Personal Letter

Dear Professor Blackstone,

I am Khai Jun Wei, a first-year mechanical engineering student enrolled in your critical thinking and communicating module. I am writing this letter to offer insights into my educational background, communication strengths and weaknesses, specific module objectives, and what distinguishes me from my peers.

Allow me to briefly introduce myself. In contrast to the majority of my peers, my educational journey is somewhat unique. Unlike those who followed the path of either a junior college or polytechnic, I have experienced a fair share of both. My venture into engineering started out in Singapore Polytechnic, where I pursued studies in Aeronautical Engineering. This choice was rooted in my profound passion for mathematics.

In terms of communication strengths, my forte lies in confident and articulate speech, enabling me to present ideas with conviction and assurance. This proficiency has not only enhanced my academic performance but also played a pivotal role in my role as a mathematics tutor, where I have accumulated over six years of teaching experience. This extensive experience has enabled me to elucidate complex concepts in a simplified manner. However, I also acknowledge a personal weakness: occasional inarticulateness, leading to difficulties in articulating my thoughts effectively.

For this module, I have established two specific objectives. Firstly, I aspire to refine my communication skills to the point where I can convey intricate ideas with utmost clarity and precision, eliminating ambiguity. Secondly, I aim to foster effective bidirectional communication by promoting active listening and adept responses.

What sets me apart from others is the unique blend of my experiences and personal accomplishments. In addition to my noteworthly pedagogical skills as a mathematics tutor, I have achieved a remarkable milestone by embarking on a rigorous daily running regimen for the past 20 months, resulting in a  30-kilogram weight loss. This accomplishment emphasised my unwavering determination, discipline, and resilience.

Professor, I am eager to leverage on your invaluable communication expertise, and I eagerly anticipate our upcoming lessons. I would like to leave you with a thought-provoking quotation: "Mathematics is the bridge between theory and reality, and effective communication is the tool that allows us to cross it."

Sincerely,

Khai Jun Wei

(Revised) 

(Taufiq, Quinian,Weili)



Comments

  1. Taufiq7 September 2023 at 16:29

    Excellent email. You gave sufficient and relevant information and provided examples. Language use is solid and your email is well-organised. Can clearly see that you used the PEEL method.

    ReplyDelete
  2. S Y Wong10 September 2023 at 11:27

    I must say your English language must be superb than the rest of your classmates. Lots of unique words was used in your letter. Honestly, it's a very unique and interesting letter to read. It truly tells your personalities and skills that you currently possessed in a well-organized manner. Great Work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Non ducor, duco17 September 2023 at 20:05

      Thank you SY! Truely appreciate rhe comment given!

      Delete
  3. Brad Blackstone22 September 2023 at 22:40

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brad Blackstone23 September 2023 at 02:51

    Dear Jun Wei,

    Thank you for this highly informative letter. It's well organized, clearly focused and richly detailed as you provide meaningful examples to illustrate the important points you make about yourself.

    I'm especially impressed in this post by how you explain what makes you special, including your "unwavering determination, discipline, and resilience," and how you leveraged those traits to make a physical transformation. That story telling hits an emotional nerve for your audience.

    You also detail well your comm skills strength and weakness, and tie these to your math tutoring and your goals for the module. I was happy to read how you aim to communicate "with utmost clarity and precision, eliminating ambiguity," which is a noble goal for anyone who wants to teach.

    In terms of language use, this is really a fine effort, with only a few errors in overuse of caps. Here is one example: ... the path of either a Junior College or Polytechnic.... Do you understand why the caps are not needed?

    I look forward to learning more from you this term.

    Best wishes,

    Brad

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Non ducor, duco24 September 2023 at 21:36

      Dear Professor Blackstone,

      I would like to extend my gratitude for this supportive reply. I am flattered with the description of my goal being of noble nature, I must say that my teaching goal is part of a broader mission, and I'm just one piece of the puzzle. It's my deep passion for education and a commitment to making a positive impact that drives me forward.

      I have noted on the language use pertaining to the overuse of caps. Just learnt that when referring to junior colleges or polytechnics in a generic or non-specific sense, they are treated as common nouns, and capitalization is not necessary.

      With these, I look forward to gaining further insights from your extensive years of expertise to enhance my abilities as an educator, myself.

      Sincerely,

      Khai JunWei

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Task 3: The Importance of communication skills for engineers

  “Communication skills are an essential component in the education of engineering students to facilitate not just students’ education but also to prepare them for their future careers.”   Marc Riemer, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University (2007) The quotation aligns with the notion of the significance of communication skills in both one's education as well as future careers. In the world of engineering, effective communication holds utmost importance as one is required to shed light on complex technical concepts possibly to audiences of different fields.  From the industry perspective, strong communication skills enable engineers to be quick on their feet to bring across ideas effectively accross their respective fields.  From an ethical perspective, through effective communication, engineers need to harness the ability to raise concerns about ethical considerations in their projects, expressing their viewpoints to ensure responsible engineering practices. ...
Read more

Critical Self Reflection

Starting the Critical Communications module, I was sure about one thing: I was good at giving talks. I could hold an audience, remember my lines, and make sure everyone heard me loud and clear. But this class showed me that there is more to it. It's not just about knowing the words by heart, but how you deliver them. I learned about this technique called 'assertion,' which really opened my eyes to how you can talk with confidence and not just recite from memory. My writing got a boost, too. I picked up things like the Paul-Elder framework and CRAAP method and I started to get the hang of putting my thoughts down in a logical and clear way.  At first, I had the chance to be the group leader, but I passed it up to focus on being the speaker. Yet as we moved along, I kind of saw that maybe I had what it takes to be a leader after all. Maybe things would have been different if I had stepped up. Writing has always been a bit of a struggle for me, and this class made me work on t...
Read more