computer • Introduce yourself to the moderator when you arrive, they should assist you • Dress appropriately • Practice, practice, practice! • If you have co-authors, each co-author should approve the final slides Fears & Overcoming Them • Admit it, you’ll be nervous but that is OK • The nervousness will diminish so make sure you are most comfortable with your first few slides • If your hands are shaky rest them on the podium, especially when using a laser pointer • Bring water and take a drink if you need a break • If you forget your talk, calmly look at your notes, find your place, and continue • If you can’t answer a question, let the person know you will get back to them with an answer The only thing you have to fear is fear itself