Critical Reflection

Communicating in the English language has always been a weakness for me. Which I have expressed earlier in the formal email. However, nearing the end of the modules, I have made various improvements. One of the common mistakes I have is sentence fragments. And to avoid sentence fragment one method that I have learnt is adding in the missing subject or verbs to complete the sentence. I used to dislike presentation as I felt that it was intimidating to be scrutinized by a group of audiences and I have struggled to deliver my pointers to the audience. However, through this module, I have gained more confidence in presenting. I have also learned certain techniques for presenting to deliver an effective presentation. 

As engineers, it is expected of us to write numerous report. It is important to know how to paraphrase and summarise content from sources. And how to properly cite sources to avoid plagiarism. Through this module, I have been taught how to cite sources in APA style. It is interesting to do that different type of sources such as news article, journal article or websites has a different format of citation. Therefore it is critical to distinguish the type of source before being able to cite the source accurately.

For this module, we were tasked to do a research project as a team. We have to identify a technical problem, developed on possible solutions, and generate a report addressing to stakeholders. Through this project, I could apply my listening, communicating and writing skills. Also, I was able to conduct primary and secondary research to gather data that is essential for the project. Speedreading is key as we research on an idea that was rather unfamiliar to us. We have to gather the information that is essential and relevant to our project. To look at every source meticulously within a short timeframe is impossible and speed reaching is a skill that is crucial to my team. During this project, we faced a lot of setbacks. Our idea was revised numerous times as our problem and purpose statements were not specific. Initially, our idea focuses on Singapore, the stakeholder involved was considered to be too broad, thus it is not manageable for undergraduates like us. We then narrow it down to be students from SIT@Dover. This strain has contributed to elevating the team spirit, as we constantly have to work together to solve the problem. 

This year’s presentation showcase, I participated as an audience. It was a remarkable experience as I get to view other teams proposals and their presentation skills. I could sense their dedication and hard work that was combined with the efforts of their respective professors. One team that stood on to me was Team Recyclables as they have followed closely to prof Brad feedbacks given to them showing that they put in a tremendous effort to deliver their proposal outstandingly. The transitions between the speakers were done smoothly which even prof Brad has agreed and they were engaging with the audience. Their proposal has a convincing pitch as they provided various sources to support their idea. Perhaps, the team could improve their body language while presenting, such as their displaying the appropriate body posture and hand gesture to allow their presentation to be more refined.