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A Guide to Writing as an Engineer, 4th Edition

A Guide to Writing as an Engineer, 4th Edition

by David A. McMurrey, David F. Beer
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Release Date: May 2013
ISBN: 9781118300275
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Book Description

The fourth edition of A Guide to Writing as an Engineer updates Beer and McMurrey's popular book on communication and technical writing for engineers. Used predominantly in freshmen engineering survey courses, the text is also applicable for specific courses on engineering writing or technical communication later in the curriculum. A Guide to Writing as an Engineer deals with a variety of topics ranging from important writing concepts that apply to professional engineers, to content, organization, format and style of various kinds of engineering writing. The book also covers oral presentations, research techniques, ethics, and proper citation methods. Beer remains a practical, handy book that can function not only as a classroom textbook, but also as a reference and guide for writing and research, for practicing engineers.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. PREFACE
    1. WHAT'S NEW IN THIS EDITION
    2. WHO SHOULD USE THIS BOOK
    3. WHAT'S IN THIS BOOK
    4. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  5. CONTENTS
  6. CHAPTER 1: ENGINEERS AND WRITING
    1. ENGINEERS WRITE A LOT
    2. ENGINEERS WRITE MANY KINDS OF DOCUMENTS
    3. SUCCESSFUL ENGINEERING CAREERS REQUIRE STRONG WRITING SKILLS
    4. ENGINEERS CAN LEARN TO WRITE WELL
    5. NOISE AND THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
    6. CONTROLLING THE WRITING SYSTEM
    7. EXERCISES
    8. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  7. CHAPTER 2: ELIMINATING SPORADIC NOISE IN ENGINEERING WRITING
    1. SPELLING AND SPELL CHECKERS
    2. PUNCTUATION
    3. TRADITIONAL SENTENCE ERRORS
    4. TECHNICAL USAGE
    5. EDIT, EDIT, EDIT
    6. EXERCISES
    7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  8. CHAPTER 3: GUIDELINES FOR WRITING NOISE-FREE ENGINEERING DOCUMENTS
    1. FOCUS ON WHY YOU ARE WRITING
    2. FOCUS ON YOUR READERS
    3. SATISFY DOCUMENT SPECIFICATIONS
    4. GET TO THE POINT
    5. PROVIDE ACCURATE INFORMATION
    6. PRESENT YOUR MATERIAL LOGICALLY
    7. EXPLAIN THE TECHNICAL TO NONSPECIALISTS
    8. MAKE YOUR IDEAS ACCESSIBLE
    9. USE EFFICIENT WORDING
    10. FORMAT YOUR PAGES CAREFULLY
    11. EXPRESS YOURSELF CLEARLY
    12. MANAGE YOUR TIME EFFICIENTLY
    13. EDIT AT DIFFERENT LEVELS
    14. SHARE THE LOAD: WRITE AS A TEAM
    15. EXERCISES
    16. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  9. CHAPTER 4: LETTERS, MEMORANDA, EMAIL, AND OTHER MEDIA FOR ENGINEERS
    1. WHICH TO USE?
    2. WRITING STYLE FOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE
    3. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR TRICKY SITUATIONS
    4. BUSINESS LETTERS: COMPONENTS AND FORMAT
    5. BUSINESS MEMORANDA
    6. EMAIL: FUNCTIONS, STYLE, FORMAT
    7. NEW INTERNET MEDIA
    8. EXERCISES
    9. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  10. CHAPTER 5: WRITING COMMON ENGINEERING DOCUMENTS
    1. SOME PRELIMINARIES
    2. INSPECTION AND TRIP REPORTS
    3. RESEARCH, LABORATORY, AND FIELD REPORTS
    4. SPECIFICATIONS
    5. PROPOSALS
    6. PROGRESS REPORTS
    7. INSTRUCTIONS
    8. RECOMMENDATION REPORTS
    9. EXERCISES
    10. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  11. CHAPTER 6: WRITING RESEARCH AND DESIGN REPORTS
    1. ENGINEERING RESEARCH REPORTS
    2. ENGINEERING DESIGN REPORTS
    3. GENERAL REPORT DESIGN AND FORMAT
    4. GENERATING PORTABLE DOCUMENT FILES
    5. USING CMS AND OTHER APPLICATIONS FOR TEAM REPORTS
    6. EXERCISES
    7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  12. CHAPTER 7: CONSTRUCTING ENGINEERING TABLES AND GRAPHICS
    1. TABLES
    2. CHARTS AND GRAPHS
    3. ILLUSTRATIONS
    4. GRAPHICS AND TABLES: GUIDELINES
    5. EXERCISES
    6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  13. CHAPTER 8: ACCESSING ENGINEERING INFORMATION
    1. BASIC SEARCH STRATEGIES
    2. SOURCES OF ENGINEERING INFORMATION
    3. INTERNET ENGINEERING INFORMATION RESOURCES
    4. INTERNET SEARCH TOOLS
    5. EXERCISES
    6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  14. CHAPTER 9: ENGINEERING YOUR SPEAKING
    1. PREPARING THE PRESENTATION
    2. DELIVERING THE PRESENTATION
    3. PRESENTING AS A TEAM
    4. CHECKLIST FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS
    5. LISTENING TO PRESENTATIONS
    6. THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMAL COMMUNICATION
    7. EXERCISES
    8. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  15. CHAPTER 10: WRITING TO GET AN ENGINEERING JOB
    1. HOW TO WRITE AN ENGINEERING RÉSUMÉ
    2. HOW TO WRITE AN APPLICATION LETTER
    3. HOW TO WRITE A FOLLOW-UP LETTER
    4. EXERCISES
    5. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  16. CHAPTER 11: ETHICS AND DOCUMENTATION IN ENGINEERING WRITING
    1. ENGINEERING ETHICS
    2. THE ETHICS OF HONEST RESEARCH
    3. EXERCISES
    4. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  17. CHAPTER 12: ENGINEERING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION
    1. INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
    2. CREATING A WORDPRESS BLOG
    3. BUILDING A FACEBOOK PAGE FOR A BUSINESS
    4. USING TWITTER TO CONNECT AND SHARE INFORMATION
    5. GENERATING YOUR INTERACTIVE RÉSUMÉ ON LINKEDIN
    6. TARGETING EXPERTS WITH GOOGLE+
    7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  18. INDEX