Writing a Good Technical Paper

I am going to discuss some topics and suggestions about writing a good paper. This presentation presumes that your abstract was accepted by the conference. f Although you do NOT send your paper for committee approval (like your abstract), many committees can (and do) review the papers.

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This presentation is based on SPE guiding principles. The SPE is a premier organization in the oil & gas industry. We follow its policies and guidelines, unless we are to hold to another organization’s conference guidelines when submitting papers to these g other organizations.

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I will identify what you should consider when writing a paper. I will then describe a suggested timeline to help you stay on track when writing your paper. Next, I will provide some suggestions to overcome writers’ block. I will end with a brief discussion about the sections ti off a paper.

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By knowing who your audience is, is you can write to their level of comprehension. Your selection of the category should help in identifying your audience.

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Before you write write, identify the material, material whether it’s laboratory/field results, case histories and/or practical applications of the new technology.

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Avoid slang and overuse of abbreviations or excessive technical jargon, and use appropriate terminology.

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Be very cautious about the information you provide in your paper. Do not divulge information that the customer may not really need but that the competitor can use. Don’t provide the “recipe” of a product configuration, process, or the like.

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Defining “commercialism” commercialism can be difficult difficult. Some program committees reject any paper outright containing company names, product/service/trade names. Some committees are more lenient, particularly those from smaller, or regional conferences. If the committee perceives your paper to be a “ “marketing k ti piece,” i ” th they will ill reject j t it. it

FOG INDEX is next.

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The “Fog Fog Index Index” is a technique that can indicate if your material will be difficult for a reader to understand. Locate a section of your document that contains at l least t 100 words d (d (do nott countt ““a” ” or ““an” ” or “the”).

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Divide the number of words by the number of sentences that contain the words. This is the average number of words per sentence (A).

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Count the number of polysyllable words in 100 words of your sample. This is P.

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Perform the mathematics to calculate the Fog Index. To reduce the Fog Index, break long sentences into two or more separate sentences.

Now that we have discussed some considerations, let’s move along to another topic. topic

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It can be challenging to fit in your schedule the time needed to write a paper. Here is a timeline for the various sub-tasks that must be performed and suggested amounts of ti time to t complete l t each. h

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Ideally, allow about 11 weeks before the paper is Ideally due to the conference. You might not be given that amount of time. However, if you have a customer co-author However co author, it can take time for their company to sign off on the paper. Plus, the BHI reviewers need time to give a th thorough h review i off your paper, as they th might i ht have numerous papers to review at one time.

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Plan on about 3 weeks to produce your paper paper’s s outline, make some decisions about the content, and produce a rough draft. We will discuss some suggestions later on how t overcome ““writer’s to it ’ block”. bl k”

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Plan on about one week for finalizing the draft and sending it to the customer, if applicable. You then upload the draft file to the OPS.

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The OPS sends the draft to Reviewers Reviewers—the the same people who reviewed the abstract. You must maintain oversight of the review process. The OPS informs Th i f the th Reviewers R i off their th i task t k via i email, and provides a link to the document. Reviewer delays are NOT controlled by the OPS; you must intervene. Incorporate Reviewer edits, fill out any required copyright/author info forms, and submit the paper to the conference. Now let’s talk about “Writer’s Block”. 17

Starting to write can sometimes be difficult. difficult Do not let writer’s block stop you. Here are some tricks to help you get started. The key Th k idea id is i to t write it something—you thi can improve it later.

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Talk to someone. someone Explain what the paper needs to say to another person. After the conversation, write down what you said, focusing on the main points rather than every word you spoke. Feedback can help you recognize: • If your word choice is poor • If your explanation is unclear • If y your text is missing g some information

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Brainstorm. Brainstorm Write down everything that you know, in no particular order and with no particular formatting. Write phrases/keywords, not complete sentences. Afterward, organize what you wrote thematically, bringing related points together. together Eventually, convert it into an outline and then a draft.

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Rather than trying to write your entire document, document choose one section, and write just that section. When you finish, move on to another section.

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After your abstract is accepted accepted, an organization might send you an “Author Kit” on CD or provides a link to the files. The Kit contains instructions, forms and t templates. l t

We have reviewed considerations, timeline and writer’s riter’s block. block Now let’s look at the basic parts of a technical paper.

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Although I am describing a typical paper for an SPE conference, many of these items apply to other conference papers. The title should be concise, attract attention and hi hli ht the highlight th main i point i t off the th paper. No company names or company abbreviations in the title. List all authors, a thors principal author a thor first, first and their company. NOTE: State Baker Hughes or Baker Hughes Incorporated, NOT Baker Hughes Inc.

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You may use the abstract that you previously submitted, and you may modify it. The introduction outlines the problem and briefly explains the solution.

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The body contains the items you stated in your abstract, only in much more detail.

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Depending upon the organization, organization your paper might also include these items.

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The structure of papers can be a bit different, different but the overall flow will be similar.

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The SPE Style Guide contains detailed instructions on the formatting of your paper.

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You paper MUST go through the OPS process before you send it to the conference.

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That brings me to the end of this presentation. presentation Let me give you a summary of some key points I have mentioned. Make sure your information benefits the audience, not the competition. Avoid commercialism. Check the Fog Index Index. Follow a timeline.

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