Style and Grammar

Proper style and correct grammar are essential to being taken seriously in engineering communication. Professional engineers need to write clearly and concisely, though a particular style might depend on the intended audience. Listed below are resources on style and grammar that can help you become more effective and efficient as a writer.

  • The Risks and Benefits of Chat GPT 

    Published on January 19, 2023 By Kohava Mendelsohn Recently, Chat GPT was released for use by the public by OpenAI. It is an extremely advanced AI chat bot that can answer queries for you. I think of it as a very advanced autocomplete system, taking in input ...

  • Plain Language in the Sciences

    Published on July 6, 2020 Science (and engineering) is often considered a highly exclusive domain, with participation requiring significant education and practical experience. One of the ways that science and engineering maintains its exclusivity is through its highly specialized language and rhetorical conventions. For example, the scientific paper ...

  • Finding your Voice and Verbs in Engineering

    Published on July 2, 2020 In her paper “‘Here We Show’: Teaching Engineering Students to Reason with an Audience,” to be delivered at ProComm 2020, Dr. Suzanne Lane argues that learning to use first-person discourse alongside with active voice is an important step in becoming an ...

  • Podcast: George Hayhoe interviews Guest Editors of the Special Issue on Plain Language in the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

    Published on February 7, 2018 Listen to George Hayhoe interview the three guest editors of the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication special issue on Plain Language – Nataliya Mateeva, Michelle Moosally, and Russell Willerton – as they discuss the role, the history, and the future of ...

  • Podcast: Karen A. Schriver, Winner of 2017 Joenk Award, Interviewed by George Hayhoe

    Published on January 19, 2018 As indicated previously, Karen A. Schriver is the 2017 winner of the Joenk Award for the best paper in the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication for her paper “Plain Language in the United States Gains Momentum: 1940–2015.”  Listen to her speak ...

  • Breaking the Rules: “Don’t Let Good Grammar Spoil Good Writing” and Passive/Active Voice

    Published on February 22, 2017   Oldies can be goodies: one of the wonderful things about the IEEE PCS Newsletters Archive is that much of its advice to writers remains valid. Philip Yaffe’s “Don’t Let Good Grammar Spoil Good Writing,” from the April 2009 IEEE PCS Newsletter, tells us why breaking ...

  • Cutting the Fluff from your Writing

    Published on June 7, 2016 Good professional technical writing involves a struggle between conciseness and completeness. Writers need to provide the evidence and reasoning to justify their claims in the shortest space possible. Cutting too much or the wrong things, however, can damage your ability to support your ...

  • Simplified Technical English and the Thumbs Up Technique (Step 3/3)

    Published on April 21, 2016 In his previous article, Ferry Vermeulen, MSc. showed us how to how to use the online STE-Dictionary to find approved usage of words. as Step #2 of the Thumbs Up Technique for Simplified Technical English. In this last  article, he discusses Step#3, modifying the sentences into simple and ...

  • Simplified Technical English and Clearer Documentation through the Thumbs Up Technique (3/3)

    Published on April 20, 2016 As discussed in the beginning of this first article, Simplified Technical English (STE) is generally considered as being of great importance for writing clear and unambiguous content, mainly for user instructions like maintenance manuals. In this series of three articles, Ferry Vermeulen, ...

  • Simplified Technical English and the Thumbs Up Technique (Step 2)

    Published on April 13, 2016 In his previous article, Ferry Vermeulen, MSc. showed us how to  determine relevant information and delete any non-relevant information as Step #1 of the Thumbs Up Technique for Simplified Technical English. In his second  article, he discusses Step#2, how to use the online STE-Dictionary to find approved ...

  • Simplified Technical English and Clearer Documentation through the Thumbs Up Technique (2/3)

    Published on April 13, 2016 As discussed in the beginning of this first article, Simplified Technical English (STE) is generally considered as being of great importance for writing clear and unambiguous content, mainly for user instructions like maintenance manuals.  In this series of three articles, Ferry Vermeulen, ...

  • Simplified Technical English and Clearer Documentation through the Thumbs Up Technique (1/3)

    Published on April 4, 2016 Simplified Technical English (STE) is generally considered as being of great importance for writing clear and unambiguous content, mainly for user instructions like maintenance manuals. However, many technical writers experience specific problems when implementing STE. Although theoretically possible, STE is not ...

  • How to Implement Simplified Technical English and Write Clearer Documentation with the Thumbs Up Technique (Part 1/3)

    Published on April 1, 2016 Simplified Technical English (STE) is generally considered as being of great importance for writing clear and unambiguous content, mainly for user instructions like maintenance manuals. However, many technical writers experience specific problems when implementing STE. Although theoretically possible, STE is not ...

  • Podcast: Tackling Typical Grammar Problems

    Published on June 5, 2012 This training podcast provides examples as well as explanations and tips for dealing with a few grammar or usage problems that occur for many engineering and technical professionals who have to communicate in a hurry, via, for example, email. Listen for ...

Communication Resources