The Communication Habits of Engineers: A Study of How Compositional Style and Time Affect the Production of Oral and Written Communication of Engineers

Abstract

Writing is common skill for many whose job requires them to communicate through business documents. But there are many professionals who seemingly have difficulty with writing. Many engineers are required to write proposals and reports yet have received little formal writing instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine if writing apprehension, their composition process, or the presence of deadlines affects the production of documents. The hypothesis was that engineers have high writing apprehension, generally use a product-based approach, and tight deadlines negatively affect the end quality. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with civil engineers to gauge their level of apprehension, learn their personal composition process and determine how deadlines affect their writing. While the hypothesis was not conclusively supported, the study revealed six key themes into how engineers structure their writing tasks and found that the writing environment of engineers significantly impacts the composition process.

A Comparison of Practitioner and Student Writing in Civil Engineering

“…Conciseness The most frequently mentioned trait was to use as few words as possible for the intended message (Aller, 2002;Nicometo, Anderson, Nathans-Kelly, Courter, & McGlamery, 2010;Norback, Leeds, & Forehand, 2009;Sales, 2006). However, in a transportation firm, Steiner (2011) found "little focus on conciseness" and instead an emphasis on accurate technical information "which is most often not enhanced by brevity" (p. 45).…”

“…Multiple studies also found that practitioners valued careful choices of words and phrases for accurate, unambiguous content (Aller, 2002;Sales, 2006;Steiner, 2011). Rhoulac and Crenshaw (2006) found that an industry representative from civil engineering was more critical of syntax and grammar than was a faculty member, and Norback et al (2009) found that executives from across fields of engineering emphasized correct grammar and spelling.…”

An Organizational Structure of Indie Rock Musicians as Displayed by Facebook Usage

“…34–37). Semistructured interviews rely on open-ended, nondirective questions intended to solicit information that the researcher may not have known about in advance (Steiner, 2011, p. 37). I did not start out with existing data or theories to expand on, because the professional communication practices of indie rock musicians have been little studied and may be different those of other extra-institutional groups.…”

An Arabian Gulf: First-Year Composition Textbooks at an International Branch Campus in Qatar

“…Studies have shown that engineers on the job appreciate and seek out peer review and constructive feedback on their writing (Steiner, 2011), and that they find writing engaging when they "know their texts will be acted upon by others in the development of the design," or, in other words, when engineers write for real, active audiences (Sales, 2009, p. 90). Winsor's 1996 book, Writing Like an Engineer: A Rhetorical Education, advocates for an adjustment in the way that workplace writing courses teach audience by highlighting the ways in which engineers see writing as a social activity, a perspective echoed in the requirements from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).…”