Professional Writing: Engineering Tasks and Skill Development

This document presents solutions to professional short writing tasks designed to enhance engineering skills. The tasks cover various aspects of engineering, including problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and technical proficiency. The solutions emphasize the importance of engineers developing strong communication skills, understanding the role of collaboration in the workplace, and learning from both positive and negative experiences. Key concepts such as the application of scientific knowledge, the significance of deliberate practice in becoming an expert, and the necessity of continuous learning are explored. The tasks also highlight the importance of listening, seeing, and reading skills in developing perception and building rapport. Furthermore, the document discusses the research process and emphasizes the ethical considerations in engineering practice. Finally, the work references Isambard Kingdom Brunel as an example of an prominent engineer. This resource is valuable for students seeking to improve their engineering writing and gain a deeper understanding of the profession.

Professional Short Writing Tasks 1
Professional Short Writing Tasks
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Professional Short Writing Tasks 2
Question 1
Engineering is the application of scientific knowledge to providing solutions to problems in
the real world. Whereas science permits people to understand the world, engineering makes
this understanding reality in life through giving answers to problems in the world (Akintoye,
Goulding, and Zawdie, 2012). According to Pratap (2010), the role of engineers includes
providing solutions to technical problems affecting systems. For instance, ascertaining the
underlying cause and correcting it by redesigning the system. An engineer can also improve
the efficiency and quality of the processes and practice applied in an organization. As an
engineer, I can research the needs of a client, prepare feasibility study and designs for an
advanced or economic product. I learned at the university that an engineer is expected to
provide solutions to problems in the company either by improving or redesigning the existing
processes. I can add value to the company by developing quality assurance systems which
will enhance product quality.
Question 2
I used to think that engineering is all about using hands and that an engineer works on
technical issues only. Also, i understood that engineers are people who crunch numbers to
communicate more precisely as opposed to the use of words. I thought that engineers thought
explaining facts using words is ambiguous and biased as opposed to the use of numbers. But
now, I have learned that less than 10% of engineer’s time is spent in design and problem-
solving. Male, Bush, and Chapman (2009) opine that expert engineers focus on avoiding
problems instead of having to solve them. I expect to improve the efficiency and quality of
processes adapted in an organization to avoid problems caused by inefficient systems. I need
to have competencies in communication, IP, technical collaboration, analytical skills and
regulations and legislation. I will add value to a company by preparing designs for an

Professional Short Writing Tasks 3
advanced or economic product, prepare a feasibility study, research on the needs of
customers, and develop quality assurance systems.
Question 3
An expert is someone who has the ability to learn from others such as senior engineers,
suppliers, technicians among others. Trevelyan (2014) observes that an expert can examine
one’s performance by learning from both negative and positive experiences. He/she should be
characteristic of intentional practice, persistence and resilience. The deliberate practice is
when an individual has a concerted effort in finding a solution to a problem by continually
struggling to attain a higher performance level. An expert is one that learns to teach others,
forecasts the future of a project, alter engineer artifacts, gets a different person to peer review,
records ones individual performance. I consider Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple as an
example of an expert in the telecommunication industry. He was persistence, resilient, and
never gave up his dreams easily and learned from both bad and good experiences. It takes
approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practices to become an expert. This is through
practice like learning to each other’s, forecasting the future of a project, accepting critical
peer review, and recording individual performance
Question 4
This reading has given me tremendous insights into the right perspective of engineering and
engineers. I have learned that engineering is not all about technical work, and in fact, less
than 10% of engineers’ time is consumed in doing technical job. Engineers do not focus on
solving problems but instead on providing solutions that prevent the problems from
occurring. I have also understood that engineers do not only use numbers to communicate
their objectives correctly but also use words. I, therefore, need to build my knowledge in
various areas to become the right engineer. Seetha (2012) suggests that engineers require

Professional Short Writing Tasks 4
necessary skills such as communication skills, collaboration, forecasting, finance risk,
capabilities of the workforce, regulations, and legislation. I can work with others to activate
their knowledge base by learning to teach them, predict for them the future of their projects,
reverse their engineer artifacts, and to get another person to review my work critically. I can
develop these skill in the class by learning to contribute to my team and offering any support
regarding classwork.
Question 5
Key listening behaviors can include posture, eye contact, environment (removal of
distractions), emotion and fatigue, active listening, and taking notes. Key seeing behaviors
involve precisely reproducing what the eye observes, body movements such as nodding head
and asking questions. The objective of listening, seeing, and reading is to achieve multiple
goals. The first objective is to develop perception skills which are fundamental to engineers
(Garvey, 2014). Visual skills are significant to an engineer to help identify subtle features in
artifacts like cracks and to notice any abnormal features in the displays of graphical
information. Listening skills are essential in building rapport with the presenter. Additionally,
the acquired listening skills that I have learned can be used to help others to listen more
accurately
Question 6
Runeson et al. (2012) summarize research process into seven steps. Step one is to identify
and develop the topic of research. This involves stating the topic in the form of a question and
ascertaining the keywords. The second step is to find the background information. This
consists in searching for the keywords in the indexes and reading the relevant articles to build
the background information of the topic under investigation. More importantly is the
information obtained from the lecture notes. Step three is to locate materials that are relevant

Professional Short Writing Tasks 5
to the research topic. This can be done using the keywords for researching. Step five is to
evaluate the resources to ensure that only reliable sources are included in the research. Step
six is to write the paper in a standard organized manner. The last level is to cite the sources
using the preferred referencing style correctly. Records of my readings can be kept through
note taking. I can write the texts in my own words by first understanding the concept and then
paraphrasing.
Question 7
I see that collaboration is imperative for an engineer for many reasons. Because engineers can
only accomplish their tasks successfully with the assistance of others; thus, they need to
communicate because of the ability to communicate dictates the ability to collaborate.
Kolfschoten and De Vreede (2009) contends that it’s through collaboration that engineers can
perfect their communication and teamwork skills. The collaboration will also enable me to
know what to do without relying on my boss to tell me. Also, I can only be influential and
teach others through collaboration. The easiest skills for me are reading and seeing. I have
used these skills before in the class-team to coordinate the team. However, I have not fully
developed listening skills because I don’t usually maintain eye contact. Collaboration has
been crucial in my teamwork because it facilitates learning and the development of
communication skills. However, the most frustrating part is lack of cooperation from other
team members with undeveloped seeing, reading and listening communication skills, for
example, the inability to identify common mistakes in artifacts, and to correctly interpret the
findings.
Question 8
I have instructed group members of my team while at college. This was when I was assigned
as the team leader of a group of 5 which was to accomplish a class assignment. The task was

Professional Short Writing Tasks 6
difficult and easy at the same time. My responsibility was to assign each specific tasks and
within given time-frame and the quality standards to be met. The process wasn’t easy for
some individuals who were not ready to collaborate and therefore made communication very
difficult. Additionally, the non-cooperation students had inadequate listening skills because I
could explain to them the requirement of the task and the standards to be met, only to submit
solutions that were contrary to the instructions I had clearly stated. On the other hand, it was
effortless dealing with three students because they were collaborative and had adequately
developed reading, writing and seeing skills. The tasks assigned were correctly done and met
the marking rubric.
Question 9
The process of collaboration in the workplace is indisputable because of the benefits that
come with it. Communication is very key in any area of work, and it can only be effective
where collaboration is fostered. Also, collaborations develop relationships that are important
for useful organizational behavior (Kassim and Ali, 2010). However, collaboration is an art
that is learned and is dependent on the effectiveness of communication skills. The key skills
for collaboration include reading, seeing and listening. The most challenging thing in the
workplace is non-collaboration from some staff. The absence of collaboration means non-
cooperation, and there will be no progress because tasks will not be performed as required.
Skilled people in collaboration have developed communication skills. They maintain eye
contact while listening, take notes, learn from others, they coordinate and are engaged in
discussion. I can learn these skills through practice.
Question 10
Isambard Kingdom Brunel is among the world’s most prominent engineers. He is known for
building the Great Western Railway (Brunel, 2011). In 1825, Brunel started constructing a

Professional Short Writing Tasks 7
tunnel under River Thames, and in 1833 he was the chief engineer of the Great Western
Railway. In 1836, he was appointed the engineer of the Great Western Steamship Company.
He is celebrated for linking the Western part of England with London through the
construction of the Great Western Railway (McCarthy, 2012). Additionally, Brunel is the one
that developed the idea of constructing an underwater tunnel. Brunel had the technical skills
in using various constructive materials (Brindle, 2008). The tunnel of River Thames was a
collaboration between Brunel and his father. Brunel was taught by his father who was an
expert engineer. This implies that Brunel had developed useful communication skills that
fostered his collaboration.

Professional Short Writing Tasks 8
References
Akintoye, A., Goulding, J. and Zawdie, G. eds., 2012. Construction innovation and process
improvement. John Wiley & Sons.
Brindle, S., 2008. IK Brunel—First Among Equals?. Transactions of the Newcomen
Society, 78(1), pp.11-23.
Brunel, I., 2011. The life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, civil engineer. Cambridge University
Press.
Garvey, W.D., 2014. Communication: the essence of science: facilitating information
exchange among librarians, scientists, engineers and students. Elsevier.
Kassim, H. and Ali, F., 2010. English communicative events and skills needed at the
workplace: Feedback from the industry. English for Specific Purposes, 29(3), pp.168-182.
Kolfschoten, G.L. and De Vreede, G.J., 2009. A design approach for collaboration processes:
A multimethod design science study in collaboration engineering. Journal of management
information systems, 26(1), pp.225-256.
Male, S.A., Bush, M.B. and Chapman, E.S., 2009. Identification of competencies required by
engineers graduating in Australia. In 20th Annual Conference for the Australasian
Association for Engineering Education, 6-9 December 2009: Engineering the Curriculum (p.
882). Engineers Australia.
McCarthy, N., 2012. Engineering: a beginner's guide. Oneworld Publications.
Pratap, R., 2010. Getting started with MATLAB: a quick introduction for scientists and
engineers. USA: Oxford University Press.

Professional Short Writing Tasks 9
Runeson, P., Host, M., Rainer, A. and Regnell, B., 2012. Case study research in software
engineering: Guidelines and examples. John Wiley & Sons.
Seetha, S., 2012. Communication skills for engineers in global arena. International journal
on arts, management and humanities, 1(1), pp.1-6.
Trevelyan, J., 2014. The making of an expert engineer. CRC Press.