Acknowledgments; How to Read This Book; Introduction; Background; Chapter 1. Writing and Reading in the Context of the Environmental Sciences: A Case Study of the Chicago Flood; Introduction; The Chicago Flood; Reading Koncza's Memo; Knowledge of the Topic Affects the Reader's Comprehension of the Message; Recognizing the Purpose of a Message Affects the Reader's Response to a Message; The Context in Which a Reader Reads a Document Affects the Reader's Interpretation of the Message; Readers' Reading Styles and Patterns Determine the Information Readers Obtain.

Writing a More Effective MemorandumSummary: What Readers Do; Chapter 2. Effective Discourse Strategies: A Case Study of the 2011 Mississippi Flood; Introduction; The 2011 Mississippi Flood; Writing the Corps's Letters: Making Appropriate Rhetorical Decisions; Focusing on the Readers' as Well as the Writers' Purposes; Providing Content Readers Want and Need; Organizing Information to Facilitate Readers' Comprehension; Helping Readers Read Fluently; Summary; Chapter 3. Effective Persuasive Strategies: Cheap, Available Coal Power vs. a Clean Environment; Introduction.

Continued Use of Coal as a Source of EnergyRecognizing Readers' Biases; Reflecting Readers' Attitudes; Reflecting Readers' Concept of Valid Evidence; Helping Readers Follow a Line of Reasoning; Review; Chapter 4. Communicating with Electronic Media: Case Studies in the Columbia Shuttle Breakup and the BP/Horizon Oil Rig Explosion; Communicating via Electronic Media; Reading on Electronic Media; Columbia Shuttle Accident; Writing for Electronic Media; The BP/Horizon Gulf Oil Rig Explosion; Problems in Communicating with Electronic Media.

1. Transfer of the Conventions and Style of Social Media to Technical/Scientific Correspondence2. Transfer of the Functions of the Telephone to E-mail and Text Messages; 3. Sole Reliance on Electronic Media to Discuss Complex Messages; 4. Failure to Read, Reflect on, and Revise a Draft; Conclusion; Recommendations for Writing Effective Electronic Messages; Chapter 5. Communicating with PowerPoint: The Army, NASA, and the Enbridge Pipeline; PowerPoint and the Army; Inappropriate Rhetorical Decisions; Columbia Shuttle Breakup; Inappropriate Graphical Decisions; Synergistic Effects.

Differentiating Effects between Textual and Graphical SlidesEffects of a Slide Deck; Effects of Handouts and Note-Taking; Improving Presentations; Changing Perspective; Reducing Synergistic Effects; Guidelines; Slides; Handouts and Note-Taking; An Effective Slideware Presentation Mixing Graphics and Text: Expansion of the Enbridge Pipeline; Example of a Presentation with Text-Based Slideware; Bibliography; Websites with Background and Additional Information; Index.