How to Write Physics and Engineering
You set it up carefully, the numbers came out close to the accepted value, and you understood what was happening the whole way through. Then the report came back with comments about your graph axes and something about your discussion being descriptive.
Free · 113 pages (A4) · 149 pages (6 × 9) · DRM-free PDF
In most physics and engineering degrees a large share of your mark comes from documents rather than lab technique, and almost nobody is taught how to write them.
The fixes are mechanical. Reports lose marks in a small number of predictable places, each has a rule, and none of them requires you to understand the physics any better than you already do.
What this book helps you do
What a marker's rubric actually weights, and where reports leak marks
A structure for every section, from the four-sentence abstract to the discussion
Uncertainty as writing, not just arithmetic: the sentences that carry the marks
Twelve graphs that lose marks, and the seven-point check that fixes them
Design reports, specifications, technical memos, and the final-year project
Five report makeovers, forty common errors, and a submission checklist
What is inside
The downloadable editions include the complete chapters and toolkit listed below.
What a Report Is For
- The Reader Is a Replicator
- Why Reports Are Marked the Way They Are
- Where Report Marks Leak
The Sections
- Title, Abstract, and Aim
- Theory: The Derivation That Earns Its Place
- Method: Past Passive, and What to Leave Out
- Results: The Data, Not the Discussion
- Uncertainty: Writing It, Not Just Computing It
- Discussion: Comparison, Not Narration
- Conclusion, and What It May Not Contain
Numbers, Tables, and Figures
- Units, Significant Figures, and Notation
- Tables That Get Marked
- Graph Forensics
- Captions That Stand Alone
Derivations and Computation
- Writing a Derivation Somebody Can Follow
- Symbols, Nomenclature, and Notation
- Computational Work: Code, Simulation, and Reproducibility
The Big Documents
- Design Reports and Specifications
- Technical Memos and Executive Summaries
- The Final-Year Project Report
- Writing With Other People
Finishing
- Revision, Proofreading, and Submission
- References, Data, and Honesty
Toolkit
- Five Report Makeovers
- Skeletons for Six Documents
- The Uncertainty Phrasebook
- Forty Common Errors
- The Submission Checklist
- Further Reading, Honestly Annotated
Two PDF editions are included
Both layouts are free to download from this page. Use the 6 × 9 edition when you want the paperback reading experience or a compact printout. Use the A4 edition for a larger screen page and easier home or office printing.
A4 screen edition
PDF · 113 pages · 358 KB
A larger page for reading on screen, and the easier one to print at home or in an office.
Download this edition6 × 9 print edition
PDF · 149 pages · 380 KB
The paperback proportions, best when you want a compact printout or the book reading experience.
Download this edition- Title
- How to Write Physics and Engineering
- Subtitle
- Lab Reports, Derivations, Design Documents, and Your Final-Year Project
- Author
- Gaurav Tiwari
- Publisher
- Gaurav Tiwari Publications
- Formats
- 6 × 9 PDF and A4 PDF
- Language
- English
Download How to Write Physics and Engineering
Both editions are free and contain the same complete book. Pick the layout that matches how you read.