Engineering Your Writing Success: How Engineers Can Master Effective On-The-Job Communication Skills
Write reports, proposals, data sheets, and much more with Engineering Your Writing Success
Item #: 330-5906-96
ISBN: 0912045906
ISBN13: 978-0-912045-90-0
Author: James E. Vincler, Nancy H. Vincler Publisher: Professional Publications Format: Paperback
Call for availability 1-800-253-0541.
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You'll never dread a writing project again when you learn to use the
step-by-step approach given in Engineering Your Writing Success. This book
shows you the nuts and bolts of starting and finishing all your writing
projects--reports, proposals, memos, letters, data sheets, and procedures.
Learn to design your message to reach your reader, choosing the right words
every time. Don't let poor writing skills hold back your career--this book
can help! 304 pp.
Engineering Your Writing Success (EYWS) - Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Preface
Read This Introduction
Part One: Engineering Your Writing Success
Discovering Your Natural Writing Talent
How Better Writing Will Benefit You
How to Approach a Dreaded Writing Job
Your Logical Advantage
Engineering and Writing Are Alike
How to Structure Writing Successfully
How to Approach Writing Rationally
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Designing a Message That Reaches Your Reader
How to Focus on Your Reader
How to Write for Nontechnical Readers
How to Deal with Multiple Readers
Avoid Switching Readers
Pinpointing Your Purpose
Choosing from Five Short-Term Purposes
How Much Detail and Data?
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Organizing and Reducing Your Writing Time
Good Reports Are Not Written in Blood
The Procrastination Pitfall
The Secret to Writing Fast
Why the Planning Sheet Works
Engineering Your Writing Success
How Planning Conquers Poor Organization
A Sensible Flow of Ideas
How to Ensure Accuracy, Reliability, and Relevance
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Crafting the Rough Draft
The Myth of the Perfect First Draft
Engineering Your Creativity
Developing a Lead to Orient Your Reader
Concentrate on Writing, Not Revising
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Part Two: Engineering Your Words into Pages
Choosing the Right Words
You Have Lots of Choices
Guideposts for Choosing Precise, Persuasive Words
Maintaining a Professional Tone
Using Precise, Diplomatic Words to Spark Action
When and How to Use Humor
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Sentences: Installing Components in Practical Patterns
Relaxing Your Mindset About Sentences
Using Components to Build Sentences
Fitting All Words into Eight Handy Categories
Subject and Verb: Complements for Clarity
Applying User-Friendly Patterns
Three Supporting Patterns Ensure Consistency
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Sentences: Gaining the Active-Voice Edge
Increasing Clarity and Conciseness
'Tis Better to Give Than to Receive
Spotting Passive Patterns
Another Passive-Voice Danger: Misleading the Reader
Removing Ego from Active Voice
A Partial Redemption for Passive Voice
How a Change in Mood Can Clarify Your Procedures
The Cookbook Approach to Writing Manuals
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Sentences: Building Flexible, Readable Structures
Using Phrases to Introduce and Embellish Ideas
Using Clauses to Add Clarifying Elements
How Many Ideas per Sentence?
Measuring for Sentence Control
How to Make the Reader Feel Comfortable
The Smooth Sentence: Structured but Not Stiff
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Designing Powerful Paragraphs
What's Your Point?
Where to Put the Key Point
Do Your Paragraphs Measure Up?
Eleven Supporting Strategies to Prove Your Point
Applying the Strategies to Two Situations
How Transitions Walk Readers Through Your Ideas
How to Show You Have Finished, Not Just Stopped
A Fast Checklist for a Unified, Coherent Message
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Formatting Readable Pages
White Space Promotes Readability
Desktop Publishing Tips
All-Caps Slow Reading
Quick-Reader-Comprehension Format
Emphasize Important Points
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Troubleshooting Common Writing Problems
Don't Let Details Derail Your Message
Wordiness: Don't Sink Your Message in a Sea of Words
The Engineer's Nemesis: Vague Wording
How to Analyze a Sentence for Clarity
Jargon: To Use or Not to Use
Final Editing and Polishing Without Pain
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Part Three: Engineering Specific Writing Projects
Memos and Letters: Talking on Paper
Memo or Letter: What's the Difference?
To Write or Not to Write
How the Right Tone Sends the Message Home
The Three-Part Pattern of Letters and Memos
Types of Correspondence
Electronic Mail: Pros and Cons
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Engineering Your Writing Success
Writing Useful Reports
Reporting Is More Than a Mop-Up Step
Sidestep the Engineer's Report-Writing Trap
How to Think Like Your Reader
What Report Length and Style Are Best?
Flexible Formats Improve Communication
Four Engineering-Report Formats
Report Sections: What to Include Where
Adaptable Formats for Miscellaneous Reports
A High-Tech Resource: Handy Formatting Software
Don't Let Form Overshadow Function
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Producing Persuasive Proposals
Two Types of Proposals
The Key to a Successful Proposal
Three Persuasive Points to Present
Be Sure You Want the Job
Quality: How Your Proposal Predicts Your Work
Formats for Successful Proposals
Simplified Format for Informal or Internal Proposals
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Procedure Writing: Tell Your Reader
Where to Go and What to Do
Five Types of Procedure Guides: Something for Everyone
The Four Steps of Procedure Writing
Easy-to-Use Manuals
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Designing Practical Data Sheets
The Data Sheet as a Useful Sales Tool
What's Your Role in Data-Sheet Design?
Time-Wasting Traps to Avoid
Sections and Style of a Useful Data Sheet
A Flexible, Customer-Friendly Format
The Data Book: A Data-Sheet Superset for One-Stop Reading
How to Capitalize on Your Data-Sheet Work
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Publish and Prosper
The Rewards of Publishing
Where to Get Ideas
How Your Lead Can Sell Your Article
How to Place Your Article
How Journal Articles Differ from Magazine Articles
A PS About Understanding Your Editors
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Part Four: Engineering Your Presenting Success
Introduction to Part Four
Planning Your Presentation
Control: The Key to Successful Speaking
The Persuasive Tools of a Presentation
How to Organize Yourself and Your Presentation
The Three Purposes of an Engineering Presentation
Selecting Your Audiovisual Equipment
Your Script: The Foundation of Your Presentation
Developing and Controlling Easy-to-Use Materials
Controlling Your Environment
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Presenting: Front and Center
What Sets You Up for a Good Show
Lights, Camera, Action: Go for It!
The Challenging Participants
The Wrap-Up to a Well-Packaged Talk
Enjoying the Question-and-Answer Period
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Leading Productive Meetings
What's Wrong with Meetings?
Applying the Five W's to Meeting Planning
A Time-Saving Tool for Results-Oriented Meetings
Your Leadership Role: The Pivot
Defusing Conflict
Channeling the Energy
Achieving a Productive Finish
Following Up to Fulfill Commitments
How to Streamline a Meeting When You're Not the Leader
Summary of This Chapter's Main Points
Bibliography
Index
Engineering Your Writing Success: How Engineers Can Master Effective On-The-Job Communication Skills
Engineering Your Writing Success: How Engineers Can Master Effective On-The-Job Communication Skills
Item#: 330-5906-96
Publisher: Professional Publications
Engineering Your Writing Success: How Engineers Can Master Effective On-The-Job Communication Skills
