All tables

Comparisons

The 25 side-by-side tables the decks set up — nothing invented. Where a deck defines two things separately rather than tabulating them, the note says which bullets it pairs and cites the slide each cell comes from.

Jump to deck

Creative writing vs content writing

deck 1.1 · slides 15-16

The deck's own DIFFERENCES table, spread over slides 15 and 16: tone, purpose, artistic freedom and style.

	Creative writing	Content writing
Tone	Varies with the writer's mood and the type of piece; the author is free to choose and not confined to an "impersonal" tone	Brand-specific and dictated by the client, whether the writer is a freelancer or works for a website content writing service — usually informative, serious, optimistic or objective
Purpose	Express opinions, entertain audiences, engage critics and reviewers	Marketing, sales, dispensing information, or other business-oriented purposes
Artistic freedom	More — any length, tone, style, form and purpose; imagery and figurative expressions	Limited — must follow SEO and writing guidelines so content is visible and readable to the intended audience
Style	Imaginative, fantastical, satirical, humorous, serious, sympathetic or any other	Methodical, articulate, factual and informative

Scientific writing vs science writing

deck 1.1 · slides 4-7

The deck names this pair on slides 2–3 but gives it no differences slide; each row pairs a bullet on slide 4 with its counterpart on slide 6.

	Scientific writing	Science writing
Audience	Experts — specific and professional	Broader audience, usually non-technical
Content	Research results; highly technical and as objective as possible	Discoveries; greater diversity of content
Jargon	Can be included	Avoided, because readers are less knowledgeable
Detail	Great detail — an official record of research	(not stated)
Review	Much of it subject to peer review	(not stated)
Shape	Often IMRAD: introduction, methods, results, discussion	Ideas coalesced into narrative form
Devices	(not stated)	Metaphors and analogies to explain a concept
Examples	Primary research articles, grant proposals, literature reviews, abstracts, presentations, posters, letters	Articles, interviews, videos, social media and podcasts about science; National Geographic articles
Sample slide	5 — editorial Plant Genetics and Gene Study	7 — magazine spread on a shark's lateral sensory system

1 past-paper question on this table →

Technical writing vs business writing

deck 1.1 · slides 18-25

The first three rows are slide 25's DIFFERENCES table; the last row sets slide 18's two categories against the four types on slides 22–23.

	Technical writing	Business writing
Information	Impersonal — e.g. a nurse's report about a patient	Interpersonal — e.g. an email from HR introducing a new hire
Tone	Does not change: whoever the audience, the goal is to explain something clearly	Changes with the audience — persuasive to emphasize a special offer, direct or formal for an internal memo, warm and friendly in an email to a new client
Vocabulary	Direct, impersonal, effective, correct, factual	Much more polite, indirect, bias-free
Types	Tangible and abstract (slide 18)	Instructional, informational, persuasive, transactional (slides 22–23)

Primary vs secondary vs tertiary audience

deck 1.2 · slides 6-7

Slide 6's three roles, with slide 7's Ruby blog as the worked example.

	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary
Role	Action takers; the target audience	Advisors	Evaluators
Relation to the document	It helps them do something or make a decision	Their in-depth knowledge lets them advise the primary audience; they also check legal implications	They assess the content; removed from the situation but may have cause to read it at some point
Ruby blog (slide 7)	Early-career Ruby developers, 0–2 years	Advanced Ruby developers sharing with students; open source maintainers	Hiring managers or podcast producers, ahead of an interview

The six audience types

deck 1.2 · slides 4-5

Slides 4–5 are a TYPE / DESCRIPTION table; here each description is split into who the readers are, what they know, and what they do with a document.

	Who they are	Technical knowledge	What they do with the document
Experts	Know the business, organization and product; academic settings, government and technology R&D	Advanced	(not stated)
Technicians	Build, operate, maintain and repair what experts design	Advanced, practical and hands-on	(not stated)
Executives	Make business, economic, administrative, legal, governmental or political decisions — CEOs, committees, hiring managers	May or may not have it	Buy or no-buy decisions; usually the primary audience for proposals and reports
Gatekeepers	Oversee the writer and the document	(not stated)	Decide if it complies with rules, regulations, company policies, legal obligations and its purpose for the client
Non-specialists / laypeople	Employees or students from other fields	Least	Use the new product to accomplish tasks
Mixed audience	A combination of types and backgrounds, or unknown	Widely variable	(not stated)

Comma vs semicolon

deck 2.1 · slides 3-7

Both marks join independent clauses and separate series items; the deck's rules say which job goes to which.

	Comma	Semicolon
Two independent clauses	When joined by and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet (slide 6)	When closely related and not joined by a coordinating conjunction (slide 7)
Items in a series	Between items, including the last two (slide 3)	When the items already contain commas (slide 7)
Clause example	Feel free to call me at home, but do not call after 8 p. m.	Outstanding athletes use their time wisely; this trait makes them highly sought-after by many employers.
Series example	…the pressure gradient, the surface roughness, and the freestream turbulence level.	First, you are doing something good for your health; second, you enjoy the camaraderie…; third, you learn discipline, which…
With however, therefore	After the conjunctive adverb (slide 4)	Slide 4's own example puts one before it: "…on time; however, illness…"

Commas vs dash vs parentheses vs square brackets

deck 2.1 · slides 6, 10-12

Four of the deck's rules set off material that interrupts a sentence; they differ in how strongly, and the deck discourages two of them in technical writing.

	Commas	Dash	Parentheses	Square brackets
Rule	Before and after parenthetical expressions giving additional information (slide 6)	Before and after parenthetical material (slide 10)	Enclose supplemental material; enclose references for citation (slide 11)	A parenthetical inside a higher-level parenthetical; add to or correct a direct quote (slide 12)
In technical writing	(not stated)	Rarely used — interrupts the flow	Supplemental material interrupts the flow	(not stated)
Example	Fluency in a foreign language, as we all know, requires years of instruction and practice.	The instruments she plays – oboe, guitar, and piano – are not…	(Schlichting, 2004)	(American Society of Mechanical Engineers [ASME], …)

Abbreviation vs acronym vs contraction

deck 2.2 · slides 6-9

Slide 6's note separates abbreviations from contractions, and slide 8 defines acronyms; deck 2.3 then treats contractions as a mark of informal English.

	Abbreviation	Acronym	Contraction
What it is	Shortened version of a phrase or a longer word	Shortened version of a longer phrase: initials extracted and capitalized to form a word	(not defined; examples only)
Examples	RFP; Mar.; Dr., Rev., Ms., Mr.	NASA, IOC, FORTRAN, NIOSH; scuba, radar	don't, won't, can't, I'm
Period	Yes, except units of measurement (mm)	(not stated)	(not stated)
First use	Used when a name or phrase recurs	Full form first, acronym in parentheses	(not stated)
In technical writing	Used	Used; singular verb; plural with lowercase "s"	Usually avoided (slide 6); reduce formality (deck 2.3 slide 6)

1 past-paper question on this table →

Numbers in words vs numerals

deck 2.2 · slides 10-11

Slide 10 says when a number is written in words; slide 11 lists what always takes numerals.

	Words	Numerals
Size	Zero through nine, with common units of time	10 or greater
Time	Common units: five minutes, three days	Units smaller than one second
Approximations	Hundreds of applications	(not stated)
Always numerals	—	Negative numbers, most fractions, all percentages, all decimals, all measurements, bit and byte references, chapter/section/page/part/step/figure/example/table numbers
Forms	Cardinal (one, two) and ordinal (first, second)	Arabic (1, 2) and Roman (I, II or i, ii)

Colloquial vs formal English

deck 2.3 · slides 2-7

Each row sets a characteristic from slides 2–4 against the remedy for it on slides 5–7.

	Colloquial / informal	Formal
Where	Daily communication — home, work, social gatherings; more spoken than written; friendly e-mails, chat, social media	Professional writing; professional and scientific writing
Sentences	Short and simple; grammatically incomplete ("On my way home")	Longer; a mix of short and longer complex or compound sentences for flow and variety
Contractions	let's, I'd, isn't	Avoided — "cannot", not "can't"
Relative pronouns	Dropped — "the man (that) you saw yesterday"	Included — "He was the boy whom I saw on the street."
Vocabulary	Formal words (utilize, assist, purchase) avoided; slang (wassup, my bad, lit); clipped words	Colloquialisms avoided as non-standard; needless words (you know, basically, actually) omitted
Person	(not stated)	First and second person avoided — "I" and "you" imply subjectivity
Sentence openers	(not stated)	Not "and" or "but" — additionally, also, moreover, however
Clichés	(not stated)	Avoided — as red as a rose, burning the midnight oil

a priori vs a posteriori vs a fortiori

deck 2.4 · slides 5

The first three rows of slide 5 are three kinds of reasoning.

	a priori	a posteriori	a fortiori
Meaning	Conclusions drawn from assumptions; from what comes before; deductive reasoning	From effects to causes; reasoning based on past experience	With even stronger reason
Example	"Every apple is a fruit" is an a priori statement.	He has three cases of violation against him in just one week; a posteriori very useful if you are arguing against him in a court.	If the point of minimum marginal cost has not been reached, it follows a fortiori that the point of minimum average cost has not been reached either.

de facto vs de jure

deck 2.4 · slides 6

Adjacent rows on slide 6, with one example split between them.

	de facto	de jure
Meaning	From the fact (rather than by right); in reality	From the law
Example	A temporary driving license is a de facto document.	A permanent driving license is a de jure document.

e.g. vs i.e. vs viz.

deck 2.4 · slides 2-4

Three abbreviations that introduce a clarification: e.g. gives some examples; i.e. and viz. restate or name in full.

	e. g.	i. e.	viz.
Full form	exempli gratia	id est	videlicet
Meaning	for example; for instance	that is	that is to say; namely
Slide example	The rocky planets (e. g. Mercury) are closest to our sun.	The rocky planets (e. g. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are closest to our sun.	The planets closest to our sun are the rocky ones viz. Mercury, Venus, Earth, [and M…]
Slide	2	3	4

The e.g. example names one rocky planet; the viz. example names the full set. The i.e. example uses the same full list but is written with "e. g." — a slip on the slide. With the full list, the meaning "that is" is the one that fits.

ibid. vs loc. cit. vs op. cit.

deck 2.4 · slides 3

Three citation back-references on slide 3. The difference is which earlier source they point to.

	ibid.	loc. cit.	op. cit.
Full form	ibidem	loco citato	opere citato
Meaning	In the same place	In the place already mentioned	In the work already mentioned
Points to	The immediately prior source/author	Sources before the immediately prior citation	Sources before the immediately prior citation
Example	1. Barsby, 99-101 · 2. Ibid. · 3. Ibid., 97	None — "less used now, so no example given"	None
Note	Also written id.	Synonymous with op. cit.	Synonymous with loc. cit., and more frequent; the rest of the note is cut off on the slide

Incomplete vs ambiguous comparison

deck 2.5 · slides 9-10

Two ways a comparison fails: something is missing, or something can be read two ways.

	Incomplete comparison	Ambiguous comparison
What goes wrong	The item it is compared with is left out	The comparison can be read two ways
Fix	Include both items	Add a pronoun or auxiliary verb to fix the meaning
Example	The new algorithm is faster. → …faster than the previous one.	…more was known than realized. → …than we realized.
Second example	…the best camera. → …the best camera among all our phone models.	…than other computer scientists. → …than other computer scientists did.

Parallel vs faulty parallel

deck 2.5 · slides 5-8

Slides 5 and 6 give the same three sentences in parallel and faulty form; slides 7 and 8 add a career list and a set of headings.

	Parallel	Faulty
Infinitives	She likes to swim, to bike, and to run.	She likes to swim, biking, and running.
Nouns	The project requires dedication, hard work, and a positive attitude.	The project requires dedication, working hard, and with a positive attitude.
Instructions	…download the installer, double-click the file to run it, and then follow the on-screen instructions.	…download the installer, double-clicking the file to run it, and then following the on-screen instructions.
Careers (slide 7)	engineering management, software development, technical services, and sales — all occupations	engineering management, software development, service technicians, and sales trainees — occupations mixed with designations
Headings (slide 8)	Planning Stage · Execution Stage · Evaluation Stage	Plan Stage · Execution of the Project · Evaluate Progress

Active vs passive vs quasi-passive voice

deck 2.6 · slides 2-10

The three voices from slide 4, with emphasis from slide 5 and usage from slides 9–10.

	Active	Passive	Quasi-passive
Subject	Performs the action — the doer	Receives the action	No separate doer; the action term acts like one
Form and sense	(not stated)	(not stated)	Active in form, passive in sense
Example (slide 4)	The cat chased the mouse.	The mouse was chased by the cat.	The rose is sweet when smelt.
Emphasis (slide 5)	The doer — "The cook prepared the meal"	The receiver — "The meal was prepared by the cook"	(not stated)
When to use (slides 9–10)	Default; when the researcher's role is clearly identified	To emphasize the research — implied subject obvious, or unknown or unimportant	(not stated)
Deck 1.3	(not stated)	Rule 5: to give prominence to actions	(not stated)

Verbs rather than nouns (1.3) vs nominalisation (2.7)

deck 2.7 · slides 1.3 slide 4; 2.7 slides 2-4

Two decks give opposite advice on the same move. Deck 1.3 turns nouns back into verbs; deck 2.7 turns verbs into nouns.

	Deck 1.3 rule 2	Deck 2.7 nominalisation
Advice	Use verbs rather than complicated nouns	Transform verbs or adjectives into nouns
Stated benefits	(none stated; the slide shows revisions only)	Clarity and precision; conciseness; formality and objectivity
Direction	"make an approbation of" → "approve"	"analyzed" → "provided an analysis of"
Length after the change	Shorter in all three pairs	Longer in both worked sentences on slide 4
Setting	Editing and revising technical writing	Scientific and technical writing conveying complex information

The decks never reconcile the two. Answer from the deck a question comes from. If asked to weigh them, the slides give you rule 2's shorter revisions on one side and deck 2.7's claims of formality and objectivity on the other — and the observation that 2.7's own examples grow longer, despite its claim of conciseness.

Race vs ethnicity

deck 2.8 · slides 6-8

Slide 7 opens by relating the two: "Ethnicity is a broader category than race."

	Race	Ethnicity
Based on	Physical attributes or traits — similar appearance or skin colour	Long shared cultural experiences, religious practices, traditions, ancestry, language, dialect or national origins
Breadth	Narrower	Broader than race
Examples	Black or White	African-Caribbean, Indian, Irish
Identity	Common to people racialised and sharing experiences of racism; a basis for collective organising and support	Can be seen as a more positive identity than one forged from experiences of racism
Origin of the category	Rooted in the idea of white supremacy	(not stated)
Writing rule (slide 8)	Capitalize groups (Black, Asian, Native American); "white" depends on context	Be specific — Indian, Japanese, Thai, Sri Lankan rather than "Asian"

Plagiarism vs copyright infringement

deck 2.9 · slides 3-5, 11

Slide 4: the two "overlap to a considerable extent, but they are not equivalent concepts".

	Plagiarism	Copyright infringement
Violates	The expectation of original authorship — a false claim of authorship	The rights of a copyright holder
Defined by	Academic integrity, journalistic ethics, social norms (slide 3)	Copyright law; may be adjudicated by courts
Concerned with	The unearned increment to the plagiarist's reputation, or academic credit, from false claims of authorship	Use of restricted material without consent
Needs copyrighted material?	No — false claims are plagiarism regardless (slide 5)	Yes
Consequences	Suspension, expulsion, fines, imprisonment (slide 3); breach of contract, civil wrong (slide 5)	Punishable in court for prejudices caused (slide 3)
Self-plagiarism	Counts as plagiarism ("recycling fraud")	Only if copyright of the prior work was transferred (slide 11)

The four types of signposts

deck 3.1 · slides 3-5

Slide 3 names the four; slides 4 and 5 set them out in two side-by-side pairs.

	Major signposts	Transition sentences	Transition words	Reminders
Job	Indicate important elements — purpose, position, main points, conclusions	Explain the logic of moving from one idea to another	Identify connections between ideas; tell readers how to interpret what they read	Help readers remember and revise; consolidate a section before the next
Scope	The whole text	Between ideas	Within sentences, between sentences or paragraphs	Long texts; section to section
Examples	This paper argues that… · In conclusion…	Having examined this point, we go on to…	because, therefore, however	In summary… · So far… · We saw in Section 2 that…

Cause & effect vs problem & solution

deck 3.2 · slides 11-12

Slide 12 says problem & solution is "sometimes merged with cause & effect texts"; the two samples show why.

	Cause & effect	Problem & solution
Aim	Explain why something happens, its causes and effects	Identify a problem and give a logical, practical solution
Sample	Meteorite theory of the dinosaurs' extinction	Arsenic contamination of drinking water
Shape of the sample	A chain: meteorite → dust cloud → no sunlight → herbivores die → carnivores die	Effects first (skin lesions, cancer, cardiovascular disease), then the solution (treatment systems, education)
Ends on	"This theory may or may not be true"	The use of treated water

The ten patterns of idea development

deck 3.2 · slides 3-12

One row per pattern: its job from the left-hand bullets, and the subject of its sample paragraph.

	What it does	Sample paragraph	Slide
Narration	Tells a story or relates an event, in sequential order	A car accident after school	3
Description	Recreates a person, place, event or action through sensory detail	A city skyline at night	4
Exemplification	Makes general or abstract ideas concrete through examples	Viruses as Earth's most abundant life forms	5
Definition	Explains what something is against others of its class, with limitations	Covid 19 and SARS-CoV-2	6
Persuasion	States a position and convinces readers with evidence	Refusing rides from drinking drivers	7
Process	How-to; shows how an issue came to be and might be solved, in steps	Hayes collecting water and frog eggs	8
Classification / division	Divides a concept into parts or types	Four ways to lose weight	9
Comparison / contrast	Similarities or differences; whether one is superior	Shopping in the US vs India	10
Cause & effect	Why something happens, its causes and effects	The meteorite theory of the dinosaurs	11
Problem & solution	Identifies a problem and gives a practical solution	Arsenic in drinking water	12

Bulleted vs numbered list

deck 3.3 · slides 4-6, 14

The deck defines the numbered list by difference: "the same as those of the Bulleted List, but with numbers instead of bullets".

	Bulleted list	Numbered list
Also called	Unordered list	(not stated)
Order	Rearranging items leaves the emphasis unchanged	The order of items is important
Use for	Items in no necessary order (slide 14's sublist)	Sequence — steps in instructions, items discussed in a set order
Length	(not stated)	Over eight items: break into stages or categories
Formatting	Lead-in with colon; sentence-style capitals; 0.25-inch hanging indent; compact or loose	The same

1 past-paper question on this table →

The eight list types compared

deck 3.3 · slides 4-14

One row for each list type that has its own slide; the embedded list, named on slide 3, has none.

	Use it when	Lead-in	Distinctive rule
Bulleted	Order does not matter	Phrase or clause + colon	0.25-inch hanging indent; compact or loose format
Numbered	Order matters	As bulleted	Over eight items, split into stages
In-sentence	Keeping paragraph style; short items	Colon only after a complete sentence	No more than four items; (a), (b) markers; at the sentence's end
Simple vertical	Items need no emphasis; vertical for ease of reading	Phrase or clause + colon, not necessarily a sentence	Otherwise as bulleted
ORed	Alternatives, with visual emphasis	(not stated)	"or" between the items
Two-column	Paired items — terms and definitions	A complete sentence + colon	Align items and headings left; really a table without grid lines
Labelled	Items with short headings	Colon (sample)	Labels bold or italic
Nested	Two or more levels	(not stated)	Any combination of types; sub-bullets align to parent text