Faculty of Engineering and Technology: Writing assignments

Inter-Library Loans 

The Gold Fields library will request any item you need through an Inter Library Loan (ILL) system.

This service is available to all VUT clients and is free of charge. Please note that international requests only apply to postgraduate researchers.

Academic writing skills:

The writing LAB @ VUT provides free assistance to all registered students.

e-mail: writinglab@vut.ac.za 

Tel: +27 16 950 6761

• Start with good reference sources to get definitions and background information:

Credo https://search.credoreference.com/

MacMillan Dictionary https://www.macmillandictionary.com/

Engineering dictionary https://www.engineering-dictionary.com/  

• Use a Thesaurus to find more keywords relevant to your topic:

Macmillan thesaurus https://www.macmillanthesaurus.com/

Visual thesaurus  https://www.visualthesaurus.com/

• For books in the library: search the catalogue https://library.vut.ac.za/
• For engineering journal articles https://www.vut.ac.za/library/electronic-databases/
• The Purdue Writing Lab is an excellent starting point https://owl.purdue.edu/site_map.html

• For phrases, place your keywords in inverted commas e.g. “bridge construction”
• Use an asterisk (*) to include all possible extensions of a keyword e.g. skill* retrieves skill, skills, skilling
• Use the filters to display results according to a specific date, source type, institution etc.
• Search for keywords in different fields of information sources e.g. title, abstract, keyword
• Use the AND, OR and NOT filters in the search box to exclude/include keywords
• Draw a mind map on paper or electronically to develop a more focused search strategy
• Remember the British vs American spelling of some keywords e.g.

Information specialist: Faculty of Engineering & Technology

Dr. K du Bruyn

kariendb@vut.ac.za

Departments

Mechanical Engineering

Civil Engineering

Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering

Industrial & Operations Management

Electrical Engineering

The quality of information available varies and it is important to decide whether you should use a specific source in your assignment.

Check YouTube videos which explain how to employ basic evaluation criteria such as:

• Currency
• Relevance
• Accuracy
• Purpose of the document