Jessica M. Scully writer / editor / writing instructor Technical Communication Importance and challenges

v Technical communication skills matter for you now and in the future  Your grade in this class  Your grades in future classes  Getting a job Technical communication skills matter for the public Why is this presentation important?

v How well you communicate affects your career Survey (Richard M. Davis) Successful engineers spent 25% of work week writing Survey (Virginia Tech) Recruiters claim that engineers need more work on their writing Survey (Wisconsin) Professional engineers found writing their most useful subject in college

v Scientific writing differs from other kinds of writing Subject Matter Writing Constraints audience purpose occasion Purpose of Writing To inform To persuade [Franklin, 1952] Writing Style [Peterson, 1987]

v Scientists and engineers are called upon to communicate in many different situations specific technical audiences non-technical audiences general technical audiences Reports Articles Proposals Web Pages Conferences Lectures Meetings Posters

v Structure in technical writing  All documents have a beginning, middle, and end  Each part has a specific function  Length of each part varies by topic, format, and occasion

v Beginnings include  Title or subject line (should be precise)  Abstract, Executive Summary, or Summary  Introduction Middles of documents include  A clear and logical explanation of the topic Endings include  Discussion and/or Conclusion Sections of Documents

v  Sample memo ( mo-report.html)  Sample short lab report ( report2.html)  Sample longer lab report eport.html eport.html  Sample research report (ESC – UC Irvine) Sample Documents

v Formats vary by constraints Specific formats  Lab reports  Journal articles  Progress reports Format in technical writing

v Style in technical writing  Varies by constraints  Formal documents do not use contractions (don’t, can’t)  First person (I, we) sometimes not used  Work completed may be described in a specific tense. Follow your instructor’s requirements. If not specified, use past.

v  Writing for the correct constraints (e.g., correct level of formality)  Writing logically and following a clear structure  Following the correct/expected format  Writing clearly and directly (includes grammar and punctuation) Common challenges in technical writing

v  Lack of parallelism  Subject-verb agreement  Dangling modifiers  Unclear pronoun reference  Wordiness  Use of colon and semicolon Common problems in grammar and punctuation

v  Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students ( Includes info on technical writing with samples and exerciseswww.writing.engr.psu.edu  Purdue University’s Owl ( Includes grammar and punctuation handouts and exercises. Also has info on technical writing (e.g.,  Monash University ( learning.html). Detailed resources for writing in engineering. learning.html Resources for more information