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Writing in voices
Essays, Reports, Web Pages, Blogs and the rest…
Su White
announcements
Internal Stuff• Coursework (and
connection problems)• Diggers ripped
connection to Halls • SSLC reps needed see
• SUSU SSLC Rep Training 17th or 18th November (choose only one!!)
External Stuff• Women in IT – IBM
Hursley 13/11/06• Writing Competition
Computer Science is Dead
IBM Hursley Laboratory Theano Visit. November 13th
Please sign up for: -
IBM Hursley Women's IT Careers Open Day - Theano Visit. November 13th.
The IBM Hursley Laboratory is running an open day to share information on what it is like for a female in an IT company.
The agenda will be full of useful information, including insight into an assessment (take a mock assessment test to find out whether IBM would hire you), CV workshops and discussion of hot topics in current technology. In addition there will be tours of the site and individual profiles from current employees.
The open day will run from 9am - approx 5pm and lunch will be provided. We will run a minibus to and from the event - leaving at about 8.20am and returning approx 6pm.
Please contact me if you would like to take part and for more information. Priority will be given to those students who will graduate shortly.
Pearl John
Theano Coordinator - FESMUniversity of SouthamptonBuilding 46HighfieldSouthampton SO17 1BJTel: 02380 592159
• Q: "Should we stop funding Computer Science Research?"
• http://www.robothespian.co.uk/epsrc.html
• Then tell someone why!• http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/cswriting/default.htm
The plan• Introduction/objectives• Pragmatics• An example• Important guidelines• Conclusion/reflection
but rememberI can only talkyou have to do
I may skip over some slides, but use them as notes
Introduction and Objectives
How I will run this classWhat I want
What do you want?
Why are you here?
Think about how you write:• What can you already do well which will be
useful?• Where are your weaknesses?
Based on this reflection
spend a few minutes identifying three things you would like to get out of the session today
Activity 1
You need to learn how to…
• Organise writing clearly and logically
• Handle evidence appropriately in writing to present a structured and logical argument
• Explain concepts in formal contexts
• Understand strategies for revision at the document, paragraph and sentence levels
• Understand grammatical and stylistic usage
• Be able to edit and refine your own written work
Distinguish between different writing contexts
1
2
5
3 4
Discuss your preferences
• With the person next to you (in pairs)
• Compare your preferences
• What are the strenghts of the preferences?
• What are their weaknesses?
Three things….
Think about how you write:• What can you already do
well which will be useful?• Where are your
weaknesses?
Based on this reflection
spend a few minutes identifying three things you would like to get out of the session today
• When your list is complete, turn to a neighbour
• Give some background context on your writing experience
• Explain your three objectives.
Activity 1
Sum wondeful peeple gt evrytng write 1st thyme!!!
• This information/class is not for you!!
• But you may be able to help your friends
• You may also learn something by helping them
• Btw… can you write down the correct version of my heading?
Activity 2
NB spell checkersdo not correctall mistakes
Sources of information
• General University guidelines on academic skills
Topics include: writing effectively, reading academically, search strategies, bibliographic software, referencing your work, giving a talkhttp://www.academic-skills.soton.ac.uk
Punctuation: an on-line guide, with exercises: http://www.english.soton.ac.uk/punct.htm
• Engineering Communication Centre, University of Toronto it offers a range of interactive tutorialshttp://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/interactive.html
one is specifically a guide to writing lab reports, http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/handbook-lab.html
Models…
Use good technical writing as a model
• What sources of technical writing can you identify?
Read popular science to helpLearn how towrite technically
Activity 3
What experience do you have?
• Letters• Emails• Blogs • Web pages• Documentation
• Coursework • College newspaper• Film review• Software review• ++
Different formats need differing styles
pragmatics
Practical things to do
Work and improve over time
• Have a plan• Do good work• Record your work• Analyse the results• Capture the whole
process• Meet your deadlines
Some aspects will apply equally to:
• Every written task
Use opportunities to refine your process
these are skills for life
Writing: where do you start?
Consider your audience.•Who are they?•What do they know?•Why are you writing?
Consider your “task master”.•What do they expect•What depth of coverage•What length of writing•What style/format
Provide an Audit Trail
References• Provide an audit trail• Acknowledge others’ work• Are concise Should be replicable
List references • consistently, • correctly, • completely
They need to be:
complete and in a standard format
They need to contain:
enough detail to locate the same source again
Do not include: ISBNLibrary call numbers
Inline web references
Numbered references
Academic References
• There are many reference styles, • you are most likely to encounter IEEE
IEEE convention
uses a single, sequentially ordered note number [1,2] to cite all references to each source mentioned in the text
1 http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/bbieee-f1.html
2 http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/bbieee-help.html
Go to the library
The libraryhttp://www.library.soton.ac.uk/
Information skillshttp://www.soton.ac.uk/library/subjects/ecs/informationskills.html
Work smarter not harder
One touch• Write your bibliography
as you go• Always get full references• Record how and when• Collect to a standard
format
Information needed
• Gather information before and during writing • Begin to organise information as you obtain it
• Information from others: record full bibliographic details
• Information you generate: keep a complete logbook record
Keep track of your sources
With notes, copies of articles, useful diagrams, etc.,
NB• Authors, complete name of work,
editors if any, publisher, year/month of publication, volume no., page numbers
• URL plus any clues as to original paper source.
• If class notes, is there a printed textbook?
• If a self-contained paper, look for any and all clues to find the original citation (e.g. author’s publication list on Web page).
Activity 3
Report Function
Introduction
Itemise key work
Explain your argument
Present key ideas/evidence
[Results]
ConclusionsRemember Your report is not a detective novel!
And reports are not personal
With thanks to nataliedee.com
What difficulties might you face?
• Foreign language• Dyslexia• Lack of experience• Can’t spell• Don’t understand grammar /rules• Difficult to explain myself• …
Different people have different issues
Learning and help
• We will each need different kinds of help
• We each learn and work in different ways
• Learning by doing (read and write - lots)
• Language Support• Learning Differences
Centre• Assistive technology
centre• Self help (books, guides,
the web)• Peer help (colleagues,
friends)
Learning is a continuous process
• Train yourself ;-)
Important Guidelines
Some details of what you have to know
NB: See also Andy Gravell’s notes on academic integrity
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
• In some countries/cultures students may expect to copy
• Teachers may want students to repeat exactly what is in text books or lecture notes.
• At the University of Southampton all work you submit for marking must be your own original creation
• Presenting another’s work as if it was your own is called "plagiarism" and is the wrong thing to do.
• Plagiarism is what you do when you copy without acknowledging your sources
• There are academic conventions to acknowledge sources
• We have clear university regulations against plagiarism
Plagiarism is using someone else’s workbut not indicating that it is not your own
cite your sources, always enclose words and sentences copied directly from another author in quotes
"Teaching machines are unique among instructional aids, in that the student not merely passively listen, watches, or reads but actively responds. And as he does so he finds out whether his response is correct or not. And a record may be kept which aids in improving the materials”.
Pressey, 1926 [5]
How to Avoid Plagiarism
How to Avoid Plagiarism
Additionally you may refer to another author’s work in your own writing
.. according to Marks & Smith 99 [3] the device was originally developed to … ... latest theory on widget compression Bach 2000 [4] tells us that…
...The following diagram (figure 3.1) is is based on the Jones at al. 68 [5]. It shows how.…
....As Robinson says in her 1995 book Hypermedia Applications [6] “The fundamental problem with the embedded links is....”
Avoiding Plagiarism In ECS
• The concept of plagiarism extends to all sorts of academic work, lab work, design and build, programming and written work
• We have an electronic handin machine (called C-BASS)used for many courseworks
– https://handin.ecs.soton.ac.uk/
• We have access to programs which can check for plagiarism in program code and in written assignments which check
– across student groups– Across externally published work
• When you complete a handin you will be asked to confirm that the work is your own
– You can explain any collaborative work you may have done
– You can acknowledge the use of other people’s work such as code, design etc
• It is important you hand in work to receive feedback and enable any problems to be discussed
University & ECS Information
• ECS Student Handbook– Section 3.1.2 Originality of Work
https://secure.ecs.soton.ac.uk/ug/handbook/
• University of Southampton Academic Skills Guidesprovides advice on how to research and referencehttp://www.academic-skills.soton.ac.uk/
• University of Southampton Academic Integrity Policy – Student Handbook
http://www.studentservices.soton.ac.uk/studenthbk/plag.html– Calendar: Academic Integrity: Policy and Procedures
http://www.calendar.soton.ac.uk/sectionIV/part8.html– ISS electronic plagiarism detection
http://www.iss.soton.ac.uk/landt/elearn/plagiarism/
presenting results 1
• what’s best? -graph, table, histogram, barchart, scattergram
• does data highlight the scientific goal?
• do labels reflect the scientific goal?
• is the caption complete?
Figure 1
So what exactly is figure 1?
If you know tell me PLEASE
in the report
Presenting results 2
Use Labels
Speak the maths
Design of figures
What needs to be in a graph?Axes must be labelled with
• Entity being measured (e.g. amplitude, frequency, no. errors, time…)
• Units of measurement• Values in units along axis
Meaning of curves or symbols must be shown: use legends or labels, caption
Captions must be fully informative
presenting results 3
• May be easier to draw by hand then scan
• Describe the important features of your illustration in the results section of your report
• Figures are labelled to form a cross reference
• Can the reader find all your results easily?
citations and references (again)there are standards...You are usually expected
to use numeric referencing
• use that single standard throughout your report
• ensure that all your references are complete – could a reader go to the source unaided?
• some tools enable automatic formatting of citationseg: endnote on ISS workstations
Revision
Reread it
Imagining yourself as the audience.
• Does information come in the right order?
• Are all parts present?• Is it complete?
NB: See notes for extra help
Review, Revision and Proof Reading
WHAT: Check systematically for errors of any sort in a document
HOW: Read through more than once, each time checking for a different type of errorUse friends to help in this process
Reminder – the whole process
Method• Collect the information• Choose an appropriate
structure and style; find out constraints on format
• Choose figures, tables to make points
• Write an objective account of your findings
• Follow any template provided
Completion• Expect to revise• Plan to proofread• Plan your time: figures,
references take longer than plain text
• Factor in the revision
Conclusions and reflections
What are you going to take away?
This is just the beginning…
• learn by doing• Make time for
reflection• think about the issues
raised today• Write yourself an
action list to follow through this advice
acknowledgments
• Parts of this set of materials were drawn from related examples drawn up by colleagues particularly Hugh Davis, Christine Shadle, and Peter Gregson, with guidance from Simon Cox
• I have also drawn from materials at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Engineering Communication
Further work
• This class was just one of many beginnings
• Its up to you now to do the work
• Over the next week look at your action list – and initiate the actions!!
• Whenever you write remember what the process is about
Learning is a continuous process
• Train yourself ;-)
References
for related material and references please see the course web pageLibrary
http://www.library.soton.ac.uk/ECS resources in the library
http://www.soton.ac.uk/library/subjects/ecs/index.htmlInformation Skills (library)
http://www.soton.ac.uk/library/subjects/ecs/informationskills.htmlLibrary info for new students
http://www.soton.ac.uk/library/services/newstudents/index.htmlToronto writing skills
http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/bbieee-help.htmlSCC online
http://www.soton.ac.uk/SSCOnline/SSCOnlinehome/
Appendix
This part of the slides contains basic advice on style and grammar
It also contains exercises to go with the presentation which you can also complete right now
What do you want to learn today?
Think about how you write:• What can you already do
well which will be useful?• Where are your
weaknesses?
Based on this reflection
spend a few minutes identifying three things you would like to get out of the session today
• When your list is complete, turn to a neighbour
• Give some background context on your writing experience
• Explain your three objectives.
Activity 1
Writing and study skills
• General University guidelines on academic skillsTopics include: independent learning, your learning style, getting the most from lectures, reading academically, writing effectively, writing your dissertation, search strategies, bibliographic software, referencing your work, working in groups, giving a talk, preparing for exams. See http://www.academic-skills.soton.ac.ukGuidelines on spelling and punctuation, with exercises (the Aries project)http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/SESLL/STELLA/ARIES/
• Punctuation: an on-line guide, with exercises: http://www.english.soton.ac.uk/punct.htm
Style - 1
• Use the third person• Passive voice:
“The transducer was calibrated…”• Neutral, informative tone• Avoid colloquialisms:
POOR:
“The final design was brilliant!” GOOD:
“The final design had the best signal-to-noise ratio”
• Be specific; refer to figures by number, not pronoun• Be concise
Can you use more shorter sentences?Can you say it in less words
Style - 2
• Use figures, diagrams, equations when they’re more concise and accurate than words would be
• Choose figures carefully;
• make points not decoration
Style - 3
Use standard mathematical notation;
• variables should have a single-character name– POOR: Imp = V/I– GOOD: Z = V/I
• Define variables• specify units• Use SI units
Capitalize and space numbers and units correctly: 6 kHz not 6KHz50 mm8.3 µFd, 60 dB not 60 Db
A bit about grammar
•Create complete sentences.POOR:
“A run-on is more than one sentence, it is often created by using a comma instead of a full stop or semi-colon, and did I remember to tell you about punctuation in general?”
POOR: “Being as how it crashed.”
•Watch for tricky subject-verb agreement:“The set of numbers is…”“These data are…”
A bit more about grammar
Avoid ambiguous pronouns:
Define acronyms, abbreviations at first occurrence; use them for essential terms
“…obtained by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The MRI scanner was 1.5 T…”
“This was then run through the other one.”
Citing References
In text, pick the most graceful way to refer to reference(s) needed
“…as shown by Smith et al.[1] …”
“…Linear prediction is a commonly-used method [1,2,3]…
“…Stone used ultrasound to image the tongue [4,5,6]…
References
Atal, B. and Hanauer, S. (1972) Title of article. Title of Journal 32:4, 167-178.
Flanagan, J. (1975) Title of Book. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Smith, P. (1976) Title of chapter, in L. Jones, ed., Title of Book. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 154-198.
Smith, P., Jones, L. and Stone, M. (1992)…Stone, M. (1983)…Stone, M. (1984)…Stone, M. (1989)…
• What do you find easy?• What do you find difficult?
• Write down a list of three aspects of writing skills which you think that it is important you improve
[optional] Discuss these with a neighbour/friend write down how you will achieve them
How to follow up this lecture
Academic Integrity
Andy Gravell, Michael Kraft, Su White
Background
Why this is important
The Power of the Web
• With the rise of the internet, the World Wide Web, and search engines such as Google, anyone with access to a computer has an unprecedented amount of information available to them “at their fingertips”
• This is good news to you when researching your essays, reports, and projects
• But with power comes responsibility• And the increased need for academic integrity
Definitions (taken from the OED)
Academic• Of or belonging to an academy or
institution for higher learning; hence, collegiate, scholarly
Integrity• Soundness of moral principle; the
character of uncorrupted virtue, especially in relation to truth and fair dealing; uprightness, honesty, sincerity
Our Expectations in ECS
• We expect you to – be honest and balanced in evaluating the
strengths and weaknesses of your own work, and that of others
– respect the intellectual property of others, but their moral rights, and copyright
– conduct yourself according to the standards and conventions of your discipline
– avoid taking unfair advantage of others
Important Guidelines
Some details of what you have to know
University Policy
• The University has adopted policy and procedures regarding the standards we expect from our students, and what should be done in cases where students fall short of these standards– “breaches” of academic integrity
• See the Calendar and the QA handbook (both available on-line via SUSSED)
Summary of Policy
• You must ensure you avoid– plagiarism
• copying or paraphrasing without acknowledgement material attributable to, or the intellectual property of, someone else
– cheating• gaining unfair advantage for yourself or another
– falsification• fictitious or distorted data, false claims
– re-cycling• re-using your own work without declaring you have done so
Range of Penalties
• Your mark for the affected work may be reduced– for example, by ignoring any plagiarised material
• A mark of zero may be returned• You may fail the whole module• You may fail the whole year• Your degree classification may be reduced• Your studies may be terminated• You may be deprived of a degree
– even after it has been awarded
Plagiarism
What it is, and how to avoid it
What is Plagiarism?
• In some countries/cultures students may expect to copy
• Teachers may want students to repeat exactly what is in text books or lecture notes.
• At the University of Southampton, however, all work you submit for marking must be your own original creation
Plagiarism is using someone else’s work…
…without indicating that it is not your own…without crediting the original author
How to Avoid Plagiarism
1. Quote any material copied from elsewhere• it may be appropriate to paraphrase rather than
copy and quote, as discussed below
2. Follow the quotation (or paraphrased material) with a citation such as [3] which clearly identifies an item in your bibliography
3. Put the bibliography at the end of your report• this must give bibliographic details such as title,
author, and year for each source you have cited
4. You must do this for all significant sources
How to Quote
• The easiest and clearest way to identify a quotation is with quote marks “…”– for example “the other pre-eminent name in British
Computing, Maurice Wilkes, arguably contributed rather more than Turing, certainly in practical terms, but is much less prominent in the popular perception”
• An alternative is to indent, or display, the quoted material, which is usually in italics The other pre-eminent name in British Computing,
Maurice Wilkes, arguably contributed rather more than Turing, certainly in practical terms, but is much less prominent in the popular perception
How and When to Paraphrase
• Copyright law only allows you to copy small amounts of text (one or two line)– longer quotes require the author to give permission
• In such cases you should paraphrase the source by putting the material in your own words– Wilkes, though not as famous as Turing, perhaps
made greater practical contribution
• You should also paraphrase to make sure your report flows smoothly and reads well– a sequence of quotations can confuse your reader
How to Cite
• Immediately after each quotation, or piece of paraphrased material, include a citation tag
• This is a number, year, or other identifier in square brackets […]– different styles exist, but you must use the same style
throughout each essay or report
• For example – “the other pre-eminent name … in the popular
perception” [Halley 2005]– Wilkes, though not as famous as Turing, perhaps
made greater practical contribution [3]
Creating a Bibliography
• This is where you list your sources• Start each item is on a new line
– you may also use a hanging indent for later lines
• Order the list, alphabetically or numerically, according to the style of your citation tags*
[Gravell 2006] …
[Halley 2005] Electronic Brains: Stories from the Dawn of the Computer Age, Halley M, 2005, Joseph Henry Press, Washington DC
[2] …
[3] Electronic Brains: Stories from the Dawn of the Computer Age, Halley M, 2005, Joseph Henry Press, Washington DC
*See the academic study skills web site for further information about proper formats for citations and references, or ask the librarian
Why Do We Cite Our Sources?
• We are legally obliged to respect the author’s moral right to be acknowledged as the source
• And also to support the scientific process:– new results are published– leading to new claims being made– these results and claims may be challenged – or they may be supported by further findings
• This is how scientific understanding develops • And the process requires a clear audit trail
Group Work, Collaboration and Collusions
Where to draw the line
Group Working
• Some assignments, labs, and projects are carried out in groups
• For small tasks it will be assumed that everyone contributed equally– if a member of your group is not doing their share of
the work, you must tell the lecturer
• For major pieces of work you will be asked to indicate your contribution and that of others– so keep a record of this in your log book
Collaboration and Collusion
• Occasionally a friend may ask you for help• You can explain the material to them, and try to
clarify any misunderstandings, but what they submit must be their own work– they must be able to explain it if asked– they should acknowledge your contribution
• If either of you thinks you have gone too far, you should tell the lecturer and ask for advice– do not ignore or try to hide the problem
Plagiarism Detection
How we detect cases of plagiarism
Avoiding Plagiarism In ECS
• The concept of plagiarism extends to all sorts of academic work, lab work, design and build, programming and written work
• We have an electronic handin machine (called C-BASS)used for many courseworks
– https://handin.ecs.soton.ac.uk/
• We make use of programs which check for plagiarism in program code and in written assignments
– across student groups– across externally published work
• When you complete a handin you will be asked to confirm that the work is your own. Make sure you
– explain any collaborative work you may have done, and
– acknowledge the use of other people’s work such as code, design, graphs and diagrams
Plagiarism Detection Service
• To help us detect breaches of academic integrity, we use automated plagiarism detection systems
• In the last two years, these have detected a small number of cases where there has been a major level of plagiarism– and some students have failed their degrees
as a result
A Fictional Case Study
An Example Report by Angela Brown
This is a short example to show the importance of using your own words in the reports that you write. Here is an additional sentence with a long and unusual structure in it that will definitely be tracked as a distinctive item by the plagiarism detection software that we use.
This is my own work (signed) Angela Brown.
The Case Study Continued
An Example Report by Cheating Dastard
Another student has copied Angela’s report, without any reference to the original work. This is a short example to show the importance of using your own words in the reports that you write. Here is an additional sentence with a long and unusual structure in it that will definitely be tracked as a distinctive item by the plagiarism detection software that we use. To make the report a little longer, some material has been included from another source off the Internet….
An Example Plagiarism Report
• Overall Similarity Index: 71% 1. 38% match (internet, wikipedia) 2. 33% match (student papers from 06/16/06)
An Example Report by Cheating Dastard
Another student has copied Angela's report, without any reference to the original work. This is a short example to show the importance of using your own words in the reports that you write. Here is an additional sentence with a long and unusual structure in it that will definitely be tracked as a distinctive item by the plagiarism detection software that we use.To make the report a little longer, some material has been included from another source off the Internet. Integrity comprises the personal inner sense of "wholeness" deriving from honesty and consistent uprightness of character. The etymology of the word relates it to the Latin adjective integer (whole, complete). Evaluators, of course, usually assess integrity from some point of view, such as that of a given ethical tradition or in the context of an ethical relationship. This is my own work (signed) Cheating Dastard.
Actual Screen Shot
Summary
Please Remember
• Academic Integrity is important• Breaches include plagiarism, cheating,
falsification, and re-cycling• We use automatic plagiarism detection software
to help us identify breaches• Students have been caught, and some have
failed their degree as a result• Make sure you quote (or paraphrase) and cite
your sources in a clear and standard way
Further Information
• University of Southampton Academic Skills Guidesprovides advice on how to research and reference– http://www.academic-skills.soton.ac.uk/
• University of Southampton Plagiarism Policy – Student Handbook
http://www.studentservices.soton.ac.uk/studenthbk/plag.html– Calendar: Plagiarism and Cheating: Policy and Procedures
http://www.calendar.soton.ac.uk/sectionIV/part8.html
• ECS Student Handbook– Section 3.1.2 Originality of Work
https://secure.ecs.soton.ac.uk/ug/handbook/
