Syllabus

(1) Course objectives (general)

To develop copy editing skills in a technical manuscript in terms of (a) translation errors made from Chinese to English and (b) general writing style errors.

To organize and write a research paper or work report in a time-efficient manner.

(2) Course objectives (specific)

How can I revise my own paper by eliminating general writing style and Chinese-English colloquial errors?

What is the relation between technical writing and project time?

How can I identify my reader's interests to make the paper more user friendly?

(3) Course texts

An Editing Workbook for Chinese Technical Writers by Ted Knoy
Advanced Copyediting Practice for Chinese Technical Writers by Ted Knoy
Writing Effective Work Proposals for Chinese Technical Writers by Ted Knoy

(4) Course materials

(4) Suggested readings

technical editing

  • Substance&Style: Instruction and Practice in Copyediting by Mary Stoughton
  • Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Joseph Williams
  • Technical Editing by Lola Zook

curriculum text

  • How to Write and Publish Engineering Papers and Reports by Herbert B. Michaelson Second Edition
  • Technical Writing and Professional Communication for Nonnative Speakers of English by Thomas N. Huckin and Leslie A. Olsen International edition
  • How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper by Robert A. Day Fourth edition
  • The Scientist's Handbook for Writing Papers and Dissertations by Antoinette M. Wilkinson
  • Handbook of Technical Writing by Charles T. Brusaw Fourth edition
  • Technical Writing by John M. Lannon Sixth edition
  • Effective Technical Communication by Anne Eisenberg

grammatical or style reference

  • The Mc-Graw Hill Style Manual: A Concise Guide for Writers and Editors Edited by Marie M. Longyear
  • A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabin Fifth edition

for non-native speakers of English

  • Writing Up Research: Experimental Research Report Writing for Students of English by Robert Weissberg and Suzanne Buker
  • A Handbook for Technical Communication by Jacqueline K. Neufeld
  • English Oral Presentations for Chinese Technical Writers by Ted Knoy
  • Principles and Techniques of English Oral Presentations: A Guidebook for Chinese Managerial and Technical Professionals by Chia-Jung Tsai
  • Technical Contacts: Materials for developing listening and speaking skills for the student of technical English by Nick Brieger and Jeremy Comfort
  • Learn to Listen; Listen to Learn: Advanced ESL/EFL Lecture Comprehension to Develop Note-taking Skills by Roni S. Lebauer

(5) Course homework

Written assignments will be sent for editing to the instructor via e-mail (tedaknoy@ms11.hinet.net) as an attached file in Microsoft Word format. The instructor will edit the files using the editing tool inside of the "Tools" box of Microsoft Word and, then, return the edited files to the student. During the final week of the course, the student will submit the final assignments on a 3.5 size diskette(Word format).

 
考評項目
百分比
  27個教材習作
15%
  線上測驗
25%
  期中考
25%
  期末考
25%
  研究提案撰寫(550~750字)
10%

File name
Assignment
Percent
  Outlining the Work Proposal (part one): Describing the Project Background 工作提案計劃(第一部份): 背景  
  Outlining the Work Proposal (part two): Describing the Plan to solve the Problem 工作提案計劃(第二部份): 行動  
  Writing the Problem Statement (問題描述)  
  Writing a Hypothesis Statement for the Work Proposal (假設描述)  
  Writing the abstract (part one): briefly introducing the background, objective and methodology 摘要撰寫( 第一部份): 簡介背景,目標及方法  
 

Writing the abstract (part two): summarizing the anticipated results of the project and its overall contribution to a particular field 摘要撰寫( 第二部份): 歸納希望的結果及其對特定領域的貢獻

 

(6) Norms for class assignments

The instructor assesses the above assignments on the basis of the following norms:

Structure Each class assignment must be written according to the structure taught in class.
Style Each class assignment must be written in clear and concise English, omitting any grammatical, general writing style, or Chinese colloquial errors.
Usability

Each class assignment must not only have a particular audience in mind, but attempt to link the technical information with the particular reader's interest(s).

(7) Attendance policy

出席率計算: 一次上課無故缺席扣二分, 三次上課無故缺席該科不及格

    Schedule

Class one(面授)【第一週】
Introducing the course syllabus
How to write a lab report – Part One - describing the research background: setting/problem/specification of problem and importance of problem
如何撰寫實驗報告: 第一部份: 描述研究背景: 建構/問題/問題的量化以及其重要性

Introducing the Course Syllabus
Editing for Conciseness and Clarity in an ESL Writing Class
Introduction 簡介 Writing Effective Work Proposals 有效撰寫英文工作提案 by Ted Knoy

Homework 
Vocabulary building practice 轉換為簡潔的同義字詞: | Exercise 77 | Exercise 185
Listening practice (線上聽力測驗): | Exercise 41 | Exercise 42 | Exercise 59 | Exercise 60 | Exercise 347 | Exercise 348 | Exercise 456 | Exercise 457  | Exercise 458 | Exercise 459 | Exercise 460 | Exercise 461 | Exercise 462 | Exercise 463 | Exercise 464 | Exercise 465 Exercise 466
Oral practice (學術方面問題 ): | Exercise 129  | Exercise 130 | Exercise 420  | Exercise 421
Increasing reading comprehension skills (加強閱讀技巧 ): | Exercise 310 | Exercise 311 | Exercise 383 | Exercise 384 | Exercise 613 | Exercise 614 | Exercise 615
Increasing technical reading comprehension skills(加強技術閱讀技巧 ): | Exercise 328
Writing Effective Business Strategies(有效撰寫英文商業策略 ): | Exercise 655 | Exercise 656 | Exercise 657

 

Homework 
Vocabulary building practice 轉換為簡潔的同義字詞: | Exercise 78
Sentence correction practice: Unit 1 of An Editing Workbook for Chinese Technical Writers by Ted Knoy
Listening practice (線上聽力測驗): | Exercise 43 | Exercise 44 / | Exercise 61 | Exercise 62 | Exercise 349 | Exercise 350 | Exercise 467 | Exercise 468 | Exercise 469 | Exercise 470 | Exercise 471 | Exercise 472 | Exercise 473 | Exercise 474 | Exercise 475 | Exercise 476 | Exercise 477 
Oral practice (學術方面問題 ):  | Exercise 131  | Exercise 132 | Exercise 422  | Exercise 423  
Increasing reading comprehension skills (加強閱讀技巧 ): | Exercise 312 | Exercise 313 | Exercise 385 | Exercise 386 | Exercise 616 | Exercise 617 | Exercise 618
Increasing technical reading comprehension skills(加強技術閱讀技巧 ): | Exercise 329   
Writing Effective Business Strategies(有效撰寫英文商業策略 ): | Exercise 658 | Exercise 659 | Exercise 660

 

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  • Class eight 【第八週】
    Mid-term examination ((面授)期中考 )
  • Class sixteen 【第十六週】
    Final examination (期末考)