CairoUniversity

FacultyofEngineering

M.Sc.PreparatoryYear
20112012,Term2,TechnicalWriting.Time:2hours
OPEN BOOK EXAM

Neat,wellplannedanswersarehighlyappreciated.

A. Writeoneparagraphonthenecessityofhavingwinwindealsinlife.

Beforewriting,outlinethoughtshereunder(usethebackfordrafts).

Yourfinalversionbelow(limityourfinalanswertothisspace,enoughfor4to5
sentences)

Giveatitlefortheparagraphyouhavejustwritten(Observecase)

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B. Translatethefollowingparagraph

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C. Define type of sentence error; then correct the faulty statement.

1. Working very hard on the budget, the report showed that the budget was approved rapidly.
Type of error ..
Corrected version ...........
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..

2. There are many methods to solve a nonlinear equation. Such as: the bisection method, the
secant method, and also the Newton-Raphson method.
Type of error ..
Corrected version ........
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3. The persons solved the conflict between the two parties immediately in ten minutes.
Type of error ..
Corrected version ........

4. A number of sentences is fully formatted, formatted in a partial way, or not formatted at all.
Type of error ..
Corrected version ........
.

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D. Revise the following sentences for effectiveness, to state their meaning in fewer words.
1. The topics that are considered the most important by the candidates are those that have
been considered useful to them after being awarded the positions.
Why is this sentence ineffective? ...
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Propose an effective version .

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2. In the not too distant future, college freshmen must all become aware of the fact that there is
a need for them to make contact with an academic adviser concerning the matter of a major
study.
Why is this sentence ineffective? .
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Propose an effective version .
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3. The measurement of the length of object was defined from it weight.

Why is this sentence ineffective? .
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Propose an effective version .

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4. Cough is a type of convulsion of lungs vellicated by serosity.

Why is this sentence ineffective? .
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Propose an effective version .

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5.

In the By Laws, each course three credit hours.

Select one of the following for the missing word(s)

( ) weights ( ) weighs ( ) is worth ( ) worths ( ) is worthy

( ) worthy

Justify your choice .

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E. Split the following text into several paragraphs. Show the beginning of each paragraph by
underlining its first words.
Make sure your thesis is well structured, that each major section does what it is supposed to do, and
that the whole thing hangs together. In particular, don't think you need to have a big number of major
sections or chapters; sometimes it makes sense to merge things; sometimes it makes sense to move
things; sometimes it makes sense to split a logical part into several individual sections. Use common
sense! Use a descriptive title for your work. Don't use a title that promises more than you'll deliver,
don't use a title that implies something different from what you've done. The focus of a thesis often
shifts in the course of a year; don't be afraid to adjust the title, in consultation with your supervisor.
The summary of the work, 13 paragraphs, should state the problem, major assumptions, basic idea
of solution, results. Avoid non-standard terms and acronyms. The abstract must be able to be read
completely on its own, detached from any other work (e.g., in collections of paper abstracts). Don't
use reference in an abstract. Introduce the problem. Try to give the reader an appreciation of the
difficulty, and an idea of how you will go about it. While the introduction is the part that is read first
(ignoring title and abstract) it is usually best written last (when you actually know what you have really
achieved). Remember, it's the first thing that is being read, and will have a major influence on the how
the reader approaches your work. If you bore them now, you've most likely lost them already. If you
make outrageous claims pretend to solve the world's problems, you're likely fighting an uphill battle
later on. The basic problem is the place to go into detail. Give a thorough and complete discussion of
the problem, enough so an educated reader whose specialty is outside yours can appreciate that
you're trying to attack an interesting problem, and also appreciates what's interesting about it. Having
explained the problem, and what others have done in similar situations, now explain your approach.
Give a general overview of the design of the approach, and then go into detail. Make sure that the
document (particularly a thesis) is self-contained: It should be possible for a reader familiar with the
general area to understand your design. Again, be objective about the limitations of your design. Also,
make sure you justify any shortcuts/limitations convincingly. Draw some real conclusions. Separate
discussion/interpretation of the results clearly from the conclusions you draw from them. Identify all
shortcomings/limitations of your work, and recommend how they could be fixed, a possible subject for
future work.

How many paragraphs have you found? There are .paragraphs in this text.
i)

Write the thesis statement that ties together all these paragraphs

ii)

Define two tools of emphasis used in the first paragraph.

Tool-1
Example from the text

Tool-2
Example from the text

iii) Give one example of parallelism used in the first paragraph.

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iv) The following sentence is mentioned in one of the paragraphs of the text above: The abstract must
be able to be read completely on its own. What does it mean?

F. Write a descriptive summary for the text of Question E.

G. Write an informative summary for the text of Question E.

H. What is the position of the author of this text about the type of abstract for a thesis?
( ) The author recommends descriptive abstracts ( ) he recommends informative abstracts ( ) he
recommends indicative abstracts ( ) he recommends nothing. Quote statements from the text to
support your answer

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Best of Luck,

Dr. Fouad Khalaf

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