This is a practical guide to all aspects of writing about science and technology. It features useful hints on how to make each kind of writing more attractive to the target readership. It also includes detailed advice on how to approach publishers, publishers' contracts and requirements and the author's role at each stage of book production, including tips on presentation of manuscripts on disc or as camera-ready copy. There is clear guidance on the best way to use tables, graphs and diagrams and on how to present formulae and choose examples and exercises. Advice is given for overcoming the often neglected problem of catering for users with widely different technical backgrounds when writing instruction manuals. Careful preparation is given to the preparation of research and technical reports and writing for the media. The problems facing authors writing in English when this is not their first language are also tackled. This book should be of interest to lecturers, teachers, research workers, senior technicians in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, social sciences; senior scientific and technical staff in industry; senior management in firms involved either in research

Exploring the relationship between the writer and what he/she happens to be writing, this text by one of the foremost scholars in the field of literacy and cognition is a unique and original examination of writing--as a craft and as a cognitive activity. The book is concerned with the physical activity of writing, the way the nervous system recruits the muscles to move the pen or manipulate the typewriter. It considers the necessary disciplines of writing, such as knowledge of the conventions of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. In particular, there is a concern with how the skills underlying all these aspects of writing are learned and orchestrated.
This second edition includes many new insights from the author's significant experience and from recent research, providing a framework for thinking about the act of writing in both theoretical and practical ways. A completely new chapter on computers and writing is included, as well as more about the role of reading in learning to write, about learning to write at all ages, and about such controversial issues as whether and how genre theory should be taught.
Written in nontechnical language, this text will continue to be accessible and stimulating to a wide range of readers concerned with writing, literacy, thinking, and education. Furthermore, it has an educational orientation, therefore proving relevant and useful to anyone who teaches about writing or endeavors to teach writing.

As colleges and universities across the country continue to deal with regular decreases in state funding, technical communication programs, in particular, are being forced to "do more with less." As budget cuts become the new normal, the long-term health of technical communication depends on our ability to evolve and adapt to an array of internal, external, and technological pressures. The New Normal: Pressures on Technical Communication Programs in the Age of Austerity explores the ways technical communication programs are responding to conditions of economic austerity and investigates how smaller programs, or programs situated in smaller institutions, use increasingly limited resources to meet the challenges of increased student demand, the responsibilities of teaching service courses effectively, the technological demands for online education, and the constant pressure to prepare our students appropriately for the ever-changing needs of the job market in technical communication. More specifically, the contributors to this collection are overtly conscious of the marginalized/peripheral status of technical communication programs within both small and large institutions. This awareness allows them to articulate specific ways that austerity has had a direct, and local, effect on a particular technical communication program and to describe short- and long-term strategies for creating sustainable futures for a technical communication program, despite cuts and marginalization.

As colleges and universities across the country continue to deal with regular decreases in state funding, technical communication programs, in particular, are being forced to "do more with less." As budget cuts become the new normal, the long-term health of technical communication depends on our ability to evolve and adapt to an array of internal, external, and technological pressures. The New Normal: Pressures on Technical Communication Programs in the Age of Austerity explores the ways technical communication programs are responding to conditions of economic austerity and investigates how smaller programs, or programs situated in smaller institutions, use increasingly limited resources to meet the challenges of increased student demand, the responsibilities of teaching service courses effectively, the technological demands for online education, and the constant pressure to prepare our students appropriately for the ever-changing needs of the job market in technical communication. More specifically, the contributors to this collection are overtly conscious of the marginalized/peripheral status of technical communication programs within both small and large institutions. This awareness allows them to articulate specific ways that austerity has had a direct, and local, effect on a particular technical communication program and to describe short- and long-term strategies for creating sustainable futures for a technical communication program, despite cuts and marginalization.

Learning to think is a complex process made up of reading, writing listening, speaking and remembering textual materials. The aim of this topical book is to encourage practical educational reform in the Humanities by taking the emphasis away from the reception of texts to their production. Adapting rhetorical teaching methods, the authors encourage students to participate in the activities of thinking giving them short written and verbal exercises to develop conceptual competences and linguistics skills. It is argued that these methods can be implemented successfully across a wide number of humanities subjects and that they encourage the development of practical transferable skills, both cognitive and linguistic.
The authors have used these methods successfully in class, and the book includes sample exercises, the initial results, and feedback from their students.

Learning to think is a complex process made up of reading, writing listening, speaking and remembering textual materials. The aim of this topical book is to encourage practical educational reform in the Humanities by taking the emphasis away from the reception of texts to their production. Adapting rhetorical teaching methods, the authors encourage students to participate in the activities of thinking giving them short written and verbal exercises to develop conceptual competences and linguistics skills. It is argued that these methods can be implemented successfully across a wide number of humanities subjects and that they encourage the development of practical transferable skills, both cognitive and linguistic.
The authors have used these methods successfully in class, and the book includes sample exercises, the initial results, and feedback from their students.

"Undeniably exquisite . . . Reveal[s] not only how science actually happens but also who or what propels its immutable humanity." --Maria Popova "An excellent introduction to the key issues in science today." --P. D. Smith, Guardian "[A] stellar compendium . . . Delightful to read." --Publishers Weekly, starred review A renowned scientist and the best-selling author of Lab Girl, Hope Jahren selects the year's top science and nature writing from writers who balance research with humanity and in the process uncover riveting stories of discovery across disciplines.

The Other Kind of Funnies refutes the mainstream American cultural assumption that comics have little to do with technical communication-that the former are entertaining (in a low-brow sense) and juvenile, whereas the latter is practical and serious (to the point of stuffiness). The first of its kind, this book demonstrates the exciting possibilities of using comics in technical communication. It defines comics as a medium and art form that includes cartoons, comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels; provides conceptual and historical backgrounds on comics; and discusses the appeals and challenges of using comics-style technical communication. More specifically, it examines comics-style instructions, educational materials, health/risk communication, and political/propaganda communication. The author argues that comics-style technical communication encourages reader participation, produces covert persuasion, facilitates intercultural communication, benefits underprivileged audiences such as children and readers of lower literacy, and challenges the positivist view of technical communication. An abundance of comics-style technical communication examples, carefully selected from across cultures and times, demonstrates the argument. While the book proposes that comics can create user-friendly, visually oriented, engaging, and socially responsible technical communication, it is also quick to acknowledge the limitations and challenges of comics-style technical communication and provides heuristics on how to cope with them. The Other Kind of Funnies is unique in its interdisciplinary approach. It focuses on technical communication but speaks to design, cultural and intercultural studies, historical studies, and to some extent, education, politics, and art.

In the field of technical communication, academics and industry practitioners alike regularly encounter the same question: "What exactly is it you do?" Their responses often reveal a fundamental difference of perspective on what the field is and how it operates. For example, academics might discuss ideas in terms of rhetorical theory, while practitioners might explain concepts through more practical approaches involving best business practices. And such differences can have important implications for how the field, as a whole, moves forward over time. This collection explores ideas related to forging effective academia-industry relationships and partnerships so members of the field can begin a dialogue designed to foster communication and collaboration among academics and industry practitioners in technical communication. To address the various factors that can affect such interactions, the contributions in this collection represent a broad range of approaches that technical communicators can use to establish effective academy-industry partnerships and relationships in relation to an area of central interest to both: education. The 11 chapters thus present different perspectives on and ideas for achieving this goal. In so doing, the contributors discuss programmatic concerns, workplace contexts, outreach programs, and research and writing. The result is a text that examines different general contexts in which academia-industry relationships and partnerships can be established and maintained. It also provides readers with a reference for exploring such interactions.

In the field of technical communication, academics and industry practitioners alike regularly encounter the same question: "What exactly is it you do?" Their responses often reveal a fundamental difference of perspective on what the field is and how it operates. For example, academics might discuss ideas in terms of rhetorical theory, while practitioners might explain concepts through more practical approaches involving best business practices. And such differences can have important implications for how the field, as a whole, moves forward over time. This collection explores ideas related to forging effective academia-industry relationships and partnerships so members of the field can begin a dialogue designed to foster communication and collaboration among academics and industry practitioners in technical communication. To address the various factors that can affect such interactions, the contributions in this collection represent a broad range of approaches that technical communicators can use to establish effective academy-industry partnerships and relationships in relation to an area of central interest to both: education. The 11 chapters thus present different perspectives on and ideas for achieving this goal. In so doing, the contributors discuss programmatic concerns, workplace contexts, outreach programs, and research and writing. The result is a text that examines different general contexts in which academia-industry relationships and partnerships can be established and maintained. It also provides readers with a reference for exploring such interactions.

This book undertakes a general framework within which to consider the complex nature of the writing task in English, both as a first, and as a second language. The volume explores varieties of writing, different purposes for learning to write extended text, and cross-cultural variation among second-language writers. The volume overviews textlinguistic research, explores process approaches to writing, discusses writing for professional purposes, and contrastive rhetoric. It proposes a model for text construction as well as a framework for a more general theory of writing. Later chapters, organised around seventy-five themes for writing instruction are devoted to the teaching of writing at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. Writing assessment and other means for responding to writing are also discussed. William Grabe and Robert Kaplan summarise various theoretical strands that have been recently explored by applied linguists and other writing researchers, and draw these strands together into a coherent overview of the nature of written text. Finally they suggest methods for the teaching of writing consistent with the nature, processes and social context of writing.

Critical Reading and Writing in the Digital Age is a fully introductory, interactive textbook that explores the power relations at work in and behind the texts we encounter in our everyday lives. Using examples from numerous genres - such as fiction, poetry, advertisements and newspapers - this textbook examines the language choices a writer must make in structuring texts, representing the world and positioning the reader. Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, Critical Reading and Writing in the Digital Age offers guidance on how to read texts critically and how to develop effective writing skills. Extensively updated, key features of the second edition include: a radically revised and repackaged section that highlights the theme of discourses of power and authority and the new possibilities for resisting them; a revamped analysis of the art of communication which has changed due to the advent of new media including Facebook and Wikipedia; fresh examples, exercises and case studies including fan fiction, articles from the BBC, Daily Mail and South China Morning Post, and a selection of international ads for a variety of products; a brand new companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/goatly featuring projects, quizzes and activities for each chapter, a glossary and further reading. Written by two experienced teachers, Critical Reading and Writing in the Digital Age is an ideal coursebook for students of English language.

This innovative book is the first to identify and describe the systematic process that drives the day-to-day work of writers in the real world of print and broadcast journalism, public relations and advertising. The key to creative problem solution for both simple and complex assignments in media work is engagingly detailed in this thought-provoking guide. Users of this book will learn how to fulfill assignments and write copy that meets an editor's or client's expectations, speaks to the intended audience, stands up to question, and remains in memory. The author skillfully blends tested processes from science and art to equip the student with the tools of self-management and the techniques of disciplined creativity that defend against erroneous judgment. Recognizing the role of problem solving in media and the primacy of critical thinking at all stages of the writing process -- from preparatory measures to final writing -- the author challenges the assumption that discipline and creativity are incompatible partners. That partnership is described in detail, then dramatized with absorbing examples and illustrations drawn from interviews with experienced practitioners in print and broadcast journalism, public relations and advertising. Each chapter is a discovery of how this reliable partnership for solving writing problems in media applies to both anticipated and unexpected communication situations. Making known what media professionals have learned through trial and error on the job, here is a thinking and writing dynamic that students, new hires, and aspiring free-lancers can now acquire before entering the world of print or broadcast journalism, public relations or advertising.

This book identifies the key rhetorical moves in academic writing. It shows students how to frame their arguments as a response to what others have said and provides templates to help them start making the moves. The Fourth Edition features many NEW examples from academic writing, a NEW chapter on Entering Online Discussions, and a thoroughly updated chapter on Writing in the Social Sciences. Finally, two NEW readings provide current examples of the rhetorical moves in action.

The Professional Writing Guide is for people who wish to improve the quality of their documents and the efficiency of their writing.Busy executives and other writers in organisations, who may spend between 30 and 80 per cent of their working time writing, will find it invaluable because it clearly outlines the principles that underlie effective documents. This book will enable executives to write confidently, competently, and persuasively.High quality output is crucial to a company's image and to a professional's own career advancement. Errors in a document can prove expensive. The Professional Writing Guide is an indispensable and accessible reference tool as well as a comprehensive style manual for writers who wish to avoid those expensive mistakes and make a positive impression.Written by two long-term professional writing educators with extensive experience of consulting to Australian business and industry, this lively and highly practical book features workable, reliable, and powerful strategies that can be used to systematically eliminate the writing problems of organisational writers.

Winner of the 2018 CCCC Technical and Scientific Communication Award in the category of Best Book in Technical or Scientific Communication Responding to the effects of human mobility and crises such as depleting oil supplies, Ehren Helmut Pflugfelder turns specifically to automobility, a term used to describe the kinds of mobility afforded by autonomous, automobile-based movement technologies and their ramifications. Thus far, few studies in technical communication have explored the development of mobility technologies, the immense power that highly structured, environmentally significant systems have in the world, or the human-machine interactions that take place in such activities. Applying kinaesthetic rhetoric, a rhetoric that is sensitive to and developed from the mobile, material context of these technologies, Pflugfelder looks at transportation projects such as electric taxi cabs from the turn of the century to modern day, open-source vehicle projects, and a large case study of an autonomous, electric pod car network that ultimately failed. Kinaesthetic rhetoric illuminates how mobility technologies have always been persuasive wherever and whenever linguistic symbol systems and material interactions enroll us, often unconsciously, into regimes of movement and ways of experiencing the world. As Pflugfelder shows, mobility technologies involve networks of sustained arguments that are as durable as the bonds between the actors in their networks.

Many scientists encounter difficulties in writing papers for publication, perhaps because they have never previously done so, are out of practice or are not confident in their ability to write English as a second language. Whatever their dicipline, nationality or level of successful experience, Writing Successfully in Science will ease the task of documenting work by gently guiding readers through the necessary steps to successful publication-from planning the initial framework of an article, preparing references and illustrative material and writing a first draft, to choosing suitable journals, writing to the editor and dealing with the proofs of the final draft. Althought the examples and orientation are mainly biological, the principles described apply to every branch of science. Practical tips for the first-time writer are combined with useful advise for more experienced contributors wishing to improve their technique. The text also covers the preparation of theses, short talks and posters, review articles, book reviews, grant proposals and curriculum vitae.
Writing Successfully in Science pays particular attention to the needs of scientists whose first language is not English, explaining how to avoid the main pitfalls of English grammar and how to present work in a clear and logical fashion. Also included are details on the presentation of effective figures and tables, both in a traditional manner and with the aid of computer graphics packages.
Postgraduate and postdoctoral research workers should find Writing Successfully in Science an invaluable guide to the preparation of scientific documents; it is also suitable for use in seminars on scientific writing.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203478681

All writers need to know how to adapt to new technology and thrive in the new opportunities that it provides. This book provides readers with the nuts-and-bolts of scripting for an array of audio-visual (AV) projects, whether it be a simple slide show,
a multi-image presentation, a computer-based interactive program, or a major multi-area extravaganza. The book is very readable and would be extremely good for reference. Valerie Bragg, Principa, The City Technology College, Kinghurst, British Journal
of Educational Technology, Sept. 1992. - British Journal of Education Technology, September 1992

From one of America's most influential writing teachers, a collection of 50 of the best writing strategies distilled from 50 writing and language books -- from Aristotle to Strunk and White. With so many excellent writing guides lining bookstore shelves, it can be hard to know where to look for the best advice. Should you go with Natalie Goldberg or Anne Lamott? Maybe William Zinsser or Donald Murray would be more appropriate. Then again, what about the classics -- Strunk and White, or even Aristotle himself? Thankfully, your search is over. In Murder Your Darlings, Roy Peter Clark, who for more than 30 years has been a beloved and revered writing teacher to children and Pulitzer prize-winners alike, has compiled a remarkable collection of 50 of the best writing tips from 50 of the best writing books of all time. With a chapter devoted to each piece of advice, Clark expands and contextualizes the original author's suggestions, and offers anecdotes about how each one helped him or other writers sharpen their skills. An invaluable resource for scribblers of all kinds, Murder Your Darlings is an inspiring and edifying ode to the craft of writing.

First published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Journalism Online tackles the pressing question of how to apply fundamental journalism skills to the online medium. It provides an essential guide to the Internet as a research and publishing tool. In particular, it examines how to forge key journalism skills with the distinctive qualities of the World Wide Web to provide compelling web content. Trainee and practicing online journalists will learn: - core journalism skills of identifying, collecting, selecting and presenting news and information; - multimedia skills such as audio recording and editing; - online research methods including use of search tools, newsgroups and listservs; - story construction and writing for the Web; - an introduction to HTML; - web site design for the effective use of content. Journalism Online takes the best of the 'new' and 'old' media to provide an essential primer for this emerging discipline. Leading web designers such as Jakob Nielsen rub shoulders with established journalists like Harold Evans in the search for clear guidance in this rapidly developing field. It also provides a useful insight for non-news organisations into how to prepare and present effective web content and avoid the deepest pitfall of the online world - being ignored. Supplementary resources can be found on the book's supporting web site www.journalismonline.co.uk, which features additional exercises, useful links and reviews.

A research paper or graduate essay demonstrating weak English and poor formatting is likely to be rejected by an editor or marked down by an assessor; but why should these gaps in your English knowledge undermine your subject knowledge and skill as an engineer or student of the discipline? Written English: A Guide for Electrical and Electronic Students and Engineers is the first resource to work at the sentence level to resolve the English language problems facing international engineering students and scholars. Informed by hundreds of research papers and student essays, this valuable reference: Covers grammar essentials and key terms in the fields of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, and communication systems Uses real-world examples to reveal common mistakes and identify critical areas of focus Provides practical solutions to formatting, vocabulary, and stylistic issues Written English: A Guide for Electrical and Electronic Students and Engineers equips readers with the necessary knowledge to produce accurate and effective English when writing for engineering.

The POCKET GUIDE TO APA STYLE, 6th Edition is your essential tool for writing research papers in every course you take. Concise and thorough, the POCKET GUIDE offers straightforward explanations, annotated examples, and margin notes designed to help you write properly documented papers in the latest APA style. This practical resource is less expensive and easier to use than the APA Manual. It also includes extensive and up-to-date coverage of electronic sources, preparing you to evaluate and use Internet references correctly in your research.

This practical and portable guide has been designed specifically to help academics and students in medicine and surgery departments at universities all over the world, who are required to write in English to maximize exposure to their research, produce professional and accurate academic English and eradicate the errors that occur at all levels from bad habits or gaps in knowledge. By identifying likely mistakes and then instructing the writers on how to correct them, with exercises to encourage self testing, this easily accessible and at-a-glance resource can be kept readily to hand as an invaluable companion during the course of writing an essay, thesis or paper.

Developed for emerging academic writers, Primary Research and Writing offers a fresh take on the nature of doing research in the writing classroom. Encouraging students to write about topics for which they have a passion or personal connection, this text emphasizes the importance of primary research in developing writing skills and abilities. Authors Lynee Lewis Gaillet and Michelle F. Eble have built a pedagogical approach that makes archival and primary research interesting, urgent, and relevant to emerging writers. Students are able to explore ways of analyzing their findings and presenting their results to their intended readers. With in-text features to aid students in understanding primary research and its role in their writing, chapters include special elements such as: Communities in Context - Profiles of traditional and digital communities that help students understand the characteristics of communities and group members Profiles of Primary Researchers - Spotlights on professionals, giving an illuminating look into the role primary research plays in real-world research and writing Student Writing - Examples of exemplary student writing that demonstrate how research can be relevant, engaging, and interesting, with annotations. Invention Exercises - Exercises designed to help students locate primary investigation within communities that they already understand or find appealing Writing Exercises - Writing exercises that offer students practice in exploring communities and investigating primary materials. Readings - Annotated readings with questions to guide analysis, pulled from a variety of rich sources, that give students inspiration for undertaking their own research projects. This text has a robust companion website that provides resources for instructors and students, with sample syllabi, chapter overviews, lecture outlines, sample assignments, and a list of class resources. Primary Research and Writing is an engaging textbook developed for students in the beginning stages of their academic writing careers, and prepares its readers for a lifetime of research and writing.