Written English

A Guide for Electrical and Electronic Students and Engineers

Steve Hart

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781138422414
• eBook ISBN: 9781351830010
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A research paper or graduate essay demonstrating weak English and poor formatting is likely to be rejected by an editor or marked down by an assessor; but why should these gaps in your English knowledge undermine your subject knowledge and skill as an engineer or student of the discipline?

Written English: A Guide for Electrical and Electronic Students and Engineers is the first resource to work at the sentence level to resolve the English language problems facing international engineering students and scholars. Informed by hundreds of research papers and student essays, this valuable reference:

• Covers grammar essentials and key terms in the fields of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, and communication systems
• Uses real-world examples to reveal common mistakes and identify critical areas of focus
• Provides practical solutions to formatting, vocabulary, and stylistic issues

Written English: A Guide for Electrical and Electronic Students and Engineers equips readers with the necessary knowledge to produce accurate and effective English when writing for engineering.

SECTION I
Grammar

1 Nouns

2 Articles

3 Pronouns and quantifiers

4 Subject/verb agreement

5 Verbals

6 The verb ‘to be’

7 Modal verbs

8 Phrasal verbs

9 Adjectives and adverbs

10 Prepositions

11 Clauses

12 Prefixes

CHAPTER 1
Nouns

Introduction

This section examines three key areas: the two types of nouns formed from verbs, the countability of nouns based on the concept of boundedness, and compound nouns and their associated rules.

Noun formation

Nouns that are formed from verbs can name a person or a device through the suffixes –or and –er. They can also name the activity taking place, often by taking the suffix –tion. Recognizing these noun endings can help with differentiating the two noun types and identifying them from the root verb.

VERB	NOUN	NOUN
	ACTOR/DEVICE	ACTIVITY/CONCEPT
amplify	amplifier	amplification
attenuate	attenuator	attenuation
communicate	communicator	communication
compress	compressor	compression
conduct	conductor	conduction/conductivity
convert	converter	conversion
detect	detector	detection
generate	generator	generation
identify	identifier	identification
induct	inductor	induction
interrupt	interrupter	interruption
manipulate	manipulator	manipulation
mediate	mediator	mediation
modulate	modulator	modulation
operate	operator	operation
oscillate	oscillator	oscillation
receive	receiver	reception
reflect	reflector	reflection
regulate	regulator	regulation
resist	resistor	resistance
respond	responder	response
simulate	simulator	simulation
subscribe	subscriber	subscription
transform	transformer	transformation
transmit	transmitter	transmission

Countable and uncountable nouns

Boundedness tells us whether a noun can be counted or not and therefore whether a plural can be formed. The concept is helpful in explaining why some nouns can be both countable and uncountable. To know if a noun can be counted we need to work out whether it has a clear ‘boundary’ and can be seen as a clearly separate thing, either physically or in our minds. Does it have a clear beginning and end?

Computer – the noun ‘computer’ is a separate entity that can be counted (Computers were not able to carry out this task in the 1980s).

Many plural nouns end in ‘s’ or ‘es’ but there are a few different variations. Keep an eye on these particular plurals as they tend to be troublesome:

SINGULAR	PLURAL	PLURAL ERROR
analysis	analyses	analysis
antenna	antennas	antennae (mainly used for insects)
axis	axes	axi/axises
diagnosis	diagnoses	diagnosis
flux	fluxes	fluxs
index	indexes/indices^a	indexs
intermediary	intermediaries	intermediarys/intermediares
latency	latencies	latencys/latences
modulus	moduli	moduluses
stimulus	stimuli	stimulises

aUsually financial.

—data

Although used both as a singular and a plural, it is common practice to use data in the plural form – avoiding if possible the singular ‘datum’ by using a quantity term such as ‘piece of’.

The modulated data are coded in (2.3). One (piece of) data that we have acquired…

—uncountable nouns

Nouns that cannot be counted do not have clear boundaries. They have no clear parts that can be separated or enclosed. They are all part of the whole without any obvious limits. These uncountable nouns are usually concepts, abstract ideas, qualities, substances or emotions.

intelligence safety caution equipment information evidence

Safety – the noun ‘safety’ cannot be thought of as having clear boundaries or limits.

They must also guarantee the safety of all their engineers.

If the noun is uncountable then it has no plural form.

Safeties must also be taken into account when handling the cables.

Here are a few more:

access	entertainment	management	software
advice	hardware	patience	support
assistance	help	progress	tolerance
consumption	knowledge	reliability	traffic
coverage	literature	research	transport
electricity	luck	safety	trust

—uncountable and countable?

The confusing thing is that some nouns can be both countable and uncountable, depending on the way the noun is being used by the writer and also the context.

The plan for the...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Author
• SECTION I Grammar
• SECTION II Style and punctuation
• SECTION III Data and referencing
• SECTION IV A–Z list of errors
• SECTION V Index