pre-writing and outlining ics 139w 08/08/2011. syllabus now available jwross/courses/ics139w
TRANSCRIPT
Syllabus now available
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~jwross/courses/ics139w/
What is prewriting?• First stage of the writing process
1. prewriting
2. drafting
3. revising
4. editing
5. publishing
• Prewriting is about figuring out what to write
Brainstorming• Goal: get as many ideas on paper as possible
• generate first, filter later
• Start with a blank page and write down anything• Don’t worry if it’s a good idea or not, just get it down
• Once finished, review for good ideas
Brainstorming Exercise• Individually, brainstorm as many ideas for technological
“systems” as you can• Topics for Assignment 2• Can be familiar or unfamiliar• Software
• an application, a website, a game, etc
• Hardware • the newest gadget or device, etc
• More abstract "system” • a network protocol, a socio-technical system, etc
Share with a neighbor!
Pitfalls of Brainstorming• Group vs. individual brainstorming sessions
• Nominal groups > collocated groups
• Fear of evaluation• Limited communication channels (blocking)• Free riding
Looping (freewriting)• Write down all your thoughts on a subject
• generate first, filter later
• Good for coming up with interesting ideas
• This is prewriting – do not turn in something like this!• stream-of-consciousness not very effective for technical writing
Mind-mapping• A way of generating ideas and beginning to organize them
1. Start with a topic / important word
2. Write other important words around it
3. Connect related items
4. Repeat
Group mind-mapping:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MindMapGuidlines.svg
Outlines• A sequential summary of the document• Can be formal or informal
• Can outline at multiple levels of detail• section-level, paragraph-level, sentence-level
I. Topic 1A. Item 1
i. detailii. detail
B. Item 2II. Topic 2
A. Item 1…
Topic 1 1) idea 1 2) idea 2 -- question ? potential answer - other ideaTopic 2 …
Structure and Organization• Intro – Body – Conclusion• 5-paragraph essay• Others?
• Structure recurses!• Can have intro, body, conclusion at all levels
• Jump to locations in expository writing• Table of Contents
• Make point first in persuasive writing• Or build to a conclusion
• No one correct structure
Example Outlines: Expository writing • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet
• Automatically-generated outline• What does this outline tell us about the structure?
• http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/08/creative-commons-images-and-you.ars
Example Outlines: Technical Documentation• Documentation
• http://developer.android.com/guide/index.html
• Tutorials• http://guides.rubyonrails.org/getting_started.html
• APIs• http://download.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/
Example Outlines: Research Papers• http://chi2012.acm.org/chi2012archivalformat_final.doc
• http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1054972.1055017• http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/587078.587080
Standard Format:1. Abstract2. Introduction3. Related Work4. Method5. Results
6. Discussion7. Future Work8. Conclusion9. References
Headings and Titles• Outlines Section Headings
• allows for quick navigation• helps the reader stay situated• breaks up the paper
• Titles• Not always necessary in papers• Required for some cases
• e.g., web site titles
• Informative and engaging: it’s what people judge your paper by!• full-sentence titles
Stress-free Outlining
Be comfortable • Doesn’t have to be perfect initially • Can outline and change things around without committing
Not a required formal step, but is very helpful• Can outline almost anything (emails, etc)• Solution for being understood even while nervous
• Outline can be understood without having to “write” • (without worrying about the grammar or style elements)• If understandable, then you’ve already solved half the problem
Homework for Wednesday• Decide on a system for Assignment 2
• (can use an example from our in-class brainstorming)• non-specific Facebook is off limits
• Bring in a clean outline (hard copy) for peer editing• should outline at least to the paragraph level• does not need to be formal, but should be readable
• Remember to check the assignment instructions!• http://www.ics.uci.edu/~jwross/courses/ics139w/assignment2.html
Peer Editing• Practice editing papers and responding to others’ writing
• Multiple eyes catch multiple problems
• Get comfortable sharing work with others
Giving Good Feedback• First rule: be honest and kind
• “looks okay” doesn’t help anyone• If you react to a paper or something feels wrong, point it out
• Mutual Respect• Constructive criticism about the text, not the author• Be pleasant, helpful, and professional
• Also give feedback on writing strengths!
Giving Good Feedback• Pretend you are the target reader
• e.g.: you are the hiring manager; you are a new system user; etc.• Don’t rely on your own knowledge or context!
• Give suggestions for fixes and improvements• Try and figure out WHY something this wrong
• Don’t just look for grammar – editing != proofreading• Also check organization, argument effectiveness, etc.
• Editing tips apply • read aloud, look things up, etc
Using Peer Editing• Pay attention to the feedback from others!
• No one (not even Joel or Dmitri) will catch everything• edit and edit again; iterate and iterate again
Peer-Editing: Resumes and Cover Letters
• Exchange and edit Resumes/Cover Letters• Use worksheet as a guide
• Exchange with at least two (2) classmates• Can also ask Joel or Dmitri to edit, but need two others
• You will need to turn your edit sheets on Wednesday • (you can use the comments for editing before then)