Case studies and pedagogical strategies to help science and engineering students improve their writing and speaking skills while developing professional identities. To many science and engineering students, the task of writing may seem irrelevant to their future professional careers. At MIT, however, students discover that writing about their technical work is important not only in solving real-world problems but also in developing their professional identities. MIT puts into practice the belief that “engineers who don't write well end up working for engineers who do write well,” requiring all students to take “communications-intensive” classes in which they learn from MIT faculty and writing instructors how to express their ideas in writing and in presentations. Students are challenged not only to think like professional scientists and engineers but also to communicate like them.This book offers in-depth case studies and pedagogical strategies from a range of science and engineering communication-intensive classes at MIT. It traces the progress of seventeen students from diverse backgrounds in seven classes that span five departments. Undergraduates in biology attempt to turn scientific findings into a research article; graduate students learn to define their research for scientific grant writing; undergraduates in biomedical engineering learn to use data as evidence; and students in aeronautic and astronautic engineering learn to communicate collaboratively. Each case study is introduced by a description of its theoretical and curricular context and an outline of the objectives for the students' activities. The studies describe the on-the-ground realities of working with faculty, staff, and students to achieve communication and course goals, offering lessons that can be easily applied to a wide variety of settings and institutions.

A second edition of a popular guide to scientific and technical communication, updated to reflect recent changes in computer technology. This guide covers the basics of scientific and engineering communication, including defining an audience, working with collaborators, searching the literature, organizing and drafting documents, developing graphics, and documenting sources. The documents covered include memos, letters, proposals, progress reports, other types of reports, journal articles, oral presentations, instructions, and CVs and resumes. Throughout, the authors provide realistic examples from actual documents and situations. The materials, drawn from the authors' experience teaching scientific and technical communication, bridge the gap between the university novice and the seasoned professional. In the five years since the first edition was published, communication practices have been transformed by computer technology. Today, most correspondence is transmitted electronically, proposals are submitted online, reports are distributed to clients through intranets, journal articles are written for electronic transmission, and conference presentations are posted on the Web. Every chapter of the book reflects these changes. The second edition also includes a compact Handbook of Style and Usage that provides guidelines for sentence and paragraph structure, punctuation, and usage and presents many examples of strategies for improved style.

Science and technology are embedded in virtually every aspect of modern life. As a result, people face an increasing need to integrate information from science with their personal values and other considerations as they make important life decisions about medical care, the safety of foods, what to do about climate change, and many other issues. Communicating science effectively, however, is a complex task and an acquired skill. Moreover, the approaches to communicating science that will be most effective for specific audiences and circumstances are not obvious. Fortunately, there is an expanding science base from diverse disciplines that can support science communicators in making these determinations. Communicating Science Effectively offers a research agenda for science communicators and researchers seeking to apply this research and fill gaps in knowledge about how to communicate effectively about science, focusing in particular on issues that are contentious in the public sphere. To inform this research agenda, this publication identifies important influences â€" psychological, economic, political, social, cultural, and media-related â€" on how science related to such issues is understood, perceived, and used.

Learn the tricks-of-the-trade of becoming a great technicalcommunicator Remember when you were an undergraduate and freshman compositionseemed so irrelevant to your life? After all, you were going toconquer the world with technological know-how. Your spellchecksoftware would handle the details. Now that you're a professional -pitching an idea, vying for a contract or grant, or presenting at ameeting - getting your point across effectively suddenly seemspretty essential for success, doesn't it? Fear not. This light-hearted text, brimming with proventechniques, good advice, and real-world examples that you caneasily apply to your own case, will turn you into an adeptcommunicator. Written expressly for technologists, this is asimple, concise, and practical guide to the communication dynamicsof writing, presentation delivery, and meeting interaction. Herbert Hirsch, in-demand consultant who developed thesetechniques for his own prolific engineering career, teaches you howto use "scripting" to plan for communication events. More than amere outline or storyboard, scripting is a powerful technique thatassists you in getting the right structure and content, in theproper order. Using scripting, you will master the fundamental principles ofcommunicating: How to grab the reader's or audience's attention from thestart How to maintain the connection while proceeding smoothly fromtopic to topic How to provide the substantiation for the points you made How to communicate with people from other groups, such asmarketers, investors, users, and others How to overcome such obstacles as fear, boredom, and aversionto your material Distilling the art of communication to its essence, EssentialCommunication Strategies empowers you to communicate withconfidence and authority in every situation, to every audience.

On topics from genetic engineering and mad cow disease to vaccination and climate change, this Handbook draws on the insights of 57 leading science of science communication scholars who explore what social scientists know about how citizens come to understand and act on what is known by science.

Communication Patterns of Engineers brings together, summarizes, and analyzes the research on how engineers communicate, presenting benchmark data and identifying gaps in the existing research. Written by two renowned experts in this area, the text: Compares engineering communication patterns with those of science and medicine Offers information on improving engineering communication skills, including the use of communication tools to address engineering departments' concerns about the inadequacies of communication by engineers Provides strong conclusions to address what lessons engineering educators, librarians, and communication professionals can learn from the research presented

This book serves as a valuable aid for scientists and engineers who seek to discover and disseminate knowledge so that it can be used to improve the human condition. This book can be used as a textbook for undergraduate or graduate courses on technical communication and ethics, a reference book for senior design courses, or a handbook for young investigators and beginning faculty members. In addition to presenting methods for writing clearly and concisely and improving oral or poster presentations, this compact book provides practical guidelines for preparing theses, dissertations, journal papers for publication, and proposals for research funding. Issues of authorship, peer review, plagiarism, recordkeeping, transparency, and copyright are addressed in detail, and case studies of research misconduct highlight the need for proactive attention to scientific integrity. Ample exercises cause the reader to stop and think. The authors motivate the reader to develop an effective, individual style of communication and a personal commitment to integrity, each of which are essential to success in the workplace.