Contents

 Before Your Write:
Analyzing What the Audience Knows
Analyzing Why the Audience is Reading
Analyzing How the Audience Reads

Organization of Job Application Email:
Subject Line
Beginning Paragraph
Middle Paragraphs
Ending Paragraph

Other Correspondence:
Cover Letters (Forthcoming)
Thank You Letter or Email (Forthcoming)
​
Mechanics of Writing
Grammar (avoiding run-ons and fragments)
Punctuation (comma, colon,...)
Usage (affect/effect, verb tense, using numbers,...)
​

Formats and Student Samples

Professional Email Format
Sample Job Email: Yit Han Ng
Sample Job Email: Annemarie Phandinh
​
Professional Letter Format
​Sample Job Letter (Forthcoming)

Review Questions

     Engineers and scientists write many emails each week. For instance, it is not uncommon for an engineer or scientist to write 20 emails in a single day. Unlike telephone conversations, emails and letters present the audience with a legal contract that is dated and can support a claim in court. In addition, as an engineer or scientist, your writing is often first judged by the quality of your emails and letters. In fact, emails and letters are usually the first types of documents from you that a manager will read. For that reason, you want your emails and letters to represent you well. ​(23 minutes)
  1. What three questions should you ask about audience?
  2. What would be an appropriate title for an email applying for a summer research position at the START Laboratory at Penn State? (For reference, START stands for Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine.)
  3. What would be an appropriate final name for a resume that you have attached to a job application email?
  4. What does the beginning paragraph of a job application email do?
  5. What would be a good first sentence? What would you say to a friend who began with My name is...? 
  6. What do the middle paragraphs of a job application email do?
  7. What should the last paragraph of a job application email do?

Instructor's Lesson Plan

     Forthcoming will be a plan for instructors to incorporate this summary lesson into a class period of their course. Included with this plan will be discussion questions, student activities, and a comprehension quiz. ​​​

References

  1. Alley, Michael, The Craft of Scientific Writing, 4th ed. (New York: Springer Verlag, 2018).
  2. Bernstein, Theodore, The Careful Writer (New York: Free Press, 1995).​​
  3. William A. Sabin, The Gregg Reference Manual: A Manual of Style, Grammar, Usage, and Formatting, 11th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010).

Sponsors and Editors


​Sponsors
     Leonhard Center, College of Engineering, Penn State
​     National Science Foundation, NSF EAGER Award  1752096

​Faculty Editor
     Michael Alley, Teaching Professor, College of Engineering, Penn State
     Mikayla Detwiler, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2020, Penn State
     Alexus Eicher, B.S. in Computer Science, 2020, Penn State
     Bridget Flynn, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2020, Penn State
     Carrie McCartney, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2020, Penn State
     Alyssa Peretin, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2020, Penn State
​     Roman Pero, B.S. in Chemical Engineering, 2021, Penn State
     Kaitlyn Pigeon, B.S. in Industrial Engineering, 2020, Penn State
     Kayli Rentzel, B.S.. in Mechanical Engineering, 2020, Penn State

Film Editors
     Elaine Gustus, College of Engineering, Penn State
     Richelle Weiger, College of Engineering, Penn State
     Casey Fenton, College of Engineering, Penn State

Analysis of what the audience knows.

Analysis of why the audience is reading.

Analysis of how an audience reads professional letters and emails.

Writing an effective subject of an email.


Writing the beginning of a professional email or letter.


Writing the middle of a professional email or letter.


Writing the ending of a professional email or letter.

​For the academic year 2019-2020, we are collecting comments, questions, criticisms, and suggestions for the films, text, and quizzes of each lesson on scientific writing. To help us understand your input, would please let us know what your discipline is and whether you are a student, professional, or faculty member?