| Description |
1 online resource |
| Series |
What every engineer should know |
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What every engineer should know.
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| Contents |
Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- What Every Engineer Should Know: Series Statement -- References -- New for the Second Edition -- Errors -- References -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1: The Nature of Technical Writing -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Who Writes Technical Documentation? -- 1.3 Taxonomy of Technical Writing -- 1.4 Technical Reporting -- 1.5 Business Communications -- 1.6 Scientific Writing -- 1.6.1 Books -- 1.6.2 Journals -- 1.6.3 Magazines -- 1.6.4 Conference Proceedings -- 1.6.5 Newsletters -- 1.6.6 Websites and Blogs -- 1.6.7 Vignette: Nontechnical Writing -- 1.6.8 Vignette: Technical Writing Sample -- 1.7 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Chapter 2: Technical Writing Basics -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Structuring Your Writing -- 2.3 Positioning Your Writing -- 2.3.1 Know Your Audience -- 2.3.2 Are You Talking to Me? -- 2.4 Choosing the Right Words -- 2.4.1 Conciseness -- 2.4.2 Precision and Hedging -- 2.4.3 Universal and Existential Quantification -- 2.4.4 Negatives -- 2.4.5 Vignette: Brake Retarder Prohibitions5 -- 2.5 Avoiding Traps -- 2.5.1 Clichés -- 2.5.2 Anthropomorphic Writing -- 2.5.3 Malapropisms -- 2.5.4 Erroneous Heterographs -- 2.5.5 Opinion versus Fact -- 2.5.6 Acronyms, Domain-Specific Terms, and Jargon -- 2.5.7 The Laziness of "Very" -- 2.5.8 Other Pitfalls -- 2.6 Making Your Technical Writing More Interesting -- 2.6.1 Humor -- 2.6.2 Vignette: The Joy of Spam -- 2.6.3 Allegory -- 2.7 The 5 Cs of Technical Writing -- 2.7.1 Qualities of Good Writing -- 2.7.2 Correctness -- 2.7.3 Clarity -- 2.7.4 Completeness -- 2.7.5 Consistency -- 2.7.6 Changeability -- 2.7.7 An Example -- 2.8 Referencing -- 2.8.1 Choose the Right References -- 2.8.2 Web References -- 2.8.3 Reference Styles -- 2.9 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Chapter 3: The Writing Process |
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3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 The Traditional Writing Process -- 3.2.1 Brainstorming -- 3.2.2 Drafting -- 3.2.3 Revising -- 3.2.4 Editing -- 3.2.5 Publishing -- 3.2.6 Vignette: A Paper on Software Control on Oil Rigs -- 3.3 Environment -- 3.4 Dealing with Writer's Block -- 3.5 Meeting Deadlines -- 3.6 Writing Tools -- 3.7 Permissions and Plagiarism -- 3.7.1 Permissions -- 3.7.2 Plagiarism -- 3.7.3 Self-Plagiarism -- 3.7.4 Detection Tools -- 3.7.5 Paper Generators -- 3.7.6 Vignette: Determining Authorship-The Federalist Papers -- 3.8 Making Your Writing Understandable to All -- 3.8.1 Hofstede's Metrics -- 3.8.2 British versus American English -- 3.9 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Chapter 4: Scientific Writing -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Technical Reports -- 4.3 Tutorials -- 4.4 Opinion -- 4.5 Research Papers -- 4.5.1 Survey of the Field -- 4.5.2 Based on Survey Data -- 4.5.3 Based on Experimentation -- 4.6 Reviews of Books, Papers, and Reports -- 4.6.1 Reviews -- 4.6.2 Journal and Conference Paper Reviews -- 4.6.3 Book Reviews -- 4.6.4 Blind Reviews -- 4.6.5 Vignette: Scientific Proposal -- 4.7 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Chapter 5: Business Communications -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Résumés -- 5.2.1 Name -- 5.2.2 Contact Information -- 5.2.3 Summary -- 5.2.4 Statement of Objective -- 5.2.5 Experience -- 5.2.6 Education and Training -- 5.2.7 Licenses and Certifications -- 5.2.8 Consulting -- 5.2.9 Hardware and Software -- 5.2.10 Foreign Languages -- 5.2.11 Security Clearance -- 5.2.12 Military and Other Service -- 5.2.13 Awards and Honors -- 5.2.14 Publications -- 5.2.15 Affiliations -- 5.2.16 Interests -- 5.2.17 References -- 5.2.18 Order Matters -- 5.2.19 Things to Avoid on a Résumé -- 5.2.20 Honesty Is the Best Policy -- 5.2.21 Examples -- 5.3 Transmittal Letters -- 5.4 Writing Letters of Reference |
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5.4.1 Letter of Reference for a Subordinate -- 5.4.2 Letter of Reference for a Casual Acquaintance -- 5.4.3 Generic Letter of Reference -- 5.4.4 Form-Based Letter of Reference -- 5.5 Memos -- 5.6 Meetings, Agendas, and Minutes -- 5.6.1 Meeting Invitations -- 5.6.2 Agendas -- 5.6.3 Meeting Minutes -- 5.7 Customer Relations Writing -- 5.7.1 Vignette: A Customer Inquiry Letter -- 5.7.2 Vignette: Response to a Customer Inquiry Letter -- 5.8 Press Releases -- 5.9 Presentations -- 5.9.1 Vignette: A Presentation on Cyberpandemics -- 5.10 Marketing and Sales Materials -- 5.11 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Chapter 6: Technical Reporting -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Technical Procedures -- 6.2.1 Vignette: PC Repair Book -- 6.2.2 Vignette: Building an Aquarium -- 6.2.3 Vignette: Operational Instructions for Krav Maga -- 6.2.4 Vignette: Recipe for Fennell Pasta -- 6.3 Proposals -- 6.3.1 Vignette: Grant Proposal -- 6.3.2 Vignette: Proposal for Consulting Services -- 6.4 Panel Sessions -- 6.5 Strategic Plans and Planning -- 6.5.1 Executive Summary -- 6.5.2 The Mission Statement -- 6.5.3 SWOT Analysis -- 6.5.4 Competitive Market Analysis -- 6.5.5 Goals, Objectives, and Strategies -- 6.5.6 Budget -- 6.6 Problem Reports -- 6.7 User Manuals -- 6.7.1 Vignette: Disaster from a User Manual -- 6.8 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Chapter 7: Using Graphical Elements -- 7.1 Breaking up the Monotony -- 7.2 Modeling Ideas with Graphics -- 7.2.1 A Picture Is Worth 1437.4 Words -- 7.2.2 Modeling Behavior -- 7.2.3 The Evolution of an Idea -- 7.3 Selecting the Best Model for a Schedule -- 7.4 Dealing with Figures -- 7.4.1 Callouts, Captioning, and Placement -- 7.4.2 Permissions for Figures -- 7.5 Dealing with Tables -- 7.6 Dealing with Equations -- 7.6.1 Using Microsoft Equation Editor -- 7.6.2 Using MathType -- 7.6.3 Using LaTeX -- 7.6.4 Vignette: Typesetting Books |
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7.7 Dealing with Dynamic Content -- 7.7.1 Vignette: The Minard Map -- 7.8 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Chapter 8: Publishing Your Work -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.1.1 What Kinds of Work Can Be Published? -- 8.1.2 Why Publish Your Work? -- 8.2 Making a Living as a Writer -- 8.2.1 Freelance Writing -- 8.2.2 Writing Technical Books -- 8.2.3 Getting Rich Writing Books -- 8.2.4 Why Are Technical Books So Expensive? -- 8.2.5 Vignette: A Writing Failure3 -- 8.3 The Review Process -- 8.3.1 Administrative Rejection -- 8.3.2 Review Flow -- 8.3.3 Review of Books -- 8.4 Handling Rejection -- 8.4.1 Rejection Letters -- 8.4.2 Responding to Rejection Letters -- 8.4.3 Succeeding at Publishing -- 8.4.4 Vignette: Experiences with Reviews -- 8.5 Open Access Publishing -- 8.5.1 The Traditional Publishing Model -- 8.5.2 The Open-Access Publishing Model -- 8.5.3 Vignette: Experience with Open Access Publishing -- 8.6 Self-Publishing -- 8.6.1 Vanity Presses -- 8.6.2 Online Publishing -- 8.6.3 Vignette: Bootleg Books -- 8.7 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Chapter 9: Writing for E-Media -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 E-Mail Can Be Dangerous -- 9.2.1 Rules for E-mails -- 9.2.2 The Signature Line -- 9.2.3 Use of Emoticons -- 9.3 E-Newsletters -- 9.3.1 Vignette: A Newsletter for CIO Institute -- 9.4 Blogging -- 9.5 Social Networks -- 9.6 E-Magazines3 -- 9.7 E-Readers4 -- 9.7.1 Common Features -- 9.7.2 Distribution Model -- 9.8 Online Courses -- 9.8.1 Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) -- 9.8.2 Vignette: Experiences with MOOCs -- 9.9 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Chapter 10: Writing with Collaborators -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Writing in Different Voices -- 10.2.1 Using Metrics to Detect Nonhomogeneous Writing -- 10.2.2 Dealing with Different Voices -- 10.2.3 Paul Erdős: The Ultimate Coauthor -- 10.3 Very Large Collaborative Writing Projects |
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10.3.1 Vignette: Building a Dictionary2 -- 10.3.2 Vignette: Building an Encyclopedia3 -- 10.4 Behavior of Groups4 -- 10.4.1 Tuckman's Model -- 10.4.2 Forming -- 10.4.3 Storming -- 10.4.4 Norming -- 10.4.5 Performing -- 10.4.6 Mourning -- 10.4.7 Vignette: Determining Author Order -- 10.5 Other Paradigms for Team Building5 -- 10.5.1 Group Writing and Improvisational Comedy -- 10.5.2 Team Technical Writing as Scriptwriting -- 10.6 Antipatterns in Organizations8 -- 10.6.1 Divergent Goals -- 10.6.2 Process Clash -- 10.6.3 Vignette: Experiences Co-Writing Books and Papers -- 10.7 Exercises -- Endnotes -- References -- Appendix A -- Appendix B: Templates -- Endnotes -- Glossary -- Index |
| Summary |
Engineers, scientists, and professionals of all types are often required to write reports, summaries, manuals, and guides. While many have had an English language or writing course, it is less likely that they have had instruction in the special requirements of technical writing. Filling this void, Technical Writing: A Practical Guide for Engineers, Scientists, and Nontechnical Professionals, Second Edition enables readers to write, edit, and publish materials of a technical nature, including books, articles, reports, and electronic media. Written by a renowned engineer and widely published technical author, this guide complements traditional writer's reference manuals on technical writing through presentation of first-hand examples that help readers understand practical considerations in writing and producing technical content. These examples illustrate how a publication originates as well as various challenges and solutions. The second edition contains new material in every chapter including new topics, additional examples, insights, tips and tricks, new vignettes and more exercises. Appendices have been added for writing checklists and writing samples. The references and glossary have been updated and expanded.? In addition, a focus on writing for the nontechnical persons working in the technology world and the nonnative English speaker has been incorporated. Written in an informal, conversational style, unlike traditional college writing texts, the book also contains many interesting vignettes and personal stories?to add interest to?otherwise stodgy lessons.?Key Features" ffers precise, hands-on coverage of technical writing" omplements traditional writer's reference manuals" includes personal anecdotes and historical stories that serve as real-world examples of technical writing" xplores the various avenues for publishing your work" xplains how to write for blogs, social networks, and other e-media |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (Site, viewed 09/03/2020) |
| Subject |
Technical writing.
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technical writing.
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LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES -- Composition & Creative Writing.
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LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES -- Rhetoric.
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REFERENCE -- Writing Skills.
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Communication in science
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Technical writing
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| Genre/Form |
Handbooks and manuals
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
2020691735 |
| ISBN |
9780429884498 |
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0429884494 |
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9780429467394 |
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0429467397 |
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9780429884504 |
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0429884508 |
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