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What even is writing for engineering
I hope you’re all doing okay. As always, thanks for your patience with this module getting posted. We’re diving into the writing and rhetorical concepts portion of “writing for engineering.”
Let me first start by explaining a bit about the field that I am in (which is not English Literature). My field is called “Composition and Rhetoric” and while it is housed in the English Department, that is actually based on a historical riff from back in the 1940s when Composition and Rhetoric split off from the academic communications department. I am mentioning this because the type of writing that I want you to learn about is very formulaic. I am sure that some of you got hives when you had to sign up for an English course, but I am here to show you tips and tricks for how to write within this very niche genre (genre is a category) of technical writing. As we get further into this section of the course, I am going to show you have to write research sentences like equations.
But first we have to look at the basics and zoom out a bit on the rhetorical (art of persuasive speaking or writing by focusing on audience) structures of writing for engineering.
Penn State has a “writing for engineering” program and they have put out a decent set of short videos (link in transcript) that break down the process of technical and science writing. I have been hesitant to use them for course work because I think that they do a bit of whitewashing (deliberate attempt to conceal unpleasant or incriminating facts in service of upholding white supremacy) by explaining technical writing in a vacuum. But they do serve a purpose. And now that you all have read Science Under the Scope and know to think critically about sources, especially in science, I feel more comfortable having you use these as a framework. I want you to finish this semester and have some baseline understanding of the writing expectations in your field.
For this week I want you to check out the following videos:
Introduction: Importance of Writing of Engineers and Scientists (2min) → It gives an example of types of writing you might encounter in your fields
Analyzing Audience → you can start at the 3 minute mark when the student begins talking because they explain the rhetorical concept of “audience” (I’m saving you from listening to the breathy white professor, you’re welcome).
Analyzing Purpose → you should listen to the breathy professor because he explains rhetorical design choices in different writing forms that you will see in your courses and might be asked to write within.
Analyzing Occasion → the student starts to break down different language and formatting conventions that you will find in engineering documents. Please know that these are not “better” than other types of writing, but they are the formats used for technical writing.
Once you’ve checked out the videos, please search arxiv, an open-access archive for scholarly articles, and find an article in your field that has some of the conventions mentioned in these videos (you might not find all, you might find more), then pick a few pages and digitally write in the margins what you’re seeing. I’ll share a student example I have from last semester on Slack. Also if this is confusing, message me and I’ll try to explain myself better.
Okay, that’s all I have for now! I’m looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!
(student example below)
