technical papers handout winter 2012

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McGill University

Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Technical Paper CIVE 432

Winter 2012

Instructions to Students

Professor R Gehr

Objective

The main objective of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to learn how to

prepare and write a Technical Paper that is properly formatted and presented, in an appropriate

area of Civil Engineering. Students therefore should carefully follow the attached guidelines,

review available references and adhere to the basic rules of report writing. Particular attention

should be paid to the rules governing the citation of sources for tables, figures, data, references,

photographs and any documentation retrieved via the internet.

Registration and Overview

Each student must have completed CCOM 206, Communication in Engineering, before

registering for CIVE 432. Students must attend the introductory lecture in the semester prior to

that in which they will register for the course and submit their paper. This registration should be

in their final semester. The Technical Paper course affords each student an opportunity to

organize, research and compose a significant piece of technical writing, and permits the

Department to review and assess the student’s progress in this activity stage by stage. The

Technical Paper should be on a Civil Engineering topic that the student is personally familiar

with or has researched. Each Technical Paper should represent original work, and include a

theoretical overview and a case study of the selected topic. The length of the Technical Paper

should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words (approximately 16 – 20 pages).

Academic Integrity

The following is taken from the Handbook on Student Rights and Responsibilities: “No student

shall, with intent to deceive, represent the work of another person as his or her own in any

academic writing, essay, thesis, research report, project or assignment submitted in a course or

program of study, or represent as his or her own an entire essay or work of another, whether the

material so represented constitutes a part or the entirety of the work submitted.” For further

information on this important subject, please consult the following web site:

http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity/studentguide/

The originality of each Technical Paper will be assessed with Turnitin, the text-matching

software. If students choose to opt out of submitting their paper with Turnitin, one of the

following alternatives for authenticity verification may be used instead:

submitting photocopies of sources

taking an oral exam directed at issues of originality

http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity/studentguide/

CIVE 432 Technical Paper GUIDES: Sample Pages.

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Deliverables

In order to fulfill the course requirements, all students must submit the following three

documents (see more detailed submission requirements below):

1) Abstract and Table of Contents: due by Monday, November 28, 2011

2) First Draft: due by Monday, January 9, 2012 at 3:00 pm

3) Final Paper: due by Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 3:00 pm, with 5%

penalties per day to the ultimate deadline of Friday, March 2 at 3:00 pm

1) Submission – Abstract and Table of Contents: Each student must select a topic and submit

the same along with one paragraph describing the possible contents of the paper, as well as a

table of contents (TOC), by e-mail to me at the following address: [email protected].

Students must indicate their name and student number in the subject line of the email, and

include the following information in an attached Word file:

Name and Student Number

Proposed Title of Technical Paper

Abstract and Proposed Table of Contents

Suggested Technical Advisor

The student should select a Professor in the Department to be his/her technical advisor, and

indeed the student may use other expertise outside the Department as well. The Professor can be

consulted (by appointment) to clarify matters related to the preparation of the Technical Paper.

The student must recognize the Professor and any other assistance in the

“Acknowledgements” section of the paper.

The deadline for the submission is Monday, November 28, 2011 (or earlier, if possible). I will

either validate the topic and TOC, or recommend some changes to them, and inform the student

by e-mail.

2) Submission – First Draft: The student must prepare a first draft of the Technical Paper for

detailed review by Professor in the Department who I will assign. My first choice will be the

technical advisor, but this may not be possible for all students, as all professors in the

department will receive the same number of papers to evaluate. An electronic copy of the

Word file is to be submitted by file upload on WebCT. Note: it is advisable to use Internet

Explorer since students have reported technical difficulties with other browsers.

The deadline for the submission is Monday, January 9, 2012 at 3:00 pm.

Late submissions will be subjected to a penalty of 5% of the final grade per day, and no first

drafts will be accepted after Wednesday, January 11, 2012.


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This draft should be complete, and should include the following components:

Table of contents

Introduction, including objectives of the paper

Developed body of the paper. [Note that referencing must be done in proper fashion

in the text, figures, etc.]

Tables and figures to be included in the final paper

List of references. Each reference must be given in its final form (i.e., according to

the format given in this handout).

Once the first draft is evaluated, the student can consult the Professor to obtain advice

concerning the preparation of the final submission. This process will enable the Professor to

identify the areas of weakness in the paper and to suggest appropriate actions for its

improvement. The student is expected to learn from this process and where necessary make an

attempt to improve the quality of the paper through making appropriate corrections. The draft

will be returned to the student within approximately 3 weeks.

3) Submission – Final Paper: The Technical Paper must be submitted on or before

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 3:00 pm. The paper should be submitted electronically

by file upload on WebCT for evaluation by Turnitin, the text-matching software. Note: it is

advisable to use Internet Explorer since students have reported technical difficulties with

other browsers.

A Statement of Authorship (completed by student) is to be included as the final page of the

submission. A sample with the required format is appended at the end of this handout.

An extension to submit the Technical Paper will be allowed only until the following Friday and

will automatically be subject to a late submission penalty of 5% for each day. Students should

be aware that if the Technical Paper is not submitted on time, they will not graduate.

Writing Resources

The following resources are recommended for improving technical writing and style.

Textbook:

Northey, M. and Jewinski, J. (2005) Making Sense. A Student’s Guide to Research and

Writing. Oxford University Press, Don Mills, Ontario.

Online resources:

Perelman, L.C., Barrett, E., and Paradis, J. (1997) The Mayfield Electronic Handbook of

Technical and Scientific Writing. http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/toc.htm

Strunk, W. (1995) The Elements of Style. http://www.bartleby.com/people/Strunk-W.html

http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/toc.htm

http://www.bartleby.com/people/Strunk-W.html


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Library: http://www.mcgill.ca/library/library-findinfo/courses/guides/cive432/

Format

Each student must adhere to the following format for presentation of the Technical Paper:

Title Page

Abstract (approx. 250 words, starting page i)

Acknowledgements

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Introduction (Starting page 1)

Body of the Technical Report

Conclusions

References

Appendices (if necessary)

Statement of Authorship

Other formatting and stylistic notes:

Text must be double-spaced, and double-sided printing is preferred.

Sections should be numbered, eg:

1.0 Introduction

1.1 History of significant seismic events

.

.

.

1.2 Development of cable-stayed bridge stabilization

Do not use quotations; you must paraphrase all material.

Avoid the use of footnotes.

Do not use 1st or 2

nd person (I, we, us, you), contractions or colloquial language.

Grading and Recognition

The papers will be graded by one or more Professors assigned by the Department. The

Department will assess the suitability of each submitted final Technical Paper for consideration

for a prize. Any such Technical Paper must be exemplary in originality, format, presentation and

engineering significance.

Documentation of Sources

Documentation of sources is the process of explicitly identifying the sources of the ideas and

information in your technical paper. Documentation serves three basic functions:

To help you acknowledge your recognition of the sources used – this is simply a matter

of ethics.

http://www.mcgill.ca/library/library-findinfo/courses/guides/cive432/


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To help you establish credibility – knowing how to use existing research is a mark of a

professional.

To help your reader(s) find the source you have relied on in case they want to read more

about a particular subject.

Two kinds of material should be cited:

A paraphrased idea, concept or opinion gathered from your reading or interviewing.

Direct quotations should not be used in technical papers; these should be appropriately

paraphrased.

Any graphic or table from a written or electronic source.

Sources must be given in the text where appropriate, as well as under any figure or table, the

information for which has been taken from a publication, including a website. When a single

source has been used several times in the same paragraph, refer to it only at the end of the

paragraph; if an entire section is derived from one or two sources, this may be stated just once at

the beginning of the section. All sources mentioned in the paper must be given in the list of

references, and all references shown in the list must be used somewhere in the text, or with a

figure or table.

The following format should be used for citing sources within the text:

Single author: (Barns, 1999); two authors: (Smith and Frank, 2004); three or more

authors (Chu et al., 2001). No other details are given.

Information from websites should still be given under an author (or organization) in the

text, plus the date of publication, or only if none exists, the date accessed. Eg: (Fulton,

2002); (UNICEF, 1998). Do not quote the web address (url) in the text, but give it in the

list of references.

If two or more papers have the same author and date of publication, use letters to

differentiate between them: (Peters, 2005a); (Peters, 2005b). Use the same letter notation

after the date in the list of references at the end of the paper.

References List:

A references list provides the information needed by the reader(s) to find each source

used by you. A references list includes only those items that you actually used in

preparing your technical paper.

A reference lists is presented in alphabetical order – beginning with the last name of the

first author. Note that only the authors’ first initials are given.

A reference entry is arranged by date if two or more works by the same author are listed –

beginning with the earliest date.

A references list is not numbered.

Do not separate journal articles, books, and websites.

The following formats should be used in the references list, in accordance with the ACS

style guidelines:

Book with one author:

Anastas, P. T.; Warner, J. C. Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice; Oxford University

Press: Oxford, 1998.


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Batu, V. Aquifer Hydraulics: A Comprehensive Guide to Hydrogeologic Data Analysis.

Wiley & Sons: New York, 1998.

Book chapter (from a book consisting of chapters authored by different individuals):

Stepl, B. A.; George, K. F. Antifreezes and Deicing Fluids. In Chemical Technology; 4th

Ed. Howe-Grant, M., Ed. Wiley-Interscience: New York, 1992; Vol. 3, pp 347-367.

Journal article:

Evans, D. A.; Fitch, D. M.; Smith, T. E.; Cee, V. J. Application of Complex Aldol

Reactions to the Total Synthesis of Phorboxazole B. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122,

10033-10046.

Website:

Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks

http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/ (accessed 2011/11/17)

Referencing Tool

The McGill libraries has acquired a site license for the program “EndNote”, which can automate

the formatting of your references in ACS style. A custom output style (CIVE 432.ens) has been

made for this course, and is available for download on WebCT.

This is the link to the McGill Libraries site from which you can download EndNote:

http://www.mcgill.ca/library/library-using/endnote/

Figures and Tables

Each figure and table must

Be inserted into the body of the paper and referred to within the text

Be numbered and include a title

Table 5: Non-reactive aggregate types (placed at the top of the table)

Figure 3: Steel strains in AAR – reinforced concrete beams (placed at the base of the

figure)

Include a reference indicated at the base (eg. Source: Smith and Jones (2005)) if it was

not prepared by the student. If the student used data from a source to prepare the figure or

table (such as to make it clearer, to compress it from the original, etc.), the source should

be given as "After Smith and Jones (2005)". If the source is a website, it should still be

referenced with an author (or organization), plus the date of publication or the date

accessed. The url is to be given in the list of references.

The following sample pages provide detailed examples to help in the preparation of the

Technical Paper.

http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/

http://www.mcgill.ca/library/library-using/endnote/


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Title page:

The Impact of Forestry Roads on Rivers

Jim Jones

9299100

McGill University

Department of Civil Engineering

and Applied Mechanics

Montréal, Québec

September 2007


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Abstract

The impact of forestry roads on rivers has direct and indirect impacts on the morphology and

ecology of the rivers. These impacts have led Quebec and British Columbia governments to put

forward new regulations regarding road construction on public lands. This paper reviews these

regulations and finds that the Quebec regulations are generally more stringent, and less flexible,

but may be operationally difficult to implement. The BC regulations stipulate that bridges and

culverts shall be designed for the 50-100 year flood, while the Quebec regulations require that

the structures should be able to cope with the 10-30 year flood. In Quebec, all crossings must be

passable to fish, while in BC, only fish bearing streams need to be passable. Quebec also has

much stricter regulations regarding ditches by prohibiting ditch water to be directly connected to

a watercourse. A case study on the impact of a forestry road on the Chandler river in BC is also

discussed.


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Acknowledgements

I would like to extend my appreciation to Professor ------------- for her guidance and support

throughout the preparation of this technical paper. I would also like to thank Mr. Robert Marks,

President of ABC Corporation who provided the resources to assist me with data gathering.


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Table of Contents

Page

Abstract

Acknowledgements Pages i to v:

start each

Table of Contents section on a

new page

List of Figures

List of Tables

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Objectives

1.2 River

1.3 Fish Habitat Requirements

1.4 Other Considerations

2.0 Laboratory Model

2.1 Overview of Model

2.2 Model Parameters

2.3 Model Test A

2.4 Model Test B

3.0 Numerical Model

3.1 Depth Averaging Model

3.2 River Bed Model

4.0 Experimentation Method

5.0 Uniform Flow

6.0 Case Study

7.0 Conclusions

References

Appendix A (to be included only if necessary)


Pages 1

to end


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List of Figures

Number Caption Page

1 Expansive concrete strains in a beam 14

2 Flexure vs load characteristics 16


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List of Tables

Number Caption Page

1 Comparison of experimental strain with calculated strains 14

2 Predicted vs. measured strains 16

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The following excerpt from a journal article illustrates the proper format for citing sources

within the text.

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McGill University

Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Technical Paper CIVE 432

EVALUATION OF THE INITIAL SUBMISSION

Name of student: ________________________________________

Student I.D: ________________________________________

Title of Paper: ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Topics Comments

Projected table of contents; introduction, including

objectives of the paper

Originality of the work (are ideas from multiple

sources combined in a unique way?)

Body of the paper. Complete. Must include

references in the text, figures, etc.

Quality of the writing. Spelling, grammar,

sentence structure, absence of typos.

Tables and figures.

List of references. Each reference must be given in

its final form (i.e., according to the format given in

this handout).

Overall evaluation and comments:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Professor:_________________________________ Date:______________________

.

Checklist for Technical Paper

(Verify carefully prior to submitting final draft)

Name: ___________________________________________

Student I.D. : ____________________________________________

Title: ____________________________________________________________________________________

.

___________ Title Page

___________ Abstract

___________ Acknowledgements

___________ Table of Contents; List of Figures; List of Tables

proper page numbering (“Introduction” begins on page 1)

__________ References

proper treatment in text, figures and tables

proper presentation in List of References

cross-checked: body of paper list and vice versa

__________ Figures, graphs, photographs, diagrams, and tables

numbered and with a title

source acknowledged beneath figures, tables, etc. where applicable (do not

acknowledge your own materials shown for the first time in this paper)

__________ Length (3000-5000 words)

5000 words equals approximately 20 double-spaced pages

__________ Double spaced with margins as follows:

left margin 30 mm

right margin 25 mm

top and bottom margin 25 mm each

__________ Headings and subheadings

adequate number; consistent treatment throughout text

___________ Statement of Authorship included as final page of Technical Paper

__________ Proofread by colleague

.


I hereby certify that this technical paper,

______________________________________________________________________________

Title

is the original work of

Name of student

and has not previously been submitted as part of the requirements of any other course or project

at McGill University or elsewhere.

All sources of information used have been fully referenced.

______________________________ ____________________________

Signature Date

(simply typing your name here is sufficient)

.

Evaluation of Final Submission of Technical Paper

Name: ______________________________________ Student I.D: _________________

Title: _________________________________________________________________________

Content: (30%) _________

Originality, completeness, effort

Engineering relevance and significance

Organization: (20%) _________

Clarity in statement of objectives

Suitability of introduction and conclusions

Logical development of the subject matter

Paper Presentation: (20%) _________

Proper breakdown to sections

Quality of figures, and tables

Table of contents, acknowledgements, references list

Proper attribution to sources in the text, figures and tables

Quality of writing: (20%) _________

Accuracy and terminology

Grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation, overall sentence structure

Quality of Abstract: (10%) _________

Penalty for late submission: _________

Final Score: _________

Faculty Reviewer: ___________________________________

Comments:

technical papers handout winter 2012

Documents

oxford university press

reported technical difficulties

mcgill university department

civil engineering

file upload

final form

final submission

technical advisor