Dear Prof Brad,
I am writing this letter to share more about myself and my goals for this Critical Thinking and Communication module. My name is Qin Cheng, and I am a 1st-year student in the Mechanical Design & Manufacturing Engineering course. Formerly, I studied Aerospace Engineering at Nanyang Polytechnic. During my polytechnic studies, I realised that despite having a lack of interest in aerospace, I enjoyed tinkering around with stuff as well as learning about the inner workings and theories of how machines function. After graduating, I had a clearer understanding of my personal preference with regard to engineering. I had chosen my polytechnic course based on popularity and not based on my personal interest. With this realization, I decided to apply for my current degree as it did not just focus only on one single discipline of engineering and was thus the most versatile one. During my time in this degree, I truly hope to find a sector of engineering that I will be passionate about.
With respect to communication, I am definitely weak in public speaking. This is especially so when speaking to a larger crowd. I always get the jitters before giving a speech, and this is something I wish to improve on. My strength, however, would be active listening. During a conversation, I allow the other party to finish their point before giving my opinions. Towards the end of this module, I hope that I would have conquered my fear of public speaking, to become more confident and comfortable speaking to a larger crowd of audience. I would also like to improve my writing skills. I hope to write with greater clarity and also make the content more engaging to my readers, as these are what I personally believe I can greatly improve on.
All things considered, I am eager to learn more from you and consequently improve the weak points in my communication skills.
Sincerely,
Qin Cheng
Qin Cheng provides a good flow in his introductory letter. There is a good coverage of his background and also a sense of truth where he reflects by saying that the applied degree was not due to passion but due to versatility. Language use is clear and i understand what he wants to convey. Overall, good content, language use and organization.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comments, Rudy. I will try to maintain the positive points you mentioned.
DeleteDear QC,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the initial letter. I appreciate the brevity. It's interesting to us readers too when you share that you're still trying to figure out exactly which sector of engineering you will focus on. That's a usual case, I'd guess. However, what you might have given more detail to was the reason you decided on engineering rather than, say, health sciences or anything else. You could have also discussed any internships you have had.
You do give more detail on the comm skills weakness in terms of speaking, which is a common area of concern, one that we already have started focusing on. Please take all opportunities in class to speak as much as possible. A few other issues are:
1. inconsistent use of caps
-- I am a 1st-year student in the Mechanical Design & Manufacturing Engineering course. Formerly, I studied aerospace engineering at Nanyang Polytechnic. > ?
2. lack of clarity
-- With this realization, I decided to apply for my current degree as it was the most versatile one. > (How is it versatile? Explain.) ?
-- I hope to write with greater clarity and also make it engaging .... > (Make what engaging?) ?
I look forward to working with you further this term.
Cheers,
Brad
Hello Prof Brad, thank you for your insightful feedback! With regard to the issues mentioned, I will make sure to improve on them for my next edit. As much as possible, I will also try to be more vocal in your classes.
DeleteQin Cheng provides very good insights and is honest on how he chose his current course as well as how he would like to improve by the end of this course.
ReplyDeleteThank you Hong Xian for your comments, very much appreciated!
DeleteThe contents and the main points of QC's email is very clear and concise. He also gave relevant details to each point and I understood what he is conveying.
ReplyDeleteReally grateful for you kind words Rui Ying, will try to keep this up!
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