How to write well
- Enjoy writing, creating, playing with thoughts!
- It is difficult to write well.
- Always write, however! Write 1 hour every day!
It clarifies your thought process, simplifies your problem.
- Finally, make your writing enjoyable to read
(informal comments, comments, and examples)!
Here are the basics:
- Draft:Write down everything
- Write:Formulate what you know.
Put into comments and notes what you do not know
(remaining questions, insights, informal statements).
- Review:Improve later.
For a great reference
see "life skills for engineers and leadership" by Goldberg
(makes you want to be an engineer).
Draft
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Write by separating topics. Worry only about what you momentarily write.
Add to your writing later. Finish your writing in a single day.
Improve the next day.
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First outline.
Write quickly at first.
Give every paragraph headline that states its purpose.
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- Outline! (on paper?)
- free write (do not stop the writing)!
- reorder stuff written according to outline .. sort into text and comments
Write
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Include a comment and notes section at the end of chapter.
Discuss references in the last comment.
Include exercises (and results), if you can think of anything good.
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Try object orientation:
hide difficult things in one sentence, paragraph, chapter.
Replace later. write a book on object oriented
business, writing, architecture, philosophy.
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Problem: what should go in prose write up and what goes into (automatic
literate programming) software documentation?
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Scientific structure on (book) chapter paragraph scale:
- Motivation: Problem (with example)
- Solution idea (example)
- Solution precise (math, implementation)
- Generalisation
Review
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Go over your headlines:
small separate sections with descriptive headlines.
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Make first sentence a clear definite statement.
The paragraph illustrates and illustrates the first sentence.
See Kernigham for a good example.
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Move the story along. A new fact as soon as the old one is clear.
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One go only to add exuberance and (if appropiate) humor in your writing.
At each go, concentrate only on a single criteria.
- Seek reviews from qualified colleagues and friends.
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Avoid the word "user": use programmer, reader, author, etc if possible.
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Search for lard! and other Lamham's problems.
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Always have an abstract. Probably an introduction.
How to write an Introduction
Why should anyone read this?
Background information to allow readers
to understand and evaluate paper's results.
- State nature and scope of the problem.
- Review the pertinent literature.
- describe the method of investigation
- describe the result.
(From Geophysics Instructions to Authors)
How to write an Abstract
- state the scope and principal objectives of the research
- describe the methods used
- summarize the results
- state the principal conclusion
- Do not refer to paper in the abstract
("is discussed", "is shown" belongs in Intro).
- No references.
(From Geophysics Instructions to Authors)