2. Technical paper
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Journals and proceedings
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Scholarly writing
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Types: letter, full length paper, review
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Rebuttal
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What is involved in writing a technical paper
3. Where to publish?
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How to choose a journal?
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Predatory journals
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Society journals and reputed journals
6. What to publish?
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What is worth publishing?
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Negative results
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Earth shattering results
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Marginal results
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Technical results
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Results of hihg impact
7. Steps involved in publishing
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Careful study / experimentation / model
building / programming
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Collection of data
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Analysis of data (Barbala McClintock story)
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Literature survey – before, during or after?
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Writing!
8. Rules of writing
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Some specific rules for writing
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Relevant to all technical writing – not just
papers
9. Write everyday, at least five sentences: on your
own – without looking at any other document.
Rule No. 1
10. Write everyday, at least five sentences: on your
own – without looking at any other document.
Write what you did -- in your lab notebook!
Rule No. 1
11. Write everyday, at least five sentences: on your
own – without looking at any other document.
Write what you did -- in your lab notebook!
Write what you think!
Rule No. 1
12. Write everyday, at least five sentences: on your
own – without looking at any other document.
Write what you did -- in your lab notebook!
Write what you think!
Write what you do not understand!
Rule No. 1
13. Write everyday, at least five sentences: on your
own – without looking at any other document.
Write what you did -- in your lab notebook!
Write what you think!
Write what you do not understand!
Write something!
Rule No. 1
14. Read at least five good sentences everyday!
Rule No. 2
15. Read at least five good sentences everyday!
To write well, you should have read good writing.
Rule No. 2
16. Read at least five good sentences everyday!
To write well, you should have read good writing.
How to identify good reading material in your
area of interest? Backtracking method.
Rule No. 2
20. If we assume that the X-ray scattering of the
'unmodified' type observed by Prof. Compton
corresponds to the normal or average state of
the atoms and molecules, while the 'modified'
scattering of altered wave-length corresponds to
their fluctuations from that state,
Raman effect
21. it would follow that we should expect also in the
case of ordinary light two types of scattering, one
determined by the normal optical properties of
the atoms or molecules, and another
representing the effect of their fluctuations from
their normal state.
Raman effect
22. It accordingly becomes necessary to test
whether this is actually the case. The
experiments we have made have confirmed this
anticipation, and shown that in every case in
which light is scattered by the molecules in dust-
free liquids or gases, the diffuse radiation of the
ordinary kind, having the same wave-length as
the incident beam, is accompanied by a modified
scattered radiation of degraded frequency.
Raman effect
23. The new type of light scattering discovered by us
naturally requires very powerful illumination for
its observation
Raman effect
24. Indeed, it seems to me that the observations of
“blackbody radiation,” photoluminescence,
production of cathode rays by ultraviolet light,
and other related phenomena associated with
the emission or transformation of light appear
more readily understood if one assumes that the
energy of light is discontinuously distributed in
space.
Einstein: photoelectric effect
25. According to the assumption considered here, in
the propagation of a light ray emitted from a point
source, the energy is not distributed continuously
over ever-increasing volumes of space, but
consists of a finite number of energy quanta
localized at points of space that move without
dividing, and can be absorbed or generated only
as complete units.
Einstein: photoelectric effect
26. In this paper I wish to present the train of thought
and cite the facts that led me onto this path, in
the hope that the approach to be presented will
prove of use to some researchers in their
investigations.
Einstein: photoelectric effect
28. Never take sentences from elsewhere – with or
without modification -- and pass it off as your
own.
When you quote somebody, make sure that you
quote verbatim and let the reader know that it is
a quote
Rule No. 3
29. Technical writing: meant to communicate
concepts, show your scholarship, and help
others take off from where you leave
Rule No. 4
30. Technical writing: meant to communicate
concepts, show your scholarship, and help
others take off from where you leave
References are important. Spend the five to six
hours needed for sprucing up the references
every time you write your report
Rule No. 4
31. Top down and bottoms-up writing!
Some tricks of the trade
32. Top down and bottoms-up writing!
Write the section titles, sub-section titles, sub-
sub-section titles, paragraphs – a line for each;
build on this
Some tricks of the trade
33. Top down and bottoms-up writing!
Write the section titles, sub-section titles, sub-
sub-section titles, paragraphs – a line for each;
build on this
Write everything that comes to your mind
indiscriminately. Edit, move around passages
and modify – never delete till the end
Some tricks of the trade
34. Top down and bottoms-up writing!
Write the section titles, sub-section titles, sub-
sub-section titles, paragraphs – a line for each;
build on this
Write everything that comes to your mind
indiscriminately. Edit, move around passages
and modify – never delete till the end
I usually use the second approach
Some tricks of the trade
37. Write experimental details / simulation part first
Write results next
Write the conclusions
Some tricks of the trade
i
38. Write experimental details / simulation part first
Write results next
Write the conclusions
Write the introduction after the conclusions: tune
introduction depending on your conclusions
Some tricks of the trade
i
39. Write experimental details / simulation part first
Write results next
Write the conclusions
Write the introduction after the conclusions: tune
introduction depending on your conclusions
Write the abstract last!
Some tricks of the trade
i
42. Tell a story!
Tell what is expected and why
Tell what you get and what is its significance
Some tricks of the trade
43. Tell a story!
Tell what is expected and why
Tell what you get and what is its significance
Go back to Raman and Krishnan's way of
announcing their discovery or Einstein's way of
setting his hypothesis / thesis out
Some tricks of the trade
44. Don' tell; show (Replace text by figures, plots,
tables, ...)
Some tricks of the trade
45. Don' tell; show (Replace text by figures, plots,
tables, ...)
Be quantitative; prose without numbers sounds
fluffy and without substance
Some tricks of the trade
46. Don' tell; show (Replace text by figures, plots,
tables, ...)
Be quantitative; prose without numbers sounds
fluffy and without substance
Careful with numbers: put error bars; know their
limitations; do not report beyond the allowed
accuracy
Some tricks of the trade
47. Know your audience:
what you write in your annual progress seminar
report is different from
your conference proceedings paper is different
from
your journal paper is different
from popular writing in a newspaper about your
work
Some tricks of the trade
48. Abbreviations: first time in expanded form with
abbreviation in brackets
Some norms for good writing
49. Abbreviations: first time in expanded form with
abbreviation in brackets
Equations: neatly labelled; every term should be
explicitly explained
Some norms for good writing
50. Abbreviations: first time in expanded form with
abbreviation in brackets
Equations: neatly labelled; every term should be
explicitly explained
Figures: clean, with axes labeled, proper title
Some norms for good writing
51. Abbreviations: first time in expanded form with
abbreviation in brackets
Equations: neatly labelled; every term should be
explicitly explained
Figures: clean, with axes labeled, proper title
Any claim – support with references to the
literature
Some norms for good writing
52. Do not use informal words/expressions (OK,
don't, can't, ...) or informal spelling
(density&temperature, ...) in technical writing
Some norms for good writing
53. Buy a good dictionary
Subscribe to a good technical journal: wired,
economist, resonance, ...
Learn LaTeX / gnuplot / R/ ...
Use lab note book extensively
Learn to use a spell checker
Tools of the trade: be skilled
56. Caution
A very personal take!
This is what I have learnt and this is what works
for me!
Compare, contrast and find your own path
57. If you have clarity in thoughts, there will be clarity
in your words.
--Subramanya Bharati, A Tamil poet
58. In fact, writing clarifies your thinking. Writing is
not recording — you don't just take a photocopy of
what is in your head and put it on the page. It is a
far more creative and interactive process. As you
write, you develop your thoughts. Writing is, in
fact, rigorous thinking.
--M Gardiner and H Kearns, Nature 475 , 129-
130 (2011)
59. More of second type (clarifies thought) than first
type (clarity of thoughts come through), in my
opinion!
Technical writing
60. Good technical writing: flows from a scientific
attitude
Curiosity
Commitment to follow truth wherever it takes you
Commitment to communication
Enthusiasm for what you are doing
Respect for those who worked before you
The urge to push the boundaries!
Summary
