TECHNICAL WRITING. A GUIDE FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Part I. INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING
Technical writing at university

Chapter 1. What is technical writing?
1.1 Why is it important to study technical and professional communication?
1.2 Characteristics of technical writing
1.3 Functions of technical discourse

Part II. THE WRITING PROCESS
Introduction to the writing process

Chapter 2. Pre-writing stage
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Analyzing audience
2.3 Analyzing purpose
2.4 Considering style and tone
2.5 Generating ideas
2.6 Outlining

Chapter 3. Writing stage
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Drafting
3.3 Structuring the paragraph
3.4 Developing paragraph patterns
3.5 Providing intra-paragraph coherence
3.6 Structuring the essay
3.7 Developing essay patterns
3.8 Providing inter-paragraph coherence
3.9 Incorporating visual aids

Chapter 4. Post-writing stage
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Revising content and organization
4.3 Checking for grammatical accuracy
4.4 Editing for style
4.5 Proofreading and peer review
4.6 Academic and sample texts

PART III. HANDBOOK
Introduction to the handbook

Chapter 5. Grammar, Style and Punctuation
5.1 Introduction
5.2. Main constituents in language: the phrase, the clause and the sentence
5.3 Revision of intra- and inter- coherence
5.4 Revision of grammar and style
5.5 Punctuation

APPENDIX
Key to the exercises

This book is intended to be a practical and clear guide to engineering students who need to familiarize themselves with the characteristics of technical writing in order to become efficient writers in their future technical professions. To this purpose, it includes authentic texts and reference materials from different degrees (general engineering, telecommunications, computing, civil engineering, etc.) and fosters extensive writing practice through a rich variety of tasks. Besides, this guide develops active learning methods adapted to the European Higher Education Area framework. The book follows three approaches (process, product and genre), the process approach being the central one to which the other two are subsumed. This is reflected in the organization of the contents, which have been basically divided into three main parts. The first is a thorough introduction to technical communication. The second includes three practical chapters that fully develop the main stages of the writing process (pre-writing, writing and post-writing) and the third offers a useful handbook.