Technical Writing, Presentation and Terminology of Foreign Language

General

Educational goals

The aim of the course is to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and techniques for the design, preparation, writing and presentation of small-scale technical reports. Furthermore, the course aims to the understanding of the basic terminology of scientific texts in English (mainly academic essays and research articles) together with the development of skills for writing and presenting such texts. By the successful completion of the course the student should be able to:

  • Describe the structure and explain the contents of the essential parts of an integrated technical essay.
  • Evaluate and compare bibliographic sources for their reliability.
  • Organize a small-scale technical report.
  • Describe and explain the basic rules of a good technical presentation.
  • Create and deliver a short technical presentation.
  • Understand the basic terminology of scientific texts in English.
  • Organize and present a small-scale technical report in English.
General Skills
  • Search, analysis and synthesis of information by using the appropriate means and technology
  • Independent and cooperative work
  • Criticism and self-criticism ability
  • Promote of free, creative and inductive thinking

Course Contents

– Purpose of technical texts: Technical references, scientific papers, brief reports, technical proposals, etc. The role of the engineer in writing technical texts. Recipients, readers, users of technical texts and reading styles.

– Structure of technical texts with emphasis on technical reports: Organize text into sections and sub-sections, key parts of the technical reports and their content.

– Writing rules: Writing style, length, important grammar rules, images, charts and tables.

– Bibliographic search: Purpose, source search methodology, source evaluation. Study of bibliographical sources. Organizing and recording bibliographic sources.

– Plagiarism issues: Legal framework, academic ethics. Types of plagiarism, methods of avoidance.

– Introduction to technical presentations: Purpose of technical presentations. Techniques for preparing a presentation. Audience Recommendation. Different kinds of presentations. Defining the content and message of the technical presentation.

– Types of technical presentations: Structure and anatomy of a successful presentation. Presentation style. Dynamic presentation techniques. Mistakes, omissions and methods to avoid them. Audiovisual techniques.

– English terminology: Terminology in computing and electronics

Teaching Methods - Evaluation

Teaching Method
  • Face to face lectures.
Use of ICT means
  • Use of presentation software.
  • Use of learning platform (Moodle).
  • Communication with students through electronic means (email, announcement dashboards).
Teaching Organization
Activity Semester workload
Lectures52
Practical (mandatory attendance)13
Writing and presenting compulsory work70
Individual study and analysis of literature45
Total 180
Students evaluation

Α. Semester Project (SP) (80%)
- The project is assigned on individual basis (or in exceptional cases 2 students).
- The deliverables are a written essay of 3900-4000 words and a public presentation of 10 minutes duration.
- The topics, specifications and evaluation criteria of the project are announced after the second teaching week.

Β. Final written examination (FΕ) (20%)
- True/false questions
- Questions that require short answers

The final score of the course (SP*0.8+ FΕ*0.2) should be at least five (5). Moreover, both SP and FE individual scores should be at least five (5).

The evaluation criteria are listed in the course’s webpage in the learning platform (Moodle) and are explained to the students in the classroom.

Recommended Bibliography

Recommended Bibliography through "Eudoxus"
  1. Π. Λιαργκόβας, Ζ. Δερμάτης και Δ. Κομνηνός, "Μεθοδολογία της Έρευνας και Συγγραφή Επιστημονικών Εργασιών", Εκδόσεις Α. ΤΖΙΟΛΑ & ΥΙΟΙ Α.Ε., 2019, ISBN: 978-960-418-830-7, Κωδικός Βιβλίου στον Εύδοξο: 77117432.
  2. Ι. Μάντζαρης, "Επιστημονική Έρευνα", 2η Έκδοση, Εκδόσεις ΜΑΡΙΑ ΚΑΠΟΥΡΤΖΟΥΔΗ, 2017, ISBN: 978-618-83394-2-2, Κωδικός Βιβλίου στον Εύδοξο: 68369809.
  3. Ε. Ευδωρίδου και Θ. Καρακασίδης, "Ακαδημαϊκή Γραφή", 3η Έκδοση, Εκδόσεις Α. ΤΖΙΟΛΑ & ΥΙΟΙ Α.Ε., 2017, ISBN: 978-960-418-560-3, Κωδικός Βιβλίου στον Εύδοξο: 68391268.
  4. Ζ. Αγιουτάντης και Σ. Μερτίκας, "Ένας Πρακτικός Οδηγός για τη Συγγραφή Τεχνικών Κειμένων", Εκδόσεις ΣΤΕΛΛΑ ΠΑΡΙΚΟΥ & ΣΙΑ ΟΕ, 2004, ISBN: 978-960-411-394-1, Κωδικός Βιβλίου στον Εύδοξο: 14533.
Complementary greek bibliography
  1. Β. Μπουρλιάσκος, «Συγγραφή επιστημονικής εργασίας και βιβλιογραφική έρευνα», Εκδόσεις Διόνικος Μαρία Τσακουρίδου & Σία Ο.Ε, 2010.
  2. Ν. Ανδρεαδάκης, «Οδηγός για την εκπόνηση και τη σύνταξη γραπτής ερευνητικής εργασίας», Εκδόσεις Ατραπός – Περιβολάκι, 2005.
  3. Ε. Δημητρόπουλος, «Εισαγωγή στη μεθοδολογία της επιστημονικής έρευνας», Εκδοτικός Οίκος ΕΛΛΗΝ, 2004.
  4. Κ. Ζαφειρόπουλος, «Πώς γίνεται μια επιστημονική εργασία; Επιστημονική έρευνα και συγγραφή εργασιών», Εκδόσεις Κριτική, 2005.
  5. Α. Τσιπλητάρης και Θ. Μπαμπάλης, «Δέκα παραδείγματα μεθοδολογίας επιστημονικής έρευνας: Από τη θεωρία στην πράξη», Εκδόσεις Ατραπός – Περιβολάκι, 2006.
  6. B. Judith, «Πώς να συντάξετε μια επιστημονική εργασία», Εκδόσεις Μεταίχμιο, 2007.
Complementary international bibliography
  1. D. F. Beer, D. A. McMurrey, “A Guide to Writing as an Engineer”, 4th edition, Wiley, 2014, ISBN: 978-1-118-30027-5.
  2. M. Alley, “The Craft of Scientific Presentations”, 2nd edition, Springer, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4419-8278-0.
  3. N. K. Patel, “Technical Presentations”, books 1,2,3 and 4, IEEE-USA E Books, 2010-2011.
  4. T. Moran, “Writing for Success – An Engineer’s Guide”, vol. 1,2,3 and 4, IEEE-USA E-books, 2011.
  5. H. Silyn-Roberts, “Writing for Science and Engineering”, 2nd edition, Elsevier, 2012, ISBN 9780080982854.