A Guide to Writing as an Engineer

Maximize the Power of Your Signals!

Reduce noise and sharpen your technical communication with Beer′s A Guide to Writing as an Engineer. Now in its Fourth Edition, this popular book deals with a variety of topics ranging from important writing concepts that apply to professional engineers, to content, organization, format, and the different styles of engineering writing.

A handy reference for both the classroom and beyond, this guide also covers oral presentations, research techniques, ethics, and proper citation methods.
Valuable additions to the Fourth Edition includes:
New Coverage of Social Media Fully updated content based on technological and cultural advances Tech Feature Boxes that highlight exciting new technology and devices Added stories that serve as prompts for student reports and projects

1. Engineers and Writing 1

Engineers Write a Lot 2

Engineers Write Many Kinds of Documents 4

Successful Engineering Careers Require Strong Writing Skills5

Engineers Can Learn to Write Well 6

Noise and the Communication Process 7

Controlling the Writing System 9

Exercises 11

Bibliography 11

2. Eliminating Sporadic Noise in Engineering Writing12

Spelling and Spell Checkers 13

Punctuation 13

Traditional Sentence Errors 21

Technical Usage 29

Edit, Edit, Edit 38

Exercises 38

Bibliography 39

3. Guidelines for Writing Noise–Free Engineering Documents40

Focus on Why You Are Writing 41

Focus on Your Readers 42

Satisfy Document Specifications 43

Get to the Point 44

Provide Accurate Information 45

Present Your Material Logically 45

Explain the Technical to Nonspecialists 46

Make Your Ideas Accessible 48

Use Efficient Wording 52

Format Your Pages Carefully 60

Express Yourself Clearly 61

Manage Your Time Efficiently 66

Edit at Different Levels 67

Share the Load: Write as a Team 68

Exercises 71

Bibliography 71

4. Letters, Memoranda, Email, and Other Media for Engineers72

Which to Use? 73

Writing Style for Business Correspondence 76

Communication Strategies for Tricky Situations 77

Business Letters: Components and Format 78

Business Memoranda 82

Email: Functions, Style, Format 85

New Internet Media 87

Exercises 89

Bibliography 90

5. Writing Common Engineering Documents 91

Some Preliminaries 92

Inspection and Trip Reports 94

Research, Laboratory, and Field Reports 95

Specifications 98

Proposals 102

Progress Reports 105

Instructions 109

Recommendation Reports 114

Exercises 118

Bibliography 118

6. Writing Research and Design Reports 119

Engineering Research Reports 119

Engineering Design Reports 130

General Report Design and Format 131

Generating Portable Document Files 133

Using CMS and Other Applications for Team Reports 135

Exercises 136

Bibliography 137

7. Constructing Engineering Tables and Graphics 138

Tables 138

Charts and Graphs 142

Illustrations 145

Graphics and Tables: Guidelines 146

Exercises 147

Bibliography 148

8. Accessing Engineering Information 149

Basic Search Strategies 150

Sources of Engineering Information 154

Internet Engineering Information Resources 172

Internet Search Tools 174

Exercises 176

Bibliography 177

9. Engineering Your Speaking 178

Preparing the Presentation 179

Delivering the Presentation 190

Presenting as a Team 195

Checklist for Oral Presentations 196

Listening to Presentations 198

The Importance of Informal Communication 198

Exercises 199

Bibliography 200

10. Writing to Get an Engineering Job 201

How to Write an Engineering Résumé 202

How to Write an Application Letter 214

How to Write a Follow–Up Letter 226

Exercises 228

Bibliography 228

11. Ethics and Documentation in Engineering Writing229

Engineering Ethics 229

The Ethics of Honest Research 235

Exercises 243

Bibliography 243

12. Engineering Your Online Reputation 244

Introduction to Social Media Management 244

Creating a WordPress Blog 247

Building a Facebook Page for a Business 250

Using Twitter to Connect and Share Information 256

Generating Your Interactive Résumé on LinkedIn 259

Targeting Experts with Google+ 263

Bibliography 266

Index 267

David Beer is a retired professor of Engineering Communication at the University of Texas Austin.

David McMurrey is Business & Technical Communications department chair at Austin Community College; a former technical writer, editor, and vendor coordinator for IBM–Austin; and a writing seminar provider for engineering groups at state and federal agencies.