Writing Professionally as an Engineer Scott Coffel Director, Hanson CTC

1. Writing Professionallyas an EngineerScott CoffelDirector, Hanson CTC

2. Famous Last Words of Engineers • “I’m an engineer—not a writer.” • “I don’t have to explain my data—it explains itself.” • “Don’t worry—only engineers will read this.”

3. Writing is Not a “Soft Skill” Why does the College have its own Writing Center? • Professional engineers tell us that at least 7O% of their work involves writing and public speaking. • Successful careers in engineering revolve around communicating to multiple audiences: clients, the general public, and fellow professionals.

4. Benefits ofReader-Based Documents • Allow readers to focus on information they may need to act upon or evaluate. • Explain to readers how to use or act upon the information you provide. • Allow readers to comprehend your message quickly.

5. Organizing Reader-Based Documents • State your purpose first. • Always emphasize a request for action. • Provide information in order of importance for a particular reader. • Use a transactional closing—establish the next step in the communication.

6. E-mail for Engineers: Best Practices Prepare • Compose all important queries or responses offline. • Make sure you write to (and correctly address) your intended reader. • Never write in anger—or with too much of any emotion. Strive for a neutral tone.

7. E-mail for Engineers: Best Practices (2) Organize for Clarity • Use a short but clear subject line. • Don’t waste your reader’s time; in as few words as possible, state the purpose of your e-mail. • Identify yourself and/or the group you represent. • Always close with contact information.

8. E-mail for Engineers: Best Practices (3) Use Visual Cues • Concise sentences. • Short paragraphs. • Use headings to differentiate key topics.

9. E-mail for Engineers: Best Practices (4) Review • Never provide confidential or inappropriate information (don’t complain, criticize, or evaluate others). • Second guess every attempt at humor. • Spell check, yes…but also proof reed. (hah)

10. E-mail for Engineers: Best Practices (5) Avoid Disaster • Once sent, e-mails become part of a permanent record. • Obtain permission before forwarding messages. • Read your message out loud (or at least whisper it) before clicking Send.

11. E-mail for Engineers: Best Practices (6) Summing Up: E-mail is quick, convenient, direct but… • Writing and editing may suffer from ease of creation. • You do not always control distribution. • You cannot ensure privacy. • Readers may find the medium of e-mail too casual.

12. The Reader-Based Memo Memos (or activity reports) are verbal snapshots of your individual or team’s work-in-progress. Well-written memos— • Express your competence, initiative, and responsibility. • Specify the status of each key task. • Serve as reality checks: they focus your attention on what remains to be done.

13. Signs of Excellence To: From: Date: Subject: • Work completed: • Problems encountered: • Problems solved: • Work needing completion: • Assistance (if any) needed: • Timeline compliance: (“We expect to finish all scheduled tasks by…..”) • If time allows, bring a draft of your memo to the Hanson Center; our peer consultants will help you achieve clarity, coherence, and a professional tone.

14. The Basics • Technical writers achieve clarity by eliminating ambiguous words or phrases. • Ambiguity (defined as “doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation”) can often lead to serious misinterpretations… • and undermine your credibility. • Whoever writes English is involved in a struggle that never lets up, even for a sentence. — George Orwell

15. Questions? Visit the Hanson CTC • Hours: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday7:00 – 9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Sunday • Location: 2224 SC (in the Student Commons area) • Scheduling: Appointment sign-up sheet posted on window outside door of 2224 SC

16. Thank you! What is written without effort is read without pleasure.