Lecture: 3
Tutorial: 0
Practical: 1
Year: II
Part: I

Course Objectives

The general objective of this course is to focus on English as a communication tool. Specifically, it emphasizes using English for professional communication for engineering works. It aims to increase English language ability to use appropriate research formats and methodology, develop concept papers, prepare research proposals and abstracts, set research questions, write a literature review, determine a research gap, link ideas, write technical proposals, prepare formal and informal reports and engage in project works, seminars/conferences.

1. Technical Communication (2 hours)

• Definition, nature and scope of technical communication
• Professional ethics in communication (Ethical issues, plagiarism and copyright concerns, honesty, transparency and clarity)

2. Writing Skills (8 hours)

• Principles of effective technical writing (Clarity, conciseness and coherence)
• Grammar (Pronoun and its antecedent, subject-verb agreement, non-finite verbs), sentence construction (Simple, compound, complex, and mixed sentences), error analysis and punctuation
• Bias-free language guideline, reducing bias

3. Technical Writing (15 hours)

• Technical proposals (Purpose, types, structure, key considerations and examples)
• Research proposals and reports (Title page, table of contents, summary and abstract)
• Technical reports (Progress, feasibility and case study)
• Manuscript for journal (Structure, key considerations and examples)
• Citation and referencing (In-text citation, direct quote citations, indent citation, indirect citation, citing from books and journals, citing multiple authors in a single text, citing multiple texts from the same author, using numerical, pagination, preparing a reference page)

4. Business Correspondence (10 hours)

• Writing formal letters (Applications, inquiries, complaints and orders)
• E-mails (Structure, etiquette, and tone)
• Notice, minutes and memos
• Resume and cover letter
• Press release/communique
• Calling tender and responding to it

5. Listening and Oral Communication (4 hours)

• Active listening (Barriers and strategies)
• Effective speaking skills (Clarity, tone and pace)
• Oral presentation skills (Structuring a presentation and handling questions)
• Group discussions (Strategies and active participation)
• Public speaking and speech delivery techniques

6. Use of Visual Aids in Communication (6 hours)

• Tables
• Graphs
• Charts
• Diagrams

Practical (15 hours)

1. Listening skill test
2. Visual skill test
3. Reading skill test
4. Oral communication test
5. Presentation skill test
6. Research proposals and project proposals
7. Team-based technical writing and presentations
8. Presentation on the prescribed texts
   • “Which is More Important When Designing a Building: Beauty or Function?” from Unlock: Reading and Writing Skills by Chris Sowton
   • On Being Modern-minded (Bertrand Russell)
   • “A Fable of Tomorrow” from The Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
   • Religion and Science (From The World as I See It- Albert Einstein)
   • “The Tamarisk Hunter” from Metatropolis by Paolo Bacigalupi
   • Artificial Intelligence from The Art of Doing Science and Engineering by Richard W. Hamming
   • Guglielmo Marconi and the History of Radio. Part II (Gerald A. Isted)
   • Human-Centered Design (From The Design of Everyday Things- Don Norman)
   • “The Paper Managerie” from The Paper Managerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
   • “The Algorithm Will Save Us” from The New Voices of Fantasy by Sam J. Miller
   • “The Phantom Heart” by Laurence Yep
   • “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker

Final Examination

There may be minor deviation in marks distribution.

References

1. Markel, M. and Selber, S. A. (2018). Technical communication (12th edition). Bedford/St. Martin’s.
2. Ingre, D. (2017). Engineering communication: A practical guide to workplace communications for engineers (2nd edition). Cengage Learning.
3. Weisman, H. M. (2000). Technical communication for engineers: A handbook for engineers, scientists, and technicians. Prentice Hall.
4. Stevenson, S. and Whitmore, S. (2002). Strategies for engineering communication. John Wiley & Sons.
5. Rothwell, E. J., Cloud, M. J. (2017). Engineering writing by design: Creating formal documents of lasting value. CRC Press.
6. Blake, G., Bly, R. W. (1993). The elements of technical writing. Macmillan.
7. Beer, D., Mc Murrey, D. (2013). A guide to writing as an engineer (4th edition). John Wiley and Sons.
8. Farhathullah, T. M. (2002). Communication skills for technical students. Orient Longman.
9. Lebrun, J. L. (2007). Scientific writing: A reader and writer’s guide. World Scientific Publishing.
10. Ligawa. H. (2021). Communication skills notes. Siaya Institute of Technology.
11. Katz, M. J. (2009). From research to manuscript: A guide to scientific writing (2nd edition). Springer.
12. Swales, J. M., Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (3rd edition). University of Michigan Press.
13. Hofmann, A. H. (2014). Scientific writing and communication: Papers, proposals, and presentations (2nd edition). Oxford University Press.