ÒNo good mastery of language, no great achievement possible.ó - Confucius

Transcription

1 The Logic in Technical Communication by Michael Tse for ÒNo good mastery of language, no great achievement possible.ó - Confucius Michael Tse 1

2 The purposes of this talk To remind you of the ÒDONÕTsÒ DONÕTsÓ Ó in technical writing To identify common errors in English that may lead to misunderstanding To convince you that Ð engineers must write good clear English; Ð communication skills are as important as technical skills. Michael Tse s 3 Starting point Assumption You can write grammatically correct English. Unfortunately, the following obvious errors are commonly found in final-year studentsõ reports! Ð ÒÉThe reason for the error is capacitor is connected wrongly to the amplifier..ó Ð ÒÉPower supply is not efficient because it has many dissipations produce heat.ó Michael Tse s 4 Michael Tse 2

3 Be careful The title of my first-year course: Electronic Circuit I More examples: Communications Linear Systems Stochastic Methods Michael Tse s 5 Areas that deserve special attention Comparing and Contrasting Adding and Elaborating Handling Participles and Gerunds Using Verbs Correctly Avoiding False Connections Michael Tse s 6 Michael Tse 3

4 Comparing and Contrasting Mismatch is a common source of errors An apple is a book. This sounds ridiculous, but does represent a very common form of error! See next slide. An apple is the subject of a book about fruits. Michael Tse s 7 Subtle / obvious mismatch The Centre for Multimedia Signal Processing in EIE has been accepted by the University as an Area of Strategic Development. being in Michael Tse s 8 Michael Tse 4

5 Mismatch: like / unlike Unlike previous talks, I focus on the language aspect. Unlike previous talks, this one focuses on the language aspect. Michael Tse s 9 Mismatch: more / less than The weather in Hong Kong is cooler than Singapore. The weather in Hong Kong is cooler than that in Singapore. Exercise: His language skill is better than David. Michael Tse s 10 Michael Tse 5

6 Mismatch: compared to/with While the goods are cheap compared with high retail prices, they are still overpriced against their cost. While the prices are low compared with high retail prices, they are still overpriced against their cost. Michael Tse s 11 Lack of precision presence of The stray capacitance causes EMI problems. ^ the number of The order of the circuit is equal to the sum of inductors and capacitors. ^ ^ The validity of the number of range/set of This theory is restricted to a certain parameter ^ values. ^ high The compression rate makes the video transmission very ^efficient. Michael Tse s 12 Michael Tse 6

7 Adding and Elaborating Keep it parallel! The purpose is to introduce the basic concepts to students, and demonstrating real-life application examples. The purpose is to introduce the basic concepts to students, and to demonstrate real-life application examples. Michael Tse s 13 Distinguish between exception and addition Apart from the lab reports, students have to submit their log books. In addition to submitting lab reports, students have to submit their log books. In addition to lab reports, log books have to be submitted. Michael Tse s 14 Michael Tse 7

8 Ensure proper reference of relative clause You are required to submit a report in December which should be less than 2000 words. You are required to submit in December a report, which should be less than 2000 words. You are required to submit a report of less than 2000 words in December. Michael Tse s 15 Handling Participles and Gerunds Participle - adjectival attachment Ð John is very busy preparing a report. Ð Two papers were written, describing the theory and application of the new control design. Gerund - a noun with ÒingÒ ingó Ð His singing is too noisy. Ð I look forward to seeing you in Hong Kong. Ð Prof.. Lee discovered a new approach to solving the problem. Michael Tse s 16 Michael Tse 8

9 Mismatch again! Comparing the two students, the one wearing a blue shirt looks smarter. Who is comparing? Comparing the two students, I find that the one wearing a blue shirt looks smarter. Michael Tse s 17 Mismatch Working closely with Dr. Wong, this project will involve computer simulations and experimental tests. Who is working with Dr. Wong? Working closely with Dr. Wong, the student will perform computer simulations and experimental tests Michael Tse s 18 Michael Tse 9

10 Identify the subject correctly When constructing an amplifier, the grounding arrangement must be carefully considered. The Ògrounding arrangementó canõt construct an amplifier!!! When constructing an amplifier, we must carefully consider the grounding arrangement. Michael Tse s 19 Be careful with ÔlookingÕ [who is looking?], ÔusingÕ [who is using?],... Looking into the longer term, this method has not always proved successful. ÒThis methodó canõt ÒlookÓ into the long term!! In the longer term, this method has not always proved successful. Michael Tse s 20 Michael Tse 10

11 Participle forgotten! Ð Example from EIE exam paper!! Assume that the devices are linear, find the gain of the amplifier. Assuming that the devices are linear, find the gain of the amplifier. Assume that the devices are linear. Find the gain of the amplifier. Michael Tse s 21 Use gerund properly By assuming the devices are linear, find the gain of the amplifier. By assuming linearity of the devices, find the gain of the amplifier. Michael Tse s 22 Michael Tse 11

12 Using Verbs Correctly Connect infinitive properly The problem is difficult enough to spend three months in finding a solution. The problem is difficult enough for the engineer to spend three months in finding a solution. Michael Tse s 23 Avoid misuse of infinitive Circuit theory is a foundation subject to build up advanced circuit design methods. Circuit theory is a foundation subject on which to build up advanced circuit design methods. Michael Tse s 24 Michael Tse 12

13 Singular / plural This lecture notes is written for the subject ÒElectronic CircuitsÓ. ÒNotesÓ are always plural. These lecture notes are written for the subject ÒElectronic CircuitsÓ. Michael Tse s 25 Singular subject with plural verb The outcome of these meetings show large gaps in our understanding of the research topic. The outcome of these meetings shows large gaps in our understanding of the research topic. Michael Tse s 26 Michael Tse 13

14 More on plurality Example 1 and 2 illustrate the concept of recursion in programming. Examples 1 and 2 illustrate the concept of recursion in programming. Exercise Students of Group A and B should submit their report next week. Michael Tse s 27 Handle transitive verbs carefully What is a Òtransitive verbó? A transitive verb is one which is followed by a direct object, without which the meaning is incomplete. Transitive verbs: He caught a fish. I ate an orange. Intransitive verbs: She hesitated. He departed. Michael Tse s 28 Michael Tse 14

15 Prevent misuse of transitive verbs (passive voice) The algorithm has simplified when objectoriented programming is used. The algorithm has got simplified when object-oriented programming is used. Exercise Transformer cores should be carefully selected so as to ensure that the system does not overheat. Michael Tse s 29 More about misuse of verbs A common computer network is Ethernet connection. A common way of setting up a network is to use Ethernet connection. Exercise: The low compression rate is a reason for the slow transmission of video data. Michael Tse s 30 Michael Tse 15

16 Avoiding False Connections Misuse of pronouns Misconnection of clauses and phrases Inconsistency Michael Tse s 31 Pronouns The user interface is good. It can be easily extended to a commercial software package. The programme has a good user interface. It can be easily extended to a commercial software package. Exercise: The overcurrent protection needs to be installed as soon as possible before it becomes a safety risk. Michael Tse s 32 Michael Tse 16

17 Relative pronouns The experiment was conducted by a research assistant which verified an important theoretical result. The experiment was conducted by a research assistant who verified an important theoretical result. The experiment, the purpose of which was to verify an important theoretical result, was conducted by a research assistant. Michael Tse s 33 Misconnected phrases Upon completion of his course, Dr. Chan requested a feedback questionnaire to be completed by all students. Who is completing the course? Upon studentsõ completion of his course, Dr. Chan requested a É Michael Tse s 34 Michael Tse 17

18 Misconnected phrases In case of / In the case ofé In case of a switching regulator, the efficiency can be as high as 90%. In the case of a switching regulator, the efficiency can be as high as 90%. Michael Tse s 35 Inconsistency The results are presented graphically in Figures 1 and 2 respectively. The results for method A and method B are presented graphically in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. Michael Tse s 36 Michael Tse 18

19 Prepositions Let us to have a discussion on this topic. of It is very kind for you to help your classmates. of Good picture quality is required for this video streaming system. High compression ratio is required for efficient transmission of video data. Michael Tse s 37 Final Examples Which ones of the following subject titles are correct? Society and Engineer The Society and Engineer Society and Engineers Communications Fundamentals Communication Fundamental Analogue Circuits and Systems Analogue Circuit and System Michael Tse s 38 Michael Tse 19

20 Summary of Logical Mistakes Mismatch Misconnection Inconsistency } Grammatically correct Wrong grammar - logical misinterpretations Michael Tse s 39 Conclusion Basic requirements for good technical communication: Ð Be grammatical! Ð Be logical! Ð Be precise! Michael Tse s 40 Michael Tse 20