writing technical papers that people will read

Writing Technical

Papers That People Will Read

5 R’s of Whole-Brained Writing

• R _________

• R _________

• R _________

• R _________

• R _________

5 R’s of Whole-Brained Writing

• Ruminate

• R _________

• R _________

• R _________

• R _________

The Three B’s

The Three B’s

•The Bed•The Bath

The Three B’s

•The Bed•The Bath•The Bus

Characteristics of the 3 B’s

•Repetitive

•Wordless

•Familiar

Linear Outline

• I. FIRST MAIN IDEA– A. Division of That

• a. subset

• b. subset

• c. subset

– B. Division of That• a. subset

• b. subset

• II. SECOND MAIN IDEA– A. Division of That

• a. subset

• b. subset

• c. subset

– B. Division of That• a. subset

• b. subset

Main Idea

Rapidwriting

• Write non-stop for minimum of 10 minutes

• Incorporate static and running commentary

• Misspell

• Write garbage

• Go through The Wall, past the point of wanting to quit

• Turn off the screen

5 R’s of Whole-Brained Writing

• Ruminate

• R _________

• R _________

• R _________

• R _________

5 R’s of Whole-Brained Writing

• Ruminate

• Rapidwrite

• R _________

• R _________

• R _________

The Importance of Retreat

5 R’s of Whole-Brained Writing

• Ruminate

• Rapidwrite

• R _________

• R _________

• R _________

5 R’s of Whole-Brained Writing

• Ruminate

• Rapidwrite

• Retreat

• R _________

• R _________

5 R’s of Whole-Brained Writing

• Ruminate

• Rapidwrite

• Retreat

• Re-vise

• R _________

5 R’s of Whole-Brained Writing

• Ruminate

• Rapidwrite

• Retreat

• Re-vise

• Repeat

Re-vise = New Eyes

The single most important question you need to ask before editing.

___________________________________

The single most important question you need to ask before editing:

What does my reader need to hear?

The 3 C’s

• C ___________________

• C ___________________

• C ___________________

The 3 C’s

• C lear

• C ___________________

• C ___________________

The 3 C’s

• Clear

• Concise

• C ___________________

The 3 C’s

• Clear

• Concise

• Conversational

The Inverted Triangle

Storyboard Logic

and

Ouija Boards

Use the Active Voice

• The subject of an activeverb acts.

• The subject of a passive verb does not act.

Avoid the Use of Qualifiers

The constant use of qualifiers isparticularly debilitating; weshould all try to do a little better,we should all be very watchful of this rule, for it is a rather important one and we are pretty sure to violate it now and then.

Eliminate ClutterSomebody has said that words are a

lot like money--the more of them you use, the less each one is worth. Right on. Go through your entire letter just as many times as it takes. Search out and annihilate all unnecessary words and sentences--even entire paragraphs. ---Malcolm Forbes

This workshop will show you how to

• eliminate needless words

• substitute simple, straightforward language that has impact for convoluted phrases that weigh your piece down

Thanks and ever thanks