Berger A Scientific Approach to Writing for Engineers and Scientists

1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-118-89979-3
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 232 Seiten, E-Book

Reihe: IEEE PCS Professional Engineering Communication Series

A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO WRITING
Technical ideas may be solid or even groundbreaking, but ifthese ideas cannot be clearly communicated, reviewers of technicaldocuments--e.g., proposals for research funding, articlessubmitted to scientific journals, and business plans tocommercialize technology--are likely to reject the argumentfor advancing these ideas.
The problem is that many engineers and scientists, entirelycomfortable with the logic and principles of mathematics andscience, treat writing as if it possesses none of these attributes.The absence of a systematic framework for writing often results insentences that are difficult to follow or arguments that leavereviewers scratching their heads.
This book fixes that problem by presenting a"scientific" approach to writing that mirrors thesensibilities of scientists and engineers, an approach based on aneasily-discernable set of principles. Rather than merely statingrules for English grammar and composition, this book explains thereasons behind these rules and shows that good reasons can guideevery writing decision.
This resource is also well suited for the growing number ofscientists and engineers in the U.S. and elsewhere who speakEnglish as a second language, as well as for anyone else who justwants to be understood.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Berger, Robert E.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

A Note from the Series Editor, xiii
Acknowledgments, xv
Foreword, xvii
Preface, xxi
1 Introduction to the Approach 1
PART I Sentences 9
2 Qualifiers Used in Sentences 11
3 Subordinate Clauses Used as Qualifiers 21
4 Explanatory Phrases, Participle Phrases, and Major Prepositional Phrases 31
5 Infinitive Phrases, and the General Rule for Punctuating Qualifiers 45
6 Sentences with Two Qualifiers 55
7 Higher Orders of Punctuation 69
8 Strategies to Improve Sentences with Qualifiers 77
PART II Lists 89
9 Two-Item Lists 91
10 Multiple-Item Lists 103
11 Strategies for Writing Better Lists 111
PART III Word Choice and Placement 119
12 Adjectives and Adverbs 121
13 Precision in Word Usage 135
PART IV Beyond Sentences 149
14 Paragraphs 151
15 Arguments 163
16 Justification of Arguments 173
17 Organization and Presentation 181
References, 193
About the Author, 207
Index, 209

Über Autor(innen)

ROBERT E. BERGER, PHD, brings a unique setof experiences to the subject of writing. In addition to histraining as a scientist, he has edited thousands of researchproposals, technical topics in solicitations for such proposals,abstracts of winning proposals, and commercialization plans forconverting technology to businesses.