Do you need to be an excellent writer to be an engineer?

Answer 1

While writing skills are not the primary skills of an engineer, excellent communication skills both written and spoken are essential. Engineers frequently need not only read but also write technical documents such as specifications or draft input to a documentation team. Those documents must be concise, precise and unambiguous, attributes which can only be accomplished with good writing skills.

However, engineers seldom use literary genres that are common in fiction. For example, stream-of-consciousness or melodrama are out of place in technical writing. Likewise, many literary techniques, such as: alliteration, foreshadowing, hyperbole, or, parody are never used.

In summary, engineers must have good writing skills, but do not need the range of skills that a journalist or fiction writer must have.