OT: How to write a good technical paper

Hello All

I guess for the first time I am asking something like this. 

I am facing troubles in order to write the work that I have done. The
reviewers are not happy at all. The comments are very harsh. And I
personally agree, they are correct. The paper is rejected anyways.

Basically, I am asking how to sell or market the work that I have done. I
cant even think how to re-write the paper. I am asking because I am lost
and dont even remember the comments.

Any valueable tips would be of great help.

Thanks.

Chintan

On 3 Jul, 20:48, "cpshah99" <cpsha...@rediffmail.com> wrote:
> Hello All
>
> I guess for the first time I am asking something like this.
>
> I am facing troubles in order to write the work that I have done. The
> reviewers are not happy at all. The comments are very harsh. And I
> personally agree, they are correct. The paper is rejected anyways.
>
> Basically, I am asking how to sell or market the work that I have done. I
> cant even think how to re-write the paper. I am asking because I am lost
> and dont even remember the comments.
>
> Any valueable tips would be of great help.

Don't know about 'valueable', but here are a couple of
links I used as guides when I wrote tech papers:

http://sepwww.stanford.edu/sep/prof/abscrut.html
http://sepwww.stanford.edu/sep/prof/Intro.html

They refer to a geophysical journal, but the advice
ought to be universal.

Rune

Hi Rune

Many thanks for these links. I am not gng for an excuse that I am not
native english speaker and I should be allowed some freedom. But I always
try to write in simple language so that people understand it. But the
comment that I got it that this is not research language, this seems more
like book language.

I remember there was an article in 2008 in IEEE signal processing
magazine, issue 3 I guess. I have got it and reading it as well. Lets see
how far it goes.

Thanks again.

Chintan

On 3 Jul, 21:22, "cpshah99" <cpsha...@rediffmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Rune
>
> Many thanks for these links. I am not gng for an excuse that I am not
> native english speaker and I should be allowed some freedom. But I always
> try to write in simple language so that people understand it. But the
> comment that I got it that this is not research language, this seems more
> like book language.

Well, technical writing is terse and concise. Few if any
personal pronouns. Tech papers are not the area to express
linguistic exuberance.

Takes a bit of getting used to.

Rune

>Takes a bit of getting used to.

Ok. Lets see how much time I take to get used to it.

Chintan

cpshah99 wrote:
> Hello All
> 
> I guess for the first time I am asking something like this. 
> 
> I am facing troubles in order to write the work that I have done. The
> reviewers are not happy at all. The comments are very harsh. And I
> personally agree, they are correct. The paper is rejected anyways.
> 
> Basically, I am asking how to sell or market the work that I have done. I
> cant even think how to re-write the paper. I am asking because I am lost
> and dont even remember the comments.
> 
> Any valueable tips would be of great help.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Chintan

There a college courses designed to teach "technical writing" specifically.

Knowing that MIT has a significant amount of course related material 
available on the web I did

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22technical+writing%22+site%3Amit.edu

Among the many links that struck my eye was an "MIT OpenCourseWare" [I'd 
forgotten the program name] link

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Writing-and-Humanistic-Studies/21W-783Science-and-Engineering-Writing-for-Phase-IIFall2002/StudyMaterials/index.htm

Another was

http://web.mit.edu/uaa/www/writing/links/

HTH
{ When Googling it does help to know that target *DOES* exist ;}

>cpshah99 wrote:
>> Hello All
>> 
>> I guess for the first time I am asking something like this. 
>> 
>> I am facing troubles in order to write the work that I have done. The
>> reviewers are not happy at all. The comments are very harsh. And I
>> personally agree, they are correct. The paper is rejected anyways.
>> 
>> Basically, I am asking how to sell or market the work that I have done.
I
>> cant even think how to re-write the paper. I am asking because I am
lost
>> and dont even remember the comments.
>> 
>> Any valueable tips would be of great help.
>> 
>> Thanks.
>> 
>> Chintan
>
>There a college courses designed to teach "technical writing"
specifically.
>
>Knowing that MIT has a significant amount of course related material 
>available on the web I did
>
>http://www.google.com/search?q=%22technical+writing%22+site%3Amit.edu
>
>Among the many links that struck my eye was an "MIT OpenCourseWare" [I'd

>forgotten the program name] link
>
>http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Writing-and-Humanistic-Studies/21W-783Science-and-Engineering-Writing-for-Phase-IIFall2002/StudyMaterials/index.htm
>
>Another was
>
>http://web.mit.edu/uaa/www/writing/links/
>
>HTH
>{ When Googling it does help to know that target *DOES* exist ;}
>

%%

Many thanks. It is just that for some reason I am failing to hit the
target :-)

On Jul 3, 1:48&#4294967295;pm, "cpshah99" <cpsha...@rediffmail.com> asked:

<material snipped>

> The
> reviewers are not happy at all. The comments are very harsh. And I
> personally agree, they are correct.

<more material snipped>

> I am lost
> and dont even remember the comments.
>
> Any valueable tips would be of great help.
>


If the comments were on target (as you admit they were)
and you have discarded them already, then they are not
going to be of much help to you in revising the paper, are
they?  The most valuable tip that I can provide is to look in
your Trash folder for the comments, re-read them and digest
them thoroughly, and then consider how you can rewrite
what you have so as to avoid such comments in the future.

And if all you are interested in is selling or marketing the
things that you have, then advertise, advertise, advertise,
but preferably not on comp.dsp

--Dilip Sarwate

>If the comments were on target (as you admit they were)
>and you have discarded them already, then they are not
>going to be of much help to you in revising the paper, are
>they?  The most valuable tip that I can provide is to look in
>your Trash folder for the comments, re-read them and digest
>them thoroughly, and then consider how you can rewrite
>what you have so as to avoid such comments in the future.
>

Hi Prof. Sarwate

I have not discarded them at all...i meant that it was too much that I
myself forgot what I actually did...

Anyways.

Chintan

On Jul 3, 2:48&#4294967295;pm, "cpshah99" <cpsha...@rediffmail.com> wrote:
> Hello All
>
> I guess for the first time I am asking something like this.
>
> I am facing troubles in order to write the work that I have done. The
> reviewers are not happy at all. The comments are very harsh. And I
> personally agree, they are correct. The paper is rejected anyways.
>
> Basically, I am asking how to sell or market the work that I have done. I
> cant even think how to re-write the paper. I am asking because I am lost
> and dont even remember the comments.
>
> Any valueable tips would be of great help.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Chintan

Hello Chintan,

It is like the old story about the lost tourist who asks a policeman
how to get to Carnegie Hall? The answer of course is practice,
practice, practice.

Technical writing works the same way. Do a lot of writing and solicit
feed back.

I used to be a horrible writer; now I'm just medocre. Keep writing - I
did. Do you recall the first programs you wrote - I bet they weren't
very good either, but you eventually got better. Incorporate the
actions indicated by the comments into your paper, and I'll bet it
becomes a better paper.

Good luck,
Clay