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| Technical Writing Background |
Technical writing will not be discussed in lectures or tutorials in this course.
However, students’ writing will be assessed. Assignments will ask students to provide written discussions of the correctness and efficiency of algorithms. Tests will ask students to provide written explanations for a variety of things discussed in lectures. Imprecise writing (and, possibly, errors in spelling and grammar) will be reported and penalized.
Some students will find that they do not need to improve their reading and writing skills to do well in this course. Unfortunately, that will not be the case for everyone. The following resources can be used by students, outside of course lectures and tutorials, to improve their communication skills.
Students at the University of Calgary who wish to improve their writing skills should consider the Effective Writing Program. This includes the Writing Centre, which offers free, individual tutorials for students at all levels who wish to improve their writing. The program also includes non-credit courses in effective writing for students who wish to improve their writing skills and who would prefer a more structured program.
Additional information about how to book an appointment, arrange for tutoring, and about dates, times, and the cost of the Writing Centre’s courses can be obtained by visiting the writing support services website or visiting the Student Success Centre (4th floor MacEwan Hall).
Each of the following references is potentially helpful for students preparing for almost any senior course in Computer Science.
Justin Zobel
Writing for Computer Science: The Art of Effective Communication
Springer, Second Edition, 2004
This book includes the kind of information about good writing style, proper use of punctuation, and proper referencing found in many technical writing references. It also includes less standard material that is especially important for computer science, notably including information about how to write a description of an algorithm.
Nicholas J. Higham
Handbook of Writing for the Mathematical Sciences
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics,
Second Edition, 1998
Along with the mateiral typically found in a technical writing reference, this book a list of recommended writers’ tools and references, as well as information that should be particularly helpful for students whose first language is not English.
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