Technical Writing in Action: Practical Applications for STEM Students

Technical Writing in Action: Practical Applications for STEM Students is comprised of a collection of activities and projects that can be used to supplement a course or serve as a standalone resource for writing technical documents. Through engagement in a variety of assignments, the text equips readers with the knowledge and practice they need to produce clear, research-based documents.

Each of the 18 chapters provides readers with all the appropriate information they need to complete the specified assignments. These key pieces of information include assignment introductions to provide context and set expectations, project overviews to assist with initial research, design templates to help students write in a logical voice, instructions for organizing and formatting the final content, and peer review evaluation sections to allow students to discuss their findings with classmates and learn from each other.

Particular lessons build upon the knowledge learned in previous chapters, allowing students to continually develop their personal knowledge bases and skill sets. Topical areas include writing a professional email, constructing an instruction manual, formulating convincing lab reports, writing a proposal to solve a problem, translating international communications, and more.

Helping students understand the importance of relating their research to others in a clear manner, Technical Writing in Action is a valuable supplementary text for STEM courses.

Jon Negrelli is an instructor within the Mechanical Engineering Department at Cleveland State University, where he teaches Technical Writing and Professional Communication for STEM students. He holds a master’s degree in English with emphasis in technical communications from Minnesota State University.