The Technical Writer's Handbook: Writing with Style and Clarity

By Matt Young

Book Overview

Written by a practicing scientist, this book is directed to scientists, engineers, and others who want to improve their writing and communication.

Unlike many other books on technical writing, The Technical Writer's Handbook is written by a practicing scientist who screens hundreds of manuscripts each year. It is directed to scientists, engineers, and others who want to improve their writing and communication and teaches that technical writing - although it has its own special requirements - is no different from ordinary writing and should be written with short clear sentences and in the active voice.

Divided into two parts, the first part is an introduction to technical and report writing; it provides a sort of prescription for writing and organizing technical papers of all kinds. The second part is written in dictionary format and contains entries on grammar, style, and organization, as well as entries on topics such as common errors, resume writing, metric units, jargon, conference proceedings, figures, tables and slides. A comprehensive list of cross references reveals related topics quickly and easily.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891389211
• ISBN13: 9781891389214
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: University Science Books
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A Handbook in the True Sense

I borrowed this book from the library, my choice out of the 48 tech writing books available, and I am delighted with it--so much so that I'm ordering my own copy. It covers everything I've been trying to teach my office-full of engineers and scientists, from how to say "nuclear," to when to hyphenate, to what to include in a table. I HIGHLY recommend it to all who want to sound technically competent and at the same time "humanly" readable.

Matt Young's The Technical Writer's Handbook

Frankly, this book should be on every scientist's and engineer's shelf. It indicates with clarity and humor the common, stupid, things people do when they write. It's particularly good for developing a non-pompous and concise style. For example, Young tells us to use, instead of "at this point in time," the word "now," or instead of "utilize" just say "use." The book is full of examples and hits all the things that drive me nuts reading other people's writing, particularly the writing of students. The downside is that it is organized alphabetically by words in commonly used bad phrases, so looking up a specific item is darn near impossible. Still, Matt Young's book makes for fun and delightful reading.