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How to Write

How to Write. William J. Rapaport Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Department of Philosophy, Department of Linguistics, and Center for Cognitive Science rapaport@buffalo.edu http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport. How to Write. Why write? 2 ways to write Editing Formatting

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How to Write

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  1. How to Write William J. Rapaport Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Department of Philosophy, Department of Linguistics, and Center for Cognitive Science rapaport@buffalo.edu http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport

  2. How to Write • Why write? • 2 ways to write • Editing • Formatting • Citations • Punctuation & Difficult Words • How to find journal articles

  3. Why Write? • To tell others what you have learned: • what you have learned from reading & thinking • literature review: what others have learned • also useful for dissertation proposal & dissertation • keep a reading journal: • for each article or book, do: • record all bibliographic info • copy interesting or important passages • comment on them: * why are they interesting or important? * what do they remind you of? * take their ideas further

  4. Why Write? To Tell Others What You Have Learned • What you have learned by discovering it yourself • outline your research • What problem are you trying to solve? • Why is it important? • What recent advances or interesting ideas are there? • what have others done? • what have others not done yet? • literature review! • What have you done (so far)? • What is your next step? • how does it relate to your goal? • why is it important? • How will you know when … • you’ve made progress? • you’re done?

  5. How to Write • Write! • 2 ways to write: • make an outline • “free” writing • Edit!

  6. How to Write • Make an outline: • based on sorting your notes in reading journal • or based on your research outline • introtopic-1topic-2topic-3conclusion/summary idea-1 * sub-idea-1.1 * sub-idea-1.2, etc. idea-2, etc. • use these as section headings

  7. How to Write • “Free” writing: • sit down & write • let the ideas “flow” • not (necessarily) recommended for beginners!

  8. How to Write • Keep your audience (readers) in mind: • what assumptions can you make? • avoid jargon / technical terms!

  9. How to Write • Edit! • Re-read what you wrote • slowly & actively • be critical • imagine what questions others might have • get feedback from others • Revise • Repeat!

  10. How to Format • Depends on whom it’s for: • course instructor? • major professor? • conference? • Each will have their own rules

  11. How to Format • General rules for formatting: • 8.5” x 11” (not A4) • 1” margins (all 4 sides) • single-sided (unless need to save paper) • double-spaced (easier to proofread) • indent paragraphs • number all pages

  12. How to Format • Order of contents: • Title & identifying info • descriptive title; “catchy” subtitle • your name • your institution (or course name) • date • Abstract • 1-paragraph summary • Body of paper • optional: • Acknowledgments • Appendix • Endnotes (footnotes are better!) • References (in alphabetical order!)

  13. Things NOT to Do • For article (not book): • no table of contents • no running heads • No cover page • No blank pages • No expensive folders or binders • use staples or binder-clips

  14. Things NOT to Do • No “box & arrow” diagrams without explanations

  15. Things NOT to Do • No unexplained or unnecessary acronyms • Abbreviations: • easy for you to type • but hard for your audience to read!

  16. Citations • Give enough info for reader to find document • Actual format not important • unless publisher / instructor says so!

  17. Citations • For journal article:Familyname, Givenname (year), “Title”, Journal vol: firstpage–lastpage. • For example: Rapaport, William J. (1986), “Logical Foundations for Belief Representation”, Cognitive Science 10: 371–422.

  18. Citations • For book:Familyname, Givenname (year), Title(city: publisher). • For example: Schagrin, Morton L.; Rapaport, William J.; & Dipert, Randall D. (1985), Logic: A Computer Approach (New York: McGraw-Hill).

  19. Citations • In-text cross-references: • Don’t use these unless you need to: • [23] • [Rap] • Do use Familyname+year: • Rapaport 1986

  20. Punctuation & Usage • See my webpage:http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/howtowrite.html#grammar

  21. How to Find Journal Articles(without leaving your office) • Assumption: • You already know author, title, source • Could go to library • First, check Bison to make sure UB has it! • But then have to read it there, or copy it ($)

  22. How to Find Journal Articles (without leaving your office) • Try to find online! • See if UB subscribes to electronic journal • MyUB  MyLibrary  E-Journals “search for specific electronic journal titles” • if not, then Google: • author-name “title in quotes” • if not, then find author’s homepage & look there • if not, & if not in library,then use Inter-Library Loan (ILLiad): • MyUB  MyLibrary  ILLiad Requests • if all else fails, email author!

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