| Preface |
This book presents the basic formats of communication relevant for students' of science and technology field of expertise. It is designed as a supplementary textbook on the core principles of written and spoken types of communications in science and technology. Therefore it deals with the general structure of reports, theses, resumes, the most frequent documents that an engineer has to produce.
The introductory chapter elaborates on the need for this type of a textbook to emphasise in the end the basic aim which is to teach and instruct students to present written and spoken presentations on their own.
The following chapter is devoted to explaining the organisation structure of a paragraph which represents a basic organisational unit in writing a text. The paragraph structure is minutely described with the appropriate examples, along with the classification of types of paragraphs.
The third chapter is devoted to writing essays. Apart from the formal description of the essays structure and their classification, there are some useful directions as to the use of relevant terminology often employed as kinds of signals. There is an example of one essay and a special subchapter on quoting and referencing.
The fourth chapter in detail presents the ways of writing formal reports and instructions. After the description of the general structure of a report, there is an explanation on how to make project proposals, progress reports and final reports, then laboratory reports, design reports, technical instructions and user guides, and other kinds of technical documentation.
The fifth chapter, also in detail, presents the organisational structure of journal articles and research papers. First of all, there are steps in writing such papers and a detailed description of their structure. There is a special emphasis on journal articles. In the second part of this chapter, there are directions on writing a diploma paper. Following that, there are a few longer subchapters on writing a PhD proposal, the thesis itself, and a discussion on general characteristics of a dissertation. The MA theses writing is not present because of their decreasing importance in the today’s world.
The next chapter is devoted to correspondence. After the presentation of the elements of a standard letter, there is a classification and a detailed description of various types of letters (technical cooperation, technical visits abroad, technical training, cover letters, …). Special attention is paid, with lots of useful pieces of advice, to writing biographies (CV). In the end, there are hints on writing an Email.
The last, seventh chapter deals with spoken presentations and interviews. Those are minutely elaborated on. There are also highly appropriate ideas on behaving and responding during an interview.
Written and Spoken Communications in English for Science and Technology is a very useful book for students of technical and related faculties. It can help their mobility and advancement in the wider context of contemporary professional and academic surrounding. |
