How to Write Good

In the United States, the most commonly used English is the version spoken by women. That is because there are more women than men – not because they talk more. The next most common is the version spoken by men. Both versions tend to be relaxed about the rules. Fortunately, these two versions of the language are often mutually intelligible. Lower down the list is written English, which differs considerably from the spoken sort. This presentation is about written English. Actually, it is about a subset of that sort of English: it is about the jargon-ridden and distorted sort that engineers tend to produce, the tortured sort of English that lets down its users by failing to do well the one thing it was intended for: communication. Sadly, engineer-writing is not always intelligible, even to other engineers. You may think this is an exaggeration. It is not. There are surveys to support the case. Most engineers have to write to earn a living. Most engineers have to communicate effectively to be seen to be good at what they do. This presentation is aimed at helping them. The method used in the presentation is unusual: it treats the written product statistically, and it discusses tools on the computer that can be of benefit. It aims to break some bad habits. Speaker(s): Dr. Kirkham, Roanoke, Virginia, United States, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/285025