Assertion-Evidence Structure

As a result of your examination of the website linked below, what are some of your insights about the ways in which this proposed PowerPoint structure differs from the strategies your have used yourself or that you have seen peers using in PowerPoint presentations in the past? In what ways do you think some of these ideas might help you to deliver more effective presentations? Are there any suggestions on this site that you don't think would work for the delivery of your material, specifically the research you are trying to explain in your technical project? In your examples, please be as specific as possible.

Here is the website address (the same as in the email I sent you):

http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/slides.html

Instructions

For this fun exercise, please peruse sample "instructions" posted online (there are many websites that specialize in how-to's or instructions). After looking at several, please choose one set of instructions that you would assess as unsatisfactory, for reasons of graphics, text, or a combination of both. Please be sure to think about the guidelines your book offers for effective instructions. Let these guide your assessment. Post a link and your assessment in your comment.

Graphics and Ethics

In Chapter Twelve, your textbook discusses and provides examples of effective and ineffective graphics, which include graphs, charts, illustrations, and images. As your book mentions, sometimes graphics can be unethical, in that they misrepresent data or a product or a research finding. Can you find a graphic online that you find unethical? Use the images your book includes as examples of the types of images to look for. Do not use advertising images for this posting, but rather other kinds of graphics that serve as interesting (but in this case unethical) instances of technical communication.

Appropriate Sentence Length

Choose an Appropriate Sentence Length

People write too long of sentences because they have too much to say and then it all gets blurred together and sounds super funny and then doesn’t make sense at all which confuses the reader which gives us a bad grade on the write up.

To improve the previous sentence:

People write too long of sentences because they have too much to say. The words get all blurred together, and they sound super funny. So, the sentence doesn’t make sense at all, which confuses the reader and gives us a bad grade on the write up.

Writing long sentences is boring. I like to write short sentences. Then I don’t have to worry about run-on sentences. I just have problems with commas.

To improve the previous sentences:

I like to write short sentences because long sentences are boring. If I write short sentences, I do not have to worry about run-on sentences. I simply have problems using commas.

For sentences that are too long and confusing, just break them up into smaller multiple ones that are easier to follow. Sentences with over 35 words are generally too long. For sentences that are too short and choppy, combine them with the appropriate punctuation(s) and/or conjunctions. Sentences that are less than 15 words are generally too short.
Sentences that contain 15-20 words are effective for most technical communication.

Formality

There are three accepted levels of formality. The three levels are informal, moderately formal, and highly formal. The audience your writing is directed towards determines the level of formality. Writing a letter to the Dean of Students requires a higher level of formality than writing a letter to a friend. Also, subject matter can affect the level of formality required. Subjects that are serious require a higher level of formality. The purpose also affects how formal your writing needs to be. If you are writing a newsletter, there is more leeway for informal writing. However, writing for a peer reviewed journal requires a high level of formality. If there is a question, err of the side of formality. Informal writing has a tendency

Modifiers

Using Modifiers Effectively:

Modifiers are words or phrases that provide information about either subjects or objects in a sentence. Modifiers can be integral to the meaning of the sentence or can supplement that meaning. A misuse or a lack of modifiers can confuse the reader or inadvertently change the meaning of the sentence itself.

The three main errors made when using modifiers are (1) failing to distinguish between restrictive and nonrestrictive modifiers, (2) misplacing modifiers, and (3) using “dangling” modifiers. A description and example of each kind of error is given below.

Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Modifiers
A restrictive modifier identifies and distinguishes its referent (i.e., what the modifier modifies). A nonrestrictive modifier simply provides additional information.

Here’s an example of a restrictive modifier:
“Joe’s office is under the stairs to the right of the photocopier.”

Here’s an example of a non-restrictive modifier:
“Joe’s office, which is at the bottom of the stairs on the left, is always open.”

Misplaced Modifiers
A misplaced modifier can change the entire meaning of a sentence. For example, “We did our homework in Weir Hall on geothermal studies,” is fundamentally different from “We did our homework on geothermal studies in Weir Hall.”

Dangling Modifiers
A dangling modifier could refer to one of two or more sentence elements, but is not clear which element it refers to. For example: “Trying to solve the problem, the instructions seemed unclear.” This sounds like the instructions are trying to do the problem.

"Real verbs"

A common problem is the use of a *nominalized *verb—a verb that has been changed into a noun then connected with a weaker verb. To construct becomes to begin construction, nominalizing the verb makes sentences longer and awkward. Normalizations are often not errors; they can effectively summarize ideas from previous sentences. You can easily identify most normalizations by searching for tion, ment, sis, ence, ing, and ance, as well as the word of.

*Strong* The committee agreed on a project.

*Weak* The committee reached an agreement on the project.