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Cairo University Faculty of Engineering

Biomedical Engineering Department
Post-Graduate Studies

Technical Writing
and Scientific
Publications
GEN 600

Week-1
Introduces
Course, Objective, ILO, Schedule, Grading
Highlights
Basic Concepts: Systems Thinking, Total
Quality, Relationship With Writing
Outlines
Course Parts
Ethics, through Plagiarism

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The Rationale


Teaching certain topics enhance lifelong learning
skills (topics are complex and require several skills).

Writing is one of these topics.

Good technical writing is the result of
multiple skills: thinking, planning,
organizational skills and, above all, ethics.
Systems thinking and continuous improvement play
an important role in achieving these skills.

Course Objectives
The course aims to:
1. Develop awareness of difficulties
2. Stress the importance of writing skills
3. Develop awareness of continuous self-
learning habits for bridging skill gaps
4. Stress elements of basic style
5. Polish writing skills
6. Build observation skills.

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Course Intended Learning Outcomes

(ILOs)
a) Knowledge and Understanding
1. Systemic approach to the Process of Writing,
understanding that writing is a total quality
process and recognizing personal performance
with special emphasis on how to improve it.
2. The Concept of Thesis Statement
3. The special case of Writing Scientific Texts
4. Being aware of the difficulties of Nonnative
Speakers
5.
b) Intellectual Skills
1. Techniques of Discovering Ideas
2. Techniques of Outlining and Organizing Ideas.

Course Intended Learning Outcomes

(ILOs)
c) Professional & Practical Skills
1. Writing Contents of Specific Text Units: Introductions,
Conclusions, and Summaries
2. Producing Targeted Forms: research proposals, scientific
research articles and research dissertations or theses
3. Writing Scientific Arguments (Persuasive Writing)

d) Transferable Skills
1. Presenting Results of the Technical Work Using Multi Media
2. Developing sense of audience, and writing organizational
ability
3. Managing the writing process
4. Developing ability for self learning, persuasive writing and
critical judgment

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Grading Scheme
Final exam 40
Course work 60
Attendance
Quizzes
40
Class Participation
+
Home Assignments
20
Initiatives, writing activities, creativity,
positive attitude, willingness to learn
Mid Term* 20

Introductory
1- The Communication Model
2- The Writing Process
3- The Structure of an article (miniature of thesis)
4- The Thesis Statement
5- Discovering Ideas
6- Outlining
7- Organizing
8- Paragraphs
9- Sentences
10- Sentence Errors
11- Larger forms
12- Special Parts: Summary, Introduction, Conclusion
13- Miscellaneous: References, Titles, Graphs, Tables,

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The Writing Process: A Linear Approach

1. Define M.
2. Define TS.
3. Collect data about M.
4. Organize M into:
Introduction, Body, Conclusion.
5. Check the plan.
6. Develop the text.
7. Check.
8. Edit, improve.
9. Rehearse & Deliver.
10. Get feedback.
11. Evaluate, Improve.

The Writing Process: A Linear Approach

P: plan, define SMCR, discover

ideas
O: outline, organize
W: sent/para, special parts
E: evaluate, correct, improve
R: revise, edit. Fine tune

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The Writing Process: A Systemic Approach

The Communication System (SMRC)

C code, channel
Text, Speech check, review
Speaker, Actor

Message
D do
Sender E evaluate
I improve
Performance M message
Reader
Code P plan
Spectator
Language
R receiver, reader
Channel Receiver TS topic sentence
TS Thesis statement
Consider: Objective, Size, Time, Venue (site, W write
setting), Environment, V-Aids,

The Total Quality System

P
Do
D

Plan C C
I
I Total Quality
P
Check P
D Improve D
C
I
Feedback

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Writing: A Total
Writing: Quality
A Total Process
Quality Process
Plan Implement Check Improve
1
Define 2 Collect Check.
SMCR, information Review. Edit.
OSFE , data, .... Revise. Proofread.
Tool, 5
8
Time.
6 Check.
3
Write. 7 Review.
Revise.
Improve
Outline. Type.
skills.
4 Print. 11
Get
Organize. Collate. feedback.
Distribute. 9
10

The 12 Steps Close the Total Quality Loop

1. Define SMCR+ others (OFSETT). P
2. Collect Ideas. D
3. Outline. P
4. Organize. P
5. Field check. C, I
6. Write /Type text. P: Plan
D
7. Revise. C, I D: Do
8. Field check. C, I C: Check
9. Edit /Proofread. C, I I: Improve
10. Print, Bind, Distribute. D
11. Collect feedback. C, I
12. Improve. I

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Plagiarism
According to the Oxford English
Dictionary: to take and use as
ones own the thoughts, writings,
or inventions of another.

River college Plagiarism Policy, Sep. 2014

http://www.rrc.mb.ca/files/File/policies/C7-AcademicIntegrity.pdf

Definitions
Plagiarism is using words, ideas, data or product without
appropriate acknowledgement of authors of words.

Cheating is the use or attempted use of unauthorized

materials, information, or study aids or attempt to
misrepresent academic skill.
Fabrication is intentional misrepresentation or invention of
any information such as falsifying research or inventing or
exaggerating data.

Collusion is assisting another to commit an act of

academic misconduct.

Self-plagiarism occurs when reusing previously written

own work in a new written product without saying that this
material has appeared elsewhere.

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Plagiarism Guidelines
Rephrased from Miguel Roig

1. Acknowledge the contributions of others ideas.

2. Enclose verbatim text in quotation marks.
3. Acknowledge every source whether we paraphrase
it, summarize it, or enclosed in quotations.
4. Reproduce the exact meaning of other authors
ideas.
5. When reducing a text, have a thorough
understanding of the ideas and terminology used.
6. Signal to publisher previous dissemination of the
same or part of the work
Miguel Roig, PhD, Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing,
critical writing, First on-line version published in September, 2003; Revised on-line version
published in August, 2006; http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~roigm/plagiarism/Index.html

Plagiarism Guidelines
7. Be familiar with basic elements of copyright law.
8. Use references directly related to contents.
9. When describing others work, do not rely alone on a secondary
summary of that work.
10. Report ethically evidences contrary to your point of view.
11. Report all aspects of the study that may impact the independent
re-plicability of research.
12. Refrain from manipulating results to look reasonable.
13. Include no ghost authors, only those who have made substantive
contributions in the publication.
14. Faculty-student collaborations should follow the same criteria to
establish authorship.
15. Disclose any possible conflicts of interest in work (e.g., stock
ownership, consultation, relationship, )

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What to avoid:
1. Cutting and pasting from the internet without
reference to the source material
2. Borrowing others work without authorization
3. Trying to help someone a little too much for
something he is personally supposed to do,
and he is supposed to take credit for.
4. Photocopying
5. Violating copy rights

Bring to class next week:

Examples of plagiarism in scientific writing
- A paragraph describing the role of a (your
field of specialty) engineer in
designing a device. (paragraph
from a scientific paper or from the net).
- Two plagiarized versions of the paragraph.
- An acceptable form of the paragraph.

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What is Scientific Writing

A scientific paper is a written and published

report describing original research results.
Poor experimentation cannot be masked by
brilliant writing; however, poor writing can
mask brilliant experimentation

Why Write a Scientific Paper

Advance knowledge in your research field with evidence
The purpose of scientific writing is to communicate new
scientific findings to a broad community of scientists in a
uniform manner.
Explain your ideas and make them accessible to others

Two key components in a research paper:

An explicit claim on your contribution on a research problem
Evidence to support your claim

Your contribution can possibly be a refutation of a

hypothesis on the research problem

[Take-Home Message #1] It is NOT enough to design

yet another technique or system without convincing
evaluation.

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Forms of Scientific Writing

The Scientific Article
The Scientific Report
Dissertations: M. Sc. & Ph.D

What to Claim for a Scientific

Paper
Your technique solves a problem for the first time

Your technique performs better, in one or more of the

following dimensions than its rivals:
Behavior: X has a higher success rate then Y or produces better
quality outputs, e.g. shorter, easier to understand, more similar to
human outputs, etc.
Coverage: X is applicable to a wider range of examples than Y
Efficiency: X is faster or uses less space than Y
Useability: Users find X easier to use than its rivals
[Take-Home Message #2] You should avoid claiming too
many dimensions but one or two with in-depth evidence.

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Typical Structure of a
Research Paper (1)
Title: Catchy and indicative of your research contribution
Describe concisely the core contents of the paper
Abstract: A summary of the research problem, your claim, and
the evidence (mini version of the paper)

Introduction: Motivation, a re-statement of the abstract

information, background &significance, an
outline of the rest of the paper
Related work (Literature Review):
A critical review on the rival approaches that supports the motivation
How to differentiate existing work with your own creative
contributions.

Research Paper Structure (2)

Problem statement and algorithm design (materials and
methods):
Explain your ideas in detail, with examples
Highlight your contributions
Do NOT simply put your algorithms in pseudo code!
Describe the experimental design and procedures so it is
reproducible
Evaluation: Evidence to support the claim of your research
contribution (your findings)
Unless you can provide proofs for a theoretical paper on theorems,
experimental results are always expected

Conclusion: A summary of the research contribution, a

discussion on its significance, and a mention of
future work
References: List all scientific papers, books and websites
that you cited

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What to Know Before You

Write
Assess the audience: To whom are you writing? Why will they
be reading your writing?
Assess the purpose: What should the reader take away?
Read other peoples writing from the forums that you are
targeting
Language skills and the writing style are always important
A paper published in one top journal can easily get rejected by another
top journal community difference or cultural difference

[Take-Home Message #3] Know your enemy: Check who

are on the program committee or editorial board, and cite
their relevant work with due credit
Follow the rules length limits, formatting standards etc.

Before Starting to Write the Paper

Record your readings (results)
Make tables
Draw graphs
Keep file to record summaries of results
and any observation however insignificant
Date the files
Revise your readings, you may need to
repeat an experiment while you still have
the materials.
Write ideas when ever they come to you

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How to Write a Top-Quality

Paper
[Take-Home Message #4] Choose a promising topic

A topic of your interest

Your background for the topic
Advice from your advisor and senior researchers
Present a convincing case
Provide in-depth analysis of empirical results
Spend more time on the introduction

How to Present a Convincing

Case
What exactly is the problem being solved?

How are your ideas significant (to justify a paper)?

Is all related work referenced and reviewed?

Are the comparative studies with previous work convincing?

Has your system been implemented and used, and if so what

did it demonstrate from the real world (for you and the reader
to learn)?

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In-Depth Analysis of Empirical

Results
Enough details for (a) your experiment settings (so that other researchers
can verify and improve your results), and (b) your experimental objectives
What were the alternatives considered at various points of your
experiments? Why and how have you made the choices for your
experiments? Report negative findings

[Take-Home Message #5] Are the experimental results

consistent and conclusive?
Can you fine-tune some key parameters to get better or worse results? If
so, use figures and tables to show their impacts on your system
performances
How do the experimental results correspond to the aim of the paper?
What have you found surprising and tried to avoid in these experiments?
How generally applicable are these lessons?

The Most Important Part of

Your Paper: The Introduction
The 1/3 2/3 Rule from a reviewers perspective:
1/3 time to read your introduction and make a decision
Remaining 2/3 time to find evidence for the decision

[Take-Home Message #6] A good introduction with a

good motivation (aim) is half of your success!
What to cover in the introduction
The research problem
The motivation of your research on the research problem
The claim of your contribution
A summary of your evidence to support your claim
The significance of your contribution
An outline of the rest of the paper

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Summary of Take-Home
Messages
1. It is NOT enough to design yet another technique or
system without convincing evaluation
2. You should avoid claiming too many dimensions, but one
or two with in-depth evidence
3.Know your enemy: Check who are on the program
committee or editorial board, and cite their relevant work
with due credit
4. Choose a promising topic
5. Are the experimental results consistent and conclusive?
6. A good introduction with a good motivation is half of your
success!

Quiz

Write a paragraph about the importance

of technical writing in your career

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