Common Engineering Writing Errors: Engineers’ Reactions to Edits and Feedback Preferences

Abstract

This research aimed to identify the types of editing feedback engineers prefer. To understand this, the researcher looked at common types of writing errors captured through editing and how engineers react to being edited. Participants included four engineers that work within the engineering department of the same company as the researcher. The researcher edited three technical documents that were written by engineers at the company, documenting the top 10 common errors. The edited documents were sent to the four engineers to review before completing a 10-question survey. The survey asked the engineers to rank their preferences of the 10 edits listed using a four-point scale: definitely prefer, prefer, do not prefer, definitely do not prefer. The researcher then performed feedback interviews with the engineers to discuss the feedback on the errors in those documents, using the same five questions to see how the engineers react to being edited. The results of the study showed the engineers did not prefer to receive formatting and mechanical editing comments. Instead, engineers preferred editorial comments that were focused on the audience and how to make the writing easier to understand and clearer for the reader.