Transcript Getting to the essential

Writing technical papers and abstracts
Writing is thinking
Technical reports and abstracts
• General principles of communication
• Report writing
• Abstract
Technical reports and abstracts
• General principles of communication
• Report writing
• Abstract
Key principles of communication
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Define the audience
Understand the concern of the audience
Frame what you expect from the audience
Select the right media
Find the right tome
Adapt the content (e.g., language)
Communication
Overall example: Communicating a new
treatment policy with physicians
• Define the audience
 Medical association
• Understand the concern of the audience
 Quality of care, professional standards, respectability
• Frame what you expect from the audience
 Endorse the treatment guidelines
• Select the right media
 National medical journal, congress
• Find the right tome
 Hippocratic principles, science
• Adapt the content
 Technical language, evidence base, data
Communication
Exercise: Communicating the results of
an HIV treatment pilot project
Ministry of health
Define the audience
Understand the
concern of the
audience
Frame what you
expect from the
audience
Select the right media
Find the right tome
Adapt the content
(e.g., language)
Donor
Possible matrix for the communication of
the findings of a study to various
audiences
Audience
Medium
Focus of the
content
Communication
objective
Epidemiologists
•Report
•Epidemiology
•Convince
Managers
•Summary
•Recommendations
•Action
Political leaders
•Briefing
•Summary
•Support
Community
•Press release
•Health education
•Personal steps
towards prevention
Communication
Technical reports and abstracts
• General principles of communication
• Report writing
• Abstract
Using high-level outlines
• Skeleton of the report in bullet points
• Outline of various sections
 Spell out all titles
 Use outline format of word processors
 Summarize each paragraph with a bullet point
• List of tables and figures
 Spell out titles
• Reach consensus on the outline
• Expand
Report
The six “S” of technical writing
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Simple
Short
Structured
Sequential
Strong
Specific
Report
The six “S” of technical writing
1. Simple
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Use simple words to explain what is meant
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Explaining the concept to a lay person
Don’t use jargon technical or statistical jargon
Short
Structured
Sequential
Strong
Specific
Report
The six “S” of technical writing
1. Simple
2. Short
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3.
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5.
6.
< 3000 words, < 5 tables / figures
Use short sentences with one idea each
Split complex sentences
Cut unnecessary elements
Structured
Sequential
Strong
Specific
Report
The six “S” of technical writing
1. Simple
2. Short
3. Structured
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Write under the high level outline
Follow the logic argument
4. Sequential
5. Strong
6. Specific
Report
The six “S” of technical writing
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Simple
Short
Structured
Sequential
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Take the reader by the hand step by steps
Start each sentence where the previous ended
5. Strong
6. Specific
Report
The six “S” of technical writing
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2.
3.
4.
5.
Simple
Short
Structured
Sequential
Strong
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Use the verb as the centre of gravity
If the verb is weak, the sentence is weak
6. Specific
Report
The six “S” of technical writing
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Simple
Short
Structured
Sequential
Strong
Specific
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Say clearly and exactly what you want to say
Do not paraphrase
Prefer numbers to qualifiers
Report
Things to avoid
• Qualifiers
 “This was a very large outbreak”
• Emphasis
 “This is the largest outbreak ever reported as thousands and
thousands of people were affected”
• Accusations
 “Irresponsible behaviours among health care workers lead to the
spread of this Lassa fever outbreak”
• Apologies
 “Because of a lack of resources we could not…”
• “Clearly”
 If it is clear, you don’t need the word “clearly”
Report
Passive and active voice
• Passive voice
 Suggest lack of ownership in the process
 Imprecise
 OK if subject is unknown or irrelevant
• Active voice
 Reflects the responsibility taken
 Precise
 To use by default (use grammar checkers)
Report
Examples of passive and active voice use
• Passive voice
 A study was conducted
 A sample was selected
 Questionnaires were administered
• Active voice
 We conducted a study
 We selected a sample
 Field workers administered the questionnaires
Report
Indirection
“Her two Afghan hounds have
the run of her 24-room apartment “
The practice of obliquely insinuating new information
into a narrative as if the reader already knows it – a
technique feature writers often use to jam facts into
tight space and achieve a knowing tone.
Eleanor Gould Packard
Former Editor of the New Yorker
Report
Documenting the evidence
• Verbs to use
 Clear evidence: Use “Indicate”
 Partial evidence: Use “Suggest”
• Words to avoid
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“Probably” – use “may”
“Show” – use “indicate”
“Prove” – use “indicate”
“Reveal” – use “indicate” or “suggest”
“It appears” – Spell out what data suggests that
Report
Getting rid of “should”
• Use “find” function of word processor
 Tuberculosis patients should be counselled
• Use imperative
 Counsel tuberculosis patients
• Explain why it “should” be done
 Counselling will decrease default rates
• Do both
 Counsel tuberculosis patients to decrease
default rates
Report
Technical reports and abstracts
• General principles of communication
• Report writing
• Abstract
Basic rules of an abstract
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Constitutes a summary of the source report
Follows the same order of source report
Does not refer to source report
Includes only information from source report
Fully understood on its own
Abstract
Steps in preparing an abstract
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Chose topic
Review data / report
Review rules of conference or journal
Extract ideas and data from report
Organize extracted material within outline
Write and revise
Report
Writing the abstract
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Make key linkages between ideas
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Add words or phrases to extracted material
Review and rearrange order of ideas and data
Proceed in two steps:
1. Start by writing all what needs to be stated
2. Identify and remove unnecessary elements
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Rewrite
Revise
Report
Building an autonomous abstract (1/2)
1. Start from the data
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What are the KEY data elements
Summarize for the results paragraph
2. Draw key general conclusion
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Strictly based upon the data presented
3. Formulate key recommendation
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Direct deduction of the conclusion
Strictly based upon the data presented
Report
Building an autonomous abstract (2/2)
4. Summarize the methods
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Spell out what is strictly necessary to document
to believe the results presented
5. Shape the introduction
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Explain why the study was done
Make sure your conclusion matches the
objective that you state
Report
Principle #1: The primacy of data
• Do not begin without data
• Maximize space devoted to data
• Minimize space for words that do not provide
data or information:
 “Additional data will be shown”
 “These results will be discussed”
 “Have not yet been established”
Report
Take home messages
• Write for your audience, not for yourself
• Structure through high level outlines
• Place the data at the centre of abstracts