The School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Seminar Series Presents “WRITING TIPS FOR MME GRADUATE STUDENTS”, presented by Dr. Melanie Thongs

About the event

WRITING TIPS FOR MME GRADUATE STUDENTS

Presented by Dr. Melanie Thongs, Editor, WSU Professional Editing Service Center and Instructor, WSU Writing Program

Abstract

During their careers, engineers need to write within a variety of genres, from professional journal articles to career documents. In this seminar, we will discuss:

• genres of writing used in engineering
• audience and audience expectations for different genres of writing
• how to read and analyze a model document (from any genre) to guide the structure and content of your own work
• how to make your writing flow using unity and coherence
• how attention to and practice with the materials and concepts in the preceding four bullet points can help you overcome writer’s block

To guide our discussion and make the concepts more concrete, we will examine and use as models the introduction of one or two published journal articles as well as an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

Presenter biography

Melanie Thongs holds a PhD in Physics (WSU) and an MFA in Creative Writing (University of Idaho). She has worked in the WSU Writing Program since 2017, starting as an editor for the Professional Editing Service Center, where she focuses primarily on helping graduate students and faculty prepare journal articles and other documents, such as dissertations and theses, for publication. Now, she also works as a consultant in the Graduate Writing Center, helping students with course-related writing as well as career documents. In addition, she designs writing curricula for STEM disciplines and teaches a variety of courses, including WRITE 405, a 1-credit 400-level writing class designed to support graduate students in their writing.