Chapter Two Technical Topics and Tasks 1 Letters

Chapter Two Technical Topics and Tasks

1. Letters Types n Letters of technical information. n Letters of transmittal for reports and proposals. n Letters of instructions. n Letters to answer product inquires. n Letters for the announcement of new products, facilities, and services.

cont. Client address Spartan Co. , Inc. address date Dear Mr. Xyz: CHEMICAL PROCESSING magazine has informed us of your interest in the level detectors manufactured by our firm for use in the chemical industry. As you may perhaps know, as we ate one of the oldest and most well-respected manufacturers of such equipment, and our product line includes the following types of detectors: x, y, z (all kinds- 82 words long). Since you may also have requirements for our other types of process equipment, we are enclosing our All-Line Catalog and Data Sheets with the request that you fill in the Data Sheets with as much information as you have available, returning them to us for the consideration and recommendation of our Engineering applications. Finally, as our company is now in its fourth decade of continuous service to its many Customers all over the world, we are sending along a reprint of our latest annual report which will give you information of our latest activities. We will await with interest your specific inquiries. Thank you once again for contacting us. Very Truly Yours,

cont. Client address Dear Mr. Xyz: Mars Mineral Corp. address date Subject: Thank you for your interest in our products. Literature is enclosed which, will give you an pretty good idea of the simplicity of our products, and the rugged trouble-free construction. The question, of course, is the cost for equipment to handle the volume required at your plant. Since the capacity of our filters will vary slightly with the particulates, we’ll be glad to take a look at a random sample of the material to be filtered. We’ll evaluate it and get back to you with our recommended type of filter and the cost. Thanks again for your interest. We’ll be happy to answer any questions for you. Simply phone or write. Very Truly Yours,

cont. n n n Conclusion Short sentences and paragraphs. Tone is conversational, friendly. Sure and confident but not exaggerating. Standard. Avoid unnecessary capitalization.

2. Manuals Types n Instruction Manual: for customers. It informs the customer how to install, maintain, and operate equipment. n Theory – of -Operation manual: for engineers. It contains: blue prints, schematic diagrams, equations, data, performance, etc…. n Sales Manual: for sales people. It indicates the product specifications, price, and all other required information for selling the product. All manuals should be clear, direct, easy to follow. n The communication line should be connected. ( ) n Connect the communication line. () n Check your writing by giving it to an operator.

n n Ø Ø Ø 3. Proposals Technical proposal: prepared by an organization to sell its products, services, and ideas within a certain time and at a specific cost. Survival of any organization depends on the wining of a contract. Request for proposal: (RFP) issued by governments and some companies to invite bidders to submit proposals. For large contracts, the final proposal can be a multi-volume document. Professional technical writer: heads a team of authors, each writes in his own area of expertise. It’s the professional manager job to mold their work in one clear coherent text. Characteristics of a successful proposal: Thorough. Technically accurate. Coherent. Well organized. Responsive to the RFP requirements. High light key-points.

Cont. Technical proposal in general can be divided into: n Technical proposal: presents the technical (engineering) solution for a specific problem and the schedule and time table. n Contractual and cost proposal: covers the total project cost (material, labor, research and development, administration, etc. . ). n Executive summary: high lights the key points in a short non-technical manner.

Cont. Tips for proposal writers: n Before you start: 1 - Treat the proposal as a sales document. 2 - Understand the selling strategy. 3 - Understand your assignment. 4 - Study the RFP. 5 - Have your writing plan. n As you write: 1 - Follow your writing plan. 2 - Incorporate references. 3 - Develop your topic logically. 4 - Use summaries and visuals to reinforce your text. 5 - Write clearly and concisely. n After writing: 1 - Review the text and art work thoroughly. 2 - Compare your draft and published version. 3 - Keep proposal file.

4. Technical Articles and Papers n n Technical publications: for engineers and scientists to communicate and transmit information with their peers. Six reasons for writing publications: 1 - Personal satisfaction. 2 - Increase technical expertise. 3 - Good publicity for the university/firm. 4 - Professional prestige for promotions. 5 - More knowledge. 6 - Contribution in the technical knowledge and help others to learn.

cont. n Ø Ø Ø n n Important Written article should be worthy of publication. Start writing by a strong opening paragraph. Make sure to keep the reader attention. Definition Magazines published by organizations for distribution to customers and employees. Articles: shorter, less technical, newsier (look for new and exiting stories from industry and academia).

5 - Reports Definition: Technical representation used by engineers, scientists, and managers n Aim: Transmit the results of their research, field work, activities n Important: Quality and worth is judged by the quality of the written report. n Types 1 - Periodic report n Time: regular intervals. n Aim: Provide information on the activities and status of the organization (bank statement, annual/event reportsexhibition, call for papers, etc…). n

cont. 2 - Progress report n Aim: Update on an ongoing activity (construction, expansion, research, etc. ). 3 - Research report n Aim: Present results of the research, study, etc. . 4 - Field report n Aim: Present results of an on site inspection (start-up, installation, construction, etc… 5 - Recommendation report n Aim: Submitted to managers as a basis for decisions or actions. n Features in common

Writing Engineering Reports

Overview n This presentation will cover: § Report format and organization § Visual design § Language § Source documentation

Report Format and Organization n Report generally include these sections in this order: • Abstract • Introduction/Objective • Background • Methodology/Procedure • Results • Discussion • Conclusion • Recommendations

Report Format and Organization Abstract/Executive Summary Always comes first • Is brief (one paragraph-one page) • Past tense n Content: • States research problem or main objective n Indicate the methodology used n Presents the main findings and conclusions n n

Report Format and Organization Abstract Example: n Surface modification of aluminum powders for the purpose of flow improvement was performed and several samples were prepared. Correlations between the flowability and reactivity for these powders as well as for the initial untreated aluminum powder were established. The powders were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), particle size distribution, angle of repose flowability test, Constant Volume Explosion (CVE) combustion test, and Thermo. Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). The surface modification of micron-sized aluminum powders was done by: (1) dry coating nano-particles of silica, titania and carbon black onto the surface of spherical aluminum powders and (2) chemically and physically altering the surface properties of the same powders with methyltrichlorosilane. All surface modifications improved flowability of the powders. CVE measurements indicate that powders with an improved flowability exhibit improved combustion characteristics if the powder treatment does not add an inert component to aluminum. The TGA results do not show significant differences in the reactivity of various powders. Based on combined flowability and CVE characteristics, the silane modified material gave the best results followed by the powders dry coated with carbon, titania and silica, respectively. Source: “The Effects of Surface Modification of Aluminum Powder on its Flowability, Combustion, and Reactivity” Powder Technology

Report Format and Organization n Introduction/Objective • Explains the research problem and its context Explains importance of the problem (why does it matter? ) n Applications of the experiment or theory n Explains reason and goals for study n Motivation n

Report Format and Organization n Background • Includes theory for the experiments • Any equations required for the calculations n Each equation should be numbers • Included references

Report Format and Organization n Methodology/Procedure • Is in past tense and passive voice (3 rd person) n Do not use “We”, “I”, or “You” • Describes the experimental procedure and data collection • Included a schematic/diagram of the apparatus • Write in complete sentence • “The tank was filled with 5 L of water” • NOT “Fill tank with 5 L of water” n Incomplete sentence and present tense

Report Format and Organization n Results • State the results in the text before presenting any graphs, figures or tables. n n n Text points out the most significant portions of research findings Indicates key trends or relationships Highlights expected and/or unexpected findings • Visual representation of results: n n Graphs, tables or figures Included error analysis • Past tense (these are results you measured, calculated or observed)

Report Format and Organization n Discussion • Why did you observed what you observed? • Explanation for Results: n Comments on unexpected results, offering hypothesis for them • Comparison to literature n Does your research confirm previous studies? Deviate from them?

Report Format and Organization n Conclusion • Discusses: n n n What was learned through research Strengths and weakness of study Possible applications of study (how it can be used) Recommendations Recommendation • What would you do differently? • Any changes would you recommend for the experiment

Visual Design n Graphics • Should be used to illustrate specific points • Should be incorporated in a way that is natural to report’s content/context • Should be explained fully in text using references such as “Fig. 1 shows…. ” • Should be cited if taken from a source • Textual information should come before graphics

Visual Design Table 1: Properties of the Raw Materials Material Density (g/ml) Aluminum H 5 batch 1 Aluminum H 5 batch 2 2. 70 Mean Particle Size 9. 44 um Function 2. 70 9. 09 um Host Silica 2. 65 20 nm Guest Carbon black 2. 00 50 nm Guest Titania 4. 23 21 nm Guest Host

Visual Design 12 MAPAP Mean Particle Size (μm) 10 8 6 4 2 Uncoated 0. 5: 1 magnet ratio 1: 1 magnet ratio 2: 1 magnet ratio 0 0 0, 5 1 1, 5 2 Dispersion Pressure (bar) 2, 5 3 3, 5 Figure 1: show the mean particle size of uncoated and surface modified Micronized APAP as a function of dispersion pressure. The plot shows the effects of magnet ratio on attrition.

Visual Design Figure 6. 6: The relationship between the AOR and basicity/acidity ratio of the surface of the particles. The plot indicates that the more basic the surface of the aluminum powders, the lower the angle of repose which may correlate to better flowability. Note that the abscissa is plotted in a descending order so as to show the similarity with Figure 6. 4.

Language and Vocabulary n Reports should be easily accessible • Be straightforward and concise • Use simple terms, not jargon • Keep sentences short and simple (20 words max) • No common phases (be technical) n “in the ballpark” • Be specific and not general n Not “close” or “like” or “pretty” or “roughly”

Source Documentation n Cite sources whenever you are quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing work that is not your own • Quote directly is discouraged • DO NOT COPY n Sources include: • Books • Journal, magazine, or newspaper articles • Interviews • Conference Proceedings • Lectures

Source Documentation n Citing • Shows your credibility as a researcher • Gives proper credit to authors and researchers • Protects you from accusations of plagiarism Courtesy: Purdue Writing Lab

References n n Asian Institute of Technology Language Center. (2003). Writing Up Research Guidebook. Asian Institute of Technology. Retrieved June 9, 2005 from http: //www. clet. ait. ac. th/el 21 open. htm Chan, S. L. , Kitipornchai, S. , and Al-Bermani, F. G. A. (1991). Elasto-plastic analysis of box-beam-columns including local buckling effects. Journal of Structural Engineering, 117, 19461978. Halligan, N. (2004). A short course on writing technical reports. Technical Writing. Retrieved June 9, 2005 from http: //www. technical-writing-course. com/type-of-technicalreport. html Kvam, E. (Personal communication, June 11 2005).