Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

Bradley Bock Last Revision: January 2016

© Copyright reserved

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria i

Table of Contents

SECTION A: ORGANISATIONAL COMPONENT ............................................................................ 1

1. Introduction / Word of welcome ....................................................................................... 1

2. Administrative information ................................................................................................ 2

3. Study materials and purchases ........................................................................................... 2

4. What is expected from Lecturers ....................................................................................... 2

5. What is expected from Students ........................................................................................ 2

SECTION B: STUDY COMPONENT ............................................................................................... 3

6. Background to Course ........................................................................................................ 3

7. Assessment ......................................................................................................................... 3

8. Course Themes and Outcomes ........................................................................................... 5

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 1

SECTION A: ORGANISATIONAL COMPONENT

1. Introduction / Word of welcome

Welcome and brief description of the module The professional engineer spends a significant portion of their time communicating ideas and

documenting outcomes as result of the multi-disciplinary and often long term nature of their work

environment. Thus an understanding of how to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing

is crucial.

Common means of verbal and written communication will be covered, such as presentations,

meetings, report writing and the writing of engineering specifications.

To provide a framework for these various assignments a project will be implemented throughout the

course. This will also provide some valuable, although limited, project execution experience.

1.2 Using the study guide The study guide provides a high-level summary of the course, and also supplies important

administrative information on the course. The course consists of a number of related modules. Each

module is briefly summarized and an indication is provided on the skills and capabilities the student

is expected to master at the completion of the module.

This study guide is a crucial part of the general study guide of the Department. In the study guide of

the Department , information is given on the mission and vision of the department, general

administration and regulations (professionalism and integrity, course related information and formal

communication, workshop use and safety, plagiarism, class representative duties, sick test and sick

exam guidelines, vacation work, appeal process and adjustment of marks, university regulations,

frequently asked questions), ECSA outcomes and ECSA exit level outcomes, ECSA knowledge areas,

CDIO, new curriculum and assessment of cognitive levels. It is expected that you are very familiar

with the content of the Departmental Study Guide. It is available in English and Afrikaans on the

Department’s website.

English:

http://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/120/Noticeboard/departmental-studyguide-eng-

2016.zp77597.pdf

Afrikaans:

http://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/120/Noticeboard/departementele-studiegids-afr-

2016.zp77599.pdf

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 2

2. Administrative information

2.1 Contact information Name Building and

room number Telephone number

E-mail address

Module Coordinator and Lecturer

Bradley Bock Eng III, 6-81 012 420 2195 bradley.bock@up.ac.za

Time Table Contact Session Venue Day & Time

Lectures/Tutorials Eng I-7 Monday 09h30

Lectures/Tutorials Big Chemistry Hall Friday 11h30

General communication Please note that clickUp will be used extensively to communicate announcements. It is the

student’s responsibility to ensure they have access to the clickUp course.

Consulting Hours As only roughly 1 hour of the 4 hours allocated every week for MJJ 210 will used for lectures, it

is recommended to use the remaining Tutorial time for consultations.

Matters that require more private consultation are by appointment through email.

3. Study materials and purchases Course notes and miscellaneous study material will be posted on clickUp immediately after each

lecture.

There is no recommended textbook for this course.

4. What is expected from Lecturers

Courteous and professional in all interactions with students

Well prepared for lectures

Fair in all decisions

5. What is expected from Students

Courteous and professional in all interactions with each other and lecturers/TAs

On time hand in of all deliverables

Disciplined behaviour in class

Discussion of problems in/with course with lecturer as soon as possible in a professional

manner

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 3

SECTION B: STUDY COMPONENT

6. Background to Course

Course Aim To provide the base knowledge of communication, as well as practice in the skills thereof.

Course structure The course takes the approach of lectures, where understanding of core concepts and

background to best practices will be covered followed by assignments wherein to practice the

concepts covered.

Articulation with other modules in the programme This course will feed into all future professional work. With respect to university studies, it will

feed into your various future project courses (MIA 320) as well as your final year thesis and

design (MSC 412/422 and MOX 410 respectively).

Learning presumed to be in place Familiarity in word processing (e.g. Word 2013) and presentation software (e.g. PowerPoint

2013) is expected. Tutorials will be given to assist with the more advanced knowledge, as well as

resources made available on clickUp.

7. Assessment

Lectures and Assignments The course consists of 2 hour classes twice a week.

The general trend will consists of a lecture followed by an assignment, to be worked upon in class as

well as after hours. Certain projects will require more time, and as such may spread over multiple

classes.

Attendance of classes is compulsory as per University regulations.

Assessment Breakdown The breakdown of the course mark is described in Table 1.

Table 1 Assessment contribution breakdown

Assessment Contribution

to Final Mark (%)

Technical Report 25

Oral Presentation 25

Other assignments – Group 12.5

Other assignments – Individual 12.5

Exam 25

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 4

Handing in of assignments All assignments must be handed in before the deadline communicated. If submitted late the

following applies:

Technical Report

o If ill over the 5 calendar days before the assignment deadline, a doctor’s certificate

with a specified amount of days booked off can be used to obtain an extension. The

extension will be equal to the number of days booked off. The doctor’s note must

adhere to the requirements prescribed by the Mechanical and Aeronautical

Engineering Departmental Study Guide.

o If handed in late, the following applies:

If less than an hour late – mark, if above 50%, is reduced by 10% to a

minimum of 50%

between 1 hour and 1 day late – mark, if above 50%, is reduced by 20% to a

minimum of 50%

If late between 1 day and 2 days – mark, if above 50%, is reduced to 50%

If late more than 2 days – report will not be accepted

Oral Presentation

o In the same manner as for a test, a doctor’s certificate booking the participant off

will be required. A new presentation timeslot will then be allocated. The doctor’s

note must adhere to the requirements prescribed by the Mechanical and

Aeronautical Engineering Departmental Study Guide.

Other assignments – Individual

o If late, assignment will not be accepted

Other assignments – Group

o If late, same late criteria as Technical report will be used

Group Work assessment At the end of semester a group work review process will be undertaken. This will involve all

members of a group reviewing each other’s performance and rating them accordingly. These ratings

will then be used to calculate an adjustment factor. The adjustment factor will then be applied to the

student’s group work mark.

Exam Entrance and Pass Requirements As per departmental guidelines, a student needs a semester mark of 40% to gain entrance into the

exam.

Furthermore, the Technical Report and Oral Presentation must be completed to gain entrance to the

exam and be allowed to pass the course.

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 5

8. Course Themes and Outcomes Course Outcomes

The outcomes expected of the students at the end of the course are:

1. Write a Technical Report

2. Structure a Logical argument

3. Implement Harvard style referencing

4. Differentiate between plagiarism, poor paraphrasing and adequate academic citation

5. Differentiate between good and poor information

6. Present a technical presentation

7. How to compose slides 8. Identify the influence of body language on communication

9. How to present data in graphical form

10. Identify common errors in data display

11. Be able to write a technically sufficient requirement statement

12. Know the practices of formal business emails

13. Conduct an effective meeting

Course Themes

The course covers communication of three main types, illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 MJJ 210 Central themes

Written Communication

Verbal Communication

Visual Communication

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 6

8.1.1. Written communication All engineers need to communicate the results of his/her work at some stage to engineering

audiences and the community at large. This often takes the form of written communication.

In this theme the student will be exposed to various areas where written communication will play a

role. Working in teams and individually the student will gain knowledge and experience of the

following outcomes:

Write a Technical Report

Structure a Logical argument

Implement Harvard style referencing

Differentiate between plagiarism, poor paraphrasing and adequate academic citation

Differentiate between good and poor information

Be able to write a technically sufficient requirement statement

Know the practices of formal business emails

8.1.2. Visual communication The use of visual media to communicate results and ideas is crucial in simplifying the transfer of

thoughts and ideas to an audience. The outcomes of this theme are:

How to compose slides

How to present data in graphical form

Identify common errors in data display

Identify the influence of body language on communication

8.1.3. Verbal communication Effective verbal communication is the starting point and cornerstone of all engineering

communication. This can take place both the in the general day-to-day conversation and meetings

one encounters, as well as the more structured presentation format. It will be practiced and

developed in this course through group work, and students will be taught to:

Conduct an effective meeting

Present a technical presentation

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 7

Course Outcomes – Credit Map

Outcome UPDATE THIS Mode of instruction

Learning hours estimated

Contact session:

Write a Technical Report

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

20 6

Structure a logical argument Lectures and Tutorials Self Study

3 2

Implement Harvard style referencing

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

2 4

Differentiate between plagiarism, poor paraphrasing and adequate academic citation

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

3 2

Differentiate between good and poor information

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

5 4

Present a technical presentation

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

17 5

Identify the influence of common body language signs on communication

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

1 1

Identify common errors in data display

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

2 2

Be able to write a technically sufficient requirement statement

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

10 2

Know the practices of formal business emails

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

1 2

Conduct an effective meeting

Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study

6 6

Total 70 36

MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication

2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 8

In terms of Blooms taxonomy, (discussed here: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html)

students are expected to achieve the outcomes to the following level of proficiency:

0

1

2

3

4

5

Know

Understand

Apply

Analyse

Evaluate and

Create