“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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Use Visual Cues

Concise sentences.

Short paragraphs.

Use headings to differentiate key topics.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Visit the Hanson CTC

Hours: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday 2:00 – 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

What is written without effort is read without

pleasure.