Week 2: Submission 1: Formal letter (Descriptive Reflection)
Subject: Self introduction
Dear Professor Brad,
My name is Soh Zheng Hao and I am currently enrolled in your module, Effective Communication. I am writing this letter to share about myself in hopes that you may gain access to my progress and reflections throughout this module.
I graduated from Singapore Polytechnic with a Diploma in Civil Engineering. With an eye for beautiful structures and mesmerization with architecture, I had initially wanted to become an architect. However, the construction of The Interlace in 2013 had sparked my curiosity about who turned those plans into reality. This led me to conduct extensive research and I realized that civil engineers played a crucial role in the beautiful constructions in Singapore. Although they are not as widely recognized as architects, civil engineers had earned my respect. Hence, I am determined to pursue a career in civil engineering.
In the workplace, empathy is a trait I have that will aid me in conducting good interpersonal relations with clients and colleagues. I show and make people feel that their perspectives are acknowledged and understood. Should my colleagues worry about conflict of perspectives, my empathy will put them at ease so that we can work amicably to find an appropriate solution.
Unfortunately, my written communication skills are sorely
lacking. This is concerning especially during the pandemic where face-to-face
interaction is greatly reduced. Many of us turn to writing emails where massive
amounts of information are exchanged. I often find myself struggling to find
the right words to convey my ideas through writing with my group mates.
Upon my reflection, I believe I need to achieve two goals in this module: confidence and introspection. The confidence is necessary to speak or write clearly and effectively to communicate my ideas well. Additionally, introspection allows me to recognize areas for improvement so that I can enhance my thought processes to communicate efficiently.
Thank you for giving me a space to reflect and I look forward to achieving my goals in the upcoming classes.
Best regards,
Soh Zheng Hao
Last edited: 050421
Commented on Benjamin, Jeremy and Marcus.
Thank you for this well-written letter, Zheng Hao. It was articulate and I was engaged. I like how you related your weakness to today's context. I agree with you on how writing is just as important as speaking as well. Good word choices and well-structured paragraphs made it easier for me to understand more about you and your style of writing. Brilliant work!
ReplyDeleteThank you Leah for the flattering comments. Great to know that my letter is easy for you to read and understand!
DeleteThank you, Zheng Hao! It was a pleasure reading your letter. Your letter definitely fulfilled the 7C's of communication. I like your choice of words and how you manage to make it engaging while keeping it concise. I love how you mentioned your respect for civil engineers was earned because I too feel the same way. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Bariah, your kind words are greatly appreciated! Nice to know that we share the same sentiments.
DeleteHi Zheng Hao, I think you are already very confident as how this letter is written. It showed me you are not afraid to share your weaknesses and it also clearly illustrates what you hope to achieve. I also agree that confidence is needed to write and speak clearly. Lets help one another to improve ourselves even more!
ReplyDelete-Ben
Thank you, Benjamin. And yes, let's work together towards more improvements!
DeleteHi Zheng Hao, I can tell from your letter that you are not afraid to express yourself. I believe this module, effective communication will definitely boost your letter writing. You did comply with the 7c's as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for feedback and the encouragement you have given me. I look forward to seeing you in class again!
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ReplyDeleteDear Zheng Hao,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this fluent, detailed introductory letter. You cover the parameters of the assignment well and illustrate with clear examples and explanations, so much so that this is very informative. I’m particularly impressed by the explanation of how you developed an interest in civil engineering.
In fact, you do a fine job describing your communication strength and weakness as well, with appropriate detail, and you go on to mention how you'd like to bolster your confidence and introspection skills as module goals. Hopefully, our various tasks and assignments will help with this.
With regard to language use, this is quite a fluent letter, but do take note of these points:
1. words/phrases/collocations
-- ...my curiosity of who turned those plans into reality. > (collocation) my curiosity about who turned those plans into reality.
-- On the contrary, I recognized that my written communication is sorely lacking.
> (wrong word -- on the contrary -- ask me about this in class)/(verb tense: recognized?) ?
2. sentence structure
-- This led me to conduct extensive research and realized that civil engineers played a crucial role in the beautiful constructions in Singapore.
> (lack of main subject in the second indepenedent clause: Who realized what?)
3. minor error in capitalization
-- I am determined to pursue a career in Civil Engineering.
I look forward to reading more of your writing this term.
Cheers,
Brad
Dear Professor Brad,
DeleteThank you for taking your time to read my letter. I greatly appreciate the detailed feedback and pointers that you have given me. Hence, I will review my letter and further improve upon my language use.
I fondly anticipate your future classes.
Best regards,
Zheng Hao
Hi Zheng Hao,
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing such a detailed introduction letter. It is very engaging to read because the flow of the letter is very structured and smooth. This letter certainly fulfilled the 7 C’s of communication in my opinion. I love how you are able to write in such detail while keeping the letter concise and clear. I’m looking forward to be interacting with you more in this effective communication module.
Best regards,
Stanley Quek
Hi Stanley, I really appreciate the time you took to peruse my letter and the effort you put into the feedback you have given me. I also look forward to interacting more with you in future classes.
Delete