Technical writing

Wright, P. (1987). Writing Technical Information. Review of Research in Education, 14. Itasca, IL E. Peacock. 

In the meantime, congress wants the military to solve the chemical and biological detection dilemma and military field commanders do, in fact, need the detection problem to be solved. Although the military can write technical specifications for detection equipment, the contract still goes to the lowest bidder who may not actually be able to deliver the specified product. The soldier is left with what is given him, whether or not it is actually a working, useful tool. 

It is generally a good idea to avoid modifiers, i.e., adjectives and adverbs, when writing technical reports, particularly when the modifiers are nonquantitative. For example, the statement An explosion occurred is better than A large explosion occurred. In this context, the word large is not meaningful. However, if the qualification can be quantified, then its use would be more acceptable. For example An explosion equivalent to 5 pounds of TNT occurred provides additional information. 

My wife s help and support are gratefirlly acknowledged. I owe a great deal of my capacity to write technical material to Vince Smith and I hope that this text reflects... 

Leo Baekeland outlived Wallace Carothers, both in [Pg.91]

Cowers, Sir E., The Complete Plain Words, Pelican Books, London (1969) Cooper, B. M., Writing Technical Reports, Penguin Books, London (1964) Roget, J. L. and Roget, S. R., Thesaurus, Penguin Books, London (1960)... 

During the course of the review each team member writes technical notes describing the situation in each of the review areas. These notes contain experts observations, including any recommendations and suggestions. Good practices or good performances are reflected as well. Technical notes form the basis for a draft review report. The draft report is completed by the end of the review and presented to the host organization. 

Polynomial root finding, as in the previous section, has some technical pitfalls that one would like to avoid. It is easier to write reliable software for matrix diagonalization (QMOBAS, TMOBAS) than it is for polynomial root finding hence, diagonalization is the method of choice for Huckel calculations. 

Separation of krypton and xenon from spent fuel rods should afford a source of xenon, technical usage of which is continuously growing (84). As of this writing, however, reprocessing of spent fuel rods is a pohtical problem (see Nuclearreactors). Xenon from fission has a larger fraction of the heavier isotopes than xenon from the atmosphere and this may affect its usefulness in some appHcations. 

Another advantage of PC technology is the plaimed and partially realized use of multiftmction drives for operation of either CD-ROM, WORM, or PC-R disks alternatively in the same disk drive. This is technically feasible, since for reading (in CD-ROM, WORM, PC-R) as well as for writing (WORM, PC-R) similar principles and hardware are used (108). However, the reflectivity change of PC disks (40/70%) is in general lower than the CD-ROM standard (30/70%) requires. 

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICliE) wishes to thank the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) and those involved in its operation, including its many sponsors whose funding and technical support made this project possible. Particular thanks are due to the members of the Batch Reaction Subcommittee for their enthusiasm, tireless effort and technical contributions. Members of the subcommittee played a major role in the writing of this book by suggesting examples, by offering failure scenarios for the major equipment covered in the book and by suggesting possible solutions to the various Con-cerns/Issues mentioned in the tables. 

This book is written as the book one wants to read when first starting the study of filtration. This book is intended for the person who has some technical background outside of filtration, and who now wants to "get his feet wet" in this subject This book is also for the "old filtration hand" who, while he has some experience in some special field of filtration, may now want to step back and see a larger view. And it is intended as a vehicle for sorting out and explaining words and phrases that appear in technical and advertising literature. The incentive to write this book comes from the author s experience, as a charter member of ASTM s Committee F21 on Filtration, as chair of the subcommittee on liquid filtration (for 15 years), and as an instigator of the 1986 symposium on filtration sponsored by ASTM. 

This volume is a departure from the style of technical writing that I and many of my colleagues have done in the past. What I have attempted is to discuss the subject, rather than to try and teach or summarize the technologies, the hardware, and selection criteria for different equipment. It s a subject to discuss and explore, rather than to present in a dry, strictly technical fashion. Water treatment is not... 

As has been mentioned earlier, the CID generates a number Ni , of composition intervals. Within each interval, it is thermodynamically as well as technically feasible to transfer a certain mass of the key pollutant from a waste stream to a lean stream. Furthermore, it is feasible to pass mass from a waste stream in an interval to any lean stream in a lower interval. Hence, for the J th composition interval, one can write the following component material balance for the key pollutant ... 

Similar incidents have occurred in technical reports. A writes something in a book or paper. B copies it without acknowledgment. A then repeats it in another report, citing B as the source and thus giving it an authenticity it lacked in its first publication. 

I would like to thank Dr. Geraint O. Thomas (Centre for Explosion Studies, Department of Physics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK) for offering to write Chapter 4. He prepared the first draft, but due to a sabbatical in Japan and other research commitments, he was unable to write the revisions. However, he did make constructive comments and suggestions on the revisions that I wrote. In addition, I would like to thank the following other individuals who provided me with technical data and other assistance based on their knowledge of flame arresters and combustion science and technology G. Binks (IMI Amal), R. Butler (Enardo). K. Chatrathi... 

The most fundamental skill required is interviewing, an area in which many technically proficient managers may lack experience. Other important skills and techniques include writing findings, sampling and taking notes during the audit. 

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