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1 Introduction PDF

The document discusses technical writing and its importance for engineers. It notes that technical writing is used for reports, memos, emails, proposals and other work documents. It also outlines the course contents for HS201 Technical Writing, which covers topics such as descriptions, reports, manuals and instructions. The instructor and assessment details are provided. Overall, the document provides an introduction to the technical writing course.

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ibrahim hani
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
189 views

1 Introduction PDF

The document discusses technical writing and its importance for engineers. It notes that technical writing is used for reports, memos, emails, proposals and other work documents. It also outlines the course contents for HS201 Technical Writing, which covers topics such as descriptions, reports, manuals and instructions. The instructor and assessment details are provided. Overall, the document provides an introduction to the technical writing course.

Uploaded by

ibrahim hani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 23

Why Technical Writing?

If you plan to work as an engineer, you will use


technical writing in your life to:
 Write reports as a student
 Write graduation project
 Write your CV and cover letter to apply for a job
 Write memos to interact with your colleagues
 Write work e mails
 Write progress report, proposals, feasibility studies,…
 Write different letters to your boss, colleagues,
clients,…
1
HS201 Technical Writing
Course Contents:
1- Introduction to technical writing.
2- Ethical Considerations.
3- Technical Definition.
4- Description of a Mechanism.
5- Description of a Process.
6- Proposals.
7- Progress Reports.
8- Feasibility and Recommendation Reports.
9- Laboratory and Project Reports.
10- Instructions and Manuals.
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HS201 Technical Writing
Instructor:
Prof. Dr. Tamer Helmy
Office: Electrical Engineering Building (3rd floor)
Office hours: Sunday 12:00 – 13:30
Tuesday 12:00 – 13:30
Thursday 12:00 – 13:30

Course E. Mail:
[email protected]
3
HS201 Technical Writing
Text Book
Pocket Book of Technical
Writing for Engineers and
Scientists, Leo Finkelstein,
Jr, 3rd ed, McGraw-Hill
International edition,
Singapore, 2008

4
HS201 Technical Writing
Assessment

Type Week Marks


Attendance 10
Homework 10
Midterm 1 7th 15
Midterm 2 12th 15
Final Exam 16th 50

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What is Technical Writing?
 Technical writing is a fundamental skill for
anyone working in science and engineering.

 Technical writing includes any technical or


engineering subject or material registered or
recorded using any method of recording or
registering such as citation, quotation, tables,
spreadsheets, curves, graphs, charts, drawings,
equations …etc

 Most science and engineering activities require


technical reports either on paper or in
electronic form.
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Introduction
What are the main types of writing?

Creative Technical
writing writing

 Pleasant activity for  Hard work, tough words


fun and relaxation.  Objective, precise.
 Emotional.  Lacks emotional impact.
 Imaginable.  Clearly defined.

7
Example
Definition of Time

Creative Writing Technical Writing

Time is a river flowing from Time is a convention of


nowhere through which measurement based on the
everything and everyone move
microwave spectral line
forward to meet their fate.
emitted by cesium atoms
with an atomic weight of 133
and an integral frequency of
9,192,631,770 Hz 8
Homework I-A
Write a brief definition (about 3 lines) of
Wind using both creative and technical
writing.
Or, you may select other subject to define it using both creative
and technical writing.

You may submit your homework either in a hard copy or


electronically via course E. mail.

9
Abstraction
 In linguistic terms, technical writing is writing that
displays a relatively low level of abstraction.
 To clarify the concept of abstraction, consider the Ladder
of Abstraction in defining the shown resistor:

 The point is that as one moves up the Ladder of


Abstraction, the definition becomes less precise and
increasingly vague.

10
Abstraction Ladder
High

Electrical device

Circuit component

Resistor

1k Ohm, one-Watt carbon resistor


Low
11
Homework I-B
a- Select a device related to your specialization.
b- Define the selected device using Abstraction
Ladder.

You may submit your homework either in a hard copy or


electronically via course E. mail.

12
Goal of Technical Writing
 The goal to technical writing then, is not to be
creative, or interesting, or to employ rich imagery
or powerful metaphors. The goal of technical
writing, first and foremost, is:
 To communicate complex information clearly
and precisely for the audience and the
purpose at hand.

 Clarity and precision are the primary consideration


for achieving those goals.

13
Audience and purpose
 The measures of how well a technical writer has
written something are:
1. How well the reader understands, precisely,
the writer’s intended meaning.

2. How well that understanding fulfills the


intended purpose or the need at hand.

 Technical writing must be geared directly towards


audience and purpose.

14
Consider your audience
 What you say and how you say it is greatly
determined by your audience.

 You have to consider the reader’s knowledge, skill


level, and specialization.

 You must provide different information to different


audience.

15
Report Writing
 Technical writing is basically technical report
writing.

 Technical writing are reports on technical


subjects that share technical information in a
precise way.

16
Report Writing
 Reports are written for a number of reasons,

 To let other engineers know the results of an


experiment.
 To leave a record of work done so that others
may continue on.
 As a record you may use yourself if you must do
work again some time later.
 They are required for legal reasons (contract or
agreement)

17
Report Writing
 During preparation, the following questions require
answering:
 What is the purpose of the report?
 Who will read the report?
 Why will they read the report?
 What is the reader’s technical level?
 What background information does the
reader have?

18
Characteristics of Technical Writing
1. Technical writing deals with technical information.
Good Example:
A computer is a machine which can take instructions and
perform computations based on those instructions.

Bad Example:
Oh, how could this be?!
Never thought it would happen to me!
My life has been smashed ...
this dang computer crashed!

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2. Technical writing relies heavily on visuals.
A visual is any pictorial representation that is used by the writer
to clarify, explain, and support an idea. They include:
Pictures, Graphs, Charts, Diagrams, Illustrations, Tables

Good Example:
For the circuit shown, determine the unknown
quantities; RT , I , I1 , and V3 .

Bad Example:
Describe the previous
problem by words.

20
3. Technical writing uses numerical data to precisely
describe quantity and direction.

Good Example
The pressure of steam in a nuclear power plant can
reach 155 bar. The temperature is about 320C.

Bad Example
The pressure and temperature in a nuclear power plant
is very high, much higher than that of air.

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4. Technical writing is accurate and well documented.

 Conclusions and judgments must be based on


evidence or established expertise.

 References, facts, laws, and theories are used


and mentioned to support the document.

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5. Technical writing is grammatically and stylistically
correct.

 Avoid grammar mistake.


 By style we mean:
• Using words efficiently
• Do not use more words than you have to
• Remove redundancies
• Do not go overboard with details
• Do not use complex words
• Avoid ambiguity

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