CSCI 373:
Better (Technical) Writing
Michael
A. Heroux
Compact, precise and literal
writing is desirable in most disciplines, but is essential in technical fields.
Wordy, imprecise and metaphoric text dilutes and confuses the reader of a
technical document. In this exercise we will work on improving our skills.
1.
Tips for Compact Writing:
o
How
to Write Clear, Concise, and Direct Sentences, Joseph Williams.
o
How
to Write Clear Sentences,
Mignon Fogarty.
2.
Technical Writing Overview: Overview, David
A. McMurrey.
3.
A Template for Writing an Original
Technical Report: Primary
Research Reports, David A. McMurrey.
4.
Writing Tips: Three Sins of Authors in Computer
Science and Math, Jonathan Shewchuk.
Exercises:
1. Identify three elements of your Survey
paper that are out of sync with the suggestion in the above three links.
2. Revise your text for better alignment.
3. Turn in both the original and revised
text next class period.