Page 415 - Green - Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook. 2nd ed

394 Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook, Second Edition
The technical writing may include the initial proposals, progress reports, newsletters, interim or annual reports, final reports, and specialist reports. The popular writing may include press reports, newspaper and magazine articles, and popular books. All these different types of written work may need to be produced; it is beyond the scope of this book to deal with each one in detail.
The final report will be the basis for the following discussion. This will generally be the longest and most complex form of writing undertaken and is the most appropriate to discuss here. Additionally, many writers find that it is best to write the full archaeological report first, and then distill out spe- cialist and popular works for subsequent publication.
Before starting it is advisable to work out a structure. What exactly do you want to say? What is the scope of the work? For what audience is it intended? What are the broad headings of the subjects? This gives the overall intention and purpose of what is going to be written. Having done this, a list can be made of the general headings which may then be used to break up the work into logical sections or chapters. Each chapter then can be subdivided into section topics. This can be used as the basic working strategy for the publication.
It is always difficult to start to write. As the introduction is usually rather general in nature and introduces the rest of the text, some authors defer writing it and get straight into the main part of the work. It is much easier to start the part that has already been mentally worked out and to leave the introduction until later. It is strongly recommended that long and complex sentences be avoided, and that every effort be made to keep the writing as simple and as easy to read as possible. Jargon should be avoided as this can confuse not only the reader, but at times the writer also.
In the past there was a choice between writing directly onto the com- puter or handwriting drafts which were then be put onto the computer. Today almost everything is done on the computer. However, when a word processor is used to enter the text, it is often edited from a printed copy (many copyeditors prefer to work with hard copy rather than use the com- puter, as they find it easier to work from hard copy). Once the first draft is produced it should be re-read and corrected. It is also important not to go too far with the work at the first stage; computers are seductive devices and can tempt a writer into refining the details of the work at a far too early stage, when the overall structure is not set in place. At this stage it is a good idea to get some outside advice on structure. It is recommended that it be read by someone with literary, rather than archaeological skills, as someone relatively ignorant of the field will not get bogged down with criticism of the technical implications, but will be able to advise on literary inadequa- cies. What you write should be able to be understood by any reasonably intelligent person, so a second opinion will find out if you are making sense.