Guide to technical writing - Revision history

A1065010: /* Spacing */

2026-04-15T03:44:12Z

Spacing

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:14, 15 April 2026
Line 282:		Line 282:
	* Full stops, commas, colons, semi-colons, question marks, exclamation marks, all have no space on the left, but always have one space on the right.		* Full stops, commas, colons, semi-colons, question marks, exclamation marks, all have no space on the left, but always have one space on the right.
	* There is always a space between a number and the units. Normally you must create the space with a tilde, in LaTeX, to suppress a linebreak.		* There is always a space between a number and the units. Normally you must create the space with a tilde, in LaTeX, to suppress a linebreak.
	* Note the special case that a number has no space after it, if followed by a percentage sign or a degree minute or second ~~for plane angle symbol~~.		* Note the special case that a number has no space after it, if followed by a percentage sign or degree, minute and second symbols.

	==Figure captions==		==Figure captions==

A1065010: /* Units */

2026-04-15T03:42:43Z

Units

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:12, 15 April 2026
Line 275:		Line 275:
	* Always insert physical units after a number.		* Always insert physical units after a number.
	* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.		* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.
	* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the degree, ~~minute and second for plane angle~~, °, ~~' and " respectively~~. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space~~. There is a space between the number and °C~~.		* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the degree. This is true of degrees where referring to temperature or angle. When dividing angles in minutes and seconds, such as 43°2′27″ N, 77°14′30.60″ W, notice there are also no spaces. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space.
	* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.		* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.

A1065010: /* Dispassionate tone */

2026-04-15T03:35:22Z

Dispassionate tone

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:05, 15 April 2026
Line 80:		Line 80:

	===Dispassionate tone===		===Dispassionate tone===

	~~hoga marse~~

	Of course you must be completely passionate to be successful at your PhD. You need to be passionate about your research and passionate to share your exciting results by publishing. When we do technical writing the ''tone'' must be dispassionate, but you as a person can still be passionate! So what do we really mean by a dispassionate tone? We simply mean that you must remove emotional words from a scientific description. The science is about logic not emotion. So the emotional words have no place in your thesis or papers. You can use a little emotion in an acknowledgement section, because that is not the scientific part of the paper. When replying to reviews of your paper always remove any emotive words, even if you feel like strangling the reviewer. And when you become a reviewer, your report should also be dispassionate.		Of course you must be completely passionate to be successful at your PhD. You need to be passionate about your research and passionate to share your exciting results by publishing. When we do technical writing the ''tone'' must be dispassionate, but you as a person can still be passionate! So what do we really mean by a dispassionate tone? We simply mean that you must remove emotional words from a scientific description. The science is about logic not emotion. So the emotional words have no place in your thesis or papers. You can use a little emotion in an acknowledgement section, because that is not the scientific part of the paper. When replying to reviews of your paper always remove any emotive words, even if you feel like strangling the reviewer. And when you become a reviewer, your report should also be dispassionate.

A1065010: /* Words that are commonly misused */

2026-03-23T11:28:37Z

Words that are commonly misused

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:58, 23 March 2026
Line 127:		Line 127:

	===Passed or past?===		===Passed or past?===
	In English these two words are confusing because they are pronounced exactly the same, but the meaning is different and they can be used in similar contexts. "Passed" is the ~~pass~~ tense of the verb "pass," whereas "past" indicates going by. So how do we check if we've made the right choice of word in our technical writing? Take these two examples:		In English these two words are confusing because they are pronounced exactly the same, but the meaning is different and they can be used in similar contexts. "Passed" is the past tense of the verb "pass," whereas "past" indicates going by. So how do we check if we've made the right choice of word in our technical writing? Take these two examples:

	* The voltage went past the maximum limit and the transistor overheated.		* The voltage went past the maximum limit and the transistor overheated.

163.47.37.98: /* Tone */

2025-08-07T10:33:18Z

Tone

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:03, 7 August 2025
Line 80:		Line 80:

	===Dispassionate tone===		===Dispassionate tone===

			hoga marse

	Of course you must be completely passionate to be successful at your PhD. You need to be passionate about your research and passionate to share your exciting results by publishing. When we do technical writing the ''tone'' must be dispassionate, but you as a person can still be passionate! So what do we really mean by a dispassionate tone? We simply mean that you must remove emotional words from a scientific description. The science is about logic not emotion. So the emotional words have no place in your thesis or papers. You can use a little emotion in an acknowledgement section, because that is not the scientific part of the paper. When replying to reviews of your paper always remove any emotive words, even if you feel like strangling the reviewer. And when you become a reviewer, your report should also be dispassionate.		Of course you must be completely passionate to be successful at your PhD. You need to be passionate about your research and passionate to share your exciting results by publishing. When we do technical writing the ''tone'' must be dispassionate, but you as a person can still be passionate! So what do we really mean by a dispassionate tone? We simply mean that you must remove emotional words from a scientific description. The science is about logic not emotion. So the emotional words have no place in your thesis or papers. You can use a little emotion in an acknowledgement section, because that is not the scientific part of the paper. When replying to reviews of your paper always remove any emotive words, even if you feel like strangling the reviewer. And when you become a reviewer, your report should also be dispassionate.

123.243.98.152: /* Units */

2025-07-30T10:35:14Z

Units

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:05, 30 July 2025
Line 275:		Line 275:
	* Always insert physical units after a number.		* Always insert physical units after a number.
	* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.		* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.
	* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the degree, minute and second for plane angle, °, ' and " respectively~~. There is a space between the number and °C~~. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space.		* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the degree, minute and second for plane angle, °, ' and " respectively. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space. There is a space between the number and °C.
	* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.		* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.

123.243.98.152: /* Spacing */

2025-07-30T10:33:35Z

Spacing

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:03, 30 July 2025
Line 282:		Line 282:
	* Full stops, commas, colons, semi-colons, question marks, exclamation marks, all have no space on the left, but always have one space on the right.		* Full stops, commas, colons, semi-colons, question marks, exclamation marks, all have no space on the left, but always have one space on the right.
	* There is always a space between a number and the units. Normally you must create the space with a tilde, in LaTeX, to suppress a linebreak.		* There is always a space between a number and the units. Normally you must create the space with a tilde, in LaTeX, to suppress a linebreak.
	* Note the special case that a number has no space after it, if followed by a percentage sign or a degree symbol.		* Note the special case that a number has no space after it, if followed by a percentage sign or a degree minute or second for plane angle symbol.

	==Figure captions==		==Figure captions==

123.243.98.152: /* Units */

2025-07-30T10:30:09Z

Units

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:00, 30 July 2025
Line 275:		Line 275:
	* Always insert physical units after a number.		* Always insert physical units after a number.
	* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.		* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.
	* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the degree, minute and second for plane angle, °, ' and "respectively. There is a space between the number and °C. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space.		* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the degree, minute and second for plane angle, °, ' and " respectively. There is a space between the number and °C. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space.
	* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.		* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.

123.243.98.152: /* Units */

2025-07-30T10:28:10Z

Units

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:58, 30 July 2025
Line 275:		Line 275:
	* Always insert physical units after a number.		* Always insert physical units after a number.
	* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.		* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.
	* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the degree, minute and second for plane angle, °, ' and "~~or ° signs~~. There is a space between the number and °C. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space.		* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the degree, minute and second for plane angle, °, ' and "respectively. There is a space between the number and °C. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space.
	* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.		* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.

123.243.98.152: /* Units */

2025-07-30T10:26:34Z

Units

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:56, 30 July 2025
Line 275:		Line 275:
	* Always insert physical units after a number.		* Always insert physical units after a number.
	* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.		* Always insert a space between a number and the units. Do this with a tilde (~) in LaTeX.
	* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the °C or ° signs. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space.		* Exceptions are that there is no space between a number and the % sign and the degree, minute and second for plane angle, °, ' and "or ° signs. There is a space between the number and °C. There are some rare journals whose style is to have a space here and you should then obey that. But for your thesis and most journals there is no space.
	* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.		* Units are always in upright font, so write them outside the math environment.