Technical writing in engineering includes reports for experts, students, and the public. Writing for experts uses technical terms, while writing for students explains concepts with jargon. Writing for the public is less complex and includes charts and graphs.
There are a variety of applications of technical writing in engineering, including writing reports for other industry experts, engineering students, and the general public. As with other types of technical writing, the purpose of the writing and the intended audience are crucial to the detail and vocabulary used within it. In the field of engineering, there are different types of technical writing, ranging from research studies for highly technical engineering journals to reports and articles written for the general public.
One application of technical writing in engineering is writing documents, such as lab reports and project reports, for other engineering savvy people. These reports contain frequently used and widely understood technical terms in the engineering field and are not intended for a more general audience. Reports and research studies for engineering journals would also be included in this category. People reading these reports and studies would already know the terms specific to the field, so these words would not need to be defined or explained.
Students in engineering programs require another type of technical writing in engineering. The textbooks and materials used in their engineering courses are forms of technical writing and will likely need to be written at a more basic level than writing aimed at industry experts. Their textbooks should contain detailed explanations of engineering concepts written in the language of the field along with definitions and explanations of complex terms and procedures. These materials would be more detailed and explanatory than writing for industry experts would be, but they would also contain more technical jargon and industry-specific words than writing for the general public would. Diagrams and charts are likely to accompany these types of materials, as they do with much engineering writing.
One final application of technical writing in engineering is writing intended for the general public. This could include articles written for a general audience and reports to be provided and presented to non-engineering individuals. An engineering firm looking to win a bid on a contract so it can build a bridge for a city, for example, might write a more technical and specialized report on the potential project for internal use by the firm. Alternatively, they could write a less complex and more explanatory report to present to the city council and the public so that they can explain in simple terms how the bridge would be built and the budget needed to complete the project. This report is likely to include more charts and graphs and fewer technical terms.
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