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Print Price: $44.99

Format:
Paperback
256 pp.
130 mm x 203 mm

ISBN-13:
9780199343553

Copyright Year:
2016

Imprint: OUP US

Writing in Engineering

A Brief Guide

Robert Irish

Series : Short Guides to Writing in the Disciplines

At once sophisticated and practical, Writing in Engineering: A Brief Guide leads students through how to compose design reports, lab reports, and other key engineering genres while attending to the principles of argument, style, and visual design. It is a part of a series of brief, discipline-specific writing guides from Oxford University Press designed for today's writing-intensive college courses.

The series is edited by Thomas Deans (University of Connecticut) and Mya Poe (Northeastern University).

Reviews

"Writing in Engineering successfully attacks one of the critical communication problems engineering students encounter: it presents the theoretical and micro-scale examples that they need to form arguments."
--John J. Reap, Quinnipiac University
"The text is comprehensive yet concise. Its approach is accessible and pragmatic, a strategy that is clearly attuned to the audience at which it is aimed."
--Susanne E. Hall, California Institute of Technology

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Engineers Write: Purpose and Audience
Why Do Engineers Write?
What Does Engineering Writing Do?
How Audience Influences Purpose
Bringing Together Our Audience and Purpose
2. Constructing Engineering Argument
The Five Axioms of Engineering Argument
1. A Claim does not stand alone
2. Putting the Claim first is strongest
3. Interpretation is more valuable than analysis
4. Logic is best, but rarely works alone
5. Arguments follow recognized patterns
Analyzing an Engineer's Argument
Putting the Five Axioms to Work in Your Writing
3. Strategies for Reporting with Visuals
Connecting the Visual to the Text of the Document
The Functional Basis of Engineering Visuals
Capitalizing on Human Visual Perception for Visual Design
Deciding between Tables, Graphs, and Diagrams
Tables: Making Data Visual and Meaningful
Graphs and Charts: Visualizing Patterns and Trends
Diagrams: Showing Specifics
Heuristics for Making Visuals
4. Strategies for Design Reports
The Logical Structure of the Design Report
Developing a Design Report by Stages
Final advice on developing a Design Report
5. Strategies for Lab Reports, Literature Reviews, and Posters
Writing Lab Reports
Comparing Lab Reports and Design Reports
Literature Reviews
Posters for Presentations
Final Thoughts about Using these Genres
6. Strategies for Patent Searches, Use Case Scenarios, Code Comments, and Instructions
Patent Searches and Patent Applications
Understanding the Patent
Use Case Scenarios
Code Comments
Technical Instructions
Using the Supporting Genres
7. Style
Developing Strong Paragraphs
How Paragraphs Work
Improving Flow in Writing
Building Transitions
Moving from Known to New Information
Strengthening the Sentence
Developing your Style
8. Sources
How Engineers Make Citations
Compressing and Focusing Sources for Writing like an Engineer
Creating a Citation and Reference
IEEE, a Numerical Reference System
APA, an Author-Date System
Ensuring Traceability of Information
Conclusion
References

There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.

Robert Irish is a senior lecturer in the Engineering Communication Program at the University of Toronto.

Making Sense - Margot Northey and Joan McKibbin
Engineering Communication - Robert Irish and Peter Weiss

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