CA1 - Descriptive Reflection

Dear Professor Brad

 

My name is Nazran and I am a student in SIT mechanical engineering who is currently participating in your Critical Thinking and Communication module. I would like to formally introduce myself to you as I believe we do not have adequate time to do so in class.

 

My interest in engineering began since young. I have loved to repair and fix my broken toys since I was 4 years old. I was an avid collector of Thomas and Friends train models. Often, the toy train model would come with loose wiring or poor battery connections, or a slow motor. I took upon the chance to tear down the modeled train to fix it on my own or improvise its motor speed. However, my interest grew even further when I got exposed to the knowledge of cars. One day, I chanced upon a Formula 1 racing channel on television and afterwards, I would watch reviews and read about its vehicular specification just for my own knowledge. The sound the engine makes was like music to me, and the engineering principle behind its car was phenomenal. It made me fall in love with automotive engineering. Hence I decided to pursue a diploma in mechanical engineering from Singapore Polytechnic, which I graduated in 2019.

 

Regarding communication skills, I constantly have trouble choosing the right words when I speak. Although I am confident in what I would like to say or deliver, my choice of words used is sometimes poor, which may lead to a different message being delivered through my speech. Once, I joined a youth public speaking course and I was assigned to participate in an impromptu speech about the topic of 'You are what you eat'. I had trouble figuring out which words to use in my mind. Hence I started to stutter a lot in my speech which felt demoralising. However, my strength in communication has always been my confidence in speaking to a large group of crowds. This is due to the fact that I was always being pushed to do mini-presentations back in my polytechnic years by my groupmates as they were too shy to do it.

 

As I go along with this module, I would like to be more precise in my speaking skills and improve my understanding of how to be a critical thinker. I would love to apply critical thinking in every step that I take to be a successful engineer. Every day is a good day to learn and knowledge is of value to many companies.

 

My drive and consistent efforts to pursue something that I want will always be the thing that I am most proud of. I am the first one in a family of eight to pursue a degree in my career. Coming from a huge family, I was often stereotyped as not being able to achieve a high-level education by my teachers and friends due to the way that my siblings turned out to be. However, I defied all negative perceptions of myself from others and got good grades for my O'Level and my Diploma to prove to myself that with hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck, I will achieve what I aspire for. I am looking forward to your guidance and lessons in 

helping us as a class to improvise our communication skills.

 

Best Regards, 

Muhd Nazran

 

(edited Sept 8, 2022)


Read: Kaisan’s , Andy’s, Benjamin’s

Comments

  1. Kaisan14 September 2022 at 09:14

    Hey Nazran, even though I knew you back in poly, it is very interesting to be able to get to know you better via this post. You wrote a very good piece with interesting content of yourself. It also have a very smooth flow and structure to it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Benjamin18 September 2022 at 18:11

    Hello Nazran,
    After reading your letter, it was interesting to know that you are an avid collector of Thomas and Friends train models. I am not able to find any mistakes. Thus, I feel that it is a well-written and concise letter.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brad Blackstone21 September 2022 at 23:22

    Dear Nasran,

    Thank you for this clear, open and detailed letter. I appreciate the rich content, effective organization and generally fluent language use. You've done a fine job providing supporting information for the specific areas outlined in the brief, allowing us readers to gain a clear understanding of who you are.

    From the discussion of your 'fix-it attitude' in childhood, your experience and hobbies, we can feel your enthusiasm and interest in mechanics and engineering. Honestly, the recounting of your love for Formula 1 and cars plus your desire to succeed shows so much passion that I actually envy you, feeling the vibe of your ambition. That's a great thing indeed!

    As you recount your comm skills weakness of not being as articulate as you'd like to be, it's easy to see that you have great motivation for change, and I assure you that in the the various areas of our module, from the discussions to the presentations, I'll be expecting steady development from you.

    In regard to written comm, you don't mention anything, but let's focus on a couple areas in this letter that you can improve:
    1. word choice and phrasing
    -- to improvise our communication skills > (word meaning)
    2. overuse of caps
    -- got good grades for my O'Level and my Diploma

    Once again, thanks for the comprehensive reflection. I look forward to reading more from you this term.

    Best wishes,

    Brad

    ReplyDelete

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