Technical Writing & Presentation

Department of Industrial Automation

Dr. – Ing. DO, Manh Cuong

Add: C9 – 104, Ha Noi University of Science and Technology,
No 1 Đại Cồ Việt Str.
Course Syllabus

General Introduction

Technical Reading Skills

Oral Presentation and Skills

Technical Writing and Skills

Course Evaluations
General Introductions
1. Course title: Technical Writing & Presentation
2. Course ID: EE2023 (3-1-0-6) Class Volume: max 40 students
3. Credits: 3
4. Intended attendee: 3-4-5th year electrical engineering students
5. Expected Learning Outcomes:
• The fundamental of effective technical report writing
• Skills and confidence to generate compact and well-thought out
document
• Presenting their reports to an audience with convincing and
memorable impact
• In additional, students have chance to practice team-working as well
as technical reading skills.
General Introductions …
• Presentation skills: write for the intended readers;
• Essay writing: analyze a variety of professional rhetorical situations
and produce appropriate texts in response
• Argumentative: produce cogent arguments that identify arguable
issues, reflect the degree of available evidence, and take account of
counter arguments
• Academic writing: identify and practice the stages required to
produce competent, professional writing through; determine and
implement the appropriate research methods for each writing tasks
General Introductions …
• Planning, drafting, revising, and editing
• How to write a proposal for research paper/term paper
• How to write a research paper/term paper.
• Technical progress and report writing
• CV writing

6. Requirements:
In order to enroll in this course, the students must have a minimum
TOEIC score of 400
General Introductions …
7. Learning methods and activities:
• Course attendance: in compliance with general regulation
• Exercise/Assignment: complete all assignments.
8. Grading policy:
• Assignment 1: 20% (300 words abstract + CV/ Digital introduction)
• Assignment 2: 20% (abstract presentation – 3 munites slide)
• Assignment 3: 30% (Technical report)
• Assignment 4: 30% ( Final representation)
9. Tentative Schedule
Policies and Penalty
Attendance Policies:
• Regular attendance and participation in this class is the best way
• Tardiness: Please make every effort to arrive on time

Electronic Device Policy:

• No electronic devices to create disruptions in class
• Emergency situation

Penalty:
• Regular assignment (1-3): 10% reduction for each day past deadline
• Final assignment: 20% reduction for each day past deadline
Reading Skills: Skimming & Scanning
Skimming and scanning are reading techniques that use rapid eye
movement and keywords to move quickly through text for slightly
different purposes.
Source: http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/readingstrategies/skimming_scanning.html

• Skimming is reading rapidly in • Scanning is reading rapidly in

order to get a general overview order to find specific facts.
of the material. • Scanning helps you locate a
• Skimming tells you what particular fact.
general information is within a • Scanning is more like pearl
section diving
• Skimming is like snorkeling
Reading Skills: Skimming
Skimming is used in previewing (reading before you read), reviewing
(reading after you read), determining the main idea from a long
selection.
Skimming to save time:
• Use skimming to overview your textbook chapters or to review for a
test.
• Use skimming to decide if you need to read something at all.
• Skimming can tell you enough about the general idea and tone of the
material
• Missing the important points or overlook the finer shadings of
meaning
Reading Skills: Skimming
Procedure of skimming reading:
1. Read the table of contents or chapter overview.
2. Glance through the main headings in each chapter. Read
the headings of charts and tables.
3. Read the entire introductory paragraph and then the first and last
sentence only of each following paragraph
4. Stop and quickly read the sentences containing keywords.
5. When you think you have found something significant, stop to read
the entire sentence to make sure. Then go on the same way.
6. Read chapter summaries when provided.
Reading Skills: Skimming
How a good skimmers do:
• When you skim introductory and concluding paragraphs
• When you skim topic sentences
• When you find an unfamiliar word
• When the material is very complicated
Reading Skills: Scanning
Scanning is used in research to find particular facts, to study fact-
heavy topics, and to answer questions requiring factual support:
• The goal of scanning is to locate and swoop down on particular facts.
If after skimming you decide the material will be useful, go ahead
and scan:
1. Know what you're looking for. Decide on a few key words or
phrases–search terms, if you will.
2. Look for only one keyword at a time.
3. Let your eyes float rapidly down the page until you find the word or
phrase you want.
4. When your eye catches one of your keywords, read the surrounding
material carefully.
Reading Skills: Scanning
Scanning to answer questions:
1. Read each question completely before starting to scan. Choose your
keywords from the question itself.
2. Look for answers to only one question at a time. Scan separately for
each question.
3. When you locate a keyword, read the surrounding text carefully to
see if it is relevant.
4. Re-read the question to determine if the answer you found answers
this question.
Technical reading Skills: Example
Reading a technical paper: Structure of a typical technical
paper/ report:
• Contribution title
• List of authors !!!
• List of institutions/ organisations
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Main content of paper (First, 2nd
sections/ sub-sections…)
• Conclusion
• References/ Bibliography