CUFE, Graduate Master Programs, Gen 600: Technical Writing for Scientific Publications

Fall Semester 11 January 2016 Final Exam Open-book THREE hours 40 points
Draft of recommended guidelines for corrections (Need you remarks)
 The total points 45 (maximum is 40). You (Instructor) may judge that some of the parts were not
fully covered in your class; the 5 additional points were added for this purpose.
A. Read the following text and then answer the related questions

“AYou could be, as a technical writer, accused of plagiarism if substantial copying has taken place and the majority of the words, arrangement of material
and ideas are exactly as in the original source, but this has not been acknowledged. BWithout acknowledgement of the original source, the reader would not
know where the information came from. CEven when an acknowledgment is included you would still require quotation marks to indicate what were the
original words. DWithout quotation marks you could be accused of plagiarism because readers would not know which words came directly from the source
and which words were written by you. EThis kind of plagiarism is effectively detectable with modern software when the copying is substantial, and without
appropriate acknowledgment. FIt is usually viewed as a serious academic offence.” (six sentences A through F)

a-1 Write down a statement of the principal idea of this text as you see it 5 POINTS
Plagiarism is a serious academic offence
The Topic part (T) of this statement: Plagiarism
 The comment part(C) of this statement: is as a serious academic offence
 In this text, which part of the principal idea is developed? ( )T or ( x )C
Justify your answer:

The writer supposes that the definition of plagiarism is known to the reader. All other parts of the text
support the qualification that plagiarism is an academic offence, especially stating confusion caused
by plagiarism and ending by a warning notice: there are software programs that detect such offence.

a-2 How Paragraph A is developed (its WTD)?

Justify your answer, giving examples from the paragraph to support your answer 3 POINTS

The writer elaborates on the inconveniences caused by plagiarism to the reader. The WTD: is a
mixture between exemplification, listing of procedure to show plagiarism and caution that plagiarism
can be detectable thanks to software programs.
a-3 For Paragraph A, show the tools of cohesion within the sentences and those used in the paragraph (between sentences, and
others); give examples from the text. 3 POINTS

Tools for cohesion within the sentence:

The Paragraph has five (6) sentences.

Use of the punctuation comma as a separator and qualifier “, as a writer,” in Sentence #1

Information ordering within the sentence: writing then acknowledgement” Sentence # 1
Coordination with the same sentence: Sentence 1 You could be … , but … Sentence # 1
Subordination: Sentence # 4 Without quotation … because …
Using sentence length: being short as in the last sentence # 6 (the Topic Statement)

Cohesion between sentences (within the Paragraph):

Repetition of the key words: plagiarism, in Sentences A, D, and E and F through “it”. Repetition of the
word acknowledgement in Sentences B and C
Use of pronounce: This (Beginning of Sentence E), and it (in Sentence F).

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B-Read the following three-part text and then answer the related questions.
b-1. The ability to review, and to report on relevant literature is a key academic skill. A literature review situates your research topic
within the context of the wider academic community in your field; reports your critical review of the relevant literature; and identifies a
gap within that literature that your research will attempt to address. To some extent, particularly with postgraduate research, the
literature review can become a project in itself. It is an important showcase of your talents of: understanding, interpretation, analysis,
clarity of thought, synthesis, and development of argument. The process of conducting and reporting your literature review can help you
clarify your own thoughts about your research topic. It can also establish a framework within which you can present and analyze the
findings.
b-2 When readers come to your thesis, they will not just assume that your research is good ; they want to be persuaded that the
research is worth doing; they will ask questions like these:
 What research topic are you addressing, and why have you selected this particular topic?
 Has anyone else done a similar research?
 Is your research relevant to research/practice/theory in your field?
 What is already known, believed , or understood about this topic?
 How might your research add to this understanding, challenge existing theories ,or question old beliefs?
You need to be ready to answer them to defend your selection of the research topic.
b-3 The literature review is more than just a list of references with a short description or excerpts of each one. In general, literature
review is ‘an interpretation and synthesis of published work’1. With long dissertations for a M.Sc. degree, and a PhD degree, the
literature review process extends over three stages at which a review of the literature is needed:
a. an early review is needed to establish the context and rationale for study and to confirm choice of research focus;
b. a second review to keep in touch with current research in your field, published during the period of your research;
c. as you prepare your final report or thesis, you need to relate your findings to the findings of others, and to identify their
implications for the theory, the practice(s), and the research. This can involve further review with perhaps a slightly different
focus from that of the initial review.
After reading your literature review, it should be clear to the reader that you have an up-to-date awareness of the relevant works of
others, and that the research question you are asking is relevant. However, don’t promise too much! Do not say that your research will
solve a problem, or that it will fill a gap. It would be safer, and probably more realistic, to say that your research
will” deal with” a problem”, or it will “address” a gap.

i. Show the way used to begin (WTB) paragraph b-1. 2 POINTS

The WTB is summary: the txt begins by the topic statement (which is the thesis statement in this
case. The Topic Statement/Thesis Statement summarizes the whole text.
ii. 5 POINTS
If b-1, b-2, and b-3 are different parts of a full three-part text, give each part a different title?
b-1 Ability
To Write Good Reviews or Ability To Write Good Reviews: An important
Academic Skill
b-2 Important Questions To Address or Address Important Questions
b-3 Stages of Literature Review
iii. In b-3, explain below your understanding of the under lined word their, and the phrase “implications for
theory, practice, and research.” 3 POINTS
The pronoun “their” refers to “the findings of the researcher”:
Implications for the theory, practices(s) and techniques: means the implications of the
findings on the theory and practices and techniques used in the field of research.
Write a paragraph, of at least three sentences, as a descriptive summary of the full three-part b-1,b-2,and b-3 text.
5 POINTS
The ability to review, and to report on relevant literature is a key academic skill, and not just, it
shows several talents behind. Readers of a literature review for a research topic want to be
persuaded that the research is worth doing; they will have in mind some questions. You need
to be ready to answer these questions to defend your selection of the research topic.

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iv. What could be the type of the intended reader(s) of this text? 2 POINTS
This text is written for a researcher-to-be or for a present researcher engaged in academic
research activities.
v. Write the pertinent keywords of this text! 2 POINTS
Research skills, Writing a literature review, ability to review, stages of literature review
vi. Does this text need a transitional paragraph within it? ( ) yes x
( ) no 2 POINTS
Justify your answer
This is a short simple text, and handles one topic. The text does not require a
transitional paragraph that reminds the reader of lengthy, nor does it need to
prepare for a transition to a complex or lengthy continuations for the topic.
vii. Comment on the effectiveness (readability) of the double-underlined parts of b-3.
Hence, make these parts more effective (readable). 5 POINTS
The listing used is effective and respects parallelism. The lists are organized using the
ordinal words first, second, and final.
But the last part starting with “After reading …” is dangling. Correction requires
replacing “it” by “readers” to become “After reading your review literature, the
reader knows that you have an up-to-date awareness of the relevant works of
others, and that the research question you are asking is relevant.
C. You are to select a graduate engineer for the job of research assistant. Write at least three paragraphs about the
criteria you adopt for selection: education, skill, experience or others? Use specific reasons and examples to support your
answer.
Develop this topic into a short text in c-2. Before writing, answer c-1.
c-1. Draft your thoughts; then put them in an organized outline. 3 POINTS
Outline:
 Title: Criteria for Selecting an Academic Research Assistant
 Introduction
o Background, Definitions
 Body
o Duties of the Research Assistant
o Qualifications to for being a Research Assistant
o Personal Attributes
 Conclusion
c-2. Develop the organized outline in c-1 into three paragraphs. Limit the text to the space hereunder. For drafts, use the
back of the sheet. 5 POINTS

The First Paragraph In Part C, evaluate

Develops the
Introduction
The Second Paragraph
Develops the Body
The Third Paragraph
Gives the conclusion:
Research Assistant is a
good start for those who
opt for the long way of
having a career in
research..
Neatness, penmanship, organization
Observance of the rules taught for writing the text:
 Writing paragraphs not fused, colorless text
 Thesis Statement, Topic Statements for the paragraphs, WTB, WTD,
Cohesion, Emphasis
 Contents of the Introduction: Definitions, Background, Statement of
purpose
 Explanation and development of the Topic
 Preparing for concluding
 Concluding
 Finally (firstly) correctness of grammar and mechanics

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