Lecture 4 - Collaborative Writing
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Transcript of Lecture 4 - Collaborative Writing
Collabora've Wri'ngInforma'on Fill Ac'vity & CW Ac'vity: Lecture 4
COMPLETE THIS ACTIVITY
What does collabora;ve mean?
When something is __________________ by two or ___________________ par'es.
What is collabora;ve wri;ng?Collabora've wri'ng is when _________________ are wriBen by a mul'tude of people as _____________ to just one.
Collabora've wri'ng on this course means that two or more people are working together in a group over an __________________ of 'me to produce a document.
_____________________________________________________________________
Complete the Diagram:
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OPINION GIVERS
ELABORATORS
INFORMATION SEEKERS
OPINION SEEKERS
Group Roles
What are the advantages of collabora;ve wri;ng?
Students can ________________ from each other.
Students learn other ___________________.
Students can ___________________ their work and make them aware of their
_______________ and weaknesses.
Encourage students to _______________________ their __________________ .
Teaches students to nego'ate and get their argument across.
_____________________________________________________________________What are the disadvantages of collabora;ve wri;ng?
Some people may ______________________ than others.
People may be __________________ to cri'cise something that _______________ else had said.
Some people find it more ____________________ to work alone
There may be conflicts or ___________________________________ .
_____________________________________________________________________How do we work collabora;vely? (Complete the Diagram)
1. Plan 2. FInd 3. Set
_____________________________________________________________________Why do we have to learn to write collabora;vely?
Because in industry many professionals do all their work as part of a team. They do not always work alone.
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Combining Strengths and Resources
Writers oMen bring different areas of__________________________ to the group
Researchers may share resources such as expensive equipment and laboratory space.
Wri'ng can be a lonely business. Collabora'on overcomes isola'on and loneliness.
Collabora'on can also help overcome writer’s _____________________.
Through interac'on people can spark each other to make _____________________ and share a variety of perspec'ves.
Groups can oMen complete larger projects more ____________________ and in less 'me than individuals working alone._____________________________________________________________________Types of Collabora;ve Groups
___________________ __________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________Successful Collabora;ve Team WorkDiscuss how you are going to work together.
Decide the roles and _____________________________ of each group member.
DraM a schedule with specific dates for work to be ______________________.
If there is a _______________________ with one person in the group, discuss it and see how you can find a solu'on.
Communicate openly and keep an open __________________.
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Complete the Diagrams:Collabora;ve Wri;ng -‐ The Process
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PLANNINGO
Rec
An
Esta
Discover C
Org
A
A
C
Seek
DRAFTING
Consult
Stick
Choose
Divide
Draft
Choose
REVISINGLook at accuracy and
Make criterion based
Make
Be objective in discussion not
Remember people get attached to their
Accept Criticism
Donʼt avoid debate but keep
Know when to stop
Seek Opinion
Content
EDITING
Check and double check margins, typeface,
and
Edit and format
Report Guide IIAn ABC of Wri'ng Conven'ons to help with Technical Report Wri'ng.Adapted from Repor&ng Technical Informa&on by Kenneth W. Houp, Thomas E. Pearsall, Elizabeth Tebeaux and Sam Draga (2002). Published by Oxford University Press.
Abbrevia;ons / AcronymsEverybody uses abbrevia.ons and acronyms in their scien.fic field. Abbrevia.ons are a shortened form of a word (i.e. Misc. Is used instead of Miscellaneous). Acronyms are formed from the first le>ers of a series of words (i.e. AEC instead of Architecture, Engineering and Construc.on). It is important to think about how we use abbrevia.ons and acronyms. You must decide if your audience knows your abbrevia.ons or acronyms, if not, you have to explain them. Here is how one author does it:
Electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) are produced by power lines, electrical wiring, and electrical equipment. There are many other sources of EMFs. The focus of this booklet is on EMFs associated with the generation, transmission, and use of electric power. EMFs are invisible lines of force surrounded by any electrical device. Electric fields are produced by voltage and increase in strength as the voltage increases. The electric field strength is measured I units of volts per
What do you no.ce about what the author has done? How have they introduced the acronym in this case?
Think about these points when using abbrevia.ons and acronyms:• Are the acronyms or abbrevia.ons well known? If so you do not need to spell
them out.• Do not begin a sentence with an abbrevia.on.• Use the singular form of abbrevia.ons in the plural and the singular (e.g. Cm for
cen.meter or cen.meters)
Apostrophes’We use apostrophes in two key ways:(1) To form the possessive of most singular nouns
(a)In general, we add an apostrophe and an s including proper nouns and when those nouns already end with s or x (e.g. man’s, Marx’s or Charles’s). When there are two names, we add it on the last name (e.g. Laurel and Hardy’s)(b)Only indefinite pronouns use an apostrophe to form the possessive. Compare:
Indefinite Pronouns Other Pronounsanyone’s my (mine)everyone’s your (yours)everybody’s his, her (hers), itsnobody’s our (ours)no one’s their (theirs)other's whoseneither’s
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(2) Missing Numbers or le>ersWe use apostrophes when there is a missing le>er or number. Examples: can’t, don’t, it’s, ’49 (remember not to use contrac.ons in formal wri.ng!)
[Brackets]Brackets are square versions of parenthesis (). They are used when we want to make a quota.on clearer (see quota.ons below). Look at this example:
“Last year [2009] the Ministry of Educa.on realized that university numbers had increased drama.cally for the first .me since the forma.on of the kingdom”.
You could be reading this quota.on at any point in .me and although the author of the quota.on did not men.on 2009, the writer referring to the quote decided to put it in, to make it clear to the audience which year he was talking about. Brackets can also be used with other informa.on and are not restricted to dates.
C A P I T A L L E T T E R S Remember to use capital le>ers when using proper nouns (e.g. Saudi Arabia, Arabic, Monday, December). We also use them in .tles of people and things, Department of Chemical Engineering and Dr. Albert Einstein. Don’t forget to use them aber full stops / periods (.) as well!
Colons:You should always put a colon before a quota.on (see quota.ons below), a list, or suppor.ng statements and examples that are formally introduced:
In a later statement explaining the ideas expressed by this equa.on, Einstein summarized:
It followed from the special theory of rela.vity that mass and energy are both but different manifesta.ons of the same thing — a somewhat unfamiliar concep.on for the average mind. Furthermore, the equa.on E = mc², in which energy is put equal to mass, mul.plied by the square of the velocity of light, showed that very small amounts of mass may be converted into a very large amount of energy and vice versa. The mass and energy were in fact equivalent, according to the formula men.oned before. This was demonstrated by Cockcrob and Walton in 1932, experimentally.
Another example:Engineers are developing three new engines: turbojet, reheated, and ramjets.
Commas,We generally use commas when there is a pause in speech, to separate ideas. It is very common punctua.on. We also use commas to separate a series of words or clauses:
To make and serve Arabic coffee you will need coffee cups, cardamon, ground coffee, water, a hea.ng pot, a serving pot and dates.
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Dashes -‐In technical wri.ng, we use dashes in the same way we use parenthesis () or to separate a sentence. You might also want to show a sharp change:
Some mechanical engineers may believe that green technology is the key to unlocking green technology -‐ but is this a guarantee that it will be embraced fully?
Ellipsis . . .You can use three spaced full stops or periods to indicate that some words are missing from a quota.on (see quota.ons below). If the words are at the end of the sentence you are quo.ng, you add four periods. Look at these examples:
“As the depth decreases, the circular orbits become ellip.cal and the orbital velocity . . . Increases as the wave height increases.”
“As the ground swells move across the ocean, they are subject to headwinds or crosswinds. . . .”
Exclama;on Point!Avoid using exclama.on marks in your technical wri.ng. Technical wri.ng should show objec.vity, so do not use them.
Hy-‐phensHyphens are used to form compound words and when we need to break a word up and carry it over to the next line. Look at this example:
I had seen li>le of Holmes lately. My marriage had dribed us away from each other. My own complete happiness, and the home-‐centred interests which rise up aro-‐und the man who first finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to absorb all my a>en.on, while Holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker Street, buried among his old books, and alterna.ng from week to week bet-‐ween. . .
The words around and between on lines 2 and 6 have been divided up and carried to the next line. Also note that they have been divided up at their individual syllables. Of course, many modern word processors will either do this for you or format the text so that this doe not happen. Hyphens can also be used in compound words like, Saudi-‐American or to modify words like, empty or cylinder into half-‐empty and eight-‐cylinder. You can also carry modifiers over to a later word using commas: GM cars come with a choice of four-‐, six-‐, or eight cylinder engines.
Italiciza(onYou can use italics when you want to use foreign words in English. For example, if you are wri.ng about Arabic numbers and you are saying that the Arabic word for one is ‘wahid’, then you write wahid. Also look at these examples of how italics have been used:
The words entrance and admission can be used synonymously. When you write coffee don’t forget to add ff and ee.
In general we italicise most .tles, including the .tles of books, plays, pamphlets, periodicals, movies, radio and television programmes, operas, and ballets:
Othello, The Mona Lisa, Star Wars, Black Swan, The Arab News
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2
6
Num6er5 Do I write numbers as words or as a figure? A number can be wri>en as a word (e.g. Five) or as a figure (5). How and when to write which is oben confusing. The important thing within a technical report is to be consistent. In general, in technical and scien.fic wri.ng, we write numbers from zero to nine (0-‐9) in words. We also write large rounded off numbers in words. Look at these examples:
six generatorsabout six million riyals
But with larger exact and perhaps complex numbers, we write them out in figures (e.g. 1,230, 345, 001). What about if you are wri.ng a series of numbers? Well, do not mix up figures and words. Let the larger numbers determine what form we use:
Five boys and eight girls
But:
It took the chemical engineers 7 months, 2 days, 5 hours and 47 minutes to complete the project.
Furthermore, it is important to make sure that you do not begin a sentence with a figure. If you can write the number as a word this is not a problem. But If this is not the case, then make sure that you rearrange the sentence so that the number is featured elsewhere. There are some cases when you need to use figures at all .mes. This mainly involves, dates, exact sums of money, .me, addresses, technical units of measurement and when you are referring to other pages or diagrams in your wri.ng. Look at these examples:
1st January, 2002, 3,404,230 SAR, 1:58PM, PO BOX 2440
ParallelismParallelismWhen you link elements in a series, they must all be in the same gramma.cal form. Make sure that you link an adjec.ve with an adjec.ve, a noun with a noun, a clause with a clause etc. Look at this sentence:
A good test would use small amounts of plant material, require li]le ;me, simple to run and accurate.
This series of words uses the verbs use and require and then switches to the adjec.ves simple and accurate. All these must be based on the same part of speech. In this sentence it would be easy to change the last two elements. What does this mean? It means, you also need verbs in front of the adjec.ves for the sentence to be parallel:
A good test would use small amounts of plant material, require li]le ;me, be simple to run and be accurate.
(Parenthesis)Parenthesis () are used when we have addi.onal informa.on to add within a sentence. You could use commas and dashes in the same way. However, you could put a whole sentence or several complete sentences within parenthesis but it would be difficult to do this with commas or dashes because you would end up confusing the reader. You can also use parenthesis for lists. Look at this example:
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This report consists of sec.ons on (1) Da Vinci’s early art, (2) Da Vinci and Engineering, (3) The Renaissance and, (3) the flying machine.
Any marks of punctua.on are always placed aNer the closing parenthesis and never before.
Period / Full Stop.We use periods (full stops) to finish a sentence that is not a ques.on or exclama.on. We also use them for abbrevia.ons e.g. Dr. or as a decimal point in currency or numbers (e.g. $5.60 or 3.14).
Pronoun forms (I, he, she or me, him, her)Whenever a pronoun is the object of a verb or the object of a preposi.on, it must be in the objec.ve case:
It never occurred to my colleagues and me to check the data on the earthquakes.
Just between you and me, the news shook Mary and him.
Ques;on Marks?Place a ques.on at the end of every sentence that is a direct ques.on like, “What is the purpose of this report?”.
“Quota;ons Marks”We use quota.on marks to enclose quota.ons that are short enough to work within your own text. Short quota.ons are usually fewer than three lines:
According to Einstein, “Imagina.on is more important than knowledge.”
Quota.ons that are longer than three lines should be set off by single spacing and indented. Look at the example in the colon sec.on above.
We also use quota.on marks around .tles of ar.cles from journals and periodicals:
Caldwell’s ar.cle “Five new things your apps will do in iOS 5” appeared in Macworld Magazine.
Remember to use single quota.on marks within other quota.on marks:
“Do you understand the difference between ‘social engineering’ and ‘poli.cal engineering’?”
Make sure that you always put commas and periods inside quota.on marks. Place ques.on marks inside (?), exclama.on marks (!) and dashes (-‐) when they apply to the quote. Place them outside the quotes when they apply to the sentence. Look at these two examples and see the differences:
When are we going to find the answer to the ques.on, “What causes earthquakes?”
Did you read the ar.cle, “Mechanical Engineers of the 19th Century”?
Referring to Men ♂ and Women ♀In many countries it is oben found unfair to discriminate against both men and women. It has oben been found that this happens par.cularly with women. Look at these short texts:
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A modern teacher has to be an expert with electronic equipment. She has to be able to use a computer and the internet.
A car mechanic deals with many customers every day. He oben has to explain to them what is wrong with their vehicles and many customers may not understand especially if they are women.
What is wrong with the first text? Well, the first sentence suggets that teachers are all women and this of course we know not to be true. The second sentence assumes (understands to be true without evidence) that car mechanics are all men and that women know nothing about cars or that men know be>er when it comes to cars. In general, it is a good idea to avoid using the male or female pronoun. Instead it is good to talk in the plural. Look at the second text again without the male pronoun he:
Car mechanics deal with many customers every day. They oben have to explain to them what is wrong with their vehicles and many customers may not understand.
SpɘllingBe careful of computer spellcheckers. Remember that a spellchecker will not pick up words that have been spelled correctly but have been used incorrectly. Here is a list of common words that sound alike but are oben used incorrectly. In these sentences they have been used correctly. You might want to look them up in the dic.onary or you might understand what they mean from the context if you don’t know them:
I accept your gift. Everyone went except Ahmed.
Am I speaking loud enough that you can hear me?He was here a minute ago.
His lawyer gave him good advice.His lawyer advised him well.
Itʼs clear that he doesn’t want to speak to you.The oud and its sound are fantastic.
Her cold affected her voice.The effect was extra special.
Our principal objective is to explain relativity.You should think about ethical principles when writing.
He was already home at 9 P.M.When her bag was packed, she was all ready to go.
I wonder if theyʼre coming tonight?Did they take their lunch with them?Put you shoes over there please.
The family stood all together on the boatFahd was altogether pleased with his exam result.
The inspector gave the luggage a thorough inspection.He ran as though his life depended on it.She thought about the time she had had in Paris.
He gave him an apple.The apple and the pear were put in the basket.
He threw the report on her desk.He cut through the branches with his sword.
Always cite your sources in your research paper.In the morning we sighted the cat in the neighbor’s tree.The best site for the hotel is near the beach.
Jameel is moving to Medina.I think Meshaal is moving there too.They are going to need two apartments then!
Sandpaper is a coarse material.I find this course exceptionally easy.
I thought the weather was fantastic today.I’m not sure whether to take an umbrella with me.
His jacket complemented his shirt.I complimented him on his choice of cars.
Where were you on Monday?The important thing is that weʼre here now.Where are you going tomorrow?
Most cities have a governing body called a council.He was counseled by his teacher to continue the lesson.
Whose book is that?Whoʼs going to the desert on Thursday?
Being quiet, she said was the discreet thing to do.Each slice of bread is discrete from the others.
Is that your Toyota?It looks like youʼre very hungry.
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Verb-‐Subject Agreement☺(1) Words that take Singular VerbsThe following words take singular verbs: each, everyone, wither, neither, anybody, somebody. Look at these sentences. Which of them do you think is correct?
Each of these apples is red.Each of these apples are red.
The first sentence is correct. Some writers may think that the second sentence is correct because they believe that the object of the preposi.on apples is in control of the verb. However, it is each that is in control of the verb.
(2) Compound Subject Joined by Or or NorWhen there are compound subjects and they are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the closer noun or pronoun:
Compound subject ⬋⬊Either the civil engineer or the builders are in error.
Nearest noun
Either the builders or the civil engineer is in error.
(3) Parenthe.cal ExpressionsParenthe.cal expressions are introduced by words like: accompanied by, with, together with, and as well as. Look at these examples of parenthe.cal expressions:
Mr. Al Shammari, as well as his two assistants, is working on building the new bridge in Ha’il.
Water, together with earth, wind and fire, makes up the elements.
Abdelaziz, accompanied by his fellow footballers, is going to play in Barcelona next year.
No.ce that it is the subject in all sentences that controls the verb, not parenthe.cal expression. In other words it is Mr. Al Shammari that controls the verb be in sentence one, not the expression, as well as his two assistants. In the second sentence, water controls the verb and in the third, Abdelaziz controls the verb.
(4) Two or more subjectsTwo or more subjects take on a plural verb. This does not ma>er on the word order. Look at these examples:
The restaurant and the grand mosque are near the city square. Close to the restaurant are the library and the café.
(5) Collec.ve NounsCollec.ve nouns such as team, group, class, commi>ee, and many others take either plural or singular verbs, depending on the meaning of the sentence. If you use a pronoun aberwards it must agree withe the subject and the verb. Look at these examples:
The football team is going to get its trophy tonight.
The football team are going to celebrate their victory.
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