We mainly deal with maths: New Zealand engineering lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of engineering writing

This article describes a small study undertaken at one university in New
Zealand. The authors, who share an interest in academic writing, were
approached by engineering lecturers at the same university who were
concerned about the standard of engineering students’ written communication.
The authors interviewed a number of lecturers and a small group of students to
explore their perceptions of the difficulties encountered by students in the
completion of written assignments and reports. The findings indicate that both
groups are aware of these difficulties but there is little consensus as to how they
should best be addressed. The article concludes with a few tentative suggestions
and an indication of the ongoing development of this research project.