Development of Embedded Technical Writing in a Junior-level Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory Class

Written communication is an essential skill for civil engineers working in the consulting field.The results of field and laboratory investigations typically include a report, and, in some cases, the report is the entire artifact of the work.The clients are broad, ranging from other professionals in the field to persons with no technical background.The engineers writing the reports need to identify the possible audiences for the report and write for that audience or audiences.The engineers writing the report need to know the technical aspects of the project; however, this is the price of entry to the consulting industry.The engineers writing the report also need to compose the report so that each reader can obtain the necessary information.A formal framework that includes audience analysis can help the engineers write these reports.Engineering laboratory classes provide an opportunity for students to gradually develop their report writing skills.The approach at our department uses embedded technical writing in a sequence of laboratory classes.The first engineering laboratory class with report writing is Mechanics of Materials Laboratory.This class has extensive in-class activities for audience analysis, communication issues, and some report writing.The next course in the sequence is the Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory.This course starts with a review of the audience analysis and communication issues covered in the previous course.The course has more reports than the previous course, and the reports are more involved.Some preliminary results indicate that the students can apply the material from the first course and extend it to mid-level course content.