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Common bugs in writing (2021)

cs.columbia.edu

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Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#81

Post by IshKebab »

teddyh wrote: post #72
IshKebab wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ugh that "rule" has resulted in more terrible PowerPoint presentations than any other. "Hi, today I'm going to tell you about 1+1... 1+1=2... So what have we talked about? I started by telling you that 1+1=2." So much waffle. The best presentations I've heard don't do that at all. Yes they start by setting the context and goal of the presentation , and they end with a solid conclusion . But they don't have a table of…

Replace boring "context" with "showing why your writings and information will be valuable to the reader" and I think you've got something.

Yeah that's good advice.

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#82

Post by mo_42 »

cratermoon wrote: post #68
mo_42 wrote: post #11

When I was doing my PhD, I was really in love with such guides. There is also the book Bugs in Writing by Lyn Dupré. Looking back I'm not so sure about the utility in scientific writing. Every research community has its own jargon. If don't stick to it, you're going to have a hard time. Today, I very much enjoy these again because most writing happens in a blog. I would add to that list (not original from me): - Dang…

> When I was doing my PhD What field, if I may ask? There's an article titled "Writing higher education differently: a manifesto on style" by Helen Sword http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075070802597101 > advocating for academic writers to "express complex ideas clearly and succinctly; write with originality, imagination and creative flair; convey enthusiasm, commitment and a strong sense of self; tap into a wide range of…

> What field, if I may ask?

It was in CS actually. So writing in social sciences doesn’t seem too appropriate.

Thanks for the other hint though. Seems quite interesting and seems similar to: How to write a great research paper [1]

[1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WP-FkUaOcOM

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#83

Post by JadeNB »

I didn't understand the significance of

> 35. … Other words should be banished.

(all other words than clichés? Certain other words, so obvious that they need not be specified?), so I followed the link http://www.lssu.edu/banished , which … doesn't exist. Is that the joke, or did the link rot?

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#84

Post by ukuina »

blowski wrote: post #70
brookst wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but even in those cases, “in other words” is just throat-clearing. Like “simply put” or “that is to say”, these are noise words that only hurt the clarity of writing. If two examples help, use two examples. There’s no need to call out that the second one is another example; people will get that. At least that’s how I see it after a lifetime of trying to stamp out this kind of filler language in my own writin…

Without beating around the bush, what I’m trying to say is, in other words, unless I’m mistaken, it’s perhaps possible that maybe some writing just could be written in fewer words.

Sir Humphrey Appleby, is that you?

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#85

Post by Lacerda69 »

cratermoon wrote: post #56
Jhsto wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is interesting, I integrated it into my blog straight away, thanks! Are you aware of any academic writing focused extensions for Vale? In specific, I would need different "style" as it's called on Grammarly.

All the styles I've been able to find are geared towards technical writers creating software documentation. Is there a particular academic style guide you have in mind, perhaps it would be possible to create a vale style for it.

Yea that is true, I use a customized version of the write-good and Microsoft styles, but for math formulas and such something like latex is better IMO ( though possible to recreate with vale too probably)

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#86

Post by scarface_74 »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #8

> If you find yourself saying "In other words," it means you didn't say it clearly enough the first time. Go back and rewrite the first attempt. Sometimes, particularly in didactic material, it helps to explain things in more than one way, as different people may find different explanations helpful.

I agree. I’m often on conference calls with customers where the audience make up have different backgrounds and concerns - finance, security, compliance, operations, developers, etc.

My writing is also aimed at different audiences simultaneously. I have to address the same subject different ways.

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#87

Post by rrrrrrrrrrrryan »

3pt14159 wrote: post #5

I'm a little perplexed as to why professors and other academic staff have routinely hard to read websites. Yes I'm aware I can bump up the font size, but especially on mobile that gets annoying. It's one thing if they don't have a stylesheet what so ever, it's a fully another thing to intentionally make things hard to read: font-family: arial,verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; From an article that expressly advoca…

It's because they spend most of their days reading PDFs, so they make websites look like PDFs on their screens then publish it.

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#88

Post by scarface_74 »

Errancer wrote: post #10
JoshTriplett wrote: post #8

> If you find yourself saying "In other words," it means you didn't say it clearly enough the first time. Go back and rewrite the first attempt. Sometimes, particularly in didactic material, it helps to explain things in more than one way, as different people may find different explanations helpful.

I agree, often I write first sentence in technical language to introduce the reader to the existing discussion and then say "In other words" to paraphrase the technical language into more familiar but less precise vocabulary.

In my experience, that’s a mistake. I start off by framing things in the “why” for a high level conceptual understanding and slowly get into the weeds.

The executives and the sponsors care about business objectives and they are going to zone out as soon as you start getting into the weeds.

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#89

Post by scarface_74 »

IshKebab wrote: post #50
lelanthran wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a good rule for general information presentation. Tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them what you want to tell them. Tell them what you just told them.

Ugh that "rule" has resulted in more terrible PowerPoint presentations than any other. "Hi, today I'm going to tell you about 1+1... 1+1=2... So what have we talked about? I started by telling you that 1+1=2." So much waffle. The best presentations I've heard don't do that at all. Yes they start by setting the context and goal of the presentation , and they end with a solid conclusion . But they don't have a table of…

> His basic advice was to follow the classic Hero's Tale. Set the stage. Something goes wrong. You triumphantly overcome it.

Ie “STAR format”

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#90

Post by cratermoon »

Lacerda69 wrote: post #85
cratermoon wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the styles I've been able to find are geared towards technical writers creating software documentation. Is there a particular academic style guide you have in mind, perhaps it would be possible to create a vale style for it.

Yea that is true, I use a customized version of the write-good and Microsoft styles, but for math formulas and such something like latex is better IMO ( though possible to recreate with vale too probably)

There are quite a few academics using a markdown->latex pipeline, with pandoc or similar tools. But it doesn't seem like the vale linter is the right tool when it comes to formulae.
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