1BA6 Writing & Presenting 1

Presenting & Writing

Writing&

Presenting Some Hints and Pointers

See alsowww.cs.tcd.ie/tangney/ComputersAndSociety/Tips.html

Writing&

Presenting Some hints and pointers

1BA6 Writing & Presenting 2

Contents

1 - Motivation

2 - The 3 Golden Rules

3 - Class Presentations

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MOTIVATION

Writing (and presenting) is the process of getting coherent ideas down on paper.

It is an exercise in design! Other documents you will have to write (presentations

to give) include, project reports, 2BA7 project, 4th year project, M.Sc./Ph.D. theses, design documents, company reports etc. etc.

It is a crucial skill in the repertoire of an engineer.

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Rule 1

Golden Rule # 1

Say what you

are going to say

Say it

Say what you said.

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Implications -1

All documents (& presentations) should have a short and concise abstract (overview slide).

Have an introductory paragraph to each main section.

The body of the document should clearly elaborate on the contents of the abstract.

The document, and all major sections, should have consistent summaries.

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Rule 2

Golden Rule # 2

Write the paper,presentation,with the intended audienceAND purposein mind.

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Purpose Of A 1BA6 Essay/Presentation

Demonstrate to the lecturer, and external judges, that you have some understanding of the the ideas presented in lectures about the relationship between (information) technology and society.

Demonstrate that you have done some reading - and gained some insights - in the specific topic area.

Demonstrate that you can express your ideas coherently and that you can structure a rigorous argument.

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Paper 1 - Marking Scheme

Structure (0..2)

Structure of argument. Say what you are going to say etc. Accurate abstract. Coherent logic.

Own ideas (0..3)

How well are your own ideas presented and developed. Background Reading. (0..3)

How much background reading was done.

How deep an understanding has been gained of the material read. Class ideas (0..2)

The extent and depth to which the main ideas discussed in class during the year are reflected in the paper.

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Paper 1 - Marking Scheme

Bibliography (-3..0)

Is the bibliography properly formatted?

Is the citing of references properly formatted?

Are all quotations properly attributed? Presentation (-3..0)

Is the title page present and correct? Is the quality of overall presentation acceptable?

Is the standard of English acceptable?

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Rule 3

Golden Rule # 3

Speculation is out.

Supported facts, reasoned and logical arguments are in.

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Support Your Arguments

Your arguments should show that you have read some pertinent documents.

And that you have gained some understanding of the material.

Reputable sources give weight to an argument.

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Example Internet Growth Is Exponential

Data from reputable source to support claim.

Source information given.

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Bibliographies

Examination of the relevant literature is crucial in order to write a meaningful document.

References must be cited to support arguments and to indicate the origin of source material.

References must be cited in-line and listed at the end of the document.

The bibliography must include enough information to enable someone else (i.e. me) to track down the references in it.

C.F. COLLEGE GUIDELINES ON PLAGARISM!!!

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From the College Calendar

"Any material used in a piece of work, of any form, that is not the original thought of the author should be fully referenced in the work and attributed to its source. The material should either be quoted directly or paraphrased. Either way, an explicit citation of the work referred to should be provided, in the text, in a footnote, or both. Not to do so is to commit plagiarism." Trinity College Dublin, Calendar, 2004-05,

ppG13-14.

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Bibliography Format

Book [Author Year] {Author Last Name, First Name} Title. Year. Publisher. No. Pages.

Article [Author Year] {Author Last Name, First Name} Title. In Journal Name, Year, Vol#, Issue #. Pages.

On-line [Author Year] {Author Last Name, First Name} Title. URL.

Newspaper [Title Year] {Title} Title. In Paper Name, Date. (Page No., Author, URL).

Other [Author Year] Enough information to allow the reader to locate the source.

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Example

(BOOK) As argued in [Bolter 84] the way in which mankind has viewed itself at different periods through history has often been in terms of a defining technology of that age…..

(Article) Some of the challenges in teaching a course of this nature are described in [Tangney 2000]. They include….

(On-line) Talbott, [Talbott 99], also argues that we have responsibility for the “unintended” affects of technology in that …..

(Newspaper) Some of the more insightful coverage of the events of Sept 11th can be found in broadsheet newspapers such as [Irish Times 2001a]. This is in marked contrast to ….

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Bibliography

[Bolter 84] Bolter, J. David. 1984. Turing's Man: Western Culture in the Computer Age. Duckworth.

[Tangney 2000] Tangney B, Holmes B, FitzGibbon A, . Teaching "Computers & Society" - The Medium and The Message. Proceedings of the M/SET-2000 Conference. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, Charlottesville, VA, USA, . Feb 2000, pages 375-380.

[Talbott 98] Talbott S. Are Unintended Consequences Really Unintended? Netfuture, Onl-line publication, Issue #71, May 14, 1998 URL www.netfuture.org/1998/May1498_71.html#1b

[Irish Times 2001a] Attack on US. Irish Times, 12th Sept. 2001. http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2001/0912/index.htm

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Other Points

Do not use the personal pronoun I

Proof read the finished document.

Spelll cheeck it .

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Contents

1 - Motivation

2 - The 3 Golden Rules

3 - Class Presentation

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Use of TurnITIn

All essays must be submitted electronically using the TurnItIn website

See 1BA6 Assignment page for details

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Mistakes/Tricks in Arguments

Some/all This is true, this is true, therefore this is true Red and green words Lack of causal relation Not relating the point to the main argument Not hammering home a point Ad hominum arguments

See [Straight and crooked thinking. R. H. Thoules and C. R. Thoules, 1990] for a lot more on the topic.