Course: Applied English for Science and Technology

Topic outline

General
- Contents
  
  1. To err is human!
  Two articles from native and non-native speakers of English.
  
  2. Writing exercises - 1
  An analysis of typical writing mistakes
  
  3. Writing exercises - 2
  Further exercises for typical writing mistakes
  
  4. Let's take a few photographs
  Warm-up activity for designing a project
  
  5. Project: Designing a toy
  Group work for designing a project
  
  6. Project proposal
  Submitting the project to the client
  
  7. Say "Thanks"
  Writing formal letters
  
  8. Progress report
  Submitting a progress report to the client
  
  9. Invitation
  Writing formal emails
  
  10. Design a poster
  Promoting the product
  
  11. Present the product
  Group presentation
1. To err is human!
- We all make mistakes when we speak or when we write. This is not a big problem - unless we correct these mistakes, of course. In the first three units of this course, we will focus on common mistakes in academic context.
  
  Below, you will find two scientific articles. The first one was written by two Chinese authors and the second one was written by a native speaker of English.
  
  Read both articles and pay special attention to highlighted sections.
  
  After that, do the related exercises.
- Article 1 File
  "An Energy-Balancing Unequal Clustering Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks", J. Yang and D, Zhang, Information Technology Journal 8 (1): 57-63,2009
- Article 1: Exercise Quiz
- Article 2 File
  
  "Use of decision science in mechanical engineering design", Driegel, G. S., Journal of Applied Science and Engineering Technology, pp. 1-7, Miami University, 2008.
- Article 2: Exercise Quiz
2. Writing exercises - 1
3. Writing exercises - 2
4. Let's take a few photographs
- Horse in Motion Book
  It may come as a surprise in the twenty-first century to discover that, in the 1880s, details of how objects move were unknown. The human eye, unaided, cannot resolve the details of fast motion. Eadweard Muybridge and his experiments with motion photography, such as this series of pictures of a horse's gait, helped solve this mystery.
  
  From https://sites.utexas.edu/ransomcentermagazine/2013/05/22/eadweard-muybridge/ - edited
5. Project: Designing a toy
- Project One Book
- Project Two Book
6. Project Proporsal
- Read and analyse the "Format for Proposals" carefully. Then, as a group, prepare a proposal for your project. You will submit this proposal to the toy company.
- Format for Proposals File
  
  Title Page
  
  Statement of the Problem
  
  Objectives
  
  Plan of Action
  
  Management Plan
  
  References
- Proposal Submission Assignment
  Submit the group proposal here.
7. Say "Thanks"
- Formal Letter File 707.5KB PDF document
  How to write a formal letter
- Send a reply Quiz
8. Progress Report
- Progress Report File 285.7KB PDF document
  Background on the project itself.
  
  Discussion of achievements since last reporting.
  
  Discussion of problems that have arisen.
  
  Discussion of work that lies ahead.
  
  Assessment of whether you will meet the objectives in the proposed schedule and budget.
- Sample Progress Report File 44.8KB PDF document
- Progress Report Submission Assignment
  Submit the group progress report here.
9. Invitation
- Formal email File 725.8KB PDF document
  How to write a formal email
- Invitation to product presentation Quiz
- Response to an invitation Quiz
  Restricted Not available unless: The activity Invitation to product presentation is marked complete
10. Design a poster
- Design of Scientific Posters File 298KB PDF document
- Sample Poster - 1 File 88.6KB PDF document
- Sample Poster - 2 File 354KB PDF document
- Sample Poster for A Very Simple Egg-Drop Project File 362KB PDF document
  This poster was designed at the end of an Applied English for Science and Technology course at Clausthal University of Technology, Germany. Note that the task here is quite different - it is not a requirement that the "vehicle" should have a mechanism.
- Scientific Posters File
  This is yet another "tutorial" on how to design scientific posters. We added it to the course content because it presents the topic in a very flexible - a bit too friendly - way.
  
  Note that there are several spelling mistakes ("carefull") in the text.
- Design your own poster Database
11. Present the product
- Suggestions for Preparing Effective PowerPoint Presentations File 375.9KB PDF document
- More tips - and a PowerPoint template File 107KB Powerpoint presentation
- Submit a copy of your presentation Assignment
  We would like to keep a copy of your group presentation.

Applied English for Science and Technology

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