To ensure that readers understand your engineering text as intended, it should have the following characteristics:
- Impersonal writing style
- Objective formulations
- Proven content
- Neutral expression
- Precise and unambiguous
- Short and concise
- Formal writing style
Write impersonally
Avoid including readers in the text through the first-person plural “we” or addressing them with rhetorical questions.
The impersonal pronoun “one” is not an alternative, as it formulates a generalization.
Use “one” only when you can truly make a general statement, e.g. “One distinguishes …”.
Example:
Negative example: “After I had completed the calculation, I had to present it to my team members to ensure that I had considered everything.”
The pronoun “I” should be avoided in engineering texts. Often, passive formulations are more suitable:
“After the calculation was completed, it was discussed within the team to ensure that all essential aspects were taken into account.”
Formulate objectively
Prove your statements
Do not make assumptions. Claims must be identified as such.
Example:
Negative example: “However, the damping term is probably smaller than the frictional forces and can therefore be neglected in the model.”
Provide proof instead of assuming:
“According to [XY], the damping term is smaller than the frictional forces and can therefore be neglected in the model.”
Express yourself neutrally
If you make an evaluation, it must be done explicitly and in an appropriate place, e.g. “Procedure XY is not suitable for this requirement because …”
Example:
Negative example: “A second reasonable approach is to assume a line contact between the guide pin and the contour.”
The adjective “reasonable” is vague and judgmental. Overall, the sentence is unnecessarily long and complicated. Convey the important information in the main clause:
“A second approach assumes a line contact between the guide pin and the contour.”
Be precise and unambiguous
Even though clear language is required, remember that you are writing for a professional audience. In your future career, you may also write texts for experts (e.g. reports) that do not need to be understood by laypersons. However, technical terms should be introduced and defined when they are not self-explanatory.
Example 1:
Negative example: “In our last measurement, a disturbance occurred that distorted the signal so strongly that we could no longer evaluate it.”
‘Distort’ or ‘disturb’ are vague expressions. Specify the actual cause:
“During the last measurement, aliasing occurred due to a sampling frequency that was too low.”
Example 2:
Negative example: “The distances calculated from the transit times of the ultrasound recordings in A-mode match the measured distances quite closely; however, there are still deviations, but these are in the micrometer range.”
The phrase ‘quite closely’ is imprecise and unscientific. Quantitative statements are often preferable to qualitative ones. The second clause about deviations in the micrometer range is trivial for scientific writing and unnecessary here. A better version would be:
“The distances calculated from the transit times of the ultrasound recordings in A-mode deviate by no more than 4 % from those measured with the caliper.”
Example 3:
Negative example: “To determine whether a system of equations A·x = b
(where A is an (nxn) matrix) has exactly one solution x for each b, one must determine the determinant. If this is not equal to zero, then there is exactly one x for each b such that A·x = b holds.”
In mathematical or physical contexts, formulas are often more precise than full sentences:
“The (nxn) system of equations A·x = b is uniquely solvable if and only if det(A) ≠ 0.”
Write concisely and precisely
Scientific texts are working documents that should be easy to understand. Therefore, phrase your sentences as briefly and clearly as possible.
Obvious facts should not be stated: A fact is considered self-evident if it is known – or should be known – to most graduates of your study program.
Example 1:
Negative example: “The number of required state variables results from the number of degrees of freedom and possibly other quantities which cannot be directly calculated for each computation step. In the subsequent, the individual components are analyzed with regard to their degrees of freedom, where a degree of freedom is generally defined as an independent generalized coordinate.”
The definition belongs at the beginning. Delete filler words such as “required”, “possibly other”, “directly”, or “generally”. Use simpler expressions like “that” instead of “which” and “In the following” instead of “In the subsequent”. Write short sentences instead of attaching the important definition in a subordinate clause. Better like this:
“A degree of freedom is an independent generalized coordinate. The number of degrees of freedom determines the number of state variables. In addition, there are quantities that cannot be calculated for each computation step. In the following, the degrees of freedom of the individual components are analyzed.”
Example 2:
Negative example: “The components are connected to the semiconductor relays and the Arduino board via wiring connections.”
This sentence is redundant. It is obvious that the components are connected by “wiring connections”, that is, by cables.
Use formal language
Writing scientifically requires a certain level of formality.
Example 1:
Negative example: “The study was partly conducted using the PTS Visum: ‘The PTS Visum is the world’s leading software for traffic analysis, traffic forecasts, and GIS-based data management. It consistently represents all traffic participants and their interactions and is considered the standard for any traffic planning issue. Sales engineers use PTS Visum for modeling traffic networks and demand, as well as for analyzing expected traffic flows, for public transport planning, and for developing sophisticated traffic strategies and solutions.’”
Summarize the essentials in your own objective words instead of reproducing long (direct or indirect) quotes from the manufacturer’s promotional text:
“The study was partly conducted using PTS Visum. PTS Visum is standard software for traffic analysis, traffic forecasts, and GIS-based data management. It represents traffic participants and interactions and can therefore be used, among other things, for modeling traffic networks.”
Example 2:
Negative example: “A high energy concentration exists in the focal spot.”
Use the correct technical terminology:
“There is a high radiation intensity in the focal spot.”
Example 3:
Negative example: “The methods of material analysis included providing proof of compliance with the requirements for the new developments.”
Formal does not mean unnecessarily complicated. Do not use nominalizations more than necessary – they often make the text harder to understand: e.g. ‘had to be proven’ instead of ‘included providing proof of compliance’:
“With the methods of material analysis, it had to be proven that the new developments met the requirements.”
Use spell-checking software, carefully proofread your paper yourself, and, if possible, have it reviewed by several people before submission, e.g. by fellow students or friends.
Choose the correct tense
In academic writing, generally valid statements are written in the present tense: e.g. “… the HPLC is a separation technique for analyzing complex samples …”
Specific results – both from the literature and from your own work – are written in the past tense: e.g. “… Huber et al. were able to show that a buffer concentration of 5 mM improved the resolution by 30 % …”
The discussion is generally written in the past tense, but may differ from this rule, if necessary:
e.g. “… due to the higher injection volume, the detection limit could be reduced to 5 mg/L, and thus lies within the range of the method by Huber et al.”
Do not use the future tense to express what “will” follow in your paper. At the time of reading, your paper is already completed, and the presented research has been conducted. Only when describing specific, one-time activities or experiments – especially in the Natural Sciences – is it common to use the past tense.
Frequently asked questions
What is meant by the term “formal”?
Formal means, on the one hand, not writing unnecessarily complicated sentences (i.e., with few nominalizations), but also ensuring that spelling and punctuation are correct.
How can I write my paper “impersonally”?
Avoid using the pronoun “I”. Tip: Passive constructions are often suitable.
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This article was published in August 2025 and last updated in November 2024.