The Technical Report

In this blog-posting reply, I want you to take some time and image a circumstance in your dream profession in which you might have to write a "technical" report for a non-technical audience. In what kinds of situation might you find yourself wherein you would have to convey your findings, or present your recommendations, to an audience that does not necessarily share all of your discipline-specific vocabulary? Develop the scenario for me and tell me how this project, in ENGL 341, might or might not have prepared for such an eventuality or possibility.

Intellectual Property

Please read this article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQlSG_wOnzcnKwwCZl0Q68WNfNqgD9F0KIV03

What is your response to this? I have mentioned before in class that not all cultures share American standards for citation, "plagiarism," and academic honesty. Some of you might think that the domain of "plagiarism" is unclear. I don't want to give you a lot of prompting here; I am just interested in reading your responses to this news story.

Citation Style

I would like each of you, in your response to this post, to tell me what citation style you are using and how it compares to other prominent styles (how is it different? Or similar?). What is the practice for "in-text" citation in your style? What are the conventions for "References" or "Works Cited" page style? And why, do you think, does this particular style suit your discipline (as in, why do journal editors in your field like this style, possibly)? Finally, what is the purpose of an in-text citation, in general?

IRB approval/Secondary Research

For your response to this posting, I want you to think about two aspects of your technical report process. The first will really only pertain to some of you, but I invite all of you to say something about it. "IRB Approval" is a process that all students incorporating interviews, surveys, and observations need to complete before they proceed with the writing and completion of their technical report. Do a little looking into "IRB approval." What is it? Why do researchers need to go through the process? Who does it "protect"? Here's your second question: why do you need to incorporate, do you think, "secondary research" into your technical report? Why, as far as you can tell, does this research need to come from predominantly "peer reviewed" sources? I look forward to reading your responses!

James, Ryan, Paul, and Eddie

Definition: Passive voice occurs when you make an object of an action into the subject of a sentence. The basic formula is:

form of “to be” + past participle = passive voice

(http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/passivevoice.html)

Example 1: Light penetration is reduced by sediment, and bottom dwelling organisms may be smothered by layers of sediment.

Solution 1: Sediment reduces light penetration and smothers bottom-dwelling organisms.

Example 2: Bottled water is purchased by many people.

Solution 2: Many people purchase bottled water.

Passive voice occurs when you make an object of an action into the subject of a sentence. It creates ambiguity in the meaning of a sentence, and makes statements lack confidence. It is typically in the form a conjugated form of “to be” followed by a past participle such as “Why was the road crossed by the chicken?” By making road the subject of the sentence, it emphasizes the role of the road instead of the chicken in the question. In some cases, such as informal documents, passive voice may be appropriate or even preferable.

Estela, Lee, and Josh

1. Water quality is determined by factors.

Many factors determine water quality.


2. Suspended and dissolved substances are contained in all natural waters.

Natural waters contain suspended and dissolved substances.

Passive Voice Examples

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/539/

Passive Voice Summary

In a passive voice sentence, the action is preformed on the sentence. In an active voice sentence, the sentence subject performs the action.

Stacey, Courtney, and Nick

1. Water quality is determined by many factors.

a. Many factors determine water quality.

2. Suspended and dissolved substances are contained in all natural waters.

a. All natural waters contain suspended and dissolved substances.

3. The amounts of those substances are controlled by the environment.

a. The environment controls the amount of those substances.

4. But some dissolved substances are produced by pesticides.

a. Pesticides produce some dissolved substances.

5. Another element of quality is sediment that is deposited in water from fields, livestock feedlots, and other sources.

a. Sediments deposited from fields, livestock feedlots, and other sources also affect water quality.

6. The bottom life of streams and lakes is affected by suspended sediment.

a. Suspended sediment affects the bottom life of streams and lakes.

7. Light penetration is reduced by sediment, and bottom-dwelling organisms may be smothered by layers of sediment.

a. Sediments reduce light penetration and, when present in many layers, smother bottom-dwelling organisms

8. The quality of water in city systems is measured frequently at laboratories.

a. Laboratories frequently measure the water quality in city systems.

9. If legal levels are exceeded by pollutants, the citizens must be notified by city officials.

a. City officials must notify the citizens if pollutants exceed legal levels.

Bottled water is purchased by many people.

a. Many people purchase bottled water.

Bottled water is thought to be safer, but in truth a different taste is all that is purchased.

a. People purchase bottled water for a different taste, thinking it is safer.

Definition of passive voice:

The website about passive voice starts not with the definition of passive voice but instead with some myths about passive voice. The first myth is that using passive voice constitutes a grammatical error. The article states that passive voice is a style issue that pertains to clarity rather than a grammatical error. The next myth states that ANY time the phrase “to be” is used this constitutes a grammatical error. This is not always true. Summed up, the 3 myths go over how first person can still be in the form of passive voice, why it is sometimes ok to use passive voice, and explains why you should not always rely on the grammar checker to catch the passive voice in writing.

After clearing up some of these myths, the article defines passive voice in an easy to understand manner. It defines passive voice as a passive construction that occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence. That is, whoever or whatever is performing the action is not built as the grammatical subject of the sentence. The article uses a great example of passive voice.

Why was the road crossed by the chicken?

Or in active voice…

Why did the chicken cross the road?

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/passivevoice.html

Exercises:

This website contains links to a bunch of documents that illustrate passive voice in a variety of situations.

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/passive