Technical Writing: A Practical Guide for Engineers, Scientists, and Nontechnical Professionals

✍ Scribed by Phillip A. Laplante

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2018
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 300
• Series: What Every Engineer Should Know
• Edition: 2
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

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.

✦ Table of 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
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
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
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
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