Book review: How to get your message across

Communicating Science: A Practical Guide for Engineers and Physical Scientists, by Raymond and Edith Boxman, is published by World Scientific at £27.

It is of paramount importance for researchers in engineering and science to bring their ideas out of the laboratory into the real world. Composing convincing and impactful research papers is an integral part of that. 

In Communicating Science: A Practical Guide for Engineers and Physical Scientists, authors Raymond and Edith Boxman stress the importance of communication between professionals working in the same area. They say this has enabled “a rate of scientific progress which would be inconceivable” otherwise. 

The authors present a balanced account of how to write a thesis or journal paper for both a scientific and non-scientific audience, as well as touching upon how to adapt research results for engaging lectures and presentations. The Boxmans organise their material simply and succinctly, and also provide examples of varied report structures, phrases, graphs and figures with explanations. 

Although engineers and scientists are the target audience, the book is accessible to anyone who is looking to improve their written and communication skills or attempting to understand research papers more clearly. Humorous quips and historical anecdotes are peppered throughout the text to provide levity.

This textbook is a helpful tool for communicating ideas about engineering and science in a way that packs a punch and leaves readers informed rather than confused.