Research Guides: Civil Engineering: Technical Writing

What is technical writing?

"Technical writing, a form of technical communication, is a style of writing used in fields as diverse as computer hardware and software, engineering, chemistry, the aerospace industry, robotics, finance, consumer electronics, and biotechnology. Technical writers explain technology and related ideas to technical and nontechnical audiences. This could mean, for example, telling a programmer how to use a software library or telling a consumer how to operate a television remote control."

Source: Wikipedia

A Guide to Writing as an Engineer, 2nd ed. by Beer, David F.
Call Number: T11 .B396 2005
ISBN: 0471430749
Publication Date: 2005
This book shows engineering students how to write and speak more effectively and develop the communication skills essential to success in their academic careers and on the job. The authors focus specifically on what an engineer needs on a day-to-day basis, providing an "engineering approach" to technical communication that features practical examples and situations from today's industry.Based on the engineering concept that anything that interferes with efficient communication is "noise," the book shows students how to make their signal-to-noise ratio as high as possible. Such things as grammar errors, typos, poor organization, and fuzzy thinking are treated as noise that needs to be eliminated from the message, so that communication can be as effective and efficient as the engineering ideas it conveys.
Making Sense: A Student's Guide to Research and Writing: Engineering and the Technical Sciences, 3rd ed. by Northey, Margot
Call Number: T11 .N675 2009
ISBN: 0195430581
Publication Date: 2009
Designed specifically for students in engineering, this book outlines the general principles of style, grammar and usage, while covering such issues as how to prepare proposals and project reports, how to write lab reports, and how to follow the conventions governing the use of diagrams and other graphics.
Pocket Book of Technical Writing for Engineers and Scientists, 3rd ed. by Finkelstein, Leo
Call Number: T11 .F53 2008
ISBN: 0073191590
Publication Date: 2008
The focus of this text is to teach engineering students the skill of technical writing. The book is unique in that it gets to the point, uses practical outlines throughout, and shows students how to produce the most common technical documents step-by-step, in a manner that is fun and interesting to students. Each chapter has an end-of-chapter critique which allows students to implement what they have learned in the chapter.
Technical Writing A-Z: A Commonsense Guide to Engineering Reports and Theses by Young, Trevor M.
Call Number: T11 .Y69 2005
ISBN: 0791802361
Publication Date: 2005
This reference for students, new engineers, and experienced professionals provides guidelines, advice, and technical information for preparing formal documents, covering a range of report formats. units and conversion factors, and mathematical notation and equations are some topics covered. Others are writing styles and conventions, frequently confused words, and grammar and punctuation. There is also commonsense advice on issues such as how to get started and how to keep the reader's attention. Annotation c. 2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Writing and Speaking Guidelines for Engineering and Science
From the Leonhard Center at Penn State University, these writing guidelines are designed to help engineers and scientists communicate their work. To that end, these guidelines contain advice and models for writing and speaking situations in engineering and science. These guidelines also contain teaching and learning resources to help engineering and science students communicate their work. You are more than welcome to link to these pages, films, and files. In addition, you are welcome to print and distribute these materials, as long as you credit the website and its principal references: The Craft of Scientific Writing and The Craft of Scientific Presentations.