Whole brain super learning ability

Chapter 26 The rapid increase in writing ability (2)
(II) Figures, tables and other information.

Step Five Plan Writing
At this point, you have a good understanding of the topic.It is helpful to think about the structure of the essay.You can still plan your topic using the core note-taking approach, just as you would plan a dissertation.This time, the idea is to continuously refine each stage:

1. Write the title of each section.

2. Write down the questions to be discussed in each section.

3. Write down the main points that should be included in each topic, and each point should correspond to a paragraph in the article.

4. This outline is complete.

Step [-] Writing
Write step by step from the main point to the topic according to the outline.If your cards are done well, the material needed for each point should be on a single card.Read the information on the card and write out the meaning you want to express in your own words, checking at any time during the writing process:
1. Is it written around the title of the topic?

2. Do you use your own words (except for necessary questions)?
3. Did you follow the order required by the topic?
4. Is it coherent?
5. Are the details appropriate?

The seventh step is to modify
No one hits the jackpot when it comes to writing articles.After the draft of the article comes out, read it through to see if it is smooth, whether the style is consistent, whether there are any confusions, omissions, which places should be deleted, and which places need to add materials.

After checking, enter the editing work.Look for mistakes in spelling, sentence structure, etc.If these mistakes are not corrected, no matter how good the article is, it will give people a bad impression.

write great reports

Reporting is different from writing, but one thing is the same, that is, you need to write.We have already emphasized that form and content are inseparable.You have to consider the effect of a particular form in order to get your point across.

Reports have two main functions:
First, establish a set of facts;

Second, make sure you make a decision.

Given some examples of reports below, try to determine which should include facts and which lead to a decision.

Reporting factual determinations

casualties of shipwreck

Incarcerated person applies for parole

Investigation about a house
Medical report
Here's our take on the event.

report factual determination

Casualties of a shipwreck The incidents that lead to a shipwreck

who did what when

what does anyone know about whether to sue
insurance claim
Whether to amend the regulations
Past conduct of incarcerated persons applying for parole

support outside prison

past case approval
how to monitor
Inquiry about necessary repairs of a house

Problems that may arise

value whether to buy
Price
medical history report
past treatment

Treatment options for the current condition of the same patient in the past
预防
The above examples illustrate that the key point is that the content of the report is completely determined by the purpose of the report.If you are making a decision about whether to buy a home, the investigator's report should only provide facts relevant to your decision.

This simple rule—the purpose dictates the content—doesn't make writing a report too easy.Initially, it is difficult to decide in advance which facts are relevant to the decision.The more standard the report (like a surveyor's report on a house) the easier it is to predetermine what the report needs.But what if you were asked to prepare a report on the costs and benefits of building a new road?Will you consider factors such as local environmental conditions, impact on the greenhouse effect, voters' opinions, etc.?

Writing a report should be straight to the point, but there should be a strict organization, and there should be some choices for materials.A well-structured report should include:
1. Relevant matters - who asked to write the report, a brief introduction, and purpose.

2. Content summary-some people don't have time to read the full text, so the conclusions and suggestions need to be concisely stated.

3. Plan - what information to collect, from where, how to collect, etc.,

4. Facts - what facts did you discover, this should be carefully divided into paragraphs with their own subheadings.Clear numbering and catchy headings are beneficial.

5. Conclusion—an evaluation of the facts found.At this time, you should focus on untenable facts or contradictions.

6. Suggestions—remind readers of the purpose of the report, and state how you think the decision should be made and why you think so.

The more complex the job, or the longer it takes to complete, the more important your organizational skills will be.Break any report-writing project into a series of manageable steps, and you'll immediately start feeling less clueless, impatient, and intimidated.

The following steps are common to almost all report writing, with occasional slight differences:

1. Find the topic you want to write about.

2. Determine the topic of the report.

3. Go to the library to find a lot of information and draft a preliminary outline.

4. Go to the library to find accurate information and make a detailed outline.

5. Write the first draft for the first time.

6. Further search for the required information (if necessary).

7. Write the copy for the second time.

8. Review the report and ask others to proofread it.

9. Finish your report and proofread it yourself.

10. Turn it in, get an "A".

Get out your daily calendar, find out when the report is due, and schedule half the time to find the information and the other half to write the report.Next, set aside time throughout the week of 2-3 hours each, rather than in small chunks.When you organize your work schedule, design completion deadlines for each step, as shown in the examples below.Of course, we can't tell you how much time to schedule because we don't know the nature of your reports, nor how fast you work, but we can tell you that you must plan to refer to at least 10 different books, articles, or other references Materials, but also to take notes (your teacher or your topic may require more).Also, you should plan to write two or three first drafts before finishing.

Week 1: Decide on the topic and the direction of the report
Week 2: List References

Week 3/4: Read reference materials;
Week 5/6: Take Notes

draw up a detailed outline
Week 7: Writing the First Draft
revising; preparing a bibliography

Week 8: Proofreading; finalized typing

Always refer to your work schedule, and adjust your pace as you go if you find yourself falling behind.

After the steps and time are planned, you need to implement them.Sometimes, the teacher will specify the topic; sometimes, the teacher just specifies a research scope, allowing you to choose topics freely within this scope.But there are some pitfalls you have to be aware of.For example, say you want to write a history class report, the length is 15 pages, and you decide to use the title of "America's role in World War I", can you explain this topic completely in 15 pages?Unless you tamper with the third grade history textbook, there is no way.There could even be several books written on this topic (many people have, in fact), and there's still a lot that hasn't been put into it.

Instead, you should focus on a more specific, narrower topic, such as "The Role of Women Naval Seamen in World War I".Similarly, your topic should not be too narrow. If you choose a topic that is too narrow, you may have nothing to mention on the second page.For example, "Women's Naval Badge Design" might be an interesting story on 2 or 1 pages, but it won't fill 2 or 10 pages.

The selected topic is too remote, and you will find little or no information written on this topic.In this case, you have to experiment entirely on your own—work directly with your subject—and get your own first-hand information (ask someone who has, if not more than once), to do this kind of research. Pioneering can be creative and fun work at times, but it can also be frustrating and stressful.And don't ignore your teacher's possible reaction to this, he may welcome some reports that are better graded, rather than something new that has to be really thought about.Jack had the best report he thought he had ever written, but got a "medium", the teacher of the institute told him that because he had no way to verify Jack's idea - there was no published material to support Jack's statement - So not giving him a high score would be ridiculous to us - as would the "medium" he got - but we suggest you keep this in mind as a reference for you.

After considering all the above, use your brain well to conceive an appropriate report title.Don't be content with just one topic—think of several possible topics.Put the book down until you have 3 or 4 possible titles.

How many questions are there?Then off to the library.You have to do some research first, find library access card indexes and journal guides, or other publication index materials, see how many books and articles have been published on each topic, and then read the relevant books and articles on each topic. essay or encyclopedia.If you're lucky, there should be at least one research topic that looks good, and if two or more pass your initial test, pick the one that interests you the most - there's no rule that you can't like it.Next you will spend a lot of time on this topic.

Once you have selected a topic for your report, you must then develop a tentative hypothesis ("hypothesis" and "hypothesis" are similar in meaning, and are the ideas you are trying to confirm or disprove in your report). "Hypothesis statement" is a sentence that briefly expounds the meaning of the hypothesis, or it can be said to summarize the main points of your report.

Note that we say it is a provisional hypothesis, it may not be your final hypothesis, because your data-finding and research work has not yet been completed.At this point, you can only base your hypothesis on a "best guess".Some teachers will ask you to show him your hypothesis statement first, and get his consent, even if the teacher does not ask for it.Ask for his opinion, there are absolutely only advantages and no disadvantages. Your teacher can help you decide whether your hypothesis is on point.

After you've established your tentative hypothesis, start thinking hard about how you'll develop your themes in your report.Write down the various questions you plan to study, and then draw up a brief outline for your report listing your possible treatments for discussion.Don't pay too much attention to this outline - it's better to be as simple as possible, but don't skip this step - it will help you a lot in organizing the information you find.

We've had a detailed discussion of libraries and how to use their resources.Now let's talk about actually finding the information you must gather for your report.

To build your bibliography, first you need to prepare some 3×5 index cards. These cards can also be used to take notes while reading the report materials, so you might as well buy more at a time, about 300 should be enough.When storing index cards, find a small card envelope and write your name, address, and phone number on the envelope so that if you lose it, someone who finds it will know how to return it.When you find a book, article, or other source that looks good, take a blank card and write the following on the front of the card:

Upper right corner of card: Library book number (Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress number) - if available, an additional note may help you locate its material on the library shelf (e.g. "Technology Reading Room", "reference room", "microjournal room").

Center of the card: Author's name - last name first, then first name, then the title of the article, in parentheses.This is followed by the title of the book, magazine, newspaper, or other publication -- plus the underscore.In addition, when you have to find the same book or article next time, you can find information that can help you find it quickly—such as the publication date, edition, volume, and page number of the source of the information.

The upper left corner of the card: code the card number, the first card is numbered 1, the second is number 2, and so on.In case you skip a certain number in the middle and don’t edit it, it doesn’t matter, the important thing is that the number of each card is different.

Below the card: If you go to more than one library to find materials, write the name of the library.At the same time, write down the name of the index you used to find this material, so that it will be convenient for you to find it next time.Every time a source of information is found, the above cards must be filled in, and only one source of information can be filled in a card.

Example index cards for a book
323. 2
large reading room
Walter Scott (Walter Scott)
A Legend of Montrose

(24-32 pages)
login card

Franklin Library

After reading these cards, you need to find a book.It is better to arrange continuous time when going to the library, to arrange a long period of time that can be mastered, than to arrange short periods of time 15 or 20 times.When you go to the library, take with you your index cards, enough blank cards, your initial outline, and your handy pen.

Your index card is your treasure map in search of a treasure trove of information.Take five or six cards, find the information on them according to the position written on the cards, and then find a quiet table to sit down and start your work.

As mentioned earlier, when you write a report, all your material comes from your notes, not from the original sources.Therefore, detailed and complete notes are extremely important.What information should be included in the notes?Anything relevant to your topic—especially your hypothesis.include:
1. General background information - name, date, historical information, etc.

2. Research statistics.

3. Materials cited by experts.

4. Definition of technical terms.

You're probably used to keeping your notes in three-hole binders, but here's a better idea—take all your notes on index cards.As with the reference index card, you must adhere to certain guidelines for this method to work.The first few times you take notes, you will often refer to the guidelines in this chapter, and over time, you will get used to this approach.Suppose you find a reference book that contains some material relevant to your topic.Before you start taking notes, find the reference index card for that book.

The first step is to check whether all the information on the card is correct, and whether the title of the book is exactly the same as that printed on the cover?Is the author's name spelled correctly?Next, fill in the information you still need on the reference index card.What you need to include on the reference index cards depends on the type of references listed and the format of the reference index cards you need.Different people use different reference index card rules, remember to ask your teacher if there are any rules (such as the detailed format of reference index cards and note index cards).

When you're done with your reference index cards, put them aside, pull out some blank index cards, and start taking notes from your references, follow these guidelines:

Write an idea, concept, quote, or fact on each card.If you have long citations or strings of data, write to the back of the card if necessary, but never to a second card.What if there is still no way to write the information on a card?It means that you have processed too much information at one time, split it into two or more shorter sections, and then fill in different cards.

Write in your own words.Synthesize a paragraph, or re-state the written information in your own words, avoid copying word for word.Any recorded material should be enclosed in quotation marks.You can quote sentences or entire paragraphs written by others into your report to emphasize an important point (but there are limits to doing so), but you must quote them exactly as the original text—every word , every comma, every period.And you have to put these in quotes.As you complete each note index card, do the following steps.

(End of this chapter)