Grammar And Writing For Engineers
In engineering, composing lab reports and technical materials are part of regular course requirements at every level. As such, learning how to write in proper academic English, along with using grammar that works best in the field, is a skill you will need to develop.
What kinds of things should you be looking out for?
1. Parallel structure. A crucial part of writing clear complex and compound sentences, this simply means using the same form for verbs and adjectives that are linked to a common structure. If three verbs refer to the same subject, for instance, then all should have the same form (e.g. present perfect). Same rule holds for three modifiers referring to the same subject or verb, three items appearing in a list and other similar constructions.
2. Articles. The use of articles (“a,” “an,” “the,” etc.) conveys precise meaning in engineering, making it of valuable importance, especially when trying to convey concepts and ideas accurately. You can’t say “some results” when you’re only referring to “a result.” While some may look past that in other areas of study, using the wrong article in an exact, math-based field such as engineering can be disastrous.
3. Passive Voice. In many technical materials, the focus is placed on what was done, rather than who did it. If the “actor” isn’t relevant, as is usually the case with engineering papers, then there’s no need to stray from the passive voice, regardless of how many times you’ve been told to avoid it.
4. Past Tense. Use the various forms of the past tense to show chronology of events, even without an explicit timeline.
5. Making Transitions. Since much of technical writing is instructive, using transitions to clearly show movement from one idea to another is of high importance.
Like all forms of technical composition, engineering text should benefit from a technical writing software. Make sure to try one and see if it suits you.