How to Write
William J. Rapaport
Department of Computer Science & Engineering,
Department of Philosophy, Department of Linguistics,
and Center for Cognitive Science
rapaport@buffalo.edu
http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport
How to Write
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Why write?
2 ways to write
Editing
Formatting
Citations
Punctuation & Difficult Words
How to find journal articles
Why Write?
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To tell others what you have learned:
1. what you have learned from reading & thinking
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literature review: what others have learned
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also useful for dissertation proposal & dissertation
keep a reading journal:
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for each article or book, do:
» record all bibliographic info
» copy interesting or important passages
» comment on them:
* why are they interesting or important?
* what do they remind you of?
* take their ideas further
Why Write? To Tell Others What You Have Learned
2. What you have learned by discovering it yourself
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a)
b)
c)
What problem are you trying to solve?
Why is it important?
What recent advances or interesting ideas are there?
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d)
e)
what have others done?
what have others not done yet?
literature review!
What have you done (so far)?
What is your next step?
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f)
outline your research
how does it relate to your goal?
why is it important?
How will you know when …
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you’ve made progress?
you’re done?
How to Write
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Write!
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2 ways to write:
1. make an outline
2. “free” writing
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Edit!
How to Write
• Make an outline:
– based on sorting your notes in reading journal
– or based on your research outline
– intro
topic-1
topic-2
idea-1
* sub-idea-1.1
* sub-idea-1.2, etc.
idea-2, etc.
– use these as section headings
topic-3
conclusion/summary
How to Write
• “Free” writing:
– sit down & write
– let the ideas “flow”
– not (necessarily) recommended for beginners!
How to Write
• Keep your audience (readers) in mind:
– what assumptions can you make?
– avoid jargon / technical terms!
How to Write
• Edit!
– Re-read what you wrote
• slowly & actively
• be critical
– imagine what questions others might have
– get feedback from others
– Revise
– Repeat!
How to Format
• Depends on whom it’s for:
– course instructor?
– major professor?
– conference?
• Each will have their own rules
How to Format
• General rules for formatting:
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8.5” x 11”
1” margins
single-sided
double-spaced
indent paragraphs
number all pages
(not A4)
(all 4 sides)
(unless need to save paper)
(easier to proofread)
How to Format
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Order of contents:
1. Title & identifying info
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b)
c)
d)
descriptive title; “catchy” subtitle
your name
your institution (or course name)
date
2. Abstract
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1-paragraph summary
3. Body of paper
4. optional:
a) Acknowledgments
b) Appendix
c) Endnotes
5. References
(footnotes are better!)
(in alphabetical order!)
Things NOT to Do
• For article (not book):
– no table of contents
– no running heads
• No cover page
• No blank pages
• No expensive folders or binders
– use staples or binder-clips
Things NOT to Do
• No “box & arrow” diagrams
without explanations
Things NOT to Do
• No unexplained or unnecessary acronyms
• Abbreviations:
– easy for you to type
– but hard for your audience to read!
Citations
• Give enough info for reader to find document
• Actual format not important
– unless publisher / instructor says so!
Citations
• For journal article:
Familyname, Givenname (year), “Title”, Journal
vol: firstpage–lastpage.
– For example:
Rapaport, William J. (1986), “Logical
Foundations for Belief Representation”,
Cognitive Science 10: 371–422.
Citations
• For book:
Familyname, Givenname (year), Title
(city: publisher).
– For example:
Schagrin, Morton L.; Rapaport, William J.; &
Dipert, Randall D. (1985), Logic: A Computer
Approach (New York: McGraw-Hill).
Citations
• In-text cross-references:
– Don’t use these unless you need to:
• [23]
• [Rap]
– Do use Familyname+year:
• Rapaport 1986
Punctuation & Usage
• See my webpage:
http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/howtowrite.html#grammar
How to Find Journal Articles
(without leaving your office)
1. Assumption:
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You already know author, title, source
2. Could go to library
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First, check Bison to make sure UB has it!
But then have to read it there, or copy it ($)
How to Find Journal Articles (without leaving your office)
3. Try to find online!
a) See if UB subscribes to electronic journal
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MyUB  MyLibrary  E-Journals
 “search for specific electronic journal titles”
b) if not, then Google:
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author-name “title in quotes”
c) if not, then find author’s homepage & look there
d) if not, & if not in library,
then use Inter-Library Loan (ILLiad):
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MyUB  MyLibrary  ILLiad Requests
e) if all else fails, email author!