 “I’m an engineer—not a writer.”  “I don’t have to explain my data—it explains itself.”  “Don’t worry—only engineers will read this.”

Why does the College have its own Writing Center?  Professional engineers tell us that at least 7O% of their work involves writing and public speaking.  Successful careers in engineering revolve around communicating to multiple audiences: clients, the general public, and fellow professionals.

 Allow readers to focus on information they may need to act upon or evaluate.  Explain to readers how to use or act upon the information you provide.  Allow readers to comprehend your message quickly.

 State your purpose first.  Always emphasize a request for action.  Provide information in order of importance for a particular reader.  Use a transactional closing—establish the next step in the communication.

Prepare  Compose all important queries or responses offline.  Make sure you write to (and correctly address) your intended reader.  Never write in anger—or with too much of any emotion. Strive for a neutral tone.

Organize for Clarity  Use a short but clear subject line.  Don’t waste your reader’s time; in as few words as possible, state the purpose of your .  Identify yourself and/or the group you represent.  Always close with contact information.

Use Visual Cues  Concise sentences.  Short paragraphs.  Use headings to differentiate key topics.

Review  Never provide confidential or inappropriate information (don’t complain, criticize, or evaluate others).  Second guess every attempt at humor.  Spell check, yes…but also proof reed. (hah)

Avoid Disaster  Once sent, s become part of a permanent record.  Obtain permission before forwarding messages.  Read your message out loud (or at least whisper it) before clicking Send.

Summing Up: is quick, convenient, direct but…  Writing and editing may suffer from ease of creation.  You do not always control distribution.  You cannot ensure privacy.  Readers may find the medium of too casual.

Memos (or activity reports) are verbal snapshots of your individual or team’s work-in-progress. Well-written memos—  Express your competence, initiative, and responsibility.  Specify the status of each key task.  Serve as reality checks: they focus your attention on what remains to be done.

To: From: Date: Subject:  Work completed:  Problems encountered:  Problems solved:  Work needing completion:  Assistance (if any) needed:  Timeline compliance: (“We expect to finish all scheduled tasks by…..”)  If time allows, bring a draft of your memo to the Hanson Center; our peer consultants will help you achieve clarity, coherence, and a professional tone.

 Technical writers achieve clarity by eliminating ambiguous words or phrases.  Ambiguity (defined as “doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation”) can often lead to serious misinterpretations…  and undermine your credibility.  Whoever writes English is involved in a struggle that never lets up, even for a sentence. — George Orwell

Visit the Hanson CTC  Hours:1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Sunday  Location: 2224 SC (in the Student Commons area)  Scheduling: Appointment sign-up sheet posted on window outside door of 2224 SC

What is written without effort is read without pleasure.