Unlike many other books on technical writing, The Technical Writer's Handbook is written by a practising scientist who screens hundreds of manuscripts each year. It is directed to scientists, engineers, and others who want to improve their writing and communication and teaches that technical writing - although it has its own special requirements - is no different from ordinary writing and should be written with short clear sentences and in the active voice
Divided into two parts, the first part is an introduction to technical and report writing; it provides a sort of prescription for writing and organizing technical papers of all kinds. The second part is written in dictionary format and contains entries on grammar, style, and organization, as well as entries on topics such as common errors, resume writing, metric units, jargon, conference prodeedings, figures, tables and slides. A comprehensive list of cross references reveals related topics quickly and easily.