Teaching Writing to Engineering Students: Toward a Nontechnical Approach

John Piirto University of Colorado System

Abstract

Engineering students, faculty, and administration all agree that instruction in writing is an important component of engineering education. And since engineering students will take up technical matters in their careers, it seems only natural that a writing class will require them to write papers about technology, that is, to practice technical writing. While this approach may indeed be of value, the following article presents an alternative to the teaching of technical writing per se. The author suggests that if students learn how to approach an issue they care about, form an arguable idea from this issue, then logically prove it in subsequent paragraphs, that this deep level of writing and thinking comprehension can then be used to enhance any piece of writing, especially the technical document.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1996-07-01
DOI
10.2190/232q-41qq-jcg5-bycy
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Technical Communication Quarterly

References (9)

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Show all 9 →
  1. How to Write and Publish Engineering Papers and Reports
  2. How to Write and Present Technical Information
  3. College Student Journal
  4. Journal of Science Education and Technology