• An innovative illustration program uses engineering graph paper background and a ‘hand sketched’ look shows students how they themselves should be documenting their solutions and how to utilize hand sketching to illustrate a concept to an outside party.
• A ‘DRAW’ step included in every worked example reinforces the skill of drawing correct free body diagrams and inertial response diagrams.

Benefit: The strong and consistent emphasis on sketching promotes the importance of graphical information and communication in engineering, enabling students to consistently improve and build their sketching skills. This graphical element models engineering practice and is intended to be inviting for students. 

 Analytical & structured problem-solving procedures:  A consistent analysis procedure is introduced early in the text and used consistently throughout all worked examples.  Several key steps are emphasized more than in most other texts, including explicitly listing ‘ASSUMPTIONS’ made, and the importance of ‘DRAW’ and ‘CHECK’ as part of the solution. This approach is reinforced throughout-- unlike other texts’ more limited use of problem-solving techniques. Additionally, the problem-solving procedures are specifically developed for application to all classes of engineering problems, rather than limiting the approach to specific problem classes.

 Benefit: Students’ problem-solving skills are constantly developed and reinforced. Students learn a specific and necessary problem-solving process that they can apply to any class of engineering problem throughout their academic studies and professional career.

 Computation throughout:  Throughout the book, selected examples and exercises make use of computational approaches.  Purely computational exercises are labeled Computational.

Benefit: The consistent integration of computation exercises and opportunity to extend the analysis over a range of variables is reflective of “real-world” requirements for professional engineers.

 Application of principles to engineering systems:  End-of-chapter ‘Systems Analysis’ exercises offer students the opportunity to apply mechanics principles to broader systems.  These exercises are more open-ended than those in other parts of the text, and sometimes have more than one ‘correct’ answer. 

 Benefit: Students have opportunities to show and understand how the principles in the text apply to analysis of ‘real’ artifacts.  The exercises also provide opportunities for group work, enhancing student motivation.

Pedagogy: To facilitate speedy access to key content we have included review and study tools, such as Chapter Objectives at the start of each chapter, and a Just the Facts section at the end of each chapter that summarizes key terms, key equations, and key concepts from the chapter.  To the greatest extent possible, all in-text figures include descriptive figure captions that show at a glance what is being illustrated.  Key equations  and all answers are highlighted in yellow, and key terms are bolded in blue when they first appear

Benefit: Key concepts are reinforced throughout the text for students; easier navigation and clear labeling increases student comprehension and motivation.

Unique, student-oriented writing approach: This text has been written with the student very explicitly in mind. The text speaks to those in the class who are trying to get their minds around the material – the students.  Sheppard & Tongue use a personalized, “one-on-one” approach, making the material very accessible for the student while maintaining rigor and focus.

 Benefit: Mechanics can sometimes be counter-intuitive, and can be a major frustration to those students who don’t immediately relate to the logic behind the material. Taking this new writing approach enables the student to more easily understand the material and increases motivation.