Exercises in Evaluating

Word Density in Slides

The Cain Project in Engineering and

Professional Communication
ENGINEERING SERIES
 Instructions
• Read each slide and pay attention to the
next yellow “Instructions” slide.
• Answer the questions on the yellow
instructions slides. As your instructor
directs, discuss your answers with another
student.
• Try to develop a sense of standards for
– what is easily read,
– what supports the main point, and
– how density affects readability.
 Introduction
• Project assigned to examine a common
flue gas desulfurization technique for coal-
fired power plants
• Look at regulations that make these
techniques necessary; some background
on the industry; possible energy
conservation techniques; and cost analysis
of keeping one such plant supplied
 Instructions
• What makes this slide easy or hard to read?
• When you read the first bullet point, did you at
first think you were reading a sentence? Did you
have to re-read bullet one?
• How did having several questions in one bullet
point (2nd bullet) affect your reading process?
• What names would you give to the kinds of text
density you’ve seen on the previous slide?
SO2 Emissions (1980 - 2003)
• In 2003, SO2 emissions
were at 10.6 million tons,
about 38% of 1980 levels
• Recent increase due to the
increase in electricity
production by coal and oil-
fired plants
• Lowered natural gas
production because of
rising prices
 Instructions
• Why were some of the columns broken into blue
and white while others were yellow?
• Did the text points help you understand the color
differences?
• How much of the data contained on the graph
supported the text points?
• What was the main point about emissions?
• What kinds of density and what points about
density will you remember based on this slide?
 So how much are we talking?
• SO2 emissions must be:
– 520 ng SO2/J (1.2 lb SO2/million Btu) heat input and
10 percent of the potential combustion concentration
(90% reduction) OR
– 30 percent of the potential combustion concentration
(70% reduction) when emissions are less than 260
ng/J (0.6 lb/million Btu)
• Plants can purchase “allowances” that permit
them to exceed ordinary limits -- for a hefty fee
 Instructions
• What was your first interpretation of the title?
How did the colloquial phrase affect you? What
did it mean in this context?
• When did you first realize that the two indented
bullet points were alternatives? What was the
most important clue?
• What did “must be” in the first bullet point seem
to mean when you first read it?
• What general point would you make about text
density in subordinate bullet points, based on
your reactions to this slide?
 Clean Coal Technology (CCT)
Program
• Cofunded by government and industry
• Seeks to demonstrate and deploy
advanced clean coal technologies that
meet strict government standards
• “Clean coal” -- end aim is to develop
technologies that not only suppress a few
emission gasses (such as the SO2 and
NOx mentioned previously), but form a
process that is entirely emissions free
 Instructions
• What makes it harder or easier to read the
text on this slide?
• Which of your “rules of the road” for text
density does this slide appear to obey?
• Which ones does it defy?
• Is text density more of a problem of
number of words or of amount of blank
space able to indicate groupings?
 Flue Gas Desulfurization
Wet Dry or Semidry
• Calcium-based • Injection of dry solid
sorbent in slurry (limestone) or slurry

• Gas reacts with Ca • Gas reacts with Ca

• Byproducts are both • Byproducts are solids

solids + liquids
 Instructions
• What overall point is this slide making
about flue gas desulfurization?
• What helps or hinders your understanding
of the supporting points?
• Is it harder to understand the title if the
bullet items aren’t parallel in structure?
 FGD comparison
Wet Dry / Semidry
• High degree of SO2 • Lower degree of SO2
removal removal
• High sorbent • Less sites of reaction
utilization/contact • Good degree of
between solids and particulate removal
liquids
• Excellent particulate
removal
 Instructions
• Could you make this comparison into a
table? If so, what would it look like?
• In what ways does the positioning of the
text in each column affect your ability to
comprehend the slide?
• What rules would you infer about
positioning text and amount of text in
comparisons?
 Power Generation System
Steam, 24.1 MPa, 540°C

500 MWe
Turbines

27.5% Liquid Boiler

6.55 kPa

Condenser
Cooling Cooling
Water Water
25°C 28°C

Saturated Condensate, 38°C

 Instructions
• Where did your eyes go first when you
looked at the diagram?
• Why did they position the Power
Generation System diagram here?
• Were you glad to see a diagram after
several text slides or did variety in the
slides make no difference? Why?
• What point is the power generation system
diagram making or supporting here?
 Results
• SO2 emissions reduced by 45 tons/y
• In fifth year, cost is $5 million per ton SO2
• Switch to fluorescents pays for itself in 7 years
(assuming constant energy cost)
• Resistance to switching to fluorescents
– “Warmer” color of incandescent bulbs
– Time required to replace fixtures
• Other conservation methods should be
implemented
– Reducing overall energy usage
 Instructions
• In what sense did you read “Results”?
Results of what?
• Without looking back, how many bullet
points were in the list of “results”?
• How many bullet points would usually be
the maximum number for easy viewing
and comprehension?
 Conclusion
• Reducing acid rain requires controlling SO2 emissions
• EPA regulations and other initiatives work to minimize
emissions
• Implementing wet flue gas desulfurization methods
reduces SO2 emissions
• Coal transportation is the major operating expense, as
far as raw materials go
• Fluorescent bulbs cheaper and greener in the long run
• Multiple methods are needed for reducing SO2 emissions
 Instructions
• Why does the designer add the phrase “as far as raw materials go”
in the following phrase:
– Coal transportation is the major operating expense, as far as raw
materials go
• Are the conclusions memorable?
• How many can you name without looking back?
• The title says only “Conclusion.” Did you take that to mean the
conclusion of the study or of the plural conclusions in the list?
• Do you feel rewarded for reading these slides? Were they
interesting to view? Would you be willing to read the slides again?
• What are your “take away” thoughts now about the phrases,
“text density” or “ideas/ink ratio”?
Lead through Excellence
in Engineering Communication
More resources are available for you

• under “Engineering Communication” at

Connexions at http://cnx.org

• at the Cain Project site at http://www.owlnet

.rice.edu/~cainproj

• in your course Communication Folder in

OWLSPACE.