The MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communication: Second Edition

✍ Scribed by James G. Paradis, Muriel L. Zimmerman

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 335
• Edition: second edition
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This guide covers the basics of scientific and engineering communication, including defining an audience, working with collaborators, searching the literature, organizing and drafting documents, developing graphics, and documenting sources. The documents covered include memos, letters, proposals, progress reports, other types of reports, journal articles, oral presentations, instructions, and CVs and resumes. Throughout, the authors provide realistic examples from actual documents and situations. The materials, drawn from the authors' experience teaching scientific and technical communication, bridge the gap between the university novice and the seasoned professional.In the five years since the first edition was published, communication practices have been transformed by computer technology. Today, most correspondence is transmitted electronically, proposals are submitted online, reports are distributed to clients through intranets, journal articles are written for electronic transmission, and conference presentations are posted on the Web. Every chapter of the book reflects these changes. The second edition also includes a compact Handbook of Style and Usage that provides guidelines for sentence and paragraph structure, punctuation, and usage and presents many examples of strategies for improved style.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 6
Preface to the Second Edition......Page 8
Acknowledgments......Page 10
Part I......Page 12
1 Writing and Work......Page 14
2 Collaborative Writing......Page 26
3 Your Audience and Aims......Page 38
4 Organizing and Drafting Documents......Page 52
5 Revising for Organization and Style......Page 62
6 Developing Graphics......Page 72
7 Design of Page and Screen......Page 100
8 Searching the Literature......Page 112
9 Documenting Sources......Page 134
Part II......Page 146
10 Memos, Letters, and Electronic Mail......Page 148
11 Proposals......Page 162
12 Progress Reports......Page 194
13 Reports......Page 204
14 Journal Articles......Page 230
15 Oral Presentations......Page 248
16 Instructions, Procedures, and Computer Documentation......Page 266
17 Electronic Documents......Page 278
18 CVs, Résumés, and Job Correspondence......Page 286
A Brief Handbook of Style and Usage......Page 298
References......Page 326
C......Page 328
D......Page 329
H......Page 330
L......Page 331
P......Page 332
R......Page 333
T......Page 334
W......Page 335