|
English 111 G/H Rhetoric
and Composition
Sample E2
What to Expect: Getting it Write
So,
you’ve chosen to go to school here at New Mexico State University.
Great choice. You’ve also tentatively decided to major in
chemical engineering. Another great choice.
New
Mexico State University has much to offer you as a chemical engineering
major. You are valued above all else in the department of engineering.
All professors have an open door policy and are eager to help.
More than anything else, they want you to succeed.
This
pamphlet will give you an idea of what exactly is expected of
you as far as writing while you are in school as well as once
you are out working. I hope that this packet is informative and
helps you get a better idea of what is expected of you at least
as a writer.
Writing You Can Expect To Do As a Chemical Engineer
Chemical
engineering is one of the most challenging majors offered at
New Mexico State University and arguably one of the hardest at
any university. From the very first day you enroll, you will
be taught the importance of being clear and concise and the roll
these abilities will play not only in your years in school but
in industry as well.
The
writing required for chemical engineering is chiefly technical
writing. An entire manual describing in detail all of the rules
and styles that must be used by chemical engineering majors is
on the required books list for Chemical Engineering 101. It very
specifically shows the precise format of every assignment from
homework to lab reports. A lot of what you will write as a students
are lab reports which can range from one to two pages in length
and be very general to up ninety pages and very specific. All
of the writing tends to be rigid and extremely technical. Students
are allowed to use their creative abilities to solve the problems
but not to write about it: no fiction is allowed according to
Stuart Munson-McGee, Associate Professor for the chemical engineering
department here at New Mexico State University.
Munson-McGee
is the Chemical Engineering 101 professor, but before becoming
a professor, he worked in industry. He represents exactly what
makes the chemical engineering department excellent. "Stu",
as he prefers to be called, will always be honest and up front
with you, pushing you just enough to get your brain in gear but
helping you so it doesn’t make you crazy. He stressed the
importance of clear and concise writing, especially in industry,
to those considering this major. A common scenario is being hired
to be part of a team whose responsibility is to solve a particular
problem. When results and conclusions are drawn, bosses don’t
want to know how they were found as much as what they are, Munson-McGee
said. In industry, chemical engineers hardly ever exceed three
pages when writing up a report of their progress or results because
bosses don’t want or have time to read more than that. If
it’s buried on page 49, no vice president is ever going
to find it, Munson-McGee said.
The
skill of being concise does not come easily however. "It’s
tough but rewarding," said Munson-McGee. It is easier to
go on and on trying to make some point or other which can be
better understood the more you say hopefully, but just like this
sentence, it can be more easily understood if it simply gets
to the point. A friend of Munson-McGee often gives lectures in
which he always asks how long he has to speak for a head of time.
If he is to give an hour presentation, he needs only five minutes
to prepare because he will have plenty of time to babble in the
details. A half hour presentation will take him about a day to
prepare for, however, a ten minute presentation takes him a couple
of weeks. "Rattling is easy," Munson-McGee said, what
is hard to do is say everything that you need to in a ten minute
period. How would one go about even trying to condense a subject
such as how to avoid common corrosion mistakes to enhance better
performance into a ten minute presentation?
The
importance of being concise carries over from writing into communication
quite often in chemical engineering. It is just as important
to be able to explain something quickly and clearly as it is
to submit a report on it. Munson-McGee, while working in industry,
got a fifteen percent raise, while his co-workers got only a
seven percent, simply due to his ability to be clear and concise.
A vice president approached him in the hall and casually asked
him what he had been up to, and Munson-McGee had fifteen seconds
to tell him "what I was doing, why I was doing it, and why
he should care."
Beyond
being concise, it is also important to be organized, which is
what Munson-McGee claims is the biggest problem that his students
have. Everything must flow logically, and you can gain a better
understanding of this by reading journal pertaining to the field.
The journal Chemical Engineering Progress exemplifies
this. Every article is classified according to its focus and
written with a similar format. The format is universal throughout
each article: a concise introductory paragraph followed by subheads
with concise narration of the topic of the subhead and a concluding
paragraph. Everything is logical and sequential. Pick up a copy
and just flip through sometime, it in will give you a better
understanding of what you may write as a chemical engineer.
As
a professor, Munson-McGee said he writes two main types of papers:
memos and research papers. The memos are often very casual and
addressed to students as well as faculty. Their main intent and
purpose is to convey information. The research papers, however,
are very technical and written to "impress academic peers."
Munson-McGee said that he is forced to use "big words to
impress them (academic peers) with how important I am."
Nonetheless, this style of writing is critical as well however
disliked by Munson-McGee. Keep that in mind when choosing this
major. You may some day be excepted to write the same types of
writing.
Professors
aim to make students within the department better chemical engineers
and not necessarily better writers, according to Munson-McGee.
However, professors demand that you writer in a clear and concise
as well as understandable manner. The only English classes required
for chemical engineers is Rhetoric and Composition and Technical
Writing, both of which have obvious relations to the field since
a chemical engineer should be both a good writer on average and
able to write technically.
In
conclusion, the writing required by chemical engineering majors
is one of rigid technicality that must be concise and get across
results in a manner that is understandable and logical. While
working in the field, the same skills are required and demanded;
thus, although the chemical engineering field doesn’t specifically
focus on writing, it demands a refined ability at technical writing.
This
is a realistic and possible. Students tend to have more trouble
with the work specifically tied to chemical engineering than
the writing entailed in completing the work. It will develop
over time.
I
hope this has offered some enlightenment on what will be expected
of your abilities as a writer in the field of chemical engineering
and welcome to New Mexico State.
Works Cited
Barna, Bruce, Long, Richard L., Bridges, Charles William,
Rakow, Allen L., Wilson, Donald B. Guide To Writing and Problem
Solving for Chemical Engineers. Copyright 185: pages 1-22.
Kirby, Gary N. "Avoid Corrosion Mistakes for Better Performance."
Chemical Engineering Progress April 1997: pages 76.78.
Oldshue, James Y. "Heed This Advice When Scaling Up Mixers."
Chemical Engineering Progress. March 1997: pages 70-73.
Ranade, Saidas M. "Achieve Model Profits." Chemical
Engineering Progress. May 1997: pages 46-51.
|
Copyright 1997 Department of English |
|
New Mexico State University |
|
Use only with permission |
|
