The MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communication: Second Edition

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.

James Paradis is Professor and Head of the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Muriel L. Zimmerman is Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Programs in Technical Communication in the Writing Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara.