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Table of Contents

Introduction: A Guide to Writing in Engineering
Thinking like an engineer
The design process
Questions engineers ask
Kinds of evidence engineers use
Ethical conduct in engineering

Researching engineering
Using databases to find articles in research journals
Strategies for optimizing your online searches
Primary and secondary sources
Sources of engineering data and regulations
Evaluating online resources

Reading the engineering literature
Actively reading a textbook
Active reading
The structure of a research or experimental report
The structure of a design report
How to read an engineering report

The process of writing papers, projects, and presentations in engineering
Considering your purpose and your audience
Designing and writing effective documents
Organizing and drafting
Revising and editing

Writing conventions in engineering
Controlling sentence structure
Using effective vocabulary
Presenting data effectively
Presenting equations, calculations, and data
Presenting and documenting code

Integrating, citing, and documenting sources in engineering
Summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting
Avoiding plagiarism and recognizing intellectual property
Using IEEE style for citing sources in engineering

Genres of writing in engineering
Technical, lab, or test report
Lab notebook
Literature review
Problem analysis and evaluation 
Project proposal
Design report
Research report
Case study
Memo or brief
Summary, abstract, and annotated bibliography
Poster or slide presentation
Oral presentation

Glossary of vocabulary in engineering
References
Additional resources for reading and writing in engineering
Practice activities
Practice activity: Determining goals, purposes, values, and evaluation criteria
Practice activity: Evaluating web resources
Practice activity: Recognizing high-quality, high-impact research journals
Practice activity: Finding the best sources on the web
Practice activity: Finding one good research article using a database
Practice activity: Identifying sources used in a technical report
Practice activity: Step-by-step procedures
Practice activity: Warnings
Practice activity: Functional table design 1
Practice activity: Functional table design 2
Answers to selected activities

Sample student writing: Engineering
Design report: Human-Harvesting Energy System
Lab report: Coliform Presence Determination from Cell Samples Isolated and Sequenced from Activated Sludge
Project proposal: Site Stabilization Plan for Erosion Control
Research proposal: Implementing Rain Gardens to Reduce Flooding in Newark, DE

More help with documentation: Engineering reference list (IEEE)
IEEE-style reference list: Additional examples

Editing strategies
Subject-verb agreement
Pronoun agreement, reference, and case
Strong verbs
Sentence fragments
Run-on sentences
Distracting shifts
Parallel structure
Clear, uncluttered sentences
Sentence emphasis
Commas
Apostrophes
Quotation marks

Authors

Stephen A. Bernhardt

Stephen A. Bernhardt is Professor of English and the Andrew B. Kirkpatrick Chair in Writing at the University of Delaware, where he teaches composition, grammar, and technical writing. His professional interests include computers in composition/distance education, writing across the curriculum, professional and technical communication, and visual rhetoric. He has also taught at New Mexico State University and at Southern Illinois University. The author of many journal articles and technical reports, Bernhardt is also the author of Writing at Work (1997) and coeditor of Expanding Literacies: English Teaching and the New Workplace (1998). Bernhardt designed the research plan and reworked content for Writer's Help.

Nancy Sommers

Nancy Sommers, who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches in Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She led Harvard’s Expository Writing Program for twenty years, directing the first-year writing program and establishing Harvard’s WAC program. A two-time Braddock Award winner, Sommers is well known for her research and publications on student writing. Her articles “Revision Strategies of Student and Experienced Writers” and “Responding to Student Writing” are two of the most widely read and anthologized articles in the field of composition. Recently she has been exploring different audiences through blogging and through publishing in popular media. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and is coauthor of Fields of Reading, Tenth Edition (2013).

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