Academic and Technical Writing

You'll be asked to do different types of writing in your courses and in your profession. Sometimes, you'll write in a technical style for your courses, and sometimes you'll write in a more "academic" style for your boss. These links will help you differentiate between the styles and provide you with tips to help you with both.

Academic vs Technical Writing: What's the Difference?
You hear these different terms for types of writing. What are the differences between them? At this link, Chaim Chatan succinctly explains the difference.

Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students
This site from Virginia Tech is designed to help engineering or science students perform technical writing assignments in laboratory, design, and technical communication classes.

Writing Critiques
When your professor asks you to critique an article or text, these tips from Susan Katz and Jennie Skerl will help you classify and categorize material.

Describing & Summarizing Technical Information
Often you are asked to describe a process or summarize information. These tips will help you with these writing tasks.

Technical Writing for Engineers
Ronald Standler's excellent site will help you with grammar and style in writing technical documents.

Writing Abstracts
December and Katz's tips will help you with writing abstracts of both source material and your own research.

Definitional Techniques
Merrill Whitburn, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, offers definitional techniques for technical and academic writing.

Web Writing
This site, from E-WRITE, showcases (with explanations) some exemplary writing on the web.

Presentations
This link to Rice University's Online Writing Lab offers advice on understanding the speaking-writing relationship in order to develop effective oral presentations.