Mechanics of writing a paper in

MS Word

Alexander MamishevSensors, Energy, and Automation Laboratory

Department of Electrical EngineeringUniversity of Washington

email: mamishev@ee.washington.eduhttp://www.ee.washington.edu/research/seal

Sensors

, Ene

rgy,

and Automation Laboratory

SE A L

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Outline Introduction (segment 1) Elements of Electronic Manuscript

Headings (segment 2)Equations (segment 3)Figures and Tables (segment 4)References (segment 5)

Miscellaneous (segment 6)

Introduction(segment 1)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

What to expectThis presentation is about

Computer typesetting skills Engineering standards Mechanics of writing

This presentation is not about Research skills Art of writing Philosophy of writing

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Motivation Compatibility

Internal (re-use, sharing)External (extraction, sharing)

Streamlining of data processing Automation Rigor in writing and in typesetting

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Selection of software Latex:

Pluses: helps proper typesetting, reliable, stable, fairly simple, beautiful output, low machine memory and speed requirements

Minuses: not used in industry, does not have “clueless user” mode, somewhat cumbersome to maintain

MS Word: Pluses: widely used, WYSIWYG, convenient spell check,

track changes, manuscript marking system Minuses: poor figure positioning, does not program well,

less reliable, less stable, much easier to mess up

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Needed Software MS Word Corel Draw (for figures) – v. 7 to 11 MathType (for equations) – v. 4 or 5 Reference Manager (for references) –

v. 10 Excel, Matlab, etc (for data

manipulation and supplementing Corel)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

General approach Everything has to be automated (numbering,

referencing, cross-referencing, positioning) Everything has to be compatible (copy/pasting,

emailing, re-using, working internally, working externally)

Everything has to be failure proof (version upgrades, font embedding, colors vs. black and white, change of format)

It takes effort to understand and master this approach

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Elements of manuscriptHeadingsEquationsFigures and TablesReferencesMiscellaneous

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common misconceptions Only LaTeX can be used for scientific

writing (this presentation will prove otherwise)

Word is very easy to use, just turn it on and start typing away (not for our purposes)

It is possible to skim through this presentation in fast-forward and be ok (this rarely proven to be the case)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common mistakes

Failing to learn these techniques early on Taking instructions literally, without

thinking Assuming that your existing techniques

are acceptable Assigning wrong importance to this issue

The end of segment 1

Headings(segment 2)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Templates

Where to get the template?SEAL internal website files, e.g.

Generic report.docRecently created document from

the same class (conference paper, journal paper, report, thesis, etc.)

Ctrl-A, F9 for global update

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

How to make headings

Two methods (either one is fine):Create a new oneCopy the template

Updating styleChange and update, orFormat/Styles

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common mistakes Incorrect or inconsistent capitalization

University Of Washington (“Of should be of)1.1 Experimental results, 1.2 Theoretical

Analysis Not using proper style, just changing the

font (as a result, incorrect table of contents) Orphan headings (1.1 without 1.2; 3.1.1

without 3.1)

The end of segment 2

Equations(segment 3)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

How to make equations

Two methods (second method is preferred):Create a new oneCopy the template

Ctrl-A, F9 for global update

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Format Numbering

(1) – short documents (conference and journal papers)

(1.1) – long documents (theses, large reports)

Positioning Tab-Equation-Tab-Number (NO SPACES!!!!!) Switching the column width Using format brush

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Cross-referencing Add a bookmark, do not include

parentheses Give it a good name, starting with eq

good example: eqMagneticField (notice capitalization)

bad example: eq4 Insert-CrossReference-Bookmark,

unselect “Hyperlink,” add your own parentheses

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common misconceptions

Equations are much easier to write in LaTeX than in Word (not true if you know MathType and Word shortcuts)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common mistakes Writing “equation (6) instead of (6);

(exception: beginning of sentence) Bookmarking parentheses Copying equation number instead

of cross-referencing it Putting “space bars” in equation

line Incorrect mathematical signs

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common mistakes

Using different font in equation and in text, for example using W in equation and W in text to denote the same variable

Using subscripts and superscripts incorrectly

The end of segment 3

Figures and Tables(segment 4)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

How to make figures

Two methods (second method is preferred):Create a new oneCopy the template

Ctrl-A, F9 for global update

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Templates

Where to get the template?SEAL internal website files, e.g.

Generic report.docRecently created document from

the same class (conference paper, journal paper, report, thesis, etc.)

Ctrl-A, F9 for global update

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Sequence I Copy/Paste the figure template with figure

and caption Copy the new figure Paste Special as Picture Right-click, Format Picture, Layout, In line

with Text (little rectangles change from outline to black)

Center the figure

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Sequence II Adjust figure size to use the maximum

amount of available spaceEither pull by the corner, orRight-click/Format Picture/Size/Type in

exact size (good for multiple similar figures)

Type in a new caption preserving figure number

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Captions Make sure caption is distinct

e.g. indented, italicized, smaller font, etc. short captions should normally be centered (you

should not have short captions though) Orphan control: use sensibly

Right-click/Paragraph, Widow/Orphan control (check), Keep lines together (check), Keep with next (check with figure)

May need an override with subdocuments in a thesis Learn to write informative and concise captions

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Cross-referencing Insert/Cross-reference/Figure/Only

Label and Number/Uncheck hyperlink/Pick the right one

If figure is far away, you may want to cross-reference the page in addition: “Figure 3 on page 12”

Remove or add bold as necessary manually.

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Tables The same procedures as for figures

to make captions and cross-referencing

Make leftmost and uppermost columns distinct (typically bold)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

CorelDraw Use CorelDraw to touch-up the figures Use “Ungroup” to change part of the figure Create equations and vertical text in separate

software (Word, Mathtype), and copy to CorelDraw as graphical elements

Remember that vertically oriented text from Excel usually fails to port to other applications, touch-up with CorelDraw

CorelDraw has two .eps filters, use the .PS, .PRN, .EPS, not the other one (.EPS only)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Appearance of figures I All elements must be visible when the figure is

shrunk to double-column paper format (in this case it works for PowerPoint to) Large enough fonts (Excel and Matlab default

settings are way too small) Thick enough lines Clear identifier signs (squares, triangles, dashes, etc.) Adequate comments

Use Arial (sans serif) for figure text, not Times New Roman (serif)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Appearance of figures II

Be sensible about color. Use it for PowerPoint, but remember that publications are black and white

Line art must be crisp Use WMF not Bitmap, whenever possible. Paste

Special as Picture preserves postscript/wmf.

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common misconceptions

After this presentation I know everything (this presentation is not intended to replace the entire philosophy of graphics for science and engineering)

It’s ok to create figures randomly, without thinking about this presentation, after all, it worked for me for many years (will not work in SEAL)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common mistakes

Writing “as shown in Figure 1,” instead of “Figure 1 shows”

Writing text “Figure 1” instead of cross-referencing the figure

Being inconsistent with “Fig. 1,” “Figure 1,” “figure 1,” etc.

Forgetting to reference the figure at all before it appears in text

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common mistakes

Meaningless or repetitive captions, e.g. caption “Temperature vs. Humidity”

Having a second caption inside the figure (above the graph)

Fonts too small, lines too thin Fuzzy image, lines, fonts (use line art) Figure only works in color

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common mistakes

3D graph is shown from bad angle Inconsistent capitalization Corrupted fonts Poor caption explanations Forgetting about PASTE SPECIAL Pulling by the side when changing

figure size (pull by the corner)

The end of segment 4

References(segment 5)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Reference Manager Install properly

Sometimes needs initialization in Word Needs database files sealmasterdb.rmd and

sealmasterdb.rmx Needs format file (IEEE9.os as of April 2004), place it

in the directory Program Files/Reference Manager 10/Styles.

The riched32.dll file is for handling subscripts. Place it under the directory Program Files/Reference Manager 10

Set column display, make sure to include UserDef2 Pick your preferences in word (e.g. instant formatting)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Usage Blocks, updating sealmasterdb UserDef1, UserDef2 Internet search Procedure If you make a mistake, sometimes

you need to repeat the insertion of the reference

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Adding references Using blocks, Manual RefID Internet search Search of other databases Making sure records are displayed

properly Working with Term Manager Modifying style file

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Common mistakes Incorrect database name Adding new entries incorrectly Wrong capitalization Creating unnecessary duplicates Misspelling Mistakes in unusual foreign names Forgetting to use a correct block Forgetting to insert UserDef2 Incorrect journal names

The end of segment 5

Miscellaneous(segment 6)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Saving files Save often (every few minutes) Make backup copies of previous

intermediate versions (every couple of days) Back up on external drives, such as CD or

tape (every week or more)

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

File settings

Make sure file settings are correct; e.g. if the language setting is Portuguese, your spell check will fail

Alexander Mamishev SEAL, EE Department, University of Washington

Paragraph text Recommended setting

both sides justified no extra space before and after

paragraphfirst line indented by 0.3 in

Learn to use highlighting and track changes

Use hidden text to remind yourself of important details

The end of segment 6