teaching with writing

research strategies in engineering

Unless explicitly directed to do otherwise, students may develop the habit of scanning engineering articles for target facts rather than attending to entire documents and, as a result, they may be unconscious of syntax. Because they don't have this syntactic familiarity "in their ears," they may have trouble creating fluid writing of their own, and may find themselves simply stringing individual words and ideas together. Encouraging students to see the effect that word choice, diction level, audience address, and coherence have on a text's ability to persuade will help them to make more considered choices in their own writing.

Much of the research engineering students will be considering is conducted in the laboratory rather than the library. Some assignments, however, will require students to access published materials as they investigate primary literature on products or patents, or secondary literature about theories, concepts, or the work of other engineers. The resources listed below should help with these:

• Civil Engineering Database: a site including bibliographic access to all publications of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
  
  
• The Science and Engineering Library: a LUMINA site containing indexes, journals, and subject-specific resources in diverse areas of engineering, science, and mathematics.
  
  
• Resources for the Physical Sciences and Engineering: a menu of subject-specific links to resources particular to each discipline, including civil, chemical, electrical, mechanical, and other areas within engineering.
  
  
• Authors' Guide to Journals and Practice Periodicals: an overview of journals and periodicals including online resources.
  
  
• CourseLib: a service provided by University of Minnesota librarians that enables instructors to build and post customized, course-specific research pages.
  
  
• Quickstudy: Library Research Guide: a series of online tutorials designed to help students become familiar with research at the University. 
  

10 Nicholson Hall
216 Pillsbury Drive SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455