BOOKS

Making Writing Easier for Scientists Reviewed by Deborah C. Andrews

When it's right, you'll know it. So ran an ad for beer. The same is

true of writing. The writing is right: It pleases the writer, it provides smooth going for the reader, and it slips smoothly into the system to do its work.

But office conversation and occa­sional journal articles suggest that much of what scientists and engi­neers write is rough territory.

Why? The authors of "Effective Writing Strategies for Engineers and Scientists" point to four particu­lar problems. First, scientists and engineers are often poorly trained as writers. Freshman English is not enough to sustain them against the terrors of prose in the laboratory or office. Second, conveying the com­plicated information of science and engineering is inherently difficult; such writing is even tougher than other kinds. Third, writing requires both synthetic and analytical skills, whereas many technical people are more comfortable with analysis. Fourth, scientists and engineers seem "curiously eager" to perpetu­ate their bad reputation as writers (a problem the authors dismiss out of hand).

I'd expand this diagnosis by pointing out two attitudes that often cloud the scientist's or engineer's approach to writing. For one, they box off writing from their science as a separate (and decidedly unequal) task and thus deny themselves a valuable tool for discovering ideas. Writing forces them to put their sci­ence in shape and to be precise. It also allows them to share their ideas with others. In writing, they may discover holes in the evidence that send them back to the lab or the field for more results; the results send them back to the pen or the computer for more writing. Proper­ly performed, each activity exerts a back pressure on the other that pushes the other forward. More­over, engineers and scientists often

Scientists and engineers often are poor writers,

but the obstacles to effective technical

prose are surmountable

"The Basics of Technical Commun­icating" by B. Edward Cain, Ameri­can Chemical Society, 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, 1988, 198 pages, $29.95 hardback, $19.95 paperback; "Effective Writ­ing Strategies for Engineers and Scientists" by Donald C. Woolston, Patricia A. Robinson, and Gisela Kutzbach, Lewis Publishers, 121 South Main St., Chelsea, Mich. 48118,1988,176 pages, $24.95

Deborah C. Andrews coordinates the concentration in business and technical writing for the English department at the University of Delaware and is a con­sultant on writing to several corpora­tions; she is the author of three textbooks and several articles on writing in sci­ence, engineering, and business

reserve this box of writing for the end of the project or the end of the day, when they have little time and less energy. The results are predict­ably rough.

A second problematic attitude I call the myth of the perfect draft. Scientists in particular are suscepti­ble to it. Unwilling to commit to anything less than perfection, they hold notes and ideas in suspension and fear the irrevocable closure of a document. When they do jot a sen­tence, they edit immediately and at length, rarely advancing toward a page or a report. Such scientists would never write if left to their own devices—not because they are

lazy or incompetent, but because the words on the page can never equal their mental image. When a manager forces them to submit a re­port, the result is often a tortured sequence of statements that pop up without any relationship to one an­other.

Although these obstacles to good writing may seem severe, they are surmountable. Paying attention to writing helps. Because good writing often takes considerable time, orga­nizations need to plan that time into project schedules and reward struc­tures. Better training also helps. En­gineering and science students are enrolling in increasing numbers of writing courses and writing-inten­sive technical courses tailored to their needs.

And books help. Among the books in which a scientist or engi­neer may find useful tools for writ­ing are two recently published texts. "The Basics of Technical Communi­cating/' published by the American Chemical Society to complement "The ACS Style Guide" and "Writ­ing the Laboratory Notebook," is a rather traditional reference that em­phasizes the rules of correct English and the format for documents. "Ef­fective Writing Strategies for Engi­neers and Scientists," in contrast, emphasizes the decision-making process through which the writer turns science into prose. It thus gets at the heart of problems in both skills and attitude. Moreover, it of­fers a modular approach to writing that shows even the most reluctant scientist how to fight the myth of the perfect draft and to get down to writing. And it does so in prose that is both informative and engaging.

B. Edward Cain, a professor of chemistry at Rochester Institute of Technology, aims in "The Basics of Technical Communicating" "to demonstrate a variety of applica­tions of using correct English to communica t e e f fec t ive ly . " He draws most of his examples from the chemical literature. The opening

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Books

section discusses some require­ments for technical communication and then focuses on how to elimi­nate wordiness and jargon, punctu­ate correctly, and select appropriate verbs. The next section traces steps in assembling a report: outlining, gathering data, documenting, sup­plementing with visual aids, pre­paring abstracts, using computers, and proofreading. The final section gives general guidelines and for­mats for correspondence (both let­ters and memos), journal articles, grants and proposals, and lab re­ports. The intended reader is a stu­dent or professional; chapter sum­maries, exercises, and advice on us­ing the library make this text particularly appropriate for stu­dents. Examples of wordiness and ways to eliminate it are particularly strong.

The authors of "Effective Writing Strategies for Engineers and Scien­tists"—Donald C. Woolston, Patri­cia A. Robinson, and Gisela Kutz-bach—teach in the College of Engi­neering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Noting that the ability to write effective techni­cal documents "depends more on analytic skills and a sincere interest in relating information to others than on being clever with words," their text opens with a look at the workplace and methods for setting writing goals, meeting reader de­mands, and writing on teams. It then provides abundant strategies for organizing material that go well beyond the simple Roman-numeral outline. This chapter on organiza­tion is admirably concrete about a subject often treated superficially. It draws welcome parallels between problem-solving in writing and problem-solving in science and en­courages analytical people toward synthesis.

The next chapter shows how to generate a draft and then revise it in a series of troubleshooting steps. Those who balk before writing pro­jects will find particular encourage­ment here. Other chapters discuss visuals; the computer revolution in writing (including a nice set of guidelines for selecting a system for text, graphics, and desktop publish­ing); and legal issues in writing. Ap­pendixes are devoted to common

grammatical and punctuation er­rors, the use of equations and abbre­viations, preparation of an article for publication, and documentation.

Both of these texts provide good indexes and self-contained units on different writing topics. The reader can dip in at a point of interest or read straight through. Although neither book is likely to make writ­ing easy, each offers advice for mak­ing writing better. Indeed, the as­sumption underlying both texts is that scientists and engineers can write reports and memos that work—that convey the right infor­mation clearly to the right readers at the right time. Some people may achieve a style that is graceful or engaging; others may create more workmanlike documents. But the question is less one of grace than one of competence, effectiveness, and the simple ability to complete the writing task. These two texts will help.

Moreover, for reluctant or ineffi­cient writers—or for managers who need to direct the activities of such writers—the path laid out in "Effec­tive Writing Strategies for Engi­neers and Scientists" certainly should make writing easier. Observ­ing a routine, no matter how much work it entails, often seems less ar­duous than the sheer worry of wait­ing for inspiration or the beating you take when you measure your prose against impossible standards. The path may also provide a plea­sure in writing that comes close to matching the pleasures of science.D

Chromatography: Concepts and Con­trasts. James M. Miller, xii + 297 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1988. $39.95.

Coagulation Kinetics and Structure Formation. Hans Sonntag, Klaus Strenge. 194 pages. Plenum Press, 233 Spring St., New York, N.Y. 10013. 1987. $55.

Corrosion-Resistant Plastic Composites in Chemical Plant Design. John H. Mallinson. xi + 572 pages. Marcel Dekker Inc., 270 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1988. $99.75.

Crystallization and Precipitation. G. L. Strathdee, M. O. Klein, L. A. Melis, editors, xii + 319 pages. Pergamon

Press, Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, N.Y. 10523.1987. $70.

Current Research in Heat and Mass Transfer. M. V. Krishna Murthy et al. xii + 283 pages. Hemisphere Publish­ing Corp., 79 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016-7892.1988. $65.

Dense Gases for Extraction and Refin­ing. E. Stahl, K.-W. Quirin, D. Gerard, xii + 237 pages. Springer-Verlag New York, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10010.1987. $89.50.

Detergents and Textile Washing: Prin­ciples and Practice. Gunter Jakobi, Albrecht Lôhr. xii + 248 pages. VCH Publishers, 303 N.W. 12th Ave., Deer-field Beach, Fla. 334420-1705. 1987. $59.95.

Developmental Toxicology: Mecha­nisms and Risk. John A. McLachlan, Robert M. Pratt, Clement L. Markert, editors, xvii + 362 pages. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, P.O. Box 100, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 11724.1988. $70.

Dictionary of Organophosphorus Com­pounds. R. S. Edmundson, editor, xxiii + 1347 pages. Chapman & Hall, 29 West 35th St., New York, N.Y. 10001-2291.1988. $725.

Durum Wheat: Chemistry and Technol­ogy. Giuseppe Fabriani, Claudia Lintas, editors. 332 pages. American Associ­ation of Cereal Chemists, 3340 Knob Rd., St. Paul, Minn. 55121.1988. $118.

Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering. Vol. 11: Peroxy Com­pounds to Polyesters. Herman F. Mark et al, editors, xxvi + 829 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1988. $200.

Epoxy Resins: Chemistry and Technol­ogy. 2nd Ed. Clayton A. May, editor, χ + 1242 pages. Marcel Dekker Inc., 270 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1988. $195.

Evolution of Size Effects in Chemical Dynamics. Part 1.1. Prigogine, Stuart A. Rice, editors, ix + 556 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1988. $100.

Experimental Organic Chemistry. Clark F. Most Jr. xx + 586 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1988. $40.26.

Flow Perturbation Gas Chromatogra­phy. N. A. Katsanos. ix + 304 pages. Marcel Dekker Inc., 270 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1988. $99.75.

Foams and Biliquid Foams — Aphrons. Felix Sebba. vi + 236 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1987. $62.95. •

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