Academic writing 10/12/2015 Black Testicles A male patient is lying in bed in the hospital, wearing...

Academic writing

04/19/23

Black Testicles

• A male patient is lying in bed in the hospital, wearing an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, still heavily sedated from a difficult four hour surgical procedure.

• A young student nurse appears to give him a partial sponge bath. Nurse,' he mumbles, from behind the mask 'Are my testicles black?'

• Embarrassed, the young nurse replies 'I don't know, Sir.

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• I'm only here to wash your upper body.' • He struggles to ask again, 'Nurse, are my testicles black?'

• Concerned that he may elevate his vitals from worry about his testicles, she overcomes her embarrassment and sheepishly pulls back the covers.

• She raises his gown, holds his penis in one hand and his testicles in the other, lifting and moving them around and around gently.

• Then, she takes a close look and says,• 'No sir, they aren't and I assure you, there's nothing

wrong with them, Sir !!'

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Black Testicles

• The man pulls off his oxygen mask, smiles at her and says very slowly, 'Thank you very much!

• “ That was wonderful, but listen very, very closely..... “

• ' A r e - m y - t e s t - r e s u l t s -b a c k ?'

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The Cake • 99% of population like cakes • Why ?

• Looks good – “Wow” factor at a distance • Smells good - More closer feel • Taste good - after eating

• What makes a cake different to another • Writing is no difference 04/19/23

Important concepts on writing

–Head –Body –Tail

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Head

–Opening sentence – “wow factor” –Introduction –Background –Justification – Importance of this topic “ why I

should read this ????

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Body

• Details • Subject matter / theory / arguments • Maintain logical flow• Content - Simple / Accurate / Direct • Use more diagrams – figures – charts – pictures • Think

– you are teaching students – Not all information may always be relevant

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Numbering

–Chapter number • I . ….. IX ( Roman letters)

–Topic number • 1.1 . 1.2 ect.

–Subtopic number • 1.1.1. , 1.1.2 , ect

You can use word or power point – use numbering assistance

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Font

• Size – Title in cover page – 18 – Topic / chapter – 14 ( bold)– Sub topic – 12 ( bold)– Other paragraphs – 11/ 12

• Font type – New times – Arial / Arial narrow– Calibri

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– Paragraph • Distance – 1.5 / 1.15 • Main topics – one para • Sub topics – no para

– Page set up • Portrait • Margins

– 1.25 “ on left hand side of the paper and 1 “ on all other sides.

• A 04 sheets – Binding

• Spiral • Hard cover

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• Alignment – Topics – at the center – Subtopics – at the left hand corner – Figure & tables – center / equal size of each– All paragraphs “ justify”

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Important standards

• Tidy and neat report,

• Carelessness not tolerated

• Manual corrections - not tolerated,

• All reports must be type written from using a good

grade white paper sized A4

Cover page

• Assignment • Topic • Author• Institution • Year of writing• ..\..\..\cover page & Index.doc

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Inner page

• Topic and Author • A phrase……………..

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AbstractExecutive summery

• Essence of what you want to say

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Acknowledgement

• To whom have helped you !

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Tables

• Top of the table – Number the table - Table 01 :– Topic of the table - Description of the student

• Bottom of the table– Source of the table

• Source : Annual health bulletin, 2009 GUIDELINE Academic writing.doc

Figures

– Number the Figure- Table 01 : – Topic of the figure - Description of the base

ball – Source of the figure - Source : Annual sports

bulletin, 2009 – GUIDELINE Academic writing.doc

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List of references

• This could be at the end of the book

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Referencing system

Referencing System

• Harvard system• Vancouver system

Objectives of the referencing

1. Avoid plagiarism1. Copying of another person's thoughts, ideas or

written material and claiming that they are your own

2. Lend credibility 3. Locate the source if required.

The Rules of Referencing:1. A reference must be included every time you use

someone else’s ideas or information2. A reference must be included in

– Paraphrase or summarise (express someone else’s idea in your own words)

– quote (using their exact words) – copy (reproduce someone’s diagram, graph or

table)3. Each reference must appear in two places –

‘shortened version’ in the text and a ‘full version’ at the end of the page

Main components

1. Citation - which provides brief identifying details about the work in the body of the text each time it is used

2. Reference Page/Bibliography - which lists all the references used and includes all the details needed to properly identify the source, end of the text .

A. Referencing a book

1. Author - Last name and initials of given names

2. Date of publication3. Title of the book4. The edition of the book5. The publisher6. The city in which the book was published

• Author's surname and initials of given name, year of publication, title (in italics or in quotation marks or, if handwritten, underlined). Edition (where relevant), publisher, place of publication.

• Zgola, J.M., 1987, Doing Things: A guide to programming activities for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, John Hopkins University Press, London.

Edited Volumes of books

• The style is the same as for books except that the editor's name should be followed by (ed.) or for more than one editor by (eds.)

• Mulhoney, D. J. & Gottson, J. (eds.), 1991, Urban Man and Environmental Concerns in Australia, ANU Press, Canberra.

• Hiatt, B., 1994, Woman and gatherer. In Fay Gale (ed.), Woman's Role in Aboriginal Society, pp.4-15, AIAS, Canberra.

B. Referencing journal

1.Author - Last name and initials of given names

2.Year of Publication

3.Title of article

4.Title of journal or periodical

5.Volume and issue number or month or season

6.Page numbers of the article

• Author's surname and initials of given name, year of publication, 'title of article', title of the journal or periodical (in italics with each word capitalised except for articles , volume and issue number etc, page number or numbers.

• Nadel, L. ,1993-4, 'Do men and women speak different languages?' International Brain Dominance Review, vol 9, no 2. pp. 21-25.

C. Video and Television Recordings

• Title ‘name of television program’, transmission details (for TV) or publisher (for video). (names of months used as identifiers write: Jan., Feb., Mar etc)

• American apartheid, [television recording], 25 Mar.

1996, ‘Four Corners’, ABC Television.• Understanding Alzheimer’s, Group 3 video, [video

recording], 1992, Grundy Television, Alzheimer’s Association, NSW

D. Electronic Information Sources• Type of medium

– may be [online], [CD-ROM], [disk], [magnetic tape]

• Author’s name – (where present) on a WWW site may be at the top or bottom of the

Web page - check both places.

• Date of publication– (where present) on a WWW site may be at the top or bottom of the

Web page - check both places.

• Title of a WWW document – is usually printed along the edge of a printout of the page; if this is not

the case, use the screen heading as the title of the document.

D. Electronic Information Sources

• Publisher • Internet items include date accessed because

Internet addresses may not be permanent. • URLs

– (Internet addresses) are not split; they should be written on one line.

• These are then referenced similar to that of a book:• Author, Year, Title [type of medium],

Publisher/Place, Accessed: day month year, <URL>• Mirza, Q. 1995, Race relations in the work place

[online], CRER Database of Resources in Ethnic Relations, Warwick, England, Accessed 10 June 1996,<http://www.warwick.ac.uk/www/faculties/social_studies/CRER_RC/search.html>

E. Conferences / Paper articles

• Conferences papers • Edmond, D. G.,1998, The mechanism of

nutrition consumption by plant roots, Trans. 9th Int. Congress, Soil Science, Adelaide., Vol. II, pp. 183-190.

• A newspaper article with a named author:• Dayton, L., 2005, Blisters precede onset of

dementia, The Weekend Australian, 26/27 February, p.3

BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCE LIST:

• A Bibliography lists all references consulted in your research in alphabetical order by the surname of the author.

• A Reference List denotes only those works directly quoted in your text

RULES FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY

• A Bibliography lists all references consulted in your research in alphabetical order by the surname of the author.

• This is on a separate page • Place at the end of the assignment, essay or report. • It contains a list of all references you have used

while researching your assignment –books, journals, electronic media listed alphabetically together.

• DO NOT list your references in specific groups separately eg. books then journals then URL’s etc.

• Examples

• Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1997, Government Finance Statistics 1995-96, Cat. No. 55120, ABS, Canberra.• Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd ,1998, Annual Report 1997-98, Coca- Cola Amatil, Sydney.• George, D. ,1996, Productivity in Business, Vol II, Academic Press, London.• Jones, M.D. (ed.) ,1998, Management in Australia, Academic Press, London.

Thank you !

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Making PowerPoint Slides

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides

Tips to be Covered

• Outlines• Slide Structure• Fonts• Colour• Background• Graphs• Spelling and Grammar• Conclusions• Questions

Outline

• Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your presentation– Ex: previous slide

• Follow the order of your outline for the rest of the presentation

• Only place main points on the outline slide– Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main points

Slide Structure – Good

• Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation• Write in point form, not complete sentences• Include 4-5 points per slide• Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases

only

Slide Structure - Bad

• This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to read this paragraph instead of listening to you.

Slide Structure – Good

• Show one point at a time:– Will help audience concentrate on what you are

saying– Will prevent audience from reading ahead– Will help you keep your presentation focused

Slide Structure - Bad

• Do not use distracting animation

• Do not go overboard with the animation

• Be consistent with the animation that you use

Fonts - Good

• Use at least an 18-point font• Use different size fonts for main points and

secondary points– this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-

point, and the title font is 36-point

• Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Arial

Fonts - Bad• If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written

• CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ

• Don’t use a complicated font

Colour - Good

• Use a colour of font that contrasts sharply with the background– Ex: blue font on white background

• Use colour to reinforce the logic of your structure– Ex: light blue title and dark blue text

• Use colour to emphasize a point– But only use this occasionally

Colour - Bad

• Using a font colour that does not contrast with the background colour is hard to read

• Using colour for decoration is distracting and annoying.

• Using a different colour for each point is unnecessary– Using a different colour for secondary points is

also unnecessary• Trying to be creative can also be bad

Background - Good

• Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but simple

• Use backgrounds which are light

• Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation

Background – Bad

• Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from

• Always be consistent with the background that you use

Graphs - Good

• Use graphs rather than just charts and words– Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain

than is raw data– Trends are easier to visualize in graph form

• Always title your graphs

Graphs - Bad

January February March AprilBlue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6

Graphs - Good

Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

January February March April

Blue Balls

Red Balls

Graphs - Bad

20.4

27.4

90

20.4

30.6

38.6

34.631.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

January February March April

Blue Balls

Red Balls

Graphs - Bad

• Minor gridlines are unnecessary• Font is too small• Colours are illogical• Title is missing• Shading is distracting

Spelling and Grammar

• Proof your slides for:– speling mistakes– the use of of repeated words– grammatical errors you might have make

• If English is not your first language, please have someone else check your presentation!

Conclusion

• Use an effective and strong closing– Your audience is likely to remember your last

words

• Use a conclusion slide to:– Summarize the main points of your presentation– Suggest future avenues of research

Questions??

• End your presentation with a simple question slide to:– Invite your audience to ask questions– Provide a visual aid during question period– Avoid ending a presentation abruptly

Resources• Edward R. Tufte “Envisioning Information,” “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information,” “The

Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within”• Luca Aceto,Aalborg University and Olivier Danvy, °Arhus, Denmark

– http://www.cs.aau.dk/~luca/SLIDES/howtotalk-ru.pdf• Michigan State University Graduate Student Organization

– http://www.fw.msu.edu/orgs/gso/documents/GSOWorkshopDocsSp2006/TipsforGivingaScientificPresentation.pdf– http://www.fw.msu.edu/orgs/gso/documents/GSOWorkshopDocsSp2006/

PresentationTipsinPowerPoint.ppt#428,1• Susan Herzog, Eastern Connecticut State University

– http://www.easternct.edu/smithlibrary/library1/presentations.htm#ppt• Heather Heying, Evergreen

– http://academic.evergreen.edu/H/heyingh/downloads/givingatalk.pdf• Mark Schoeberl and Brian Toon

– http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/cms/agu/scientific_talk.html• UJohn Cairns, Jr., BioScience Vol. 39 No. 9

– http://www.fw.msu.edu/orgs/gso/documents/GSOWorkshopDocsSp2006/CairnsSpeakingAtLength.pdf• CD-Condensed Matter Journal Club

– http://www.physics.ucdavis.edu/~kliu/Phy298/PresentationTips.pdf• Meshnick SR, Eaton JW., City College, CUNY Medical School,

– Prog Clin Biol Res. 1989;319:663-4. How to give a scientific talk., New York., PMID: 2622932 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

• How to give a job talk– http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2046– http://chronicle.com/jobs/2001/03/2001033002c.htm

Activity 03

• Write an article on presentation you did today • Word document , 5000 pages • Please mail me the articles • Use all the guideline given on academic

presentation • Lets discuss this next week !

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