 So, in the previous hour we have seen the importance of being effective and efficient in communication. So, we have said that effectiveness means whatever we intend to communicate the person at the other end listening to you or reading your work should exactly grasp that. So, when that happens then you say you are effective now you must achieve this effectiveness with as little effort as possible that is where efficiency comes in we have also given the reasons why it is very important to be effective and efficient. In fact about 30 percent of the papers which are rejected the cause of rejection is poor communication. This is the statement of editors of most of the journals. So, poor communication which includes ineffective as well as inefficient communication is a very important reason a major reason for rejection of papers and that is why we need to be we need to spend sufficient time in developing or speaking and writing skills. We have discussed in detail what are the issues that we must take into account when we are doing oral communication. Now, today we will just see some additional points which are important in written communication. So, let us look at this like writing methodology. So, there are two broad writing methodologies one is plan and write and other is think as you write. So, plan and write involves spending a sufficient amount of time in first planning how you will organize your material and in what sequence you would like to present your ideas and then you start writing. On the other hand think as you write involves jotting down points as and when they occur to you and then you organize a material and write then you reorganize as you are writing and so on. So, this is an iterative process it all depends on our preferences there are few people who plan and write and they say that they do not have to make several drafts of their writing. However, by and large think and write is a methodology that is followed by many people and that is what one would advise people to take up because in think as you write or write as you think whichever way you look at it there as and when the points come to you you are jotting them down. So, it is somewhat easy to get started see one of the problems in doing research work as well as in writing is that you take time to get started. So, this think as you write or write as you think this strategy is very easy for getting started up. Second point is that nowadays almost all writing is done using computers for research scholars at least. So, rather than the first writing things on a piece of paper and then transferring to a computer one must develop the habit of writing into the computer directly it has many advantages as all of us know you can do paste cut delete revision and so on very easily in a computer. So, the next thing is generate the points putting them down as and when they come to your mind. So, we are now talking about the second strategy of writing that is write as you think or think as you write organize them into an acceptable structure and then convert them to grammatically correct and well balanced sentences. Active versus passive voice active voice makes the sentences short and more immediate. So, the modern trend is to use the active voice as much as possible. So, instead of saying the man was bitten by the dog you say the dog bit the man another important point particularly in the context of Indian scholars or students writing English is that every sentence must have a verb references there are broadly two formats of writing references and one must stick to these formats and one should not try to mix these formats. So, the first format involves numbering. So, you use numbers for referencing in this case the names of the authors are written with the first name converted to an initial and then the last name in this order it should not be last name first and then the first name when numbering is being used numbering scheme is being used for referencing followed by that you have the title of the paper some journals do not require the title of the paper. Then you have the journal then volume and if you want issue number then you have the pages then month followed by year. So, this one format as against this you have the alphabetical arrangement of the references which is what is shown here in the second reference below. So, here the last name comes first this is very important the last name comes first followed by the initial then you have the year coming in brackets followed by this you have the title then the journal volume and issue number and finally the page number. So, broadly these are the formats you must stick to this format. So many times what happens for example people use the numbering scheme but they write the last name first this is not correct there are advantages and disadvantages of each format. For example if you use the numbering format the advantage is that if you have a large number of references you can all refer to them in the text of your paper very easily it is very compact. On the other hand you know whenever we write papers or thesis you do not have all the references arranged in the perfect order in the beginning nor do you have all the references. In fact you go on adding references at several points in writing. So, in such case this numbering scheme becomes somewhat difficult to use because you have to go on changing the number of references right in the text and you may forget to do that some places you might forget. So, this is the disadvantage of the numbering scheme. The advantage of the alphabetical scheme is that you can go on inserting any number of references because whenever the numbers are given in the alphabetical form when you want to refer to this particular reference in the text of your paper you will give the name of the last name of the first author followed by the year that is how you will reference and if you want to locate the reference at the end you have to go in the alphabetical order like what happens in a dictionary and then locate the reference. Illustrations with the text alone most people remember just 10 percent of what they read this is the importance of illustrations. I have also said earlier that in your oral communication slides should contain as many number of diagrams or illustrations as possible this is the reason for it. When the meaning of the text is enhanced by carefully chosen illustrations people can remember almost 50 percent of what they read. So, it is very good idea to include illustrations in your work for explaining various things. So, there are different kinds of graphs that one can use in illustrations line graphs bar graphs area graphs pictorial graphs sector graphs pictorial drawings line and block diagrams cartoons even cartoons are very good particularly in introduction. Whenever you are introducing an idea you can use cartoons the cartoons are used rarely in papers in review paper sometimes you will find these things when people are introducing some very big idea but in thesis it is perfectly alright to use cartoons in introduction some more guidelines for illustrations use thick lines and big lettering for labels one of the problems in illustrations is students use the same font size for lettering in figures as they use in the text. So, for example most of the time the text is either 11 point font or 12 point font times in roman and they will use the same font size for lettering within the figure I am not talking about figure caption I am talking about figures within the figure now this is not correct actually your font size in the figure should be as large as you can use because normally the figures will be reduced in size when they are put in the publication and so lettering should be a legible after reduction. So, your figure is almost half of the effort size paper and in that you are using a 12 point font for labeling various lines and so on. Now, this figure will be reduced by a factor of 4 to 5 for example and then your font size is going to become very small. So, this is something that you must take care of. So, test your illustration by reducing it to the size it will be in ultimate publication use black and white colors for general publication and as far as possible for thesis also. So, colored figures you minimize as much as possible some more points about written communication write review rewrite. So, it is an iterative process next point review objectively by creating a psychological distance between you and your work this is very very important it is important and little bit difficult. In fact, you will you would have experience that it is very difficult for you to find mistakes in your own writing particularly have you know forgotten some words somewhere or you are not put a comma you are not put a full stop and things like that or you made a spelling mistake you do not detect it very easily because you are so much involved in writing that you are unable to be objective. Now, how can you create a psychological distance some of the methods are as follows given there one method is set the work aside for a few days and do something else in which you can be deeply involved and then take it up for review. So, for example, doing something else involves making phone calls meeting friends and so on these are some practical things which are suggested which people have to do right and so they can do some management of the time. So, you write and then sometime you set aside for doing all these other things another very simple and effective approach is to read aloud whatever you have written as hearing reveals the difference between what you intended to say and what you actually said this is a very effective method of locating mistakes and improving the written material. So, now some prescriptions for improving your written communication read the editorial of a newspaper daily the editorial of a newspaper the language is very good and it is also generally simple because newspaper is meant to be read by a large population and it has to describe in detail the opinions and situations. So, the language used there is very good do writing for 2 hours per week this is another suggestion this could be notes for lectures that you gave or description of an important idea it can also be presc writing that is somewhere for example, I have asked you to read something material for discussion one can prepare a gist of that this is what is meant by presc writing. So, this kind of things one can do. So, in fact these are the assignments which are suggested write a summary of the discussion material you and your research in about 600 words list the references of your oral presentation in proper format assuming they are being put in a thesis prepare any one figure of your oral presentation with a figure caption many times students prepare figures, but they do not provide a figure caption. Now, you may not have a figure caption in the oral presentation you may avoid it because you can say it orally what you are talking about, but in written presentation you should have a caption and that should be very effective what it means is that without reading a text when you look at the figure you should be able to figure out what is being talked about there the caption should be such. So, it need not be too telegraphic. So, caption of a figure is not exactly like a title of a paper or something like that thesis title of a paper or thesis is something that in which you cannot use too many words it has to be shot, but the figure caption can be a few sentences that is perfectly fine, but not too lengthy also some more points about writing. Writing is the means of discovering new knowledge see the importance of writing it is a means of discovering new knowledge. So, you should not think that writing is something like an input output unit of a computer many times what people think is take the analogy of a computer the CPU does all the processing and finally when all the processing has been done and results are generated the job of the printer is only to print these results out. So, many times people think that the writing is like printing activity right everything has been done all thinking is completed everything is over all that you are doing during writing is just putting things down this is incorrect because when we write our thinking is stimulated many ideas you get when you write. So, you have some ideas you start writing you get more ideas. So, writing stimulates thinking writing makes people think about their work in a different way some well established authors have said the only time when we think is when we write these are their experience the only time when we think is when we write it may be an extreme statement in fact some poets have said that how do they write their poems they can write their poems only when they have a piece of paper and pen in their hand. So, an idea passing idea comes to their mind and then as they write it develops. So, those who have done sufficient amount of writing know this very well the importance of writing up in generating new ideas also a lot is written when little has been achieved. So, you do not have if you do not have any point to say then you will go on beating around the bush and you write a lot writing can be the most difficult part of research both for you and your supervisor students tend to postpone writing towards the very end and also procrastinate. So, this is being is a word of caution therefore, the suggestions were made that you know you write every week something. So, that you develop the habit of writing and also because students are not aware that writing stimulates thinking they postpone it. It takes much longer than you anticipate to write it is inadequacy is the most common single reason for requiring students to resubmit their thesis or papers find quiet conditions in which to write and if possible always write in the same place. So, like you have a bedroom you have a kitchen where a place is devoted for a particular activity like that you can have a place right where go and sit there whenever you want to write it can help you to write you know get started very easily. Now, you know the stages in which a thesis goes through right meaning after a thesis is written it is sent to an examiner for review. This I have told in the beginning and then the examiners read it if they have any questions they ask and then which have to be answered and then you make a defense. Now, what is the structure of a thesis? We have discussed the structure of an oral presentation. Now, broadly the same structure is there for a thesis there are some more intricacies in the structure of a thesis. For example, you have to provide an abstract something that you do not do in an oral communication then you have to provide a list of figures and tables. Then there is a certificate and then you have acknowledgments introduction and then summary conclusion scope for further work at the end and in between you also have a review and your work. So, now let me set aside these things such as acknowledgement abstract and sorry acknowledgement the list of figures and tables right these things let us set aside and then look at the other sections. Now, just one thing I want to point out about acknowledgement many times people simply copy acknowledgments and the letters for acknowledgments the letters and I am sorry the sentences and so on. Now, while some things will be you know common even in acknowledgement you try to be original right whatever acknowledgments you want to pay you please do it in your own words right do not copy it shows that you know you really care for those people whom you are acknowledging. Now, the structure of a thesis let us look at it the sequence in which you write the various sections. Now, it is not necessary that the sections should be written in the same order in which they actually appear in the thesis finally. So, for example, you will have abstract first in a thesis and then introduction then you will have the review then description of your work your results interpretation and all that then you will have summary conclusions and scope for further work. So, what I am trying to say is it is not necessary that you should first write the abstract then start writing the introduction then the review and so on. In fact, it is suggested that your contribution should be written up first. So, which means not abstract not the introduction not the review all the conclusion your work right which is your contribution these middle chapters you should first write and even for writing these chapters a good approach is to prepare all the figures first and then write because when you prepare the figures you almost have a very good skeleton of what you want to describe and then you can write. So, after you have written up your main work then you can write the review then after writing the review you can write the introduction and the conclusion and after the whole thesis is written up like this then you write the abstract. So, abstract is something that you write at the end though it appears in the beginning of the thesis. Many times what happens is the students spend lot of time in writing the introduction and so on and when they have to write up their main work the amount of time available is less and they do not do a good job of it. In fact, people always look at your contribution how you have written it up. Another reason why people write introduction and review first nowadays is because they think you can do a cut and paste from somewhere else something that is actually not permissible. So, simply because these things appear to be easy to write your own work is always the most difficult thing to write introduction and so on it is like you know things which are already available somewhere you are putting them down. So, some sections are easier to write than others I have just mentioned that already. Now, length layout and typography. So, A4 size paper and justified text. Now, as because justification of the text that is left justification right justification and so on left justification should be there on that there is no difference of opinion whether there should be right justification or not. Generally, it is advised that you have right justification also, but recent research shows that your reading is more comfortable it is more comfortable to read particularly long write ups if they are not right justified. Because then there is some sort of break in the monotony some sentences you know are take up less length and some sentences are longer and so on. So, there is a break in the monotony of reading. So, one can choose not to justify the right hand side if one wishes. Now, type phases serif and sans serif we have discussed this point already in oral communication that if the font size is small 12 or less then you must use serif font times your Roman is the default. So, avoid using aerial font for example, for 12 point size unless some journal insists that that is the thing that you should follow. Line spacing double line spacing is recommended because then it is easy to review particularly long write ups avoid too much of emphasis of any particular word or sentence. For example, the way emphasis has been shown there it should not be done there is an example of too much emphasis. So, the word emphasis here you can see what are now what are the methods of emphasizing one is italics use of italics you see the first letter e in this emphasis the first letter e in emphasis italics here. So, italicizing is one method of emphasizing capital using capital letters is one method of emphasizing underlining is also a method of emphasizing and then putting words between stars is also a method of emphasizing bold using bold also is method of emphasizing now here everything has been used. So, these are an example of over emphasis normally it is suggested that you just use bold or you just underline do not use bold and underline that is not necessary or you just italicize use italics it is not necessary to use italics and underline not only it is not necessary it is better if such things are avoided it this is all from the point of view of comfort in reading, but headings they should stand out clearly heading should stand out very clearly you can use bold or you can use capital for headings alone like heading of the chapter you can use a combination of bold and capital if you like then preparation of camera ready copies I will not discuss this much some more guidelines titles of the thesis chapters and subsections should be shot and should wait the appetite and arouse the curiosity of the reader many times the students are not aware of the impact that titles of subsections chapters and thesis have on the reader you can make the titles interesting. So, you should spend sufficient time in deciding what titles you will like to give things of such titles is a pleasant thinking of such titles is a pleasant diversion from the boring job of writing routine portions of the thesis do not use abbreviations in the title this is very important do not use abbreviations. So, for example, if my title contains IIT right then I must write it as Indian Institute of Technology and not IIT this is one of the common mistakes committed by students particularly there will be some highly technical words which will have abbreviations and they will be used in the title. So, once the title is put in fact the unless you are working in the same area and the same specific area you cannot understand what is it yes. Some cases say if you are writing something on MOSFET or something. Yes. So, on that case what to do. Yes that is why it is suggested that in fact when I was trying to give an example the first device came to my mind was MOSFET, but I avoided it because I thought some people may not know what is a MOSFET. So, MOSFET it is suggested that you write metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor. Now, one problem that can arise is if the other part of the title takes up many words then if you expand this MOSFET it can be a problem one of the things that you could do in with such cases is you can write MOS field effect transistor right use abbreviation for a small part of it and then right. So, whichever is much more easily understandable and you can use an abbreviation that portion alone. So, for standard abbreviations we can just use them like MOSFET is yes it is for that particular domain. Yes now the one of the things people say for example, you may address you are supposed to address wide audience you know cater to wide readership. This is the reason why they suggest that you avoid. Now for example, I am in doctoral committees of many students right you know there is a doctoral committee form for assessing the progress of research scholar. So, you may be in the committee of a physics student or you may be in the committee of a chemical engineering student right, but you are an electrical engineer. Now, you have to assess the work right yeah. So, this kind of thing. Even though for example, a paper may be published in a genre of electrical engineering there may be portions of it which may be of interest to other disciplines. So, mainly from that point of view it is suggested that you avoid abbreviations. So, actually I had one more question regarding the use of active voice. Yes. So, you mentioned that using active voice will help shorten the sentences. Yes. But is using active voice well appreciated like most of the papers still we find that passive voice is used. Yeah. I am talking about the recent trend. And it is based on my experiences such as I wrote a paper for IEEE transactions on education. Where? They are particular about the language. So, I got a review saying that I find that the paper is not so well written because it excessively uses passive voice. Now, surprisingly another reviewer said it is a very well written paper. But the fact that it is a very well written paper I do not take it as significant. I take the other thing as significant comment. Yeah. Then I have reviewed papers and there I did not bother about the voice. But I have seen other reviewers commenting that author is strongly advice to use active voice. So, in several instances I have seen this issue being brought up. Sir, because as such a thesis is a single author who although the papers which come in the thesis have. Thesis is not in a single author in the sense you at least your guide is there. So, it is okay to use active voice V. Yeah. You can use V. And we see several papers changing the voice somewhere in between Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. They say that a method has been proposed. And then they say that we have proposed. Yeah. Yeah. So, wherever possible active voice. So, now this thing that I have suggestion that I have made here that use active voice is not only based on this one or two experiences that I have quoted. I have also seen recent books on communication suggesting that you use active voice. Yes. Thanks. If your guide does not like active voice then of course it is better to avoid it. You can tolerate the reviewer. Right. I mean reviewer is it is okay. It is like guide or the editor. If the editor is saying you should use it. Right. Then you have to use it. I mean you have to avoid it. Sorry. Not use it. Avoid it. Okay. So, with that we come to the end of the various issues that should be borne in mind while doing oral or written communication.