Technical Writing

for Engineers

by
Dr. Sara Yehia El Shatalawy
Faculty of Engineering, ECU
 Engineers and Writing
• Engineers write a lot
• Engineers write many kinds of documents
• Successful engineers require strong
writing skills
• Engineers can learn to write well

No one can be a good writer –

only a good rewriter
Many Kinds of Documents

and expense report

 Noise and the Communication Process
Noise possibilities

Channel
Mess- Encoder (speech, Decoder Mess-
age (sender) writing, (receiver) age
etc.)

Noise possibilities

Anything that causes reader to hesitate due to

uncertainty, confusion or frustration
is noise
 Technical Writing Process
Planning Drafting Reviewing

Purpose Mechanics

Grammar
Readers

Research Style

Initial
Draft
Outline Content
 Technical Style Characteristics
• Objectivity
– neutrality, absence of bias
• Precision
– concrete language, exact dimensions and units,
well-defined terms
• Clarity
– word choice, completeness, correctness
• Economy
– fewest words for the desired meaning
• Audience
– general, technicians, experts, executive, mixed
 Precision:
Concrete versus Abstract
 Clarity Examples
• Misplaced modifiers
– Training sessions will be offered at several
sites covering the operational characteristics
of the equipment. (Distracting)
– Training sessions covering the operational
characteristics of the equipment will be
offered at several sites. (clear)
 Clarity Examples
• Careless punctuation
– Several members were absent from the
meeting fortunately, the key agenda items
were rescheduled. (confusing)
– Several members were absent from the
meeting; fortunately, the key agenda items
were rescheduled. (clear)
 Economy
• Hints to be concise:
– Substitute single words for phrases
– Delete unneeded words or phrases
– Avoid there is, it is constructions
– Limit use of passive voice
– Revise indirect sentences into direct forms
Verbs for Phrases
 Economy Examples
• Avoid ‘it is’, ‘there is’ constructions
– Pour concrete when it is 40° F.
• Passive voice
– Many of these tasks are now performed by office
computers.
– Office computers now perform many of these
tasks.
 Economy Examples
• Wordiness
– There are three assumptions on which this
proposal is based.
– This proposal is based on three assumptions.
• Indirectness
– In an article that was published in Computerworld,
there is an explanation of this phenomenon that
has been so puzzling to so many.
– A Computerworld article explains this puzzling
phenomenon.
 Audience
• General
– define technical terms, use graphics, focus on how to use
• Technicians
– focus on construction, installation and servicing, use
graphics
• Experts
– design or evaluation of technology
• Executives
– costs, personnel, company politics, summary and
conclusions
• Mixed
– clear summary, non-technical language, details in appendix
 Checklist
for Effective Technical Style
 Guidelines
for Good English Writing

• Why you are writing?

• Your readers
• To the point
• Document specifications
• Accurate information
• Logical material
• Clear expression
 Guidelines
for Good English Writing
• Efficient wording
• Accessible ideas
• Information lists
• Page formatting
• Time management
 Why you are writing?
• Purpose
– Inform
– Request
– Instruct
– Propose
– Recommend
– Persuade
– Record
 Your Readers
Consider their They can be your
• Needs • Peers
• Interests • Supervisors
• Level of expertise • Subordinates
• Possible reaction
 Bridging the Gap
Ask yourself questions
• Knowledge
– Different field, different audience
• Ability
– Level and vocabulary, unreasonable
expectations
• Interest
– Purpose, level of detail, attitude
 Document Specifications
• Length of document
– Brief memo, specs, RFP
• Topic
• Editor requirements
– No of words, format
 To the Point
• Most important at the beginning
• Managers need the ‘bottom line’
• Kind of document
– Letter (opening sentence)
– Memo (subject line)
– E-mail (concise subject heading)
– Report (informative title, executive summary)
 Accurate Information
• Errors make readers lose confidence
• Examples of errors
– Incorrect reference, inaccurate directions,
claims true under certain conditions
• Difference between fact and opinion
 Logical Material
• Chronological
– progress of trip report
• From most to least important
– no of points
• Order of familiarity or difficulty
– Text book
• From general to specific
– memo
 Clear Expression
• Engineering is a precise discipline
• Sentence must convey a single meaning
with no room for interpretation
or misunderstanding
• Pitfalls to avoid
– Ambiguity, vagueness, coherence, directness
 Clear Expression
• Ambiguity
– Point to more than one referent in a sentence
• Vagueness
– Words causing no useful meaning to reader
• Coherence
– Paragraphs and documents should stick together and
be focused on subject
• Directness
– Access to information should be quick and easy
 Example of Ambiguity
• Before accepting material from the new
subcontractors, we should make sure they
meet our requirements.

• We should make sure the materials

from the new contractors meet our
requirements before accepting them.
 Example of Vagueness
• The Robotics group is several weeks
behind schedule.

• The Robotics group is six weeks

behind schedule
 Example of Coherence
• A significant advantage of the 125-H CRT is its high
power consumption. The tube requires substantial
power to produce the high voltages and currents that are
necessary to drive and deflect the electron beam. The
125-H is inefficient – only about 10% to 20% of the
power used by the tube is converted into visible light at
the surface of the screen. The 125-H is poorly suited for
portable display devices that run on batteries, where
lower consumption is necessary. We should consider
other options before committing to purchase the 125-H.
 Example of Coherence
• A significant advantage of the 125-H CRT is its high
power consumption. This tube requires substantial
power to produce the high voltages and currents
that are necessary to drive and deflect the electron
beam. In addition, the 125-H is inefficient – only
about 10% to 20% of the power used by the tube is
converted into visible light a the surface of the
screen. Thus, the 125-H is poorly suited for portable
display devices that run on batteries, where lower
consumption is necessary. Because of this
drawback, we should consider other options before
committing to purchase the 125-H.
 Example of Directness
• After the long and difficult development
cycle due to factory renovation, the
infrared controller will be ready for
production in the near future.

• The infrared controller will be ready for

production March 4. Its development
cycle was slowed down by the factory
renovation.
 Efficient Wording
• Cost to produce one written page (15-20$)
• Wordiness
– Simplest and plainest word
‘Never utilize utilize when you can use use’
– Let your writing ‘cool off’ for a while, then
come back to edit later
 Example of Wordiness
• You may often find that there are a
number of words contained in your writing
that can be safely eliminated without any
kind of danger to your meaning
whatsoever

• Can you fix it?

 Example of Wordiness
• You may often find that there are a
number of words contained in your writing
that can be safely eliminated without any
kind of danger to your meaning
whatsoever
• You may find words that can be eliminated
without danger to your meaning
 Examples of Wordiness
• I regret to say that at this point in time I basically
do not have access to that specific information.
• I do not know.

• It is our considered recommendation that a new

computer should be purchased.
• We recommend buying a new computer.
Wordiness Table (words)
• commence • start
• compel • force
• comprises • is
• employ • use
• endeavor • try
• fabricate • make
• finalize • end
• Initiate • begin
• optimal • best
• prioritize • rank
Wordiness Table (phrases)
• a large number of • many
• at this point in time • now
• come in contact with • contact
• exhibits the ability to • can
• in the event of • if
• in some cases • sometimes
• in view of the fact that • because
• in the neighborhood of • about
 Efficient Wording
• Redundancy
– Using words that say the same thing
(e.g. basic fundamentals, connected together)
• Turning verbs into nouns
– Wanting to write in the passive rather than the
active voice
(e.g. made a selection – selected,
investigation was undertaken – investigated)
 Table of Redundancy
• alternative choices • alternatives
• actual experience • experience
• completely eliminate • eliminate
• Just exactly • exactly
• exactly identical • identical
• prove conclusively • prove
• rectangular in shape • rectangular
• 12 noon • noon
• very best • best
 Accessible Ideas
• Subdivision into sections and sub-sections
– Hierarchical headings
FIRST Second (indent) Third
– Numbered headings
1.0 1.1 1.1.1

– Paragraph length
Under 12 lines or less, avoid orphans and
widows
 Information Lists
• Numbered
– Order of importance, ≤ 7 items
• Checklists
– All items must be tended to (usu. in order)
• Bulleted
– No specific order
 Information Lists
• Punctuation
– Lead-in ends with a verb, use no colon
• Some of the main concerns of environmental
engineering are
– air pollution
– solid waste disposal
– public water supply
– Lead-in is a complete statement, use colon
• Some of the main concerns of environmental
engineering are as follows:
 Information Lists
– Items are complete statement, use period.
Otherwise, use no punctuation
• The group accomplishments are as follows:
– Logic design was completed.
– Final simulations were run.
– Test patterns were debugged.
– Consistent capitalization
• Grammatical parallelism
– Same beginning (verb, noun, etc.)
 Page Formatting
• Readers like visually pleasing print
• Margins
– One inch all around, ragged right-hand
margin, extra left margin for binding
• White space
– Provides ‘breathing room’
 Page Formatting
• Typeface
– Serif (larger quantity of text) and sans serif
(headings)
• The electric car prototype has regenerative
braking, which recharges the supply while
decelerating the vehicle.
• The electric car prototype has regenerative
braking, which recharges the supply while
decelerating the vehicle.
 Time Management
• Finding and using time
– breaks, laptops in waiting rooms, hotels, at
airport, on trains, etc.
• Outlines, deadlines, and time lines
• Collaborative writing
– Team writing is not easy (divide work among
persons, finish and pass to the next, or assign
each person a different task)