The Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty generated the following description in response to the question, “What characterizes academic and professional communication in this discipline?”

Exceptional writing in electrical and computer engineering doesn’t simply state a mathematical answer but should tell a story. Telling a story is important as it engages the reader, sets expectations, presents content, and summarizes findings. This concept is clearly applicable within formal papers but is also broadly applicable. Even basic circuit problem sets can find a foundation in this concept. For example, restating the problem or redrawing a circuit schematic “sets expectations,” intermediate work “presents the content,” and boxing an answer “summarizes the finding.”

During the self-assessment meetings the faculty gathered the following characteristics of writing in ECE:

• Tells a story and doesn’t merely offer a mathematical answer
  
• Focused; Provides as much information as necessary and no more
• Provides necessary context for understanding technical and mathematical answers
• Clear explanation of processes, mechanisms, analyses, and findings
• Appropriate visual modes for describing solutions (diagrams, tables, charts, figures)
• Visuals are clear; include captions, labels, and symbols
• Clearly stated assumptions
• Coherent- structured and oriented toward a purpose
• Uses technologies of writing well (Excel, LaTeX, etc. )
• Uses writing to boil down to an issue and justify conclusions
• Impacts and consequences tied to audience
• Representative of professional standards and practices
• Documents development of ideas, steps in process, and variations/decisions
• Consistent style (consistent in first and third person)

More broadly, when presenting content, there are three areas the above characteristics can be grouped into:

1. Observing and reporting data clearly, while communicating the assumptions and limitations of that data.
2. Draw conclusions and persuade audiences, in a method relevant and appropriate to the targeted audience.
3. Utilizing professional standards and practices to produce high-quality writing.

The Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty generated the following list in response to the question, “With which writing abilities should students in this unit’s major(s) graduate?”

Minimum Requirements for Writing in the Major:

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering understands writing as an iterative process central to engineering. Whether in homework, laboratories, or formal papers, students will report data accurately, draw well-supported conclusions, and will follow standards and expectations for writing in industry and academia.

Report data and observations:

• Synthesize information from sources of data and evidence, including limits on available data.
• Provide sufficient explanation for technical answers, such that it can be understood by particular audiences (peer level, non-technical, stakeholders).
• Provide clear explanation of processes, mechanisms, analyses, and findings.
• Select appropriate visual modes for describing data and observations.

Draw conclusions and persuade audiences:

• Tell a coherent story: Set the purpose and context, establish motivation or research question.
• Identify and explain the impacts of technical data in ways that are meaningful to the intended audience.
• Structure documents to draw well-supported conclusions; avoid tangents and irrelevant information.
• Use engineering data, evidence, and reasoning to persuade specific audiences.

Demonstrate attention to professional standards and practices:

• Grammar, mechanics, punctuation, spelling.
• Citation practices (quotation, paraphrase, figure captions).
• Ethics (avoid plagiarism and research misconduct).
• Follow expected publication standards (professional journal guidelines, employer’s documentation standards, etc.).

Report data and observations.

Synthesize information from sources of data and evidence, including limits on available data.

• Describes the sources from which data is derived.
• Distills the data to a subset supporting the conclusion.
• Explicitly discusses contradictory data and sources of error or noise.

Provides clear and sufficient explanation for technical data, processes, mechanisms, analyses, and observations.

• Includes information about the starting point (provided technical information).
• Addresses related engineering concepts that impact method for obtaining data, analyses, and resulting observations.
• (Additional criteria for oral assignments) offer a verbal explanation of technical answers, particularly in lab contexts.

Select appropriate visual modes for describing data and observations.

• Includes graphs that summarize data.
• Uses components of format explicitly– title, axis, units are labeled and standard.
• Includes schematics that are consistent with professional expectations (no crossed wires, values expressed appropriately).

Draw conclusions and persuade audiences.

Tell a coherent story: Set the purpose and context, establish motivation or research question.

• Explicitly states purpose and motivation, particularly in formal documents.
• States the problem or redraws the circuit, particularly for informal documents or homework.

Identify and explain the impacts of technical data in ways that are meaningful to intended audience.

• Adapts choices in language, vocabulary, and technical detail to the intended audience.
• Identifies common concepts understood between writer and reader then connects them meaningfully to conclusions.

Structure documents to draw well-supported conclusions; avoid tangents and irrelevant information.

• Provides a structured narrative (introduction, body, conclusion).
• Contains no extraneous material.

Use engineering data, evidence, and reasoning to persuade specific audiences.

• Emphasizes key features and results relevant to specified audience to persuade (such as technical specifications, cost/benefit, and intangibles).

Demonstrate attention to professional standards and practices.

Grammar, mechanics, punctuation, spelling.

• Contains no errors that could introduce ambiguity.
• Contains few, if any minor errors.

Citation practices (quotation, paraphrase, figure captions).

• Uses paraphrase in a manner consistent with the writing in the field (no direct quotations)
• Consistent with its method of citation throughout the document (meets course style sheet if provided).

Ethics (avoid plagiarism and research misconduct).

• Cites unique conclusions.
• Cites all figures, words, etc. extracted from other sources.
• Identifies roles and follows instructor guidelines for collaborative assignments.

Follow expected publication standards (professional journal guidelines, employer's documentation standards, etc.).

• Follows patent documentation standards as it relates to lab notebooks.
• Looks like NSF, NIH, DOD proposal or journal template, as assigned.

In the upcoming three years (3rd edition of the plan), the department intends to reinforce the plan elements that instructors have taken up in their courses, specifically EE2015, EE2115, EE3101, EE3102, EE4951W (approximately 14 faculty members are using lab report, notebooks, and critical task senior design assignments.) In addition, faculty and instructors will look to integrate the material in our new Writing Intensive course EE3941W into the WEC scaffolds already in place. The goal is to develop assignments for this new course consistent with assignments in Sr. Design and early undergraduate 2xxx and 3xxx courses.

Next, the department intends to focus on improving visualizations across the full curriculum. Our existing “Better Presentations” material will be expanded and “Visualization” support materials
will be specifically created for EE3951W, EE4951W, and 4xxx Senior Electives. ECE will continue to look at uptake across the curriculum and to modifications and changes instructors recommend after their use. Finally, faculty and instructors will continue to meet through Lunch’n Learn and area-specific meetings to motivate curricular improvement.