Referencing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Referencing - Essay Example Secondly, points of view also vary greatly within a given piece of written work. While some points of view agree within a given subject matter, others disagree in one way or another. In this respect, referencing comes in to cite differences between points of view. The third reason why references are used in writing is to strengthen a study. Past research that leads up to current technical or academic writing enhances the topic of study. Here, referencing captures previous research findings or outcomes that are relevant to the insights the writer wants to present. Finally, referencing is used to direct readers to the original source of cited information. Readers may want to refer to the original source following the contents of technical or academic writing. Referencing, therefore, acts as the bridge between readers and the main source of cited information. Technical writing is critical to the success of an engineer. In technical writing, engineers reference in various areas and for different reasons. The first area where engineers use referencing in technical writing is in defining terms used in product descriptions. Products designed by engineers often carry terms that are difficult for the layman level of understanding. For this reason, engineers need to define all terms that are not commonly used in day-to-day language. In the process, they may need to reference the source of such definitions or acknowledge the original text from which information is derived. Technical reports constitute the second area where engineers use referencing. Before an engineering project is approved for implementation, series of tests could be conducted and the results computed. These tests and result computations are followed by a professional report to the relevant personnel. To prove the validity and the credibility of such reports, engineers need to cite the different methods, analysis, and procedures employed in the testing process. This may