Academic and Technical Communication

For Engineers and Scientists

(E-SATC001)
WEEK 1
WHOS IN THIS CLASS?
WHAT
WILL
I
LEARN
?
(p. 38)
Hot Link: Engineers
Australia Website
WHY AM I LEARNING ABOUT WRITING?
STAGE 1 COMPETENCIES and ELEMENTS OF COMPETENCY
FOR THE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER

1. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL BASE

2. ENGINEERING APPLICATION ABILITY

3. PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
3.1. Ethical conduct and professional accountability
3.2. Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay
domains.
3.3. Creative, innovative and pro-active demeanour.
3.4. Professional use and management of information.
3.5. Orderly management of self, and professional conduct.
3.6. Effective team membership and team leadership.
Hot Link: Engineers
Australia Website
How do professional
scientists and
engineers:
generate and

manage
information

communicate their
knowledge
Analyse your task
Suggest or refine your
research question
Check in with your
tutor
Peruse the literature
Have a manageable
amount of information
Analyse your sources and take
detailed, referenced notes
Have too much, too divergent,
and/or too technical information
You dont think you
understand your topic or
your task
Talk to your tutor
You think you understand
your topic and your task
Steps in a Typical Writing Process
Organize your information
into an outline
Create a graphic to complement
your text and help you
communicate your information
Write a draft and get
feedback
Minor edits (conceptually ok, but has
mistakes, omissions, etc.)
Have major edits (i.e.
organizational scheme must be
reanalysed)
Revise and submit
Steps in a Typical Writing Process
(cont...)
Present the content of your
paper to others and get
feedback
( page 189)
Which topic will I choose?
W
h
a
t

m
a
k
e
s

a

g
o
o
d

t
o
p
i
c


i
n

t
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i
s

c
l
a
s
s
?




(page 44)
Learning Strategy pp 1-4
WHATS
POSSIBLE?
WHATS
POSSIBLE?
WHATS
POSSIBLE?
Students say about choosing a
topic:
When it came to
choosing a topic, I
was very indecisive.
My first assignment did
not turn out too well
because I chose a topic I
wasnt interested in
I looked at some sources
in Chineseand I still
couldnt understand it
If you cant find good
sourceschange your
topic
HOMEWORK



1. Read in detail the model Assignment 1 and Assignment 3
published in the front matter of the workbook (45 min)

2. Familiarize yourself with the course by looking at Allan Doe's
portfolio found under the 'Models of student work' tab on the
left hand sidebar.

3. Suggest one or two possible research questions . Watch these
three short (~3min) videos about how to use the
library: Insearch videos playlist on Youtube. Then do
preliminary research on the topic (This can and should take
about 3 hours). The librarian will ask you about the results of
your search in our library visit next week.