9780130482426

Written by engineers for engineers, this book is designed to provide a complete, practical, engineering-specific introduction to communicating effectively on the job. It helps readers develop the communication skills needed to be successful in the workplace. Real engineering documents are included in each chapter providing helpful guidelines to the preparation of documents.Features comprehensive coverage of the types of written and oral communications used by engineers. Features detailed coverage on the communication of calculations -- design calculation documentation, a critical part of design, experimental and other types of technical reports. A full chapter on visual communication provides detailed coverage of how to present data visually using graphs, charts, tables and drawings. A complete chapter on communication in job searches provides up-to-date coverage of print and electronic job search communication. Also features coverage of grammar and style.For engineers who want to sharpen their basic writing skills for on-the-job documents.

Preface

ix

Introduction

1

(4)

Importance of Communication in Engineering

1

(1)

Philosophy and Organization of Text

2

(1)

Communication in the Information Age

3

(1)

References

4

(1)

Setting the Stage

5

(24)

The Writing Process

5

(9)

The Writing Process Versus the Engineering Design Process

5

(6)

Collaborative Writing

11

(3)

Audience Analysis

14

(5)

Executives

15

(1)

Experts in Your Field

15

(1)

Technical People Outside Your Field

16

(1)

Lay Audience

16

(1)

Combined Audience

17

(1)

Audience Analysis in Oral Communication

17

(1)

Audience Profile Sheet

18

(1)

Summary

18

(1)

Grammar and Style

19

(7)

Grammar

20

(1)

Style

21

(5)

Exercises

26

(2)

References

28

(1)

Ethical Issues in Technical Communication

29

(17)

Reporting All Relevant Information Accurately

29

(2)

Adhering to Ethics in Personal Communication

31

(1)

Obtaining Information from Other Sources and Using It Ethically

32

(10)

Conducting Library Searches

32

(2)

Conducting Web Searches

34

(4)

Citing References

38

(4)

Avoiding Plagiarism

42

(2)

Exercises

44

(1)

References

45

(1)

Personal Communication

46

(14)

Letters

46

(3)

Memos

49

(2)

Cover Letters and Memos

51

(1)

Electronic Mail

52

(5)

Electronic Lists

57

(2)

Exercises

59

(1)

Document Design

60

(19)

Tool Selection

60

(1)

Fonts

61

(1)

White Space

62

(2)

Headings and Subheadings

64

(2)

Title Page

66

(1)

Table of Contents

67

(3)

List of Figures

70

(1)

Appendixes

70

(2)

Document Files

72

(2)

Web Pages

74

(4)

Exercises

78

(1)

References

78

(1)

Technical Written Communication

79

(41)

Summarizing Information

79

(5)

Executive Summary

80

(1)

Abstract

81

(2)

Keywords

83

(1)

Proposing Ideas

84

(5)

Internal and External Proposals

84

(2)

Proposals Written in Response to an RFP

86

(3)

Reporting Information

89

(18)

Technical Reports

90

(2)

Experimental Reports

92

(7)

Progress Reports

99

(3)

Technical Papers

102

(5)

Specifying Design and Assembly Instructions

107

(7)

Design Specifications

108

(3)

Assembly Instructions

111

(3)

Including Equations in Technical Documents

114

(3)

Exercises

117

(2)

References

119

(1)

Communication of Calculations

120

(21)

Selecting Tools for Communicating Calculations

120

(1)

Communicating Calculations

121

(7)

Examples

128

(12)

Exercises

140

(1)

Oral Communication

141

(17)

Tool Selection for Technical Presentations

141

(1)

Types of Presentations

142

(1)

Formal Individual Presentations

142

(7)

Formal Group Presentations

149

(2)

Informal Presentations

151

(1)

Examples

152

(5)

Exercises

157

(1)

Additional Resources

157

(1)

Visual Communication

158

(51)

Tool Selection for Graphics

160

(1)

Representation of Data

160

(24)

Common Features of Graphs and Charts

161

(1)

Pie Charts

162

(1)

Bar Charts

163

(5)

Histograms

168

(2)

Line Graphs

170

(5)

Scatter Plots

175

(1)

Tables

176

(5)

Three-Dimensional Charts

181

(3)

Charting Structure

184

(8)

Flowcharts

184

(4)

Organizational Charts

188

(2)

Gantt Charts

190

(2)

Portrayal of Realism

192

(7)

Schematic Drawings

193

(2)

Pictorial Drawings

195

(4)

Photographs

199

(1)

Inclusion of Graphics in Documentation

199

(4)

Effective Use of Image Files

203

(2)

Exercises

205

(3)

Additional Resources

208

(1)

Communication for Job Searches

209

(16)

Resumes

209

(8)

Cover Letters

217

(2)

Documents for Electronic Job Searches

219

(3)

Interview Communication

222

(1)

Postinterview Communication

223

(1)

Exercises

224

(1)

References

224

(1)

Appendix: Grammar

225

(10)

Index

235

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An Engineer's Guide to Technical Communication

0130482420

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