A Guide to Writing as an Engineer, 3rd Edition

by David F. Beer (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Austin); David A. McMurrey (Austin Community College)

• ISBN13: 9780470417010
• ISBN10: 0470417013
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-03-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

To succeed as an engineer, you need more than technical know-how. You need to be an effective communicator. Eliminate the glitches that trip up the busy reader or listener, causing annoyance, confusion, or misunderstanding-so that your writing and speech are crystal clear.

Author Biography

DAVID BEER is professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas Austin.

DAVID McMURREY is a technical writer from industry, most recently with IBM.  This combination of academic and industry perspective gives this book its broad perspective covering all aspects of writing, from academic research to effective corporate communication.

Table of Contents

Engineers and Writing	p. 1
Engineers Write a Lot	p. 2
Engineers Write Many Kinds of Documents	p. 4
A Successful Engineering Career Requires Strong Writing Skills	p. 5
Engineers Can Learn to Write Well	p. 6
Noise and the Communication Process	p. 7
Controlling the Writing System	p. 9
Exercises	p. 11
Bibliography	p. 11
Eliminating Sporadic Noise in Engineering Writing	p. 13
Spelling and Spell Checkers	p. 14
Punctuation	p. 15
Sentence Sense	p. 23
Technical Usage	p. 35
Edit, Edit, Edit	p. 42
Exercises	p. 43
Bibliography	p. 44
Guidelines for Writing Noise-Free Engineering Documents	p. 45
Focus on Why You Are Writing	p. 46
Focus on Your Readers	p. 47
Satisfy Document Specifications	p. 49
Get to the Point	p. 50
Provide Accurate Information	p. 51
Present your Material Logically	p. 52
Make Your Ideas Accessible	p. 52
Use Lists for Some Information	p. 55
Format Your Pages Carefully	p. 58
Express Yourself Clearly	p. 60
Use Efficient Wording	p. 64
Manage Your Time Efficiently	p. 68
Edit at Different Levels	p. 69
Share the Load: Write as a Team	p. 70
Exercises	p. 73
Bibliography	p. 74
Letters, Memoranda, Email, and Other Media for Engineers	p. 75
Which to Use?	p. 76
Business Letters	p. 78
Business Memoranda	p. 83
Email	p. 86
New Internet Media	p. 89
Writing Styles for Business Correspondence	p. 93
Exercises	p. 94
Bibliography	p. 95
Writing Common Engineering Documents	p. 97
Some Preliminaries	p. 98
Inspection and Trip Reports	p. 99
Laboratory and Field Reports	p. 102
Specifications	p. 104
Proposals	p. 107
Progress Reports	p. 113
Instructions	p. 116
Recommendation Reports	p. 120
Exercises	p. 126
Bibliography	p. 126
Writing an Engineering Report	p. 129
Letter of Transmittal	p. 130
Cover and Label	p. 132
Page Numbering	p. 133
Abstract and Executive Summary	p. 133
Table of Contents	p. 135
List of Figures and Tables	p. 135
Introduction	p. 135
Body of the Report	p. 137
Conclusions	p. 143
Appendixes	p. 143
Documentation	p. 144
Generating Portable Document Files	p. 145
Using Wikis and Other Applications for Team Reports	p. 145
Exercises	p. 147
Bibliography	p. 148
Constructing Engineering Tables and Graphics	p. 151
Tables	p. 152
Charts and Graphs	p. 155
Illustrations	p. 157
Graphics and Tables: Guidelines	p. 160
Exercises	p. 162
Bibliography	p. 163
Accessing Engineering Information	p. 165
Basic Search Strategies	p. 166
Sources of Engineering Information	p. 170
Internet Engineering Information Resources	p. 190
Internet Search Tools	p. 194
Exercises	p. 197
Bibliography	p. 197
Engineering Your Speaking	p. 199
Preparing the Presentation	p. 200
Delivering the Presentation	p. 211
Team Presentations	p. 217
Checklist for an Oral Presentation	p. 218
Listening to a Presentation	p. 218
The Importance of Informal Communication	p. 219
Exercises	p. 220
Bibliography	p. 221
Writing to Get an Engineering Job	p. 223
How to Write an Engineering Resume	p. 224
How to Write an Application Letter	p. 237
How to Write a Follow-Up Letter	p. 248
Exercises	p. 249
Bibliography	p. 249
Ethics and Documentation in Engineering Writing	p. 251
Engineering Ethics	p. 251
The Ethics of Honest Research	p. 257
Exercises	p. 265
Bibliography	p. 266
Index	p. 267
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