Engineering Technical Communications Course: Student's Reflection

Engineering Technical Communications course focused on technical writing as well as communication aspects for graduate students. The course is of prime importance as it deals with useful topics that increase the clarity and conciseness required for a Professional Engineer, who aspires to carry out their career all over the world. As communication skills are of vital importance to academics and industry alike, it is inevitable for fresh and upcoming graduates to have a firm grip on technical communication; both oral and written. This is where this particular course has its utmost importance.

In general, the course was very informative and Professor Don handled the modules very well. He provided quality instructions and differential assessments to enhance our technical communication side. A proper way of report writing was the most engaging as well as challenging part of the course. The team assignments on technical project proposals gave new insights and understandings on report writing and teamwork. Another difficult phase was regarding the type of technical proposal and random grouping.

The lectures and in-class activities conducted by Professor Don helped in clarifying the doubts regarding the preparation of the report. It consisted of information on tone, structuring, contents, citation, and referencing of the report. Although it seemed a bit hard initially, as the course progressed everything went well. Professor clearly explained the significance of proper usage of ethos, pathos, and logos while preparing a technical report. Thereafter, I learned to draft a report by considering the audience. Furthermore, ‘Connect Composition’ has shed light on preparing an error-free document with proper usage of grammar and punctuation. I found both ‘Connect Composition’ and ethos, pathos, and logos beneficial as it helped in improving my documentation skills.

I was uncertain about the citation and reference section. From this course, I acquired the knowledge of proper usage of citation and reference in IEEE format. Moreover, the discussion posts and related individual assignments helped me to improve my critical thinking ability and to present our ideas concisely and simply, sticking on to the conditions provided. In addition, the ‘Kahoot’ quiz conducted during lectures was beneficial. It helped me to amplify the gained knowledge and to be livelier in lectures.

The project-related activities helped to improve our teamwork. The project group consisted of people from different cultures, ideas, and thoughts. Although there were diversities in our views in the beginning, we were able to unify our ideas successfully into a central idea, which fostered creativity and individual strengths. Then the idea was put into the report by integrating all the factors learned during the course, completing the task successfully on time. It was also illustrated in the lectures that the inclusion of graphical representation could have a huge impact on presentations rather than the orthodox text presentation. We made sure that our presentation did include visual graphs, which will help us to leave an impact on the audience. From my viewpoint, group assignments incorporating all the essential elements of the Engineering Technical Communications course was one of the most useful and main attractive activities as it gave the opportunity to work as a team. Teamwork is an important aspect when it comes to the work-life scenario.

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The elevator talk assignment was something unfamiliar and novel. Not only was it challenging, but strenuous as well. We had to introduce ourselves and impress an imaginary CEO by reproducing an already prepared elevator talk with our oratory, academic, professional, and technical skills. Time constraint was the key challenge involved in the task, as everyone had only 60 seconds to complete the task. The peer review helped me to accomplish the task, as I was able to witness and share the ideas of my peers. The task itself boosted our confidence. The feedback for the pitch also assisted me to improve my presentation skills.

The report-writing task made sure that the students are able to practice the concepts introduced and taught in the class. The peer review activity for report writing gave us the opportunity to analyze and acquire new ideas from fellow students. The strict ‘Plagiarism check’ ensured to produce our own ideas in the drafts and not reproduce other’s documents. Another valuable content covered during the lecture was the of resume and cover letter, during which we were provided with resume samples and ideas of how to prepare a resume matching with the job requirement, for both part-time and full-time jobs. Job hunting and interview preparation sessions served to be one of the most useful sessions as it helped me to prepare and plan my future job hunt strategies.

I still need to develop technical writing skills. Continuous effort, practice, and the guidance that I received from this course will help me to improve the same. Moreover, I would like to refine my presentation skills as well. I hope my activities in societies and volunteer work in the University of Windsor will help me to gain it.

Whatever I have learned in the Engineering Technical Communications course, I plan to apply it in my future work and volunteer platforms. The technical writing skills I gained from this course will help me to increase my communication effectiveness, clarity, and workplace efficiency.

Thanking Professor Don for his highly informative and livelier sessions and all the four Graduate Assistants who helped us throughout the Technical Communications course.