A Guide to Writing in Engineering

Table of Contents:
Introduction: A Guide to Writing in Engineering Thinking like an engineer The design process Questions engineers ask Kinds of evidence engineers use Ethical conduct in engineering Researching engineering Using databases to find articles in research journals Strategies for optimizing your online searches Primary and secondary sources Sources of engineering data and regulations Evaluating online resources Reading the engineering literature Actively reading a textbook Active reading The structure of a research or experimental report The structure of a design report How to read an engineering report The process of writing papers, projects, and presentations in engineering Considering your purpose and your audience Designing and writing effective documents Organizing and drafting Revising and editing Writing conventions in engineering Controlling sentence structure Using effective vocabulary Presenting data effectively Presenting equations, calculations, and data Presenting and documenting code Integrating, citing, and documenting sources in engineering Summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting Avoiding plagiarism and recognizing intellectual property Using IEEE style for citing sources in engineering Genres of writing in engineering Technical, lab, or test report Lab notebook Literature review Problem analysis and evaluation  Project proposal Design report Research report Case study Memo or brief Summary, abstract, and annotated bibliography Poster or slide presentation Oral presentation Glossary of vocabulary in engineering References Additional resources for reading and writing in engineering Practice activities Practice activity: Determining goals, purposes, values, and evaluation criteria Practice activity: Evaluating web resources Practice activity: Recognizing high-quality, high-impact research journals Practice activity: Finding the best sources on the web Practice activity: Finding one good research article using a database Practice activity: Identifying sources used in a technical report Practice activity: Step-by-step procedures Practice activity: Warnings Practice activity: Functional table design 1 Practice activity: Functional table design 2 Answers to selected activities Sample student writing: Engineering Design report: Human-Harvesting Energy System Lab report: Coliform Presence Determination from Cell Samples Isolated and Sequenced from Activated Sludge Project proposal: Site Stabilization Plan for Erosion Control Research proposal: Implementing Rain Gardens to Reduce Flooding in Newark, DE More help with documentation: Engineering reference list (IEEE) IEEE-style reference list: Additional examples Editing strategies Subject-verb agreement Pronoun agreement, reference, and case Strong verbs Sentence fragments Run-on sentences Distracting shifts Parallel structure Clear, uncluttered sentences Sentence emphasis Commas Apostrophes Quotation marks

About the Author :
Stephen A. Bernhardt is Professor of English and the Andrew B. Kirkpatrick Chair in Writing at the University of Delaware, where he teaches composition, grammar, and technical writing. His professional interests include computers in composition/distance education, writing across the curriculum, professional and technical communication, and visual rhetoric. He has also taught at New Mexico State University and at Southern Illinois University. The author of many journal articles and technical reports, Bernhardt is also the author of Writing at Work (1997) and coeditor of Expanding Literacies: English Teaching and the New Workplace (1998). Bernhardt designed the research plan and reworked content for Writers Help. Nancy Sommers, who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches in Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She led Harvard’s Expository Writing Program for twenty years, directing the first-year writing program and establishing Harvard’s WAC program. A two-time Braddock Award winner, Sommers is well known for her research and publications on student writing. Her articles “Revision Strategies of Student and Experienced Writers” and “Responding to Student Writing” are two of the most widely read and anthologized articles in the field of composition. Recently she has been exploring different audiences through blogging and through publishing in popular media. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and is coauthor of Fields of Reading, Tenth Edition (2013).