Write reports, proposals, data sheets, and much more with Engineering Your Writing Success

• 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