9.4) Writing Papers, Theses, Dissertations

The Webber Energy Group has a high standard for communication skills. Half of our job is to create rigorous, substantive knowledge; the other half is to communicate that knowledge eectively. Communication is the tool by which our meaningful research will change the world. Dr. Webber expects precise and clear communication, proper grammar, and particular formatting. You should read Elements of Style (4th edition) by Strunk and White. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss is another good source of tips on writing and grammar. Dr. Webber would be happy to provide copies of these books to you.

9.4.1 Naming scheme

Dr. Webber expects a particular naming scheme for any document you send him. Using a consistent naming scheme is good professional practice to maintain diligent version control so that work doesn't accidentally get overwritten and lost. This naming scheme allows for Dr. Webber to differentiate the versions as it's revised. In particular, it helps Dr. Webber keep track of various files. When 15 students preparing papers for the same conference send him documents to review and they are all named \draft.doc" it can get confusing. It is much better to include the author's name, date and other identifying information in the filename. For example, "Webber ASME conference draft 20140907.docx" for the latest draft paper authored by Webber as of September 7, 2014 for the ASME conference. A more generalized form is as follows:

[Date Title Name Version#.DocType]

This filenaming scheme doesn't need to be used exactly, but filenames do need to include the relevant information so that Webber can differentiate quickly among different files without opening them.

When Webber edits documents in Microsoft Word, he will track changes and will insert his initials "MEW" at the end of the filename to note that he has edited it. Students are recommended to follow the same practice. For documents that are available for review only in PDF format, he will use Adobe's mark-up tools to make comments and editing suggestions. Students should get a professional version of Adobe Acrobat and Distiller (not just the reader) so that they can read and manipulate Adobe's comment tools. Unfortunately, Adobe's mark-ups for inserts and replacements are noted with a small tick mark in the text that is very easy to miss. Please use care to make sure each comment is reviewed. The best way to do so is with the reviewing pane so that each edit and comment can be reviewed in sequence.

All documents – papers, presentations, memos – need a date in the filename and in the document itself.

9.4.2 Basic Layout of Paper, Thesis, and Dissertations

General guidelines for the basic layout of a paper are provided below:

1. Abstract or Executive Summary: Whether to write an abstract or an executive summary is mostly determined by audience and intent of the manuscript. Abstracts are generally for scientic audiences and executive summaries are mostly for executive or policymaking audiences. More details on the abstract and executive summary are below.

2. Introduction: motivate the work

     (a) What topic does this manuscript cover?

     (b) Why do we care?

     (c) What is the organizational structure of the manuscript (for long documents)?

3. Background: literature review

     (a) What is already known about this topic?

     (b) What is the state of scientific understanding for this topic?

     (c) What is the knowledge or methodological gap that this manuscript will fill?

4. Theory: relevant principles that govern the analysis

5. Experiment/Methods/Analytical approach:

     (a) Detailed explanation of the methodological approach(es) that was(were) deployed

     (b) Experimental details (dimensions, equipment, etc.)

     (c) Computational details (software, custom code vs. o-the-shelf code, etc.)

6. Results/Analysis/Discussion:

     (a) What were the results of the methods described above?

     (b) What is their significance?

7. Conclusions/Summary/Future Work:

     (a) Restate the abstract, but with more explanation.

     (b) What are the key takeaways?

     (c) Any possible future work?

8. Acknowledgements:

     (a) Who paid for the work?

     (b) Hat tip to those who contributed but not to the level of coauthorship?

     (c) Any special courtesies that deserve mention or gratitude?

Abstract structure: many people confuse the purpose of the introduction and

the abstract. The introduction should explain the relevance of the work,

whereas the abstract should only say the following (usually within 150{500

words):

• We studied topic ABC. . .
• Using method DEF. . .
• And found results GHI. . .
• Optional: include the significance of the results that were found

Exceptions for abstract structure:

• Extended abstracts (2{5 pages) should include brief introduction, brief background, brief methods, and key results
• Abstracts for initial conference submissions are usually different because

1. the work isn't always done, yet, so the findings aren't always clear (include anticipated results instead), and

2. a little bit of motivation and introduction needs to be included

Executive Summary structure: this executive summary should usually be 2-5 pages in length), does not need to include any statements about methods, and should answer the following questions:

• What topic is studied?
• Why is it relevant?
• Which audience(s)/stakeholder(s) should care?
• What are the key takeaway points?

• What is the significance of those key takeaway points?

9.4.3 Preferred Software

See the table below for preferred software by purpose.

9.4.4 Grammar and Style Elements to Keep in Mind

• Limit the use of passive voice, except when it is necessary to remove the narrator.
• In almost all instances, "this," "that," "these," and "those" should precede a noun.
• The word "data" is plural.
• The word "criteria" is plural.
• There is a difference between "may" and "might" for analytical papers.
• While journalists use the terms interchangeably, they have different meanings.
  may = "has permission to happen"
  might = "has the possibility of happening"

Here's an example of how using may instead of might can cause a sentence to mean the opposite of what is intended, as pulled from a NREL report:

"Specifically, unconventional shale gas development may impact water resources through four major causal routes associated with the risk categories in Figure 14."

This sentence implies that shale gas development has permission to impact water resources four different ways. However, the meaning of the paragraph was the opposite; namely, this section was discussing how shale gas development does not have permission, but might impact it anyway!

• Note the dierence between i.e. and e.g.

- i.e. (id est) means \that is" or \in essence" and typically precedes clarifying language.

- e.g. (exempli gratia) means \for example" and typically precedes a list of examples.

- Both are typically used only for parenthetical statements.

- Do not follow i.e. or e.g. with a comma.

• Note that et al. (short for the Latin word `et alli', which means `and others') has only one period. Do not follow et al. with a comma.
• By convention, any term borrowed from a foreign language must be italicized (e.g. quod erat demonstrandum). Words that are in common usage need not and should not be italicized (e.g. prima facie, per diem, carte blanche) except if the italics are intended to provide emphasis.
• Hyphenate compound adjectives as necessary, but do not necessarily insert a hyphen between adjectives and nouns, even if identical to the compound adjective form.

- For example, a hyphen is necessary when describing "short-term operating prots" but there is no hyphen when describing "operating profits in the short term."

• U.S. is only used as an adjective (e.g. U.S. policy). United States should be used as a noun.
• En dash is used for number ranges, not hyphen. Em dash is used to offset phrases.
• Do not use contractions in technical writing.
• Avoid possessive nouns.
• Do not use the phrase "in terms of" as it is unnecessarily verbose.
• "In order to" can almost always be replaced simply by "to"
• Avoid the use of input and output as verbs, as they can easily be confused as nouns (Example: "the factors were input into the program" or "the program output the answer"; instead, use something akin to "the program uses factors such as..." or "the program generated results..."
• Avoid the use of results in as a verb expression, as it can be confused with a plural noun: for example, "the higher salinity results in higher energy requirements for treatment" would be better with "the higher salinity requires higher energy requirements for treatment" or "the product of the two results in a geometric growth pattern" would be better as "the product of the two yields a geometric growth pattern."

9.4.5 Connection between math and English

Be sure to use proper connections between math and English.

Example 1.

Suppose option A uses 10 kWh of energy and Option B uses 90 kWh.

It is proper (i.e. has consistency between math and English) to say either of the following:

1. B uses nine times as much energy as A. (Math: B = 9A)

2. B uses eight times more energy than A. (Math: B = A + 8A)

It is not proper to say:

3. B uses nine times more energy than A. (Math: B = A + 9A = 10A, which is not true).

While (1) and (2) are both correct, (1) is far better because it cannot be misunderstood. Because many people, even good writers, will often use (3i), option (2) will be misunderstood more often than not. So, option (1) is the only real option.

Example 2.

Using the same example numbers:

• Correct: A uses 1/9 as much energy as B. (Math: A = (1/9) B
• Incorrect: A uses 9 times less energy as B; or A uses 9 times less energy than B.

The second option has absolutely no way to translate into Math. Times means multiply, and less means subtract. People write this thinking that "times less" means divide, but it simply is not true.

It is ironic that in the first example, Word flags option (1), the only truly good one, as having grammar problems, but lets (2) and (3) go. No wonder people have trouble!

9.4.6 Document Comments

• For figures and tables, use long, descriptive captions with complete sentences. People skimming through the paper and only reading the figure captions should be able to deduce the main points of the paper.
• In text referring to a specific section or component of a document, capitalize terms such as Figure, Table, Section, Subsection, etc. (e.g. "These results are shown in Figure 1.").
• References, parenthetical or numerical, should be placed inside the period at the end of a sentence.
• The first instance of an acronym should be dened (e.g. "Heat rate is often expressed in million British thermal units per megawatt-hour (MMBTU/MWh)").
• Be consistent with tense.
  - Typically, technical writing uses present tense because the results and analysis exist in the present regardless of when the analysis was actually performed.
  - Past tense is only used when describing a specific event that happened in the past.
• Format documents according to the publication criteria.
• Use "and," not "&."
• Be consistent in "cost" versus \costs" and differentiate precisely between costs and prices.
• A space belongs between numbers and units (e.g. 500 MW), but a space does not belong when describing a dollar value per some unit (e.g. $30/gallon).
• There should not be a space between a number and "%" (e.g. 20%).
• Use document checklist provided in Appendix A before submitting documents for review. 

9.4.7 LaTeX-Specific Document Comments

• Confirm suitable figure placement and adjust placement with codes "htbp" as appropriate.
• Confirm that all periods that do not terminate a sentence are followed by a backslash (e.g. Dr.\Webber) or tilde (e.g. Dr.~Webber).
• Join all figure, table, and section references to their reference commands using a tilde (~) so they are not split across two lines when the document is typeset (e.g. Figure~\ref{fig:one_home_cooling_load} provides a point of comparison). Also join units and numbers this way.
• Join equations without a space to the previous paragraph.

9.4.8 Presentation Comments

• Use the WEG slide template to maintain brand consistency and associate yourself with the group.
  
  - All slides should include the following: presenter name, presenter affiliation (logo or text), a brief version of presentation title, the date, and slide number.
  - Title slide should include title of the presentation, name of presenters, co-authors of the work (if applicable), location, and date of presentation
  - Small modifications are acceptable.
• Presentations should tell a clear story with adequate background information to put the analysis into content and communicate the significance/implications to society.
• Talks should emphasize the context/motivation and conclusions, with a smaller emphasis on methodology; for scientific conferences, the talk can emphasize methodology more, but don't over do it; but prepare those slides anyway and have them in the back-up section in case one of the audience members is particularly interested in the methods.
• Use talking titles that are full sentences for slide titles.
• Use consistency with capitalization and punctuation in slide titles and bullet points.
• Avoid font sizes smaller than 20pt.
• Figures should be high resolution and aesthetically pleasing. Note the sources for any figures that aren't created by you.
• All images and data that are not original work should include clear citations on the slide in which they are presented.
• Rehearse your presentation and prepare for possible questions from the audience.

• If using a laser pointer, do so only when appropriate, and hold steady and move slowly.

9.4.9 Figures, Tables, and Equations Comments

• Brand figures with title, authors, copyright, and filename with data (see section 9.2.11 below)
• Create figures in color and black and white to ensure producible for all publications.
• Font size in figures and tables should not be much smaller than font size of text.
• Put dollar signs inside table cells and use parenthesis to indicate negative.
• A clearly formatted table uses no vertical borders and only places horizontal borders at the top and bottom of column labels and the bottom of the table. Example:

• Define terms in equations in the text prior to the equation.
• Formatting of terms within equations should be the same in equations and text. Typically, equation language is italicized.

9.4.10 ArcGIS Maps for PowerPoint

If you're using ArcGIS to make maps about your research, make maps that look great with the WEG PowerPoint template black background by completing the following steps.

ArcGIS maps displaying polygons and polylines and most types of data.

Using your complete map (that should already be beautiful with a white background made for a print publication), switch to the Layout View. Then,

1. Right click in the white space of the background, select Properties, and then click on the Frame tab. Change the Border Color to No Color and the Background to Black (for now). Click OK.

2. Critically analyze how your map looks. Do you need to change the border colors? Do you need to change the Symbology colors of your data? Revise the map accordingly to look professional with the black  background.

3. Don't forget to include a Legend, Scale Bar, and North Arrow, if applicable.

(a) On the Legend, right click and select Properties. On the Items tab, click on Symbol and change the color to white. On the Legend tab, click on Symbol and change the color to white. Click OK.

(b) On the Scale Bar, right click and select Properties. On the Numbers and Marks tab, click Symbol under the Marks section for Division Height. Change the color to white, click OK. Repeat a similar procedure for the Subdivision Height. On the Format tab, change the Text and Bar colors to white. Click OK.

(c) On the North Arrow, right click and select Properties. On the North Arrow tab, change the color to white. Click OK.

4. Right click on the black background, select Properties, and then click on the Frame tab. Change the Background to <None>. Click OK.

5. Go to File – Export Map, and save the map in the location of your choosing as an appropriate extension (I typically choose PDF) with a descriptive name.

6. Save your ArcMap file, likely using the Save As dialogue so you don't lose the print version of your map.

7. In your presentation file, add the photo from file, and crop as appropriate

ArcGIS maps displaying raster data

According to some online ESRI forums, having a white background with raster data regardless of the selected background color is a known bug in the software (as of version 10).

Follow the same steps above for creating a presentation-ready map. Your exported map file (saved as a PDF) will have a white background.

1. Open the PDF in Photoshop (available on the WEG iMac), and select the Magic Wand tool. Click on the white background and push delete.

2. Manually add any areas the Magic Wand might have missed (such as the bay near Houston, if you're working with a map of Texas) by clicking on the white space and pushing delete.

3. Zoom in on the borders of your image. Are they fuzzy? If so, undo your changes. Then increase the Tolerance value and repeat until your borders look crisp.

4. Save the le as a PDF.

5. In your presentation file, add the photo from file, and crop as appropriate.

9.4.11 Brand Figures

It is important to brand figures that may be cited in other peoples work. The title, authors, copyright, and filename with data should be included.

9.4.12 Citations and Acknowledgements

Cite every assertion that is not your own.

Acknowledge your sponsors, co-authors, and collaborators.

Self-Plagiarism General Rules of the Road: This section was written by Webber.

• Generally not an issue for presentations/speeches/lectures
• I have given identical speeches many times
• Generally only an issue for printed materials (papers, posters)
• Introduction/motivation sections are usually at greatest risk for self plagiarism

• Generally we own the copyright for dissertations and books, not UT and not the sponsors (depending on the publisher)
• Sometimes it is completely acceptable to repurpose content
• My contract with Cambridge University Press says they only owe the version that they print (the layout, page dimensions, etc.), but I own the words and figures and can reuse them in whole in other packages
• Journal (and some conference) publishers ask us to assign them the copyright
• Copying from one journal to the next is the biggest concern
• Each journal paper should be substantially different from other journal papers
• Write each journal paper from scratch
• Copying from a conference paper to a journal is a risk, but manageable
• No problem if it's within the family (ASME conference paper to ASME journal paper)–can be 100% identical
• If switching from one conference paper to another conference paper, or one conference paper to a journal paper, the rules are looser
• Okay to copy and paste much of it, but change 1/3 of it (add in new parts, remove/add gures, etc.)
• Conference papers are considered works-in-progress, so their evolution is supposed to be incremental
• Conference papers are not always archival, so it's expected that they will be repurposed for later publication

Avoiding self-plagiarism: biggest risk is in the introduction sections; don't just cut-and-paste prior introductions; paraphrase, shorten, and cite your prior work. These two approaches might help clarify that you're summarizing prior work:

• "The importance of this topic has been covered before in [Webber, 2010]. Summarizing those points here. . . "
• "The theory for this analysis was described in [Webber, 1998]. In brief, absorption of a laser beam occurs in spectroscopically-active regions. . . "

Managing copyright issues:

• Don't need to worry about copyright for presentations|only papers; you can give the exact same presentation to different audiences without concern
• Change your paper by at least 30% and there should be no copyright issue
• For non-archival, non-peer-reviewed conference papers, there usually aren't copyright issues at all, in which case submitting nearly identical papers to dierent conferences is generally fine