Notices alert readers to the possibility of error, damage, or injury. They can also provide extra emphasis."

Use asterisks or hyphens if you have no access to an actual bullet

compact" list format

In-sentence lists provide only minimal emphasis; vertical lists provide much more.

Lists emphasize important points and help readers follow a sequence

Well-designed headings can help not only readers but also writers understand the organization of a document

Instead, visualize the headings before you start the rough draft, and plug them in as you write

One of the most useful characteristics of technical writing is the use of headings

Make notices more prominent and noticeable as they become more severe

Use numbered lists to show sequence, order, or hierarchy

which implies modest,

schematics

white space

Nonverbal communication refers to communication that occurs through means other than words, such as body language, gestures, tone of voice, and silence.

is conveyed through behaviors, sounds, spatial use, and artifacts such as clothing and accessories

graphic box

gutter

label for the cover

Is the font large enough to be read by a variety of audiences?

paragraphs that are made up of only a single sentence are common and perfectly acceptable

Strive to make sure that you have expressed exactly what you mean, and have not left room for incorrect interpretations.

First and most important, your writing must be honest. Your trustworthiness in communication reflects not only on you personally but on your organization or discipline. Your writing has to be clear so that your reader can get from it the information you intended. Strive to make sure that you have expressed exactly what you mean, and have not left room for incorrect interpretations. Next, good writing is accurate. Do your homework and make sure you have your facts right. There is no excuse for presenting incorrect information. Also make sure you have all the facts, as your writing must also be complete. Have you included everything that your reader needs? Your audience has neither time nor patience for excessive verbiage, so simplify and cut any clutter. Good writing is always concise writing. Your document should be attractive and pleasing to look at. Just as you wouldn't eat a hamburger from a dirty plate, your reader will not be moved by a document that is not carefully designed and professional. Without exception, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure have to be correct. Even a single grammatical or spelling error can cause your reader to dismiss you as not professional, as not caring enough to edit carefully. Poor writing at this level reflects poorly on your organization as well, and most companies can't mandate good writing with a law!

Professional: Technical communication reflects the values, goals, and culture of the organization and as such, creates and maintains the public image of the organization. Look back at your university's web site to see what image it conveys, or consider the United States Government. On October 13, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Plain Writing Act of 2010 (the Act) which is designed to promote clear government communication that the public can understand and use. The Act calls for writing that is clear, concise, and well-organized. Check out this resource on Plain Language. Design Centered: Technical communication uses elements of document design such as visuals, graphics, typography, color, and spacing to make a document interesting, attractive, usable, and comprehensible. While some documents may be totally in print, many more use images such as charts, photographs, and illustrations to enhance readability and understanding and simplify complex information. Research and Technology Oriented: Because of workplace demands, technical and workplace writing is often created in collaboration with others through a network of experts and designers and depends on sound research practices to ensure that information provided is correct, accurate, and complete. Ethical: Lastly, technical communication is ethical. All workplace writers have ethical obligations, many of which are closely linked to legal obligations that include liability laws, copyright laws, contract laws, and trademark laws. You'll learn more about these in a later chapter on ethics.

Technical communication is all about helping the reader or user of a document solve a problem or compel others to act or do. For example, the syllabus of your calculus class informs the students what is expected of them; the university's web site provides information to potential students about how to apply or to current students about where to seek assistance. Identification of a specific purpose and a particular audience are the first two steps of technical writing.

Technical and workplace documents address a specific audience. The audience may be an individual or a group, and it may or may not be known to the writer. While there is always a primary audience addressed, there may be a secondary audience. Thus, an understanding of the reader or user of a technical document is important.

give each carbon atom four bonds

Audience analysis can get complicated by at least three other factors: mixed audience types for one document, wide variability within audience, and unknown audiences.

g2t

ξ2t

refers to analyzing and understanding the overall composition of the writing as well as how the writing has achieved its effect on the audience.

Arguments do not always point toward action. Sometimes writers want us to share their vision of reality on a particular subject. They may want to paint a picture of how something happened, describe a trend, or convince us that something is bad or good.

an uncritical reader may not see them as arguments at all.

Sometimes writers want us to share their vision of reality on a particular subject.

Often these claims are simply presented as fact, and an uncritical reader may not see them as arguments at all. However, very often claims of fact are more controversial than they seem. For example, consider the claim, “Caffeine boosts performance.” Does it really? How much? How do we know? Performance at what kind of task? For everyone? Doesn’t it also have downsides? A writer could spend a book convincing us that caffeine really boosts performance and explaining exactly what they mean by those three words.

A claim of value can also make a comparison. It might assert that something is better than, worse than, or equal to something else. Some phrases that signal a comparative claim of value include these:

Note that the above arguments all include claims of fact but go beyond observing to praise or criticize what they are observing.

The most familiar kind of argument demands action. It is easy to see when the writer is asking readers to do something. Here are a few phrases that signal a claim of policy, a claim that is pushing readers to do something:

In other cases, the writer is not just trying to convince us that something is a certain way or causes something, but is trying to say how good or bad that thing is. They are rating it, trying to get us to share her assessment of its value. Think of a movie or book review or an Amazon or Yelp review. Even a “like” on Facebook or a thumbs up on a text message is a claim of value

Claims of Fact

In other cases, the writer is not just trying to convince us that something is a certain way or causes something, but is trying to say how good or bad that thing is.

Claims of policy don’t have to be about dramatic actions. Even discussion, research, and writing are kinds of action. For example, “Americans need to learn more about other wealthy nations’ health care systems in order to see how much better things could be in America.”

Fires in the western United States have gotten worse primarily because of climate change.

Arguments do not always point toward action.

Claims of Value

Claims of Fact

Claims of policy don’t have to be about dramatic actions

Here are a few phrases that signal a claim of policy, a claim that is pushing readers to do something:

The most familiar kind of argument demands action

They will convey the degree to which they disagree and the respect or contempt they feel for this opposing view. Common Phrases That Introduce Counterarguments Attitude to the Counterargument Phrases Negative  The writer thinks the counterargument is completely wrong. It is a popular misconception that_____________. Some have fallen for the idea that_____________. Many people mistakenly believe that_____________. Neutral  The writer is about to describe a counterargument without giving their opinion yet. Many people think _____________. Some, on the other hand, will argue that _____________. Some might disagree, claiming that _____________. Of course, many have claimed that _____________. Some will take issue with _____________, arguing that _____________. Some will object that _____________. Some will dispute the idea that _____________, claiming that _____________. One criticism of this way of thinking is that _____________. Note that these neutral examples don’t tell us whether the writer thinks the counterargument has any validity. Usually, the writer will want to follow them with a sentence that does reveal their opinion. Positive  The writer sees some merit in the counterargument. They agree with it even though it hurts their argument. This is called concession. It is true that ___________. I do concede_____________. We should grant that_____________. We must admit that_____________. I acknowledge that _____________. X has a point that _____________. Admittedly, _____________. Of course, _____________. To be sure, _____________. There may be something to the idea that _____________.

Positive  The writer sees some merit in the counterargument. They agree with it even though it hurts their argument. This is called concession.

Negative  The writer thinks the counterargument is completely wrong.

An argument is part of an ongoing broader conversation about the subject

In a complex text it can be easy to miss that a particular point is actually not one that the writer agrees with--they may be bringing it up in order to shoot it down.

An argument is part of an ongoing broader conversation about the subject

Common Phrases That Introduce Counterarguments

Introductions set expectations, and here, the first paragraph alludes to public debates on immigration policy.

A good first place to look for the focus, of course, is the title. Often the title will declare the main claim outright.

Which of these final claims is the overall focus?

Deciding Which Is the Main Claim

The phrase "empathy, respect, and offers of help" sounds important, but we should note that the rest of the argument isn’t about how to help migrants. However, the idea that we should respond more positively to migrants has recurred throughout. The idea that migrants are not in the wrong--that they are not criminals--is clearly key, and so is the idea that we should change border policy accordingly.

We must recognize this crossing as an ethical, reasonable act.”

But is this the main claim? When we review the other sections, we find several other claims of policy. Introductions set expectations, and here, the first paragraph alludes to public debates on immigration policy. It suggests that it may not be right to stop people from coming into America, and it may not be wrong to cross the border, even illegally.

It suggests that it may not be right to stop people from coming into America, and it may not be wrong to cross the border, even illegally.

claims of policy.

title

A good first place to look for the focus, of course, is the title.

o

I don’t have a clear vision yet of what the right border policy would be, and I admit that completely open borders would put our security at risk. But surely there are ways to regulate the border without criminalizing people who are driven by need and good intentions.

We can often paraphrase the claims more readily on a second read when we are already familiar with the content. Some need the physicality of taking notes by hand in the margins of a book or a printout.

We can often paraphrase the claims more readily on a second read when we are already familiar with the content.

But surely there are ways to regulate the border without criminalizing people who are driven by need and good intentions.

hen we must recognize this crossing as an ethical, reasonable act. If it is ethical and reasonable, then how can either a wall or a detention center be on the side of justice?

I feel profoundly uncomfortable with the idea of keeping people out who are desperate to come in. Is illegal immigration actually wrong? Is it unethical to cross a border without permission?

Notice that attempting to summarize each claim can actually take more space than the original text itself if we are summarizing in detail and trying to be very precise about what the text claims and implies. Of course, we won’t want to or need to do this in such detail for every paragraph of every reading we are assigned to write about. We can resort to it when the argument gets harder to follow or when it’s especially important to be precise.

we would all cross the border

Here are all of the common phrases discussed in Chapter 2 for introducing different elements of an argument. The section headings link to more information.

Title: Wouldn’t We All Cross the Border?

The main limitation, then, can be entered into the argument map in blue and in brackets thus:

Faced with a powerful counterargument, a writer might also admit a certain degree of uncertainty about their claim as a whole. They might consider the argument worth putting forward for consideration even if they are not sure it is right.

Faced with a powerful counterargument, a writer might also admit a certain degree of uncertainty about their claim as a whole.

Notes

If the writer completely disagrees with the counterargument, they will follow up their description of it by pointing out its flaws.

Phrases

Reason → Claim Reason A → Reason B → Claim Reason A → Claim Reason B ↗

We can go through our annotations to look at the other claims and see how some may be used as reasons for the main claim or as reasons for one of the reasons.

hey signal that one idea is supposed to lead to another.

Reason → Claim Reason A → Reason B → Claim Reason A → Claim Reason B ↗

We should remember to ask the same critical questions about the author’s response to counterarguments as we do about the main argument itself.

Often when we think of an "authoritative style," we think of someone who speaks impersonally and with confidence, describing how some aspect of reality works without involving their own or the reader with "I," "you" or "we."

So how does a writer create a sense of intimacy with a reader they will probably never meet

As a representative of the law, they represent the government and the interests of the people as a

How does a writer build trust if they never come face to face with the reader?

When we read, we lack the visual and auditory clues, but we still intuitively sense the writer's attitude.

Tone refers to the overall emotional

If something in an argument is likely to set the reader against the argument, the writer can try to soften that reaction by choosing the most positive words available to fit the meaning.

Most academic arguments explore evidence in the form of specific examples, facts, statistics, testimonials, or anecdotes in order to arrive at a general conclusion. This is called inductive reasoning.

inductive reasoning.

circular reasoning or "begging the question

Sometimes we can identify the point a writer is trying to make, but major questions still remain about what the writer means. A critique can point out the ambiguity--the many possible meanings of some part of the argument.

phrases that have multiple definitions

critique can point out the ambiguity

So when you are just trying to get the barebones ideas about something you have read straight, how do you go about it? An argument is a swarming cluster of words. How do you get to the heart of it?

Thus, we begin to imagine where the argument is vulnerable and how it might be modified.

If we feel we are being manipulated

Goodwill and respect distinguish a good argument from a rant which gives vent to the arguer’s feelings

any negative characterization of a group raises ethical questions

A euphemism is a substitute neutral-sounding word used to forestall negative reactions. For example, calling a Nazi concentration camp like Auschwitz a “detention center” would

Different readers can have opposite emotional reactions to the same sentence

which are carried out solely by prokaryotes;

sp3

The overall process of forming a compound with hybrid orbitals will be energetically favorable only if the amount of energy released by the formation of covalent bonds is greater than the amount of energy used to form the hybrid orbitals

, that the two Be–H bonds have identical energies. T

e greater the overlap, the more stable the bond.

Bond polarity and ionic character increase with an increasing difference in electronegativity.

equal

n molecular geometries that are highly symmetrical (most notably tetrahedral and square planar, trigonal bipyramidal, and octahedral), individual bond dipole moments completely cancel, and there is no net dipole moment.

We take their words—their breath—into ourselves

attention, taking it in slowly, reading it several times.

Common Core State Standards Initiative

perpetual

eight coins

How many squares

Can you break another clock into a different number of pieces so that the sums are consecutive numbers?

Technology Resources for Your Classroom

possible sources of uncertainty not accounted-for

Identify the main claims of a text as well as the reasons that support those claims. Identify any limits, counterarguments, or rebuttals mentioned in an argument. Draw a visual map of the claims, reasons, limits, counterarguments, and rebuttals.

______

More Reviewers=More Accurate Reviews…Right?

Applications of Emission and Absorption Spectra

how we perceive the people and objects

e gel run is

Blotting provides a means of identifying specific molecules out of a mixture. It employs three main steps. First, the mixture of molecules is separated by gel electrophoresis.

34 protons and 36 electrons.

numerical value of k, however, does not change as the reaction progresses under a given set of conditions.

varying the temperature or the solvent usually changes the value of the rate constant

70% of the students were day students, it makes sense to ensure that 70% of the sample consisted of day students

formed by an ecological community

Thus, random sampling is not a reliable approach when it comes to case studies. And even if the randomized sample is representative, there is no guarantee that the gathered evidence would be reliable.

_______

If you read it differently the second time (adding the second “the”) you just experienced one of the problems with personal inquiry;

A newborn, with a keen sense of hearing but very poor vision

It is estimated that there are more than 3.5 million homeless people in the United States and 1.5 of them are children

His marriage of 25 years ends in divorce.

Piaget’s fourth stage, formal operational thought, begins in adolescence and continues through adulthood. Again, neither of these theories highlights developmental changes during adulthood. Erikson, however, presents eight developmental stages that encompass the entire lifespan.

In what ways have you changed?

remaining material will expand

dictionary-style conceptual definition, but in physics we need to back up a conceptual definition with an operational definition, which is one that spells out the operations required in order to measure the quantity being defined.

oncoming poodle than in the path of a freight train, because my body will have a harder time convincing the freight train to stop.

completely different approach is to measure how hard it is to change an object's state of motion.

_____

set is a collection of objects

it should be literal rather than figurative

I am very tempted to tell the reader what I felt at the moment I realized that everyone was laughing AT me rather than just being friendly. For the ending, where the point is in this case, it is best to let the reader infer (draw conclusions, fill in the blanks) what happens implicitly rather than to state explicitly what the point is, or what the narrator felt, or anything else.

Show, don’t tell

An anecdote is a short, personal narrative about something specific

Certain transitional words and phrases aid in keeping the reader oriented in the sequencing of a story.

Chronological order,

more clearly you tell your story, the more emotionally engaged your audience is likely to be.

event or incident in our day, we are engaging in a form of narration

laughter, sympathy, fear, anger, and so on

The purpose of narrative writing is to tell stories

For the function 𝑔(𝑥)=4𝑥−7

Valentine, H. B. (2021, July 23). Introduction to the College Experience (Burns, Ogle, Valentine). Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC). LibreTexts. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@go/page/110043.

Table IV.1.I the frequency and energy values grow from left to right, whereas the wavelength values grow from right to left (and hence each wavelength range is bracketed from its largest to smallest values).

yield

Bacteria

Adiabatic Processes