Reidar Conradi et al.: Hints for Writing Technical English (very prelim.)

See also other reports, e.g. by Dag Sjøberg et al., on paper writing.

1. Structure.

Possible template for thesis layout:

Front page: title, author, report numbers, NTNU logo etc.
Abstract (1 p): Summary of thesis with own contributions in bullet form.
Preface (<1 p): Thesis context, thanks to advisors etc.
0. Table of contents.
1. Introduction (3-8 p): Motivation, thesis/project context, problem definition, thesis structure and contributions (with figures and tables).
2. Motivation and survey of state-of-the-art/practice (20-30 p) + possible project context.
3. Research agenda/focus/questions and associated research method/process (10? p)- with overall work plan.
4. Problem elaboration (5? p), e.g. with explicit hypotheses.
5. Own contribution (10++ p): The theoretical/research contribution of your work, i.e. your "solution" to the stated problems in ch. 4 (can be several chapters).
6. Results (10++ p) from validating the work in ch. 5 and related to the stated hypotheses, often by empirical work. Make proper summaries in e.g. table form.
7. Evaluation and discussion (5-10 p) of results (separate from ch. 6!), with proper discussion of validities. Summarize and suggest improvements.
8. Conclusion and further work (2 p).
Appendices: A) references and possibly bibliography, B) glossary, C) technical stuff (software/questionnaires etc.), D) collection of papers, e.g. 6-12 such.

Hints:
- Write an "article" thesis, with 50-100 pages in points 1-8, plus appendices as indicated.
- Begin each chapter with how it relates to other chapters, and end it with a small chapter summary.
- In final thesis writing, complete the abstract first to focus the rest.
- Please use figures, tables, bullet points etc. to make the reading easier.

2. General.

Often it is most natural to use the "we" form, not "I" or "one".
Write either American English (favor, analyze, thruput...) or British English (favour, analyse, throughput...).
Refer to all figures, tables etc. explicitly in the text:
Ex. Figure 7 shows the distribution of LOC per module.

3. Write simple.

Let no sentence extend over more than two lines. Read Norse sagas or Hemingway to get inspiration for compact wording. Two examples of looong sentences:
- To be able to accomplish a task and maintain a comfortable social climate in the learning community or group, to be able to function effectively in both working and social activities, the students need to constantly maintain a high degree of social awareness.
For instance, this single sentenece may be split into three:
The students need to constantly maintain a high degree of social awareness. This is needed to accomplish a task and to maintain a comfortable social climate in the learning community or group. It is also neded to function effectively in both working and social activities.
- This awareness includes knowledge on learners’ roles, activities, positions, status, responsibilities, social connections and group processes, with a time-span from a momentous overview of social situation in the community to a long-term memory of the community’s social life.
For instance, insert an extra period:
This awareness includes knowledge on learners’ roles, activities, positions, status, responsibilities, social connections and group processes. It can have a time-span from a momentous overview of social situation in the community, to a long-term memory of the community’s social life.
Put a relative pronoun immediately after what it refers to:
Ex. ... the vacation last year, which I liked very much. -- what is "which" referring to?
Ex. ... an approach for data analysis, that applies ... -- same comment.

4. Spelling, use of words.

It's = it is, not the possive pronoun its:
Ex. Look at its color; it is really nice.
Use experience in singular form:
Ex. Based on our experience, we will advice not to use that airline.
Data has also become singular:
Ex. The data is analyzed by him.

5. Use of comma and period.

A and B -- but A, and B, and C.
A, B, C etc. (no comma after C).
Basili et al. (not "et al" or "et. al.")
Comma after "that is": I like you, i.e., you are very kind.
Comma after "for instance": I like you, e.g., and also your friends.

6. Citations and plagiarism.

Plagiarism: Never, never, never, never!, ... "borrow" a piece of text, some classifications or ideas, a figure, an illustration, an example etc. etc. without explicit reference to the original publication and without proper citation ("..."). Failing to do so, will be interpreted as plagiarism. And if any suspicion of unjust originality or ownership can be raised, your thesis, paper etc. will suffer catastrophic reviews and yourself evil fates!
Be complete in citations: give precise location and time of a conference, Vol. and No. of journals, page numbers etc.
Be systematic in citation style, choose one of the below:
- [1] Reidar Conradi and Alfonso Fuggetta: "Improving Software Process Improvement", IEEE Software, 19(4):92-99, July/Aug. 2002.
- [Con02] Reidar Conradi and Alfonso Fuggetta: ...
- (Conradi and Fuggetta, 2002) R. Conradi and A. Fuggetta: "Improving Software Process Improvement", IEEE Software, 19(4):92-99 (2002).
File: http://www.idi.ntnu.no/grupper/su/publ/ese/tech-writing.html,
created by Reidar Conradi, last changed 17 Jan. 2004.