Tutorial on Writing 2 for ME4001, Introduction to Engineering

1. Tutorial on Writing 2 for ME4001, Introduction to Engineering Lawrence Cleary Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre, UL

2. Review • Last week, we looked at a text marked for clause structure as one way of answering the question, “How do engineers write?” • We saw that engineering texts seem to contain more of the red structures and fewer of the green structures than do literary texts. • We saw that the red structures in engineering texts were longer than in literary texts.

3. A Closer Look • What can we say about the function of blue, red and green structures? How do they make meaning? • Versatile Disc, or DVD, is the subject talked about. • a collection of new optical disc technologies tells us what DVD is. • The green tells us that a collection of new optical disc technologies have potential. • The red tells us what the potential is: to significantly improve the quality of a number of consumer electronics and personal computer products.

4. Organization of Information • What is each sentence about? • What is each paragraph about? • How is the information organized? • Information usually moves from given information to new information, providing context for the new information. • Exercise: Rewrite the paragraph graphed for given and new information in your colour-coded feedback so that it is more clear what your paragraph is about..

5. Text Organization • Cohesion largely depends on repetition and logical order. • What is the sentence about? • How does the theme of this sentence contribute to the paragraph, and does it have a logical relationship to the sentences preceding and following? • How is your information organized? Can you chart it?

6. What Do Engineers Say When They Write? • What do these sentences have in common? • “The main purpose of this study is to compare the differences between an idealised in-plane bifurcated stent graft model to a realistic stent graft fit model and to comment on the clinical implications of the results” (Morris et al. 2006, p. 20). • “I wish to share some of my reflections on the engineering profession and discuss how we can improve the climate and culture for the women who choose this non-traditional occupation” (Frize 1994, p. 15).

7. Language and Rhetorical Function in Engineering Reports • The Question is,… • Why do they say it? • When do they say it? • How much of it do they say when they say it? • What do they do in the Introductions to their reports?

8. What do they say in Introductions? • Indicate the specific topic of the report • Indicate the purpose of the report • Indicate who are the appropriate or intended readers • Indicate the main contents of the report • Indicate the relevance of the report by • grounding it in the historical context, the theory surrounding it, and the importance of the subject, or • the situation that brought about the need for the report • Indicate the limitations of the study

9. How Does Language Function? • What do Engineers do with language? • Define things • Describe things and illustrate how they function • Explain things, giving reasons • Explain, Recount and Discuss processes • Discuss causes • Classify things • Compare and Contrast things • Give examples • Come to conclusions given what is already known