All about technical writing: Phase 1 of 3- Starting

My office mate, MM, and I were chatting one time during those afternoon bathroom breaks where you decide to brush your teeth and freshen up yourself an hour after finishing lunch break. I think we got to ask each other how are we faring in the present mining project. And I told her I was stuck in one monitoring report and that I'm having difficulty in writing. To my surprise she told me that she, too, had difficulty in doing the same thing, despite of her experienced years in the office writing such reports.

Another incident of writing woes was during the latter period of my URA-1 career at UP Diliman. It just seems that the graduate students of NIGS have difficulty in finishing their thesis. There are a lot of reasons why we're not able to finish actually, but the persistent reason was that of writing. 

And then, a very good friend of mine who's taking her PhD in Potsdam University in Germany, Catherine Abon, sent me a link about The Three Month Thesis (www.3monththesis.com). It was a brainchild of James Hayton, now a PhD, wherein he elucidated about his writing woes as well. And that he was able to devise a plan on how to write a dissertation in just three months without compromising its quality.

From the office to the academe to the researchers around the world, I think one way or another, WRITING can be put under the "Most Difficult Tasks To Do for your Research". Many styles have been enumerated no doubt and I've road-tested these strategies. Yes, they do help! And some are super effective. However, my problem is the follow-up of such schemes. 

Or perhaps, the real question is, DO I KNOW THE PROPER WAY ON HOW TO WRITE A TECHNICAL REPORT/THESIS?

Perhaps I should write at the most conducive spot and time for me?

image from http://arkarthick.com/2012/07/17/start-freelance-writing-career/

Perhaps I should write when I feel it?

image from http://writing.acadnet.ca/

Oh I can write better when I cram. I'll rest first. *And end up sleeping eventually* 

(this is soooo me)

image from http://englishharmony.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cramming-English-irregular-verbs.jpg

The truth is, 

YOU DON'T NEED ALL THESE REASONS IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO WRITE AND HOW TO WRITE IT.

I spend so much time thinking of all these excuses before I write. In a way, I try to escape the real task and think of other tasks to do in lieu of writing, which, in turn, will make me think that I have done something where, in fact, I have done nothing!

Though it was all about lab report writing during my biochemistry days in DLSU-M, I wasn't able to imbibe if fully so that it would become second nature to me. Perhaps because it was report writing with a partner? What I did imbibe however, were the lab skills/techniques, something that involved dexterity. But writing, sigh, such a Herculean task!

Anyway, here are few of my techniques/tips to help me START working on my reports/thesis.These are not new ideas, but perhaps this can help confirm similar claims on how to start writing:

1. Write first your METHODOLOGY. It is more convenient to write something that is highly procedural as this will make start-writing easier and you'll be surprised at how much you've already written. Writing the methodology is simple. All you have to do is to write down how you've done your experiment. It's just as if you're narrating to someone what you did throughout the process. Of course while doing the experiment you should have taken down notes or you have been basing your procedure from someone else's with slight modifications. This will be a cinch if you have done your experiment well.

2. Second, prepare TABLES, GRAPHS, and FIGURES based on your RESULTS. Input all necessary data immediately into the computer, tabulate them, and process them. This will make your results and discussion writing easier as you don't have to go back to your written data. Everything is summarized into a figure.

On a side note, I've been labeling my x-ray diffractograms as long as I can remember while doing my results processing. And when the time came that I got uber busy with other matters that I have forgotten how to compute for the d-spacing of my minerals (yes, that long!), I was very happy to have found my diffractograms with complete d-spacing labels. All because I've decided to process my data IMMEDIATELY.

3. Third, write your RESULTS. Results ONLY. Do not include discussion. Basically you just have to put IN WORDS your tables and figures and graphs for your results. No discussion yet. So, again, it's all about writing mechanically, no explanation required yet.

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I think I have to stop here. Here existed a GAP during my writing phase. When it came to the introduction and discussion part, everything just fell apart. I lost momentum. Yes, I have the done the method, figures, and results. And somewhere along that process, I got lost. 

Slowly, I am trying to gain momentum for my writing to finish the introduction and discussion parts of my thesis. And how do I do it? There is a way. I will start writing about it once I gain it back. I have a feeling it will be SOON. :)