ABSTRACT
When asked why we must write, most scientists and engineers think first of the need to communicate. Communication is so important that it is easy to overlook our other reasons for writing. We write as part of our day-to-day work: to help us to remember, to observe, to think, to plan and to organize, as well as to communicate (Table 1). Above all, writing helps us to think and to express our thoughts-and anyone who writes badly is handicapped both in private study and in dealing with others.
