GE2410 Student Booklet (UpdatedDec27)

GE 2410
English for Engineering
Course pack (5th Edition)

Student Booklet
January 2014
This Student Booklet was developed by Becky Kwan and Colin Lam with some of its parts
adapted from the first edition developed by Martin Weisser. The 5 th edition was adapted by
David Gruber.
Department of English
City University of Hong Kong
Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Table of Contents
Part A: Course Syllabus...............................................................................................5
Course aims and intended outcomes of learning (CILOS)..............................................6
Assessment...........................................................................................................................7
Instructional Schedule........................................................................................................8
The Student Booklet...........................................................................................................9
Student Conduct................................................................................................................11
Assignment submission...................................................................................................11
Absenteeism....................................................................................................................11
Late-drop.........................................................................................................................11
Plagiarism.......................................................................................................................11
Turnitin...........................................................................................................................11
Part B: Instructions of Assessed Tasks.....................................................................15

Background of the Assessed Tasks...................................................................................15
Assessed Task 1.................................................................................................................16
Assessed Task 2.................................................................................................................17
Assessed Task 3.................................................................................................................18
Assessed Task 4.................................................................................................................19
Assessed Task 5.................................................................................................................20
Class participation............................................................................................................20
Part C: Study Units....................................................................................................21

Unit 1 Performing secondary research............................................................................22
1.1 Aims and learning outcomes.....................................................................................22
1.2 Reliable references....................................................................................................22
1.3 Identifying and accessing academic references.........................................................22
1.4 Searching a database for sources: the case of Scopus...............................................23
1.5 Recording bibliographic information of sources.......................................................24
Unit 1 Appendix..............................................................................................................26
Unit 2 Writing progress reports.......................................................................................32
2.2 Audience and purposes of progress reports...............................................................32
2.3 Forms and components of a progress report..............................................................33
2.4 Language use in progress reports..............................................................................35
Unit 2 Appendix Sample progress reports.......................................................................36
Unit 3 Preparing for an effective presentation................................................................41
3.2 Understanding your audience....................................................................................41
3.3 Setting clear and achievable goals.............................................................................41
3.4 Selecting appropriate contents..................................................................................42
3.5 Structuring the presentation......................................................................................42
3.6 Making your presentation engaging..........................................................................42
3.7 Being prepared for the questions asked.....................................................................45
3.8 Designing effective and engaging slides...................................................................45
Unit 4 Delivering effective presentations.........................................................................47
4.2 Verbal delivery skills.................................................................................................47
4.3 Presentation language...............................................................................................51
4.4 Non-verbal delivery skills.........................................................................................54
Unit 5 Communicating work matters in emails..............................................................56
5.2 Actions that emails perform......................................................................................56
5.3 Embedded and standalone emails..........................................................................59
5.4 Relation between a sender and a recipient.................................................................59

5.5 Components of an email...........................................................................................60
5.6 Language use in emails.............................................................................................62
Unit 5 Appendix Writing prompt for Assessed Task 3....................................................66
Unit 5 Appendix Meta-Reflection Practice.....................................................................67
References......................................................................................................................68
Unit 6 Running and participating in workplace meetings.............................................69
6.2 Purposes and participants of project meetings..........................................................69
6.3 Structure of a meeting...............................................................................................73
6.4 Preparation................................................................................................................74
6.5 Meeting etiquette and responsibilities.......................................................................75
6.6 Language of meetings...............................................................................................76
Unit 7 Documenting meeting records..............................................................................79
7.2 Purpose of meeting records.......................................................................................79
7.3 Contents and formats of meeting records..................................................................79
7.4 Language use in meeting records..............................................................................81
Unit 7 Appendix Verbs expressing different types of speech acts..................................83
Unit 7A Appendix Understanding Blueprints.................................................................84
GE 2410
Part A: Course Syllabus
Course aims and intended outcomes of learning (CILOS)

GE2410 English for Engineering has been designed to help you to develop a critical mind
about workplace communication and to prepare them for some common spoken and written
tasks that you need to perform in your future careers as practicing engineers. By the end of
the course, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
analyze and evaluate workplace communication;

deliver effective presentations;
run and participate in project meetings; and
compose some common types of workplace text.
Assessment
The outcomes of your learning outcomes will be assessed through six tasks listed below,
details of which are provided in Part B Instructions of Assessed Tasks (pp.12-17).
1. Writing a progress report
15%
Individual
20%
Group & individual
10%
Individual
10%
Individual
Due date: Thursday, Week 5 (Feb 20,

2014)
2. Delivering a 10-minute solo presentation
in a simulated group seminar
In-class assessment: Week 6 or 7 (Feb 24
Mar 7, 2014)
3. Composing an email
Due date: Thursday, Week 10 (Mar 27,
2014)
4. Writing a meta-reflection about the
email (Turn in with the email)
Due date: Thursday, Week 10 (Mar 27,
2014)
5. Participating in a 30-minute simulated
meeting with blueprint for client
In-class assessment: Week 12 and 13,
depending on class schedule (Apr 7-17,
2014) *Friday classes may need to run
meetings on Apr25*
6. Participating in class activities
In-class assessment:
semester
throughout
25%
meeting /
10%
blueprint
10%
Group & Individual
Individual
the
Instructional Schedule
Week
1 (Jan 13-17)
2 (Jan 20-24)
Focuses/Key activities
Materials
Course introduction
Course syllabus
Performing secondary research
Unit 1
Writing progress reports
Unit 2
Forming of project teams

3 (Jan 27 31)
Planning for effective presentations
Unit 3
4 (Feb 10 - 14)
Peer-reviewing draft progress reports
Unit 4
Delivering effective presentations

5 (Feb 17-21)
Delivering effective presentations
Unit 4
Preparing for Assessed Task 2 (presentations)

6 (Feb 24-27)
Presentations (Assessed Task 2) in-class

assessment
7 (Mar 3-7)
Presentations (Assessed Task 2) in-class

assessment
8 (Mar 10-14)
Collecting information for Assessed Task 5

preparing for the information gap activity
Communicating work matters in emails
9 (Mar 17-21)
Information gap activity

Communicating work matters in emails And
how to compose a meta-reflection
10 (Mar 24-28)
Unit 5
Running and participating in workplace

meetings
Unit 5, 6
Unit 6
7A
Discussing the blueprint

11 (Mar 31-Apr 4)
Preparing for Assessed Task 5 (meeting with client

representatives)
Unit 7
Reviewing meeting records as a way to

grasp/remember the flow of meetings and the
language of meetings
12 (Apr 7-11)
Meeting with the client reps (Assessed Task

5) in-class assessment
13 (Apr 14-18)
Meeting with the client reps (Assessed Task 5)

in-class assessment
14 (Apr 25 / May 5 9)
(use only if needed to complete course due to

Public Holidays or Study Weeks)
The Student Booklet

The core learning materials are all provided in this Student Booklet, which can be
downloaded from the Course Documents page of the GE 2410 Blackboard. The Booklet
is divided into three major parts:
Part A Course Syllabus
Part B Instructions of Assessed Tasks
Part C Study Units
You are expected to read the syllabus and the instructions of the assessed tasks carefully,
paying special attention to the submission date or the assessment week of each assignment.
You are also expected to bring the relevant study units of the Booklet to each class.
Alternatively, you can bring your laptop computer or tablet PC to access the units in class.
Student Conduct
The Department of English has set up the following guidelines for student conduct.
Assignment submission
You are expected to submit all written assignments on time. The following regulations about
late submissions will apply in this course.
Late assignments will be given a lower grade.

The course coordinator will decide how the deduction of marks is calculated for
assignments between 1 and 7 days late.
Assignments more than 7 days late will be given an 'F' grade.
Requests for extension will not be approved unless they are supported by valid written
proof (e.g. a medical certificate).
Absenteeism
You are required to attend all classes. If you are unable to attend a lesson for a strong reason,
you should email your section instructor and provide valid evidence to support the absence.
Note that students with more than two unexcused absences will FAIL the course.
Late-drop
Late-drops are not encouraged in the Department. If you have a strong reason for dropping a
course after the add/drop period (normally the first week of the semester), you need to first
apply for the approval from the Department Head. The application needs to be supported by
valid proof.
Plagiarism
The Department takes cases of plagiarism very seriously. Any student who has been caught
plagiarizing will receive an F grade on the assignment concerned and, depending on the
severity of the case, may receive an F for the entire course. In the event of repeated offences,
the student will be placed on academic probation.
Turnitin
When submitting assignments for assessment, GE2410 you are required to provide a
hardcopy and a soft copy of the work. The hardcopy is be submitted to the section instructor
while the softcopy is to be submitted to Turnitin for originality check.
The above guidelines are also available on the Department website at:
http://www.english.cityu.edu.hk/en/students/conduct.jsp
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GE 2410
Part B: Instructions of Assessed Tasks
11
Background of the Assessed Tasks

In Assessed Tasks 1 to 5, you are required to simulate communication episodes that take place
in an imaginary engineering firm. The firm is based in Hong Kong and serves clients mainly
in Greater China. The firm generates its revenue through paid public seminars, consultancy
work, and engineering projects.
You need to imagine yourself working for the firm in one of its project teams. To complete
the tasks, you need to first form a project team (3-4 persons/team) and imagine that everyone
in the team is an expert on a technology of the teams choice (see Topic of Assessed Task 2
for the possible choices).
Each member of the project team will act in one of the following roles in all the assessed
tasks
the Project Team Leader

the Design Engineer
the Testing Engineer
the Sales/Technical Support Engineer.
The Project Leader reports to the Senior Consultant, Ralph Cheung, while all the three
engineers report to the Project Leader.
Assessed Task 1
In this task, you need to write a memo report to document the progress made in your
preparation for Assessed task 2 (the seminar). When writing the report, you will act in the role
you will play in Assessed Task 2 and imagine that the reader is your line manager, e.g., the
Senior Consultant (Ralph Cheung) for the Project Team Leader or the Project Team Leader
for the Design Engineer. You are expected to provide the following items of information in
the report:
1. A summary of the tasks that you are expected to complete by Week 5 (refer to the
outcomes of the discussion done in Task 1 of Unit 2)
2. Work completed so far
the search process and source types consulted
a summary of key information collected so far (180-200 words)
issues arising in the search process and/or brief comments about the information
collected (e.g., reliability of the information, relevancy to and sufficiency for the
seminar, etc.) and how it may be used in the seminar
3. A brief description of the work to complete before the seminar
4. An overall evaluation of work progress made
5. Appendices (evidence of searches and sources of the information summarized)
The report should be about 350-400 words in length (excluding words in the header and the
appendices), single-line spaced and formatted with font size 12.
The report will need to be submitted on Thursday, Week 5 (Feb 20, 2014). Some of the
discussion tasks in Study Units 1-3 will prepare you for the writing of the report. A peer-
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review session has been scheduled for Week 4, in which you and your colleagues will
comment on each others draft report.
Assessed Task 2
This task requires your project team to simulate a public seminar on a topic selected by the
team (see Topic below for some possible choices). In the seminar, every member of the team
will deliver a 10-minute solo presentation of a sub-theme related to the topic of the seminar
(see the themes listed under Preparation below). The seminar will run in Week 6 or Week 7
(Feb 24-Mar 7, 2014). Study Units 1, 3 and 4 will prepare you for the task.
Goals and audience
The seminar aims to achieve the following goals:
to educate its participants about a specific form of technology and how it may be applied to
solve some real life problems;
to increase the visibility of your firm; and
to attract potential clients to hire the firms services.
The seminar will be attended by representatives of organizations from different sectors, who
may become clients of the firm. The audience will be role-played by other students in the
class. In other words, each presenting team in the class will need to attend the seminars
presented by other groups in which they will switch their roles to representatives of another
organization.
Topic
To prepare for the seminar, your team needs to first decide on a topic. To do that, you and
your team should first choose a real life problem or need (i.e., a bulleted item) from the list
below and then identify one type of technology that can be applied to solve the problem.
energy / lighting problems:

poor daylight penetration and summer heat facing commercial buildings
low energy efficiency of light sources on university campuses
lowperformanceandrapiddrainonbatteriesinmobiledevices
energy needs for cooking in developing countries
light pollution
pollution problems
discharges of toxic wastes from textile plants into natural water bodies in the Delta
region (need for water purification systems)
problems caused by landfills (need of an alternative waste management method).
CO2 emissions from power plants (need of CO2 capture)
the need to develop websites to educate the public about environmental conservation
automation problems
the need to effectively and accurately simulate traffic flow before making traffic
changes in a congested road
the need for floor-cleaning robots
the need to improve hospital patients access to their consultation and medical records
the need to automate food ordering in university canteens
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ergonomic problems
need to improve design of mobile phones for elderly users
other problems
concerns about radiation leakage (need for personal radiation detection devices)
the need of technology to locate vehicles in car-parks
the need of e-textbooks in secondary schools to reduce prices and waste of paper
Preparation
To achieve the goals of the seminar, you and your team will need to present the following
themes related to the topic:
The real life problem: nature of the problem, people affected by the problem, what needs to be
done to solve the problem, etc.;
The technology (solution to the problem): some basic conceptual or theoretical background of
the technology, the hardware, software, or equipment needed to support the technology;
Limitations of the technology: some major problems associated with the technology that may
limit its use and how these problems may be overcome; and
Experience of the engineering firm: e.g., types of solutions developed using the technology,
projects completed, clients served, types of services provided, etc.
You and your team are expected to consult reliable sources to gain some understanding of the
chosen problem and the technology that can be applied to solve the problem. You can make
up the details about the experience of the firm. But, the details need to be believable.
Delivery
Each member of the team will need to give a 10-minute solo presentation on at least one of
the themes listed above and need to ensure that the presentation links well to those delivered
by other team members. The last 3 minutes of the presentation need to be reserved for
questions from the audience.
Assessed Task 3
Assessed Task 2 requires you to compose an email, one part of which is related to a major
item that will be discussed in the meeting of Assessed Task 5.
Role to play in the writing task
To complete this task, you will need to imagine that you are the leader of your own project
team. Your line manager is Ralph Cheung (the Senior Consultant), who oversees dozens of
project teams in the firm.
Background of the task
The seminar presented in Assessed Task 2 has been successfully delivered. Among the
audience was a group of representatives from an organization, who were very impressed by
the technology presented in the seminar. The representatives met up with your project team
for advice on using the technology to solve a problem facing their organization (i.e., the
information gap activity designed for Week 8*). The client representatives were quite happy
14
with your team and invited the team to develop a blueprint of the solution to the problem and
to discuss it in a subsequent meeting, in which they will also decide whether to hire the
engineering firm to develop the solution for them (Assessed Task 5).
Right after the meeting (i.e., the information gap activity), you briefed Ralph the outcomes of
the discussions with the client representatives. Seeing the potential for collaboration with the
client organization, Ralph asked you to have the blueprint ready and to send him a copy for
his comments before it is shown to the client representatives in the second meeting. You
indicated to Ralph that you would be able to pass him the blueprint in a weeks time.
Now, one week has already passed and Ralph is on a 10-day business trip in Italy. He has just
sent you an email and asked you to do several things, one of which is to send him a copy of
the blueprint. (See Ralphs message provided in the Appendix of Unit 5).
You and your team are supposed to have completed the blueprint when in fact you have not
even started to develop it yet. You are concerned that the task may not even be completed
when Ralph returns to Hong Kong.
The writing task
You will need to compose an email in reply to Ralphs message, addressing his instructions
and in particular that about the solution blueprint. The email should run no more than 150
words.
The email will need to be submitted on Thursday, Week 10 (Mar 27, 2014). Study Unit 5 will
prepare you for the task.
Assessed Task 4
Assessed Task 4 is a meta-reflection assignment about the email (Assessed Task 3). This is
individual work and should be turned in at the same time as the email. It requires you to
explain the choices that you made in your email to Ralph (your boss). The purpose of the
assignment is to have you reflect on and to explain the choices made, commenting on the
approach and language of the email.
Background
In Task 3, you were asked to write an email telling your boss why you have not yet completed
a blueprint. The email should meet the formatting requirements (as covered in the lectures),
but it should also contain rhetorical sensitivity to the task. Put another way, the email should
sound professional, should explain why the blueprint is late, and should give the boss
confidence that the blueprint will be completed by a specific future date. Writing this email
requires you to make choices, develop a rational for the projects delay, and be polite while
apologizing for the late blueprint.
This meta-reflection is a written commentary about the email; the meta-reflection should
describe the intended audience (imagined relationship with boss), the arrangement choice, the
content choices, and the vocabulary choices (forms of address, etc) used in the email.
Writing Task
You will need to compose a meta-reflection about the email that you sent to your boss. This
15
can be written in first-person and should, essentially, explain why you said what you said or
why you didnt say what you didnt say. You should write 2 pages (double-spaced, Times
font) and describe the following: 1) how you imaged your relationship with your boss prior to
sending the email; 2) why you chose one arrangement of statements over another possible
arrangement; 3) why you chose the reason for not completing the blueprint and why you think
that reason will prove effective given the situation and the audience; 4) how the specific word
choices were effective for the task in your view.
Assessed Task 5
Assessed Task 5 is both group and individual work. It requires your team to run one simulated
meeting with several representatives of an organization (role-played by another team of
students) who attended the seminar your team presented in Assessed Task 1. The meeting will
take place in Week 12 or 13 (Apr 7 Apr 18, 2014) and should be accompanied by a blueprint
that is assessed as a group assignment.
Note: your groups meeting may - given the constraints of public holidays, instructor illness,
or study weeks be as late as Dec 8th. Scheduling over these weeks remains up to the
instructors discretion.
Background
The representatives referred to in Assessed Task 3 has met up with your project team for
advice on using the technology to solve a problem facing their organization (i.e., the
information gap activity designed for Week 8* -- see Instructors notes below). The client
representatives were quite happy with the outcomes of the meeting and invited your team to
develop a blueprint of the solution to the problem and to discuss it in a series of subsequent
meetings.
The Meeting
The meeting to run in Assessed Task 5 is the first of the series of meetings. It will be chaired
by the leader of your project team and will be held at the conference room of your
engineering firm (an imaginary venue).
Goals to be achieved by the project team
There are three main goals that your project team needs to achieve in the meeting:
a) to explain the blueprint of (design) of the solution to the client reps;
b) to obtain comments from the client reps about the blueprint; and
c) to discuss what to do in the next meeting (e.g., to further discuss the design, to
discuss issues arising from the present meeting, or other imaginary items)
Each one in your engineering team is expected to contribute to a blueprint that will help guide
the meeting and explain your design solutions to the client team. You will see examples of a
blueprint in class and work together to build an effective blueprint that you will bring to the
meeting and show the client team.
Goals to be achieved by the client team
The client team is expected to comment on the blueprint and to provide your team with
further input to fine-tune it. They will also need to answer questions raised by members of
16
your team. They will decide together with your team on the items to discuss in a subsequent
meeting (an imaginary one), e.g., a proposal which details the revised blueprint based on the
input received in the meeting, stages of work, quotation of cost for the project, etc..
Preparation for the meeting by the project team
Some of the tasks in Unit 6 and in-class activities in Weeks 8-11 will prepare you for the
meeting. In brief, you will be guided to:
develop the blueprint of the solution;

decide what and how to discuss the blueprint with the client reps in the meeting; and
determine the types of input your team should obtain from the reps in the meeting
The Blueprint
The blueprint is an assessed document (10%) that should help the client team to
understand the solutions proposed by the engineering team/firm.
The blueprint should contain all of design solutions / information asked for by the
client team during the information gap activity. It should present solutions in a
compelling way to the client team; this means the blueprint should be easy to read for
a non-technical audience, should contain visual demonstrations of the solutions, and
should be visually pleasing.
The blueprint is an essential part of the meeting, so it will be turned in on the day of
your meeting. Bring copies for each member of the client team, and please bring an
extra copy for your instructor.
See Appendix 7A for further information on the blueprint.
Class participation
You are required to attend all classes on time. You are expected to communicate in English,
participate proactively in all activities and contribute ideas in all group discussions. Your
performance in these regards will be assessed throughout the course.
17
GE 2410
Part C: Study Units
18
Unit 1 Performing secondary research

1.1 Aims and learning outcomes
This unit aims to develop your secondary research skills for study and work purposes. By
applying what you learn in this unit, you should be able to achieve the following:
differentiate reliable and unreliable sources; and
conduct searches of on-line databases
You are expected to apply what you learn in this unit when conducting the online searches for
information needed in Assessed Task 2.
1.2 Reliable references
Task 1 What are reliable sources and what are unreliable sources? Provide some examples for
each type in the table below. Which source types will you consult for the presentation you
will deliver in Assessed Task 2?
Unreliable materials
Examples
Reliable materials
Examples
Task 2 Study the materials provided in the Appendix of this unit. They are the front matters
shown in four published sources. For each source, decide whether it is a monograph, an edited
book chapter, a magazine article, a journal article or a document retrieved from a website.
1.3 Identifying and accessing academic references
1.3.1 Getting started
To facilitate your search for references, you could first identify the key sources that you need
to consult. You may approach your subject lecturers for help. Ask them to suggest a few
author names or a few specific sources that you may need to read first. Alternatively, you can
consult course reading lists or references cited in materials that you have read in other
contexts (e.g., course textbooks, journal articles, book chapters, final year project reports,
etc.).
19
Read the references you obtain in these initial searches. Note the works that the sources
frequently refer to. They may also be the ones that you need to read further. Also pay attention
to the key authors cited as well as the key words (or phrases) that can be used to express
specific aspects of your topic. These names and key phrases can help to build up further
searches.
1.3.2 Conducting informed searches in on-line databases
Make use of the key authors, key words and key phrases identified earlier to conduct more
searches (i.e., searches informed by what you learned in your initial searches). You can
conduct informed searches through an online database. An online database is one that indexes
international publications (e.g., journal articles, book chapters, government publications and
company reports) of various disciplines and industries. You have free access to a large
number of online databases through the website of the Universitys library.
Task 3 Follow the steps below to learn about the databases that can be accessed through the
library website of the University.
1. Click into the library homepage (http://www.cityu.edu.hk/lib/).
2. Click E-Resources.
3. On the E-Resources page, look for Databases and click Subject list.
4. On the Subject List page, choose a relevant subject listed under Science and Engineering
(e.g., Biology).
5. Count the number of databases listed for the subject.
6. Name some of the databases listed and see whether the list includes Science Direct Index
Expanded, Scopus and IEEE Explorer.
1.4 Searching a database for sources: the case of Scopus
Since Scopus is one of the most frequently listed databases, it has been chosen to illustrate
how you can use an online database.
Task 4 Follow the instructions below to access and perform searches in Scopus.
To access Scopus
1. Enter the CityU Library Homepage.
2. Click E-Resources.
3. Click Title List (under Databases).
5. Click S and then Scopus.
To perform searches in Scopus
1. Type in the name of an author, a keyword or a key phrase (e.g., GPS & Hong Kong &
Traffic).
20
2. Specify the fields in which you want to perform the search by clicking the appropriate
options provided in the boxes on the right (e.g., Abstract, Title, etc.)
3. Limit the search to a group of disciplines, e.g., Physical Sciences only [recommended].
4. Click Search. Results of your search will be shown on the screen.
5. Read the abstracts (summaries) of the references generated, and decide if they are what
you are looking for. To access the abstract of a generated reference, click Abstract.
To download/access a reference generated
You can tell if Scopus carries a full text of a source generated. If FULL TEXT is shown, that
means you can access the electronic copy of the source via Scopus. Click FULL TEXT to
read or download the document.
If FULL TEXT is not displayed, click S.F.X to see if the source is carried by the Universitys
library. If it is, S.F.X will show either the call number of the hardcopy of the source or the
link to the source if it is available online. If the source is carried by the Library, click GO.
You will be directed to the record page of the source.
1.5 Recording bibliographic information of sources
Once you have obtained a source or its abstract, record its bibliographic details especially if
you are going to use any part of the source in future public and formal communication (e.g., a
presentation, a lab report, a final year project report, a work project report, etc.).
What you record for each source depends on its type. The table provided on the next page
gives you some ideas of what to record for some common types of publication.
Task 5 Refer to the materials that you have studied in Task 2. For each of the sources, state
where you can find the bibliographic details, e.g., author(s), editor(s), year of publication,
publisher (for books only), volume/issue numbers (for journal articles), title, website, etc.
Source
Type
A monograph
An edited book chapter
A journal article
A newspaper / magazine arti
Details to
note
authors
name(s)
(if available or el
name of the newspaper
magazine)
year of
publication
Date of
access
not applicable
not applicable
title of the
article
not applicable
(possibly needed
if the journal is
published on line
only)
(full date needed fo

newspaper; month neede
a magazine)
(if the newspaper o
magazine is published
line only)
editors
name(s)
title of the
book
not applicable
not applicable
not applicable
not applicable
not applicable
21
title of the
journal
place of
publication
publishers
name
volume /
issue #
not applicable
not applicable
not applicable
(name of the newspap

the magazine)
not applicable
not applicable
not applicable
not applicable
not applicable
page numbers
Website
address
not applicable
not applicable
not applicable
unless the book is
part of a series
not applicable
(if the journal

is published online only)
(for on-line versio

the newspaper or the
magazine)
22
Unit 1 Appendix
Source A
23
Source B
Title page
Fine-print page
24
Contents page
25
Source C
Title page
Fine-print page ( after the title page)
26
Contents page
The chapter to use

in a presentation
27
Source D
28
Unit 2 Writing progress reports

In your future career as an engineer, you will be required to write a variety of reports on
different technical matters. In this unit, you will learn how to compose one common type,
namely the progress report. By the end of this unit, you should be able to analyze and describe
the following features of a progress report.
its purposes
its generic organization
its contents
some of its language features
You are also expected to apply the above knowledge in the production of the progress report
required in Assessed Task 1.
Task 1 This discussion task is the first of a series in this unit that prepare you for Assessed
Task 1, which is to write a report on the searches done for the seminar presentation in Assessed
Task 2.
Together with your project team formed for Assessed Task 2, decide the following for the
seminar and keep a record of the decisions made:
topic (see instructions for Assessed Task 2 on p.13)

types of information to present in the seminar
types of sources to consult for the information
how to identify the sources
allocation of work for the information searches
The record will form the reference (Part 1) for the progress report which you will need to
produce for Assessed Task 1. It is expected that by Week 4 you will have gathered some
information you are responsible for as agreed in this discussion. You are expected to have
drafted up the progress report by Week 4 and bring it to the class for comments by one of your
members. The final report will be submitted on Monday of Week 5.
2.2 Audience and purposes of progress reports

The audience of a progress report can be your supervisor or the client of a project. Progress
reports have several key functions to serve. To the recipient, a progress report provides a brief
look at some of the interim outcomes of a project while at the same time reassuring its recipient
that you are making progress, that the project is going smoothly, and that it will be completed
by the expected date. It also gives the recipient a chance to evaluate your work on the project
and to request changes.
If you have encountered any problem in a project, a progress report also provides you with a
29
chance to discuss the problems and thus to forewarn its recipient about the possible delays of
the project and the needs for making changes. When preparing a progress report, you are at the
same time forcing you to evaluate the progress you have made so that you will complete the
project on time.
Progress reports can be generated for external or internal use.
External progress reports
generated for the client served in an engineering project;
produced at regular intervals (e.g., monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly) by the project leader
or a senior consultant overseeing the project; and

normally required of the engineering firm and is specified in a contract as part of the terms
for the project

Internal progress reports
generated for a line manager or colleagues to update them on the progress made in a
specific part of a project that the writer is responsible for, e.g., the progress made in the
testing of a product; and
produced at regular intervals (e.g., weekly, monthly, etc.)
2.3 Formats and components of a progress report

Formats
Progress reports can be delivered verbally or through a written document. In this unit, you will
learn how to produce written progress reports. Written Progress reports can appear in the
following formats:
a formal report (soft/hardcopy) to a client with a formal cover email or cover letter
an email
a memo
a chart
Task 2 Study the sample reports shown in the Appendix. For each sample, state whether it is
an internal or an external report. Also specify the form that each sample represents.
Components of a memo report

The report to be written for Assessed Task 1 is an internal memo report. A memo progress
report consists two parts: the header and the report.
The header
The header carries the following information about the report:
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To: (name of the recipient, e.g., Chan Tai Man, Project Manager)
From: (name of the sender, e.g., Mary Wong)
Date: (the date that the memo was sent to the recipient)
Subject: (the subject line that reflects the content of the memo)
Contents and organization of the report

Task 3 Study Sample Reports B to D as examined in Task 2. Identify the major sections in each
sample, describe the types of information presented in each of the sections and state the purpos
e(s) that the information serves.
Most progress reports carry the following components:

Project background
This section provides a quick overview of the scope and the plans of work
(specific tasks and / or outcomes) to be completed by the reporting time as
agreed earlier with the recipient. You may skip this section if the project
being reported is a small-scale one.
Work completed and

issues arising
Work in progress
In this section, you present the tasks that are still in progress, their
outcomes and their expected dates of completion.
Future tasks
Conclusion
31
2.4 Language use in progress reports

Verb tenses
Task 4 Study Samples B-D and observe the tense(s) that are used to describe actions that have
been completed.
Use of personal pronouns

Task 5 Study the samples again. This time, pay attention to the tone used in the reports. State
whether an impersonal or personal tone (I/We) used in the samples. Why is a personal tone
used?
References to prior communication

Task 6 It is quite common to see previous communication referred to in a written progress
report. Can you identify a few references made to prior communication in the Sample D? Why
are the references made?
Reporting emerging issues

Task7 Study Report Sample D and circle the parts where emerging problems or issues
(negative news) are reported. How does the writer present the events to reduce the negative
impression they may create on the reader?
Task 8 Applying what you have learned in this unit, write the progress report required for
Assessed Task 1.
32
Unit 2 Appendix Sample progress reports

Sample A
33
Sample B
MEMO
To:
Jeannie McDuff, Vice President of Domestic Operations
From:
Scott Sampson, Manager of Personnel SS
Date:
June 11, 2012
Subject: Progress Report on Training Project
PROGRESS SUMMARY
On May 21, you asked that I study ways our firm can improve training for technical employees in all
domestic offices. We agreed that the project would take about six or seven weeks and involve three
phases:
Phase 1: Make phone inquiries to competing firms.
Phase 2: Send a survey to our technical people.
Phase 3: Interview a cross section of our technical employees.
I have now completed Phase 1 and part of Phase 2. My observation thus far is that the project will offer
many new directions to consider for our technical training program.
WORK COMPLETED
In the first week of the project, I had extensive phone conversations with people at three competing firms
about their training programs. Then, in the second week, I wrote and sent out a training survey to all
technical employees in M-Globals domestic offices.
Phone Interviews
I contacted three firms for whom we have done similar favors in the past: Simkins Consultants, Judd &
Associates, and ABG Engineering. Here is a summary of my conversations:
Simkins Consultants
Talked with Harry Roland, Training Director, on May 22. Harry said that his firm has most success with
internal training seminars. Each technical person completes several one-or two-day seminars every year.
These courses are conducted by in-house experts or external consultants, depending on the specialty.
Judd & Associates
Talked with Jan Tyler, Manager of Engineering, on May 23, Jan said that Judd, like Simkins, depends
mostly on internal seminars. But Judd spreads these seminars over one or two weeks, rather than
teaching intensive courses in one or two days. Judd also offers short technical awareness sessions
during the lunch hour every two weeks. In-house technical experts give informal presentations on some
aspect of their research or fieldwork.
ABG Engineering
Talked with Newt Mosely, Personnel Coordinator, on May 27. According to Newt, ABGs training
program is much as it was two decades ago. Most technical people at high levels go to one seminar a
year, usually sponsored by professional societies or local colleges. Other technical people get little
training beyond what is provided on the job. In-house training has not worked well, mainly because of
schedule conflicts with engineering jobs. Jeannie McDuff
Internal Survey
After completing the phone interviews noted, I began the survey phase of the project. Last week, I
finished writing the survey, had it reproduced, and sent it with a cover memo to all 450 technical
employees in domestic offices. The deadline for returning it to me is June 17.
34
WORK NOT YET COMPLETED

With phone interviews finished and the survey mailed, I foresee the following schedule for completing
the project:
June 17: Surveys returned
June 18-20: Surveys evaluated
June 22-30: Trips taken to all domestic offices to interview a cross section of technical employees
July 3: Submission of final project report to you
CONCLUSION
My interviews with competitors gave me a good feel for what technical training might be appropriate for
our staff. Now I am hoping for a high-percentage return on the internal survey. That phase will prepare a
good foundation for my on-site interviews later this month. I believe this major corporate effort will upgr
ade our technical training considerably.
I would be glad to hear any suggestions you may have about my work on the rest of the project.
Adapted from Pfeiffer & Adkins (2013)
Sample C
FROM: Jersey Manu ([email protected])
TO: Dr. Jensen Wong (Staff Development Director) ([email protected])
DATE: September 28, 2012
SUBJECT: Progress on faculty workshop plans
Hi Dr. Jensen,
Heres an update of the progress on the faculty workshop plans.
Work Completed
Preparation for the faculty workshop on October 12 is nearly completed. The committee met on
September 19. We discussed what kind of subject we wanted and came up with several names of possible
speakers.
Since then, Greg Stephens has contacted Stan Brannan, president of Genesis Technology Center in
Wichita. He has agreed to come. Since then we have sent him a letter confirming the speaking
engagement, and Greg Stephens has talked to him personally. He will be flying in on October 12.
I contacted John Campbell at Boeing. He got in touch with Al Andrews in their CAD-CAM division. Mr.
Andrews has confirmed that either he or Tom McDabitt from his department will come to speak. A letter
has been sent to him as well confirming the speaking engagement. Both letters were mailed Tuesday,
September 27.
Please see the attachment for the invitation letters as well as the directions to the campus sent to both Mr.
Andrews and Mr. Brannan.
Work Scheduled
There are a few things that remain to be done. I need to call Al Andrews, make sure he got his
letter, and work out any remaining details about his arrival.
We need to find out when Mr. Brannan will be arriving and have someone meet him at the
airport.
We would like to send announcements to various business leaders, the news media, the chamber
of commerce, and the other post-secondary schools in town by the middle of next week.
35
Remaining issues
Here are a few things that we need your advice on:
Will your office be responsible for sending out announcements, or do you want us to do that? We do
have some papers from Genesis that could be sent with the announcements. These would help
people know what Genesis is. I've enclosed one.
Will someone from your office meet Mr. Brannan or should one of us? You'll notice that my letter
suggests that Mr. Andrews go directly to your office if he arrives at noon.
Will you or Tim make the opening comments and introductions? Please see the enclosed schedule.
How do we make arrangements to have coffee and rolls available in G.T. 103?
I think this will be an interesting workshop and am confident that everything is working out nicely. I
don't foresee any problems that would throw off our plans.
Jersey
Sample D
To: George Chan <[email protected]>
From: Mary Loel <[email protected])>
CC:
Date: January 10, 2012
Subject: 5th Progress Report of AIMS
Dear George,
Please find attached the 5th report on the progress made in the creation of the Awardee Information
Management System (AIMS). The report provides a summary of the activity covering the period of JuneDecember, 2011. As described in the report, the project is making good progress and is on schedule.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Loel
Senior Consultant
Global Technology
(the attached report)
Awardee Information Management System:
The 5th Progress Report and Information Systems Analysis
(June December, 2011)
Project goals and deliverables
The Awardee Information Management System (AIMS) is online system that requested by the City Gove
rnment (Government thereafter). One of the major goals of system is to collect and analyze data of public
ly funded social service projects carried out by non-government organizations (NGOs). The analysis is to
help the Government determine how well each funded NGO has fulfilled the objectives outlined in the in
itial contract or agreement.
As agreed, AIMS is to produce a report that will contain uniform information about every NGO awardee
who receives a fund from the Government, which includes the organization profile of the NGO, the fund
contract awarded to the NGO, details of the progress made in the funded work, and an appraisal of the
36
performance of the NGO. It was also agreed that a database that will support the report described above.
It was agreed that the project would take 27 months and would take place in six major phases
Phase
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Work summary
System Design
Database construction
Data analysis and reporting program development
Graphical interfaces
System installation and on-site testing
User training and system documentation
Timelines
October 2010 - June 2011
June - December 2011
August 2011 - April 2012
May - July 2012
August - December 2012
January - February 2013
Work completed
System design (Phase I)
As already described in the first progress report, dated June 30, 2011, Phase I was only partly completed
owing to the delays caused by a change in sub-contractors involved in one part of the design. We are
however happy to report that the system design was completed in September, 2011. A schematic diagram
of the system architecture can be found in our AIMS development site
(www.globaltechnology.com/AIMS/sys_architecture).
Database construction (Phase II)
Work completed Despite the delays caused in the completion of the system design, work invovled in the
database construction has not much been interrupted. It was both started on schedule and was completed
in the first week of January, 2012. The prototype of the database structure has been worked up and can be
accessed through our AIMS development site (www.globaltechnology.com/AIMS/database). The framew
ork is solid.
Work remaining. As with any large databases, there are a few outstanding issues that need to be and can
only be resolved during the testing phase. This will involve some local, small-scale modifications to the
framework and documentation of the new data fields. The modifications, as brought up in our last
conversation, will require some input from your department and will take approximately an extra week o
f work. This extra work will not cause any major interruption to the work involved in Phase II.
Work in progress
Data analysis and reporting program development (Phase III)
The program developed for analyzing and reporting data submitted by NGOs is being developed. A draft
design of the report format has been created and is provided in our AIMS development site
(www.globaltechnology.com/AIMS/report_generation). As discussed earlier, input from your Departmen
t will be required to finalize the design. It is expected that the work involved in this phase will be comple
ted in mid-April, 2012.
Work in the second quarter of the year
The next phase of work will involve the design of graphical interfaces, which has been scheduled to start
in the third week of April.
Conclusion
The AIMS project is coming along well in this last year quarter, despite some slight delays. On the whole,
the system design is sound and there is a realistic timeline in place.
There are no foreseeable major problems that will prevent timely implementation of this project. There ar
e no other competing projects that might cause delay of this project.
This project has the full support and commitment of Global Technology.
37
Unit 3 Preparing for an effective presentation

This unit aims to develop your skills needed to prepare for an effective presentation. By applying what
you learn in this unit, you should be able to achieve the following:
set the goals of a presentation;

select appropriate contents to deliver in a presentation;
structure a presentation;
design an effective slide show; and
prepare for the question time
You are expected to apply the above skills when preparing for the presentation that you will
deliver in Assessed Task 2.
Task 1 One overarching learning outcome of this and the next units is that you will be able to
deliver effective presentations to non-technical audiences. But, what is an effective
presentation? Together with the colleagues in your project team, name three attributes of an
effective presentation. Also, describe how you would want your audience to describe the
presentation that you will present in Assessed Task 2.
3.2 Understanding your audience

An effective presentation is one which provides information that the audience needs. Thus, a
first essential step in the preparation for a presentation is to gain some understanding of its
audience. This process is called audience analysis. When conducting an audience analysis, you
need to find out:
the professional and education backgrounds of the people who will attend your
presentation;
their existing knowledge of the presentation topic;
the types of information that they want to obtain from the presentation; and
how they may apply the information.
Information about the audience can be collected from different sources, e.g.,
the party that has invited you to give the presentation

the audience who will be attending the presentation
speakers who have delivered talks to a similar audience
38
3.3 Setting clear and achievable goals

An effective presentation is one that meets its goals. Therefore, to prepare for a presentation,
you need to also set some achievable goals. Some of the goals for the presentation in Assessed
Task 2 have already been set for you (study the instructions again).
3.4 Selecting appropriate contents
What to present depends on the results of the audience analysis and the goals set.
Task 2 Together with your project team members, decide the types of information that will be
presented in the seminar.
3.5 Structuring the presentation

An effective presentation is one that is structured in ways that the audience can follow. It
should begin with a brief introduction, which is then followed by the main part of the talk
(body) and end with a conclusion as well as a question (Q and A) time.
Introduction
Start with a remark that can catch your audiences attention

and tell the audience the aims of your talk.
Body
Present the key points about the topic in the body of your talk.
Conclusion
Signal to your audience when you come to the end of your talk
and end it with a memorable remark.
Questions time (Q/A)
Following the concluding remark, you invite questions from

the audience and respond to them.
Each point to make in the presentation should be well-developed according to some expected
patterns, e.g.,
general specific
claim evidence
definition examples / illustrations
cause consequence
problem solution
pros cons or vice versa
3.6 Making your presentation engaging

An effective presentation is one that is engaging. That is, it can capture the audiences attention
throughout. There are various strategies that you can apply to make a presentation engaging.
Some need to be applied in the design of your presentation while some need to be applied when
the presentation is being delivered. In this unit, we will explore what you need to do when
preparing for an engaging presentation.
3.6.1 Plan for an engaging opening remark
Task 3 Study the following excerpt taken from the opening remark of a speech. What does the
presenter tell the audience in the numbered sentences? Comment on the effectiveness of the
opening remark.
39
Today Im going to explain why purple loosestrife has become a problem and what
is being done to solve the problem. 2First Ill discuss the reasons that loosestrife has
had a serious impact on public wetlands in the United States. 3Then Ill outline
some of the methods that have been successfully used to control loosestrife. 4And
finally, Ill introduce a unique way to control loosestrife that appears to be both safe
and effective.
An opening remark should include a brief statement of the aim or the outline of the
presentation. However, such a statement is usually dry and is not very engaging. You may want
to spice up your opening remark. Complete Task 4 to find out some spice-up strategies.
Task 4 Read the following part of the opening remark that precedes the excerpt you studied in
Task 3. Then, answer the questions provided after the excerpt.
1
You may have seen a tall, bright purple plant growing along some of the rivers
and lakes in this area of the United States. 2This attractive plant is called purple
loosestrife. 3Purpose loosestrife is a wetland species from Europe and Asia that
was brought to the United States in the 1800s. 4It spread naturally near water
but was also spread by gardeners who noticed how beautiful it was and put it
in the wet areas of their gardens. 5Now purple loosestrife covers some four
hundred thousand acres in the United States and Canada. 6Unfortunately, its
extensive spread has had a serious impact on public wetlands in the U.S.
7
What can we do to tackle the problem? 8Today Im going to explain why

purple loosestrife has become a problem and what is being done to solve the
problem.
Adapted from Reinhart, S. M. (2002). Giving Academic Presentations, p.133.
U.S.: Michigan University Press.
1. What does the speaker try to do through Sentence 1?
2. Why does the speaker provide the brief background of loosestrife (see Sentences 2-4)?
3. What is highlighted in Sentences 5-6? What might be one reason for the speaker to
highlight the phenomenon?
4. Which of the sentences are intended to spice up the opening remark?
You can spice up your opening remark by:
describing a phenomenon that your audience can relate to (see Sentence 1 in the
example above)
asking an interesting/stimulating question
telling a true story relating to the topic (e.g., your own story, a story reported in the
media, etc.)
showing some striking statistics that show the prevalence of a phenomenon or the
gravity of a problem that leads to your talk (see Sentence 5 in the example above)
inviting the audience to imagine themselves in a situation that relates to the topic
Task 5 You will be shown the first few slides that a student used at the start of his presentation.
In the presentation, the student shared the applications he developed on mobile devices as part
of his final year project. Pay special attention to the part that runs up to the Presentation Title
and the Overview slides. How did the student spice up his opening remark?
Task 6 How would you spice up the opening of your presentation in Assessed Task 2?
40
3.6.2 Keep the body of your talk engaging

It is not enough to spice up your opening remark. You need to think of ways to keep your
audiences attention throughout the main part of the presentation. Try the following strategies:
Choose the most important, relevant and interesting ideas to present.

Illustrate your points by giving familiar examples or real life stories.
Introduce a joke.
Use visuals to explain abstract and complex ideas.
Task 7 You will watch a video clip showing a presentation delivered by Steve Job. Describe the
graphics that he used to illustrate what he was presenting.
There are different types of visual that you can use to keep your talk engaging, e.g.,
graphs and tables
photographs
screen captures (especially helpful for presenting new software and applications)
audio or video clips
real objects
Task 8 What types of visual or multimedia will you use in your presentation?
3.6.3 End with an engaging remark

Task 9 What do you think of the concluding remarks listed below? Which one do you like most
and which least?
1. Thats all I want to say about loosestrife.
2. Thats the end of my presentation on loosestrife.
3. Now comes the end of the presentation. Id like to summarize what I have presented. I have
briefly described the existing problem caused by loosestrife, and evaluated different
approaches to solve the problem. Ive suggested that option X will be the best. Are there
any questions that youd like to raise?
4. Now, I hope that you can see how solution X might be the best way of tackling the
problem. Good bye.
5. Right, thats a brief discussion of loosestrife. Obviously, there are a number of points I
couldnt possibly present because of the time. So, I expect to hear some questions from the
audience for clarification.
6. So, what might then be the solution to the loosestrife problem? The answer is quite clear.
As Ive elaborated just now, X is the best approach to the problem because of A, B, C.
Thank you for listening. Any comments?
A talk can end with a summary of the points presented. This is one of the basic ways of
concluding a talk but is definitely not an engaging way. You can end your talk by encouraging
your audience to take actions, making a humorous remark, a picture, or a quote.
Task 10 How will you conclude your talk to make in Assessed Task 2?
41
3.7 Being prepared for the questions asked

The question time, or called the Q and A (questions and answers), is an expected part of all
kinds of presentations. It is the part where the presenters knowledge of the topic is put to test.
But, it is also the part where lively discussions can take place if it is handled well.
To prepare for the question time, you need to first anticipate the types of questions that your
audience may ask and think of the answers that you will provide.
3.7.1 Question types
One type of question often asked is the information seeking question, which prompts for details
the presenter has not supplied or has not explained clearly in the body of the presentation, e.g.,
What is meant by X?
I dont quite get what you said about X. Do you mean ?
What types of services does your firm provide?
Another type of question that you should expect is the critique question. It is asked to achieve
two purposes: to express the questioners comment on the matter presented and to prompt for
the presenters response to the comment. In a seminar that aims to persuade the audience to buy
in a form of technology being promoted, audience may raise critique questions that suggest
their skepticism or reservation about the technology, e.g.,
I dont see why we need to switch to this mail browser when the one Im using is
already good enough.
Using this mail browser can create some problems.
3.7.2 Preparation
You will need to think of the questions that you will be asked and prepare answers to them. You
may need to pre-empt some of the questions by addressing them in the body of your talk. If
time does not allow pre-empting all the questions, you will need to be prepared to answer some
in the question time.
Rehearse your presentation. Invite a colleague to act as your audience and raise questions.
Practice answering the questions and have some strategies ready to handle the questions that
you dont have immediate answers to.
Task 11 Together with your team members, brainstorm for the questions that might be raised by
the audience in Assessed Task 2. Prepare answers and strategies to address the questions.
3.8 Designing effective and engaging slides

PowerPoint is the most popular piece of presentation software. Here, you will learn a few basic
principles that you can apply when preparing slides for your presentation.
3.8.1 Do not overprepare slides
Do not overprepare slides. The more slides you produce, the more you want to present, and the
more you need to rush through them. This will reduce the effectiveness of your presentation.
3.8.2 Do not overload your slides
42
Task 12 Your instructor will show you some slides prepared by two students. They were used
in the presentations of their final year projects. Comment on the design of the slides.
Dont overload your slides.

Try to limit the points to present (a maximum of four is recommended).
Use short phrases rather than lengthy sentences.
Animate the slide so that one point will be released at a time.
If possible, use graphic instead of text.
Task 13 The following is a slide used in a presentation on a study about the declining
attendance at public concerts at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (HKCC). Comment on its
effectiveness. If youre to keep some of the words of each of the numbered points, which
words would you keep?
1. Concerts held on Thursday nights on average only attract 50 people, Sunday concerts, in
contrast, 180, and Saturday concerts, 300.
2. The survey shows that, from 250 people interviewed in detail, 85 like classical, 70 rock, 35
jazz, and 60 folk music.
3. 25% of all interviewees said that ticket prices were reasonable, 10% found tickets cheap,
and 65% claimed that tickets were too expensive.
4. When asked how they had become aware of the concerts, most people stated that they had
either learnt about the events from friends or seen them advertised online, and only some
people that they had seen the concert posters in public places.
Each graphic that you present should have a clear message to convey (e.g., to illustrate a point,
to explain the structure of an object, etc.). So, make sure that it is designed in a way that can
help you convey the message. When designing a graphic, do the following:
Leave out the parts which are irrelevant to the message or may obscure the message.
Do not crowd it with labels or commentaries. If they are needed, simplify them and use
them sparingly.
Make sure it is large enough.
Highlight parts that you want your audience to look at.
If needed, animate your graphic so that one part of it will be shown at a time.
Task 14 Design a slide in which you will graphically present one of the numbered points listed
in the slide studied in Task 13. Where possible, animate the slide. You will be asked to orally
present the point with the help of the slide that you have designed.
3.8.3 Use appropriate fonts

Task 15 Watch a clip that your instructor will show you. What does the speaker try to say? Do
you agree with what he says? What font types and font sizes will you use in your presentation?
43
Unit 4 Delivering effective presentations

This unit aims to develop your verbal and non-verbal skills needed to deliver effective
presentations. By applying what you learn in this unit, you should be able to achieve the
following in a presentation:
speak clearly and spontaneously;

monitor your use of technical language;
use a variety of expressions;
use your body language to enliven your talk and keep it engaging; and
deliver the contents of a slide show in ways that can complement your talk.
You are expected to apply what you learn in this unit when delivering the presentation required
in Assessed Task 2.
4.2 Verbal delivery skills

4.2.1 Speak naturally
If you want to deliver an effective presentation, one thing you must do to is to make your
audience feel that you are talking to them. One way to achieve this is to speak naturally
(spontaneously). Do not recite or read from a pre-scripted speech.
Task 1 Think of two reasons why delivering a pre-scripted speech may reduce its effectiveness.
You dont really need to rely on a script when you have done enough preparation of the kinds
suggested in Unit 2. If there are parts that need to be scripted or memorized, they would most
probably be the opening, the concluding remarks and perhaps some transitional sentences you
use to signal the development of your presentation.
Here are some tips that you can try to help you speak spontaneously:
Do not think of your presentation as a formal speech. Think of it as a conversation with

your audience.
Remember well both the structure and the key points that you have prepared (see Unit
2).
Prepare brief notes in print or build them into slides that you can fall back on in case
your memory fails.
Rehearse the presentation. Practice expressing the key points and elaborating them
using complete sentences until you can express them fluently and naturally.
4.2.2 Speak clearly

Make sure that your audience can follow what you tell them. This means you need to speak
clearly. To do this, you need to
speak audibly by projecting your voice;

speak at an appropriate speed;
44
use language that your audience understands (see the section below on Mind your
jargon);
speak grammatically; and
pronounce words accurately.
You can tell whether you are speaking clearly by observing your audiences facial expressions.
If you see signs of confusion, you will need to slow down, adjust your language or even the
content of your talk.
4.2.3 Mind your jargon
Task 2 Think of at least one term that will be used in the presentation you will make in
Assessed Task 2. Will the audience be able to understand it? If they wont, what would you do
in order to help your audience understand the term?
In your future careers as engineers, you will use a lot of technical language (jargon,
abbreviations and acronyms) to communicate work matters with your colleagues. This is very
natural and is in fact needed to speed up the communication. However, frequent use of jargon
will run the chance of losing a non-specialist audience. This is likely the case in the
presentation you deliver in Assessed Task 2 and in the meeting with the client representatives in
Assessed Task 5.
Do consider the following when communicating technical matters with a non-technical
audience:
Unless a term is essential in the communication, try not to use it especiallyif you know that
your audience will not understand it.
If the term is essential , give a brief explanation that the audience can easily understand.
You can explain the term visually (see Unit 2) or verbally if a visual explanation does not
help (see below).
4.2.4 Explaining technical terms

Task 3 Study the following explanations of some technical terms. Identify the types of
information provided in each of the boxed parts.
a.
An electronic circuit is a path between two or more points along which an electrical current can be
carried.
b.
A flip flop circuit is a circuit containing active elements that can assume either one of two stable
states at any given time.
c.
An electrophorus is a laboratory instrument used to generate static electricity.
d.
Hypno-analysis is a psychoanalytical technique in which hypnosis is used to obtain information

from a patients unconscious mind.
e.
An electron microscope is a microscope that uses electrons rather than visible light to produce
magnified images.
f.
A high performance building is a building that integrates and optimizes on a lifecycle basis all
major high performance attributes, including energy [and water] conservation, environment, safety,
security, durability, accessibility, cost-benefit, productivity, sustainability, functionality, and
operational considerations (Energy Independence and Security Act 2007 401 PL 110-140)
g.
High performance is defined in this project as a compression ratio no less than 4 (i.e., reducing the
size of an image file by the factor 4) and a maximum loss value of 1%.
45
h.
By high performance, we mean a compression ratio that is no less than 6 and a maximum loss value
of 0.5%.
i.
Some communications protocols include signaling functions along with data. Channel Associated
Signaling protocols also called Robbed Bit Signalinginclude signaling in the data channel (as
opposed to a dedicated signaling channel).
j.
Multitasking is when you do two things at once.
k.
To bluetooth means to send information.
l.
A strike is when employees of an organization or a union stop working.
When explaining a term, you can tell your audience what it refers to (e.g., a piece of equipment,
a technique, or an action). You can describe some of its distinguishing features such as its
shape, color, sizes, structure or function.
Formal definitions
You can explain a term by defining it formally (see Samples a-h in Task 3). A formal definition
is made up of three parts: the term (T), the genus (G) and the differentiae (D).
Part
Purpose of the part
Example
Term
to state the concept being defined
a flip flop circuit

high performance
Genus
to state the restricted class to which

the concept belongs
a circuit
a compression ratio
Differentiae
to state a unique feature(s) that can

containing active elements that (to
distinguish the concept being defined
distinguish a flip-flop from another type
from another that belongs to the
of circuit)
same class
no less than 4 and a maximum loss
value of 1% (to distinguish the meaning
of hi performance from that set by other
researchers)
Task 4 Identify the genus and differentiae in Samples a, c, e g provided in Task 3.

The genus and the differentiae provided in a formal definition are what make the definition
formal (serious and precise). It carries the details about a term that specialists normally provide.
The differentiae are needed to distinguish the term being defined from another of a similar
meaning.
Formal definitions tend to be expressed using fixed sentence patterns that make them stand out
definitions. Complete Task 5 to identify some of the patterns.
Task 5 Study the samples of formal definitions in Task 3 and answer the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What sentence patterns are used in the definitions?

What is the main verb used in the definitions a-f? What are the main verbs used in g-h?
What verb can be used to replace is or is defined as in a-g?
Write a short formal definition of the term or the concept that you have provided in Task 1.
46
Informal definitions
An informal definition is provided when the precise meaning of a term being explained is not
needed. When compared with a formal definition, an informal definition is more casual and less
rigorous.
Explanations i-l studied in Task 3 are examples of informal definitions. They do not state genus
(class) of the concept being defined (e.g., strike or bluetooth). The differentiae provided are
rather general (e.g., means to send information).
Task 6 Study the following excerpt and identify the part where the term multi-tasking is
explained. Is the term defined formally or informally? Why?
Young people are spending at least seven-and-a-half hours a day with media
computers, cell phones, TV or music, and by frequently multitasking, that is,
doing all these at the same time, they're packing in the equivalent of nearly 11
hours of content, according to a 2010 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Whether theyre texting while talking to friends or plugging in to an iPod while
studying, today's teenagers seem to be constantly multitasking.
(adapted from Nightly News, msnbc.com)
When explaining a term informally, you can use a synonym or synonymous expression that the
audience can understand. This is sometimes all that your audience wants, i.e., say it in
language that I can understand. Phrases such as doing all these at the same time (for multitasking), to send information (for bluetooth), and also called Robbed Bit Signaling (for
Channel Associated Signaling protocols) are examples of synonyms or synonymous expressions .
Unlike formal definitions, which are mostly restricted to technical nouns (e.g., optical tweezers,
hypno-analysis), informal definitions can be used to explain terms of different parts of speech,
e.g., nouns (optical tweezers), verbs (to acylate), adjectives (acylated viruses), etc.
An informal definition can be introduced as an insertion in a sentence. In writing, an informal
definition is separated from the main parts of a sentence by a preceding dash, a pair of brackets,
or signaling words or phrases such as, which, that is, , i.e.,, and also called. But, in
speaking you can only use signaling phrases, short pauses or other paralinguistic cues.
Task 7
1. Which of the signaling devices listed above are applied to the informal definition of multitasking observed in Task 6?
2. Study the following passage and locate the informal definitions embedded in the text. What
information is provided in the definitions and how are the informal definitions signaled?
Imagine the two paragraphs were to be delivered orally in a presentation. Read aloud the
paragraphs and signal the informal definitions.
There is a new challenge to conservation biology in British Columbia (a province in Canada),
one which goes hand in hand with intensifying efforts to save species at risk and restore natural
ecosystems. Its an alien invasion, and though its been going on for decades its implications
to restoration and recovery efforts throughout the province are profound. Invasive non-native
plant species, which are also called alien, introduced, or exotic, grow quickly and aggressively.
47
These unwelcome plants disrupt the ecology of natural ecosystems by displacing native plants
and the animal species that depend upon them reducing native biodiversity. In this century the
greatest threat to our native plants and wildlife may well come from invasive species.
When using an acronym or an abbreviation, you may also need to unpack it for your nontechnical audience.
Task 8 Identify the acronym used in the text below and provide an informal definition of the
acronym.
A laser is a device that emits light (electromagnetic radiation) through a process of
optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The emitted laser
light is notable for its high degree of spatial and temporal coherence, unattainable
using other technologies.
4.3 Presentation language

4.3.1 Stating the aims and the structure
Task 9
1. You will listen to the start of a talk introducing the services offered at Clifton Language
Training. While listening, fill the gaps in the transcript below with the expressions that the
speaker uses.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,
very briefly, about Clifton
Language Training. And
, what is Clifton Language training,
who is in it, and
2. How does the speaker announce the structure of his talk?
3. Read the following extract of the loosestrife speech you analyzed in Unit 2. Underline the
phrases/clauses that the speaker uses to introduce his/her aim and the outline of the speech.
Today
why purple loosestrife has become a
problem and what is being done to solve the problem. First,
the
reasons that loosestrife has had a serious impact on public wetlands in the United
States. Then
some of the methods that have been
successfully used to control loosestrife. And finally,
a
48
unique way to control loosestrife that appears to be both safe and effective.
4. Can you replace the underlined parts with some other language?
4.3.2 Signaling transitions

Signal the transitions you make in your talk by using short pauses or verbal transition markers,
e.g.,
Now, let me just briefly summarize

For instance,
But,
Task 10 You will listen to the rest of the Clifton speech. While listening, fill the gaps in the
transcript below with the transition markers that the speaker uses.
So,
Clifton Language Training? Well, its an
English language training consultancy, based in Clifton, in the north of England. It was
established in 1980, with the objective of specializing in industry-specific language
training.
two main activities.
, in Clifton, we run
individual courses of two types, either what we call one-to-one,
, one
teacher for one student, or a two-to-one, two teachers for one student. And, we also run
small group courses in Clifton. The other main activity, our overseas services, where we
send a trainer abroad to work on-site, usually with a group, in a company.
, we also write a lot of materials, both for
publishers and also specially commissioned by companies.
. There are five partners,
four teaching partners and one administrative partner and, in addition, there are several,
experienced freelance teachers.
And,
. And here
Id like to stress that, as a partnership, we are not only a partnership amongst ourselves, but
also are partners for our clients, and the basis for all the work we do is a very thorough
needs analysis, that is an analysis of the job-related communication needs of the students.
On the basis of this analysis, we go on to design a course and then to actually run the
course.
, obviously, an integral part of the course itself are the materials and for
49
the development of these materials, we call on our extensive resources of print, audio and
video material.
, finally, at the end of the course, there will be suggestions for follow-up and a
thorough evaluation in terms of the objectives set during the needs analysis.
, that hopefully answers three questions: what is Clifton Language
Training, who is in it, and third, how do we work.
Are there any questions
Below are some common transition markers used in presentations.

Contrast
But
Change
topic
in
Continuation/addin
g
And
Summarizin
g
Exemplification
For example,
one example of this is,
Let me show you one example,
Now, lets move on to

Now, Id like to show
you
So
So, to sum it all up,
Right, to recap,
So, very briefly
Transition markers can be phrases such as X is a case in point (instead of for example) or
sentences such as There is one more point to say about this design (instead of
furthermore). They dont have to be the connectives that you learned in your secondary
school (e.g., furthermore, moreover, beside, consequently, etc.).
4.3.3 Concluding
Task 11
1. How does the speaker of the Clifton speech (Task 1) end the talk?
He
earlier.
the main points by reiterating (repeating) the three
raised
2. Below are some ending lines that you can use in a presentation. Can you come up with
some other sentences to replace the underlined parts?
Now, comes the end of the presentation. Id like to summarize what I have presented.
I have briefly described the existing problem caused by loosestrife, evaluated
different approaches to solve the problem. Ive suggested that option X will be the
best. Are there any questions that youd like to raise?
Right, thats a brief discussion of loosestrife. Obviously, there are a number of points
I couldnt possibly present because of the time. So, I expect to hear some questions
from the audience for clarification or further understanding of my topic.
4.3.4 Handling the question time
50
Watch your mannerism and be tactful when handling the comments and questions from your
audience. Practice the following:
Listen to your audiences feedback carefully and show this using various back channels
(e.g., nodding or saying yes, huh-huh, I see, right, sure, etc.).
Do your best to address their questions. Dont say, Sorry, I dont have the answer.
Dont over-react when being challenged.
If you have made a mistake in your presentation, admit that you have.
If you disagree with a comment raised, show your disagreement tactfully.
Show your appreciation of the questions or comments raised.
Task 12 Study the following pairs of utterances. State what the speakers in each pair try to do
(e.g., to propose, etc.). Also, decide which member of the pair is a better choice. Justify your
answer.
Pair 1
A. What?
B. Im sorry. Whats that again?
Pair 2
A. Thats a very good question. But, Im afraid I dont have an immediate answer to that.
B. Sorry, I have no answer.
Pair 3
A. I disagree with you.
B. Well, I dont see why you said
4.4 Non-verbal delivery skills

4.4.1 Body language
Eye contact is one powerful type of body language and it can be used to capture the audiences
attention. But, unfortunately, many inexperienced students seldom practice their eye contact.
While presenting, they may just fix their gazes on the screen or on their computers. When they
finally remember to look at their audience, many might just look at their friends or the
instructor. Remember that when presenting, you need to let your audience feel that you are
speaking to them by looking at each of them. To do this, let your gaze follow a figure 8 ( )
pattern.
Another type of body language you can use is your gesture. When applied naturally and
appropriately, body gestures can enliven your presentation. For example, you can use hand
gestures to imitate motions, act out the size of an object (e.g., large, small, tall, or short), or
indicate its position (inside, beside, above or underneath something). You can also use hand
movements to stress a point.
Body language needs to be natural. Try to find out your own style and then expand on it. If you
are not used to using any, try one or two to begin with.
4.4.2 Slide presentation
When presenting a slide, do not just fix your gaze on the screen and turn your back on the
audience. Remember to talk to them and maintain eye contact with them every now and then.
You may need to stand at an angle to one side of the screen so that you only need to turn your
head when switching your gazes between the screen and the audience.
51
When presenting a graphic, give verbal commentaries by explaining what it is, stating what it is
for and telling your audience what you want them to focus on. Use a non-distracting object
such a ruler, a laser pointer, or a floating marker to highlight the part to cue your audiences
attention. Also, dont flash the graphic. Allow your audience enough time to look at it.
4.4.3 Time management
An effective presentation should also be one that starts and ends on time. If you are running out
of time, skip the less crucial parts. If you have already run out of time, find a right point to end
the talk and do not drag on.
4.4.4 Mindset
Be enthusiastic about your talk. Also, be assertive and think of yourself as an expert who is
sharing knowledge with a group of people who want to learn from you.
52
Unit 5 Communicating work matters in emails

In this unit, you will learn how to compose emails to busy people at the workplace. By
applying what you learn in this unit, you should be able to
classify emails;
identify some major email formats;
describe and analyze the relation between the sender and the recipient of an email;
describe and analyze language use in emails; and
identify different factors that may shape the format of an email and the language used
in it.
You are expected to apply the knowledge and skills gained in this unit when composing the
emails in Assessed Tasks 3 and 5.
5.2 Actions that emails perform

We can classify emails according to the key actions they perform (i.e., its major purpose). Some
emails serve the purpose of informing, and many workplace emails fall in this category. They
include emails that announce new work regulations or those that provide project updates. Some
emails are sent to call for action. An example would be a message that asks colleagues to
confirm the date of a meeting. There are also emails that express the senders opinions or
feelings, such as those that complain or express appreciation. Note that an email can perform
more than one key action, e.g., announcing and expressing feelings.
Task 1 Identify the key action(s) performed by each of the emails provided below.
Sample A (an auto-reply sent to a buyer who had just purchased a book online)
From: [email protected]
To: Ms Miranda Yue [email protected]
Sent: June 21, 2011
Subject: Your order invoice
Attachment: 1320131.pdf [15B] [Open as web page]
Dear Ms Miranda Yue,
Your order 10750716 dated 22.01.2011 has now been fully processed. Attached to this e-mail,
please find the PDF invoice for your order. You may download the eBook via the data archive
in your personal account.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service
[email protected].
Thank you once again for shopping at www.peterlang.com.
The Peter Lang on-line Bookstore
Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
53
Moosstrasse 1
Postfach 350
CH- 2542 Pieterlen
Switzerland
Tel.: ++41 (0)32 327 17 17
Fax: ++41 (0)32 327 17 27
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.peterlang.com
Sample B
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Date: May 1, 2011
Subject: Your contract (urgent)
Dear Mr. Durnas,
I am pleased to let you know that the paperwork for your contract has been completed. Two
copies of the document have just been couriered to your home address. We would very much
appreciate it if you could sign both copies and return Copy 1 to us by May 15.
We are very much looking forward to working with you! Should you have any questions about
the contracts or about any other matters at any time, please feel free to get in touch with me in
the period running up to May 18, my assistant, Sanijt Kapoor between May 19 and May 31.
Ive copied Sanijt on this email.
Best regards,
Harvey C. Keck
Human Resource Manager
e-Logistics (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Phone: (852)2682-4493
Fax: (852) 2682-4441
Sample C
From: alle@e_logistics.com
To: dorcaschen@e_logistics.com
Date: October 15, 2012 23:15
Subject: RE Proposal for AMS
Hi Dorcas,
Im terribly sorry for keeping you waiting. Heres the updated AMS proposal. As you will see,
Ive changed the quotation (p.5 and on). I took your advice and recycled the budget formula we
used in the SPS proj.
On a separate note, I was wondering if we could meet up to talk about the contract with A&A.
Many apologies again.
Al
From: dorcaschen@e_logistics.com
54
To: allee@e_logistics.com
Date: October 15, 2012 22:00
FW: Proposal for AMS
Well wheres the proposal? saw my msg?
sent from my i-phone
From: dorcaschen@e_logistics.com
To: allee@e_logistics.com
Date: October 15, 2012 15:00
Subject: Proposal for AMS
What happened to the proposal? U said ud send it today.
Dorcas
sent from my i-phone
Sample D
From: Faculty of Social Sciences
To: hidden list
Sub: Retirement of Professor David Black
Date: June 25, 2012
Dear All,
With mixed feelings of joy and sadness we announce the retirement of Professor David Black
from the position of Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences. Professor Black has been an asset to
our college and he would be greatly missed by all the staff and students.
David joined our institution twenty five years back as a sociology professor. He played a key
role in shaping career of many students.
Though we all would miss David, we congratulate him for getting time to spend with his
friends and grandchildren.
We wish him all the best to his retirement life.
Office of Faculty of Social Sciences
Sample E
From: ckchan@e_logistics.com
To: hidden list
Sub: New expense claim form
Date: September 1, 2012
Attachment: RevClaimForm.pdf
Dear All,
The Finance Office has requested that I send the attached revised claim form to you and remind
you that you use the form for claims from now on. The office also asked me to remind you that
no claims of expenses exceeding $10,000 without prior approval will be entertained.
55
Please follow the guideline and also make sure you talk to me when planning purchases for the
upcoming projects.
Best,
Malcolm
5.3 Embedded and standalone emails

Emails can also be classified as embedded or non-embedded mails. An embedded email is one
among the trail of exchanges two participants and is a response to a previous one(s) in the trail.
A non-embedded email is a standalone email.
Task 2 Decide which of the emails studied in Task 1 are embedded and which are nonembedded. For each embedded mail, identify the previous communication that it responds to.
5.4 Relation between a sender and a recipient

The sender and the recipient of an email may relate to each other in different ways. They may
be related in terms of the roles they take in the email. For example, the sender can be a
consultant while the recipient can be a client.
Power relation is another way to describe the relationship between a sender and a. In an
asymmetrical relation, one person has power over the other whereas a symmetrical relation
means neither has power over the other. The power relation between two persons at a
workplace is usually determined by the role that they take. For example, we can assume an
asymmetrical relation between the leader of a project team and his team. We can also assume
that two members of the same rank in the team have a symmetrical relation.
Social distance is a third way to describe the relation between a sender and a recipient. It refers
to how close the sender and the recipient feel to each other. Social distance may be shaped by
their power relation. But, this is not always the case. A clerk and a supervisor may feel close to
each other while two clerks of the same rank may not be as close for various reasons. The
social distance between two people depends on how well they know each other and more
importantly how close they want to be. This is usually shaped by the previous interactions
between the two people.
As you will learn in the upcoming sections the relation between a sender and a recipient can
shape the language used in an email.
Task 3 Describe the social distance and the power relation between the sender and recipient of
each of the emails provided in Task 1.
56
5.5 Components of an email

An email is made up of the header (see the sample below) and the body.
From: ckchan@e_logistics.com
To: hidden list
Sub: New expense claim form
Date: September 1, 2012
Attachment: RevClaimForm.pdf
The header
Hi All,
The Payroll Office has requested that I send the attached revised claim form to you and remind you
that you use the form for claims from now on.
The body
The Office also asked me to remind you that no expenses exceeding $1000 without prior approval
will be entertained. So, make sure you talk to me when planning purchases for projects.
Best,
CK
The body is the main part of an email and is made up of two parts: the salutation and the
message.
5.5.1 Salutations
The body may begin with an opening salutation and end with a closing salutation. An opening
salutation is a short greeting phrase that may or may not carry the name of the recipient, e.g.,
Hi All, Dear Mr. Chan, Dear Customer. A closing salutation normally carries a short goodwill
phrase that signals the close of the message and the name of its sender, e.g., Best, CK,
Sincerely, the e-Logistics Project Team.
5.5.2 The message: length and structure
The message is the part where the actions of the email are performed. It should be short. Many
guidebooks suggest that it should run no more than three paragraphs, and each paragraph
should carry two to three sentences only.
Task 4 Study the samples provided in Task 1 and identify the samples that illustrate the length
and paragraphing advice provided in guidebooks.
Bilbow (2004) suggests two approaches to structuring a message that calls for action. One is
front-loading and the other is back-loading. A front-loading message starts with the call for
action. When it is realized in full, it displays the following prototypical structure:
Paragraph 1
Calls for action.
Paragraph 2
Relates the background of the call (e.g., justification).
Paragraph 3
Repeats the call and/or provides specific details that the reader needs in order to carry
the action called for (e.g., venue, time, etc.)
The following sample is adapted from Bilbow (2004) to illustrate a front-loading message
57
I would be grateful if you could arrange brainstorming meeting

with staff in your work teams so as to discuss ways in which
our expanded marketing budget can be used creatively.
There has been an injection of approximately $430K into the
marketing budget as a result of the decision at the last meeting
of the planning Committee the company should improve its
marketing efforts (see attached minutes).
This is a considerable amount of funding, and I hope that
everyone will give due consideration to ways in which it can be
used to the benefit of the company. Results of brainstorming are
expected to be reported to me by the end of this month.
Adapted from Bilbow (2004, p. 262)
Para 1: Performs a
call for meetings
Para 2: Provides
background and
justifies the meetings
Para 3: Repeats
the call and
provides further
information about
the meetings
Back-loading structuring
A back-loading message displays the following structure:
Paragraph 1
Relates the background for the call for action (e.g., justification)
Paragraph 2
States the call.
Paragraph 3
Provides specific details that the reader needs in order to carry out the action called
for (e.g., venue, time, etc.)
The following sample is adapted from Bilbow (2004) to illustrate a back-loading message.
At the last meeting of the Planning Committee, it was decided
that the company should improve its marketing efforts (see
attached minutes). As a result, there has been an injection of
approximately $430K into the marketing budget.
Para 1: Provides
background to
justify the call for
meetings
I would be grateful if you could arrange brainstorming meeting

with staff in your work teams so as to discuss ways in which
our expanded marketing budget can be used creatively.
Para 2: Performs
the call for
meetings
This is a considerable amount of funding, and I hope that

everyone will give due consideration to ways in which it can be
used to the benefit of the company. Results of brainstorming are
expected to be reported to me by the end of this month.
Para 3: Repeats
the call and
provides further
information about
the meetings
Bilbow (2004, p. 262).

Task 5 Study Sample B and Sample E provided in Task 1. State whether the samples are frontloading or back-loading. Explain why the approach is used in each sample.
A front-loading message will be appropriate if it is sent to someone who does not have much
time to read. The call for action placed at the start of the message can help the reader see its
intention immediately. A back-loading message will be more appropriate if the recipient is
asked to carry out an action which he/she might not see the point of taking. The background
placed at the start of the message can increase the chances of persuading the person to take the
requested action. The downside of a back-loading message is that it takes longer to get around
to its intention. This explains why many guidebooks recommend the front-loading approach.
Task 6 Study the messages provided in Sample C of Task 1. Do the messages follow the
structural patterns advised in guidebooks? Why or why not?
58
The rules provided in textbooks are not cut-and-dry. In a study of emails produced by
employees in various business organizations, researcher Evans (2012) noted that many emails
that his study participants received or sent may carry just one or two sentences, and even
sometimes one or two phrases.
The background paragraph is sometimes really not needed when the sender is sure that the
recipient knows the history behind the email. This explains the one-line messages sent by
Dorcas. This also explains why the last few messages in a trail of emails exchanged between
two people may be drastically shorter than the initial ones, and some may even carry a very
brief response (e.g., Okay, or Thx).
5.6 Language use in emails

5.6.1 Salutations
Opening and closing salutations can be formal or informal. It can also be named or non-named
(see Tables 1 and 2 below).
Table 1: Opening salutations
Formal
Use of Dear + full name of the recipient

Use of Dear + title + last name /full name of the
recipient
Dear Mr. Chan,

Dear Professor Wong,
Dear Chan Man Tai,
Dear Sir; Dear Customer,
Informal
Use of first names, nicknames or initials in named

salutations
Skipping titles
Use of conversational salutations
Dear Peter
Hi Peter
Good morning
Hello there (very informal)
Hi (very informal)
Named
Non-named
In some very informal cases no salutation is used

The recipient is addressed by his or her first name,
initials or nickname.
No personal name is used.
The recipient may be addressed using a generic
noun.
Dear Peter
Dear Miss Chan
Hi CK
Hello Pete
Dear Manager
Dear All
Hi Ladies
Hi
Table 2: Closing salutations

Formal
Obligational elements:
A formal goodwill phrase
Full name of the sender (for proper-named
salutations)
Kind regards,
Peter C. K. Chan
Optional elements:
rank of the sender
organization
contact details
Senior Consultant
Global Engineering Firm
Tel: (852)-2666-9666
Fax: (852)-2666-9668
59
Informal
Conversational salutations
Use of first names, nicknames or initials in named
salutations
In some very informal cases, no salutation is used
Best, Al
Bye! Mom
Cheers, Alan
See you, CK
Got to go now, Al
Named
Names are used.
Kind regards, Peter C. K. Chan

Best, CK
Non-named
No personal name is used.

Use of name of an organization or a department.
Customers Service Department

The IT support Team
Note that a salutation can be formal and named (Dear Mr. Chan), formal and non-named (Dear
Mr. Manager), informal and named (Hi Ray), or informal and non-named (Hi there).
Task 7 Describe the salutation styles used in the emails provided in Task 1.
The choice of salutation style largely depends on the relationship between the sender and the
recipient (e.g., their roles in the communication, their power relation and social distance). For
example, when writing to a person you know well, an informal salutation is acceptable. When
writing to a person you dont know, and especially one who has authority over you, a formal
salutation is the safest choice. Note that a person of a higher position normally can choose
between a formal and an informal salutation.
Other contextual factors can also shape the use of a particular salutation style. For example,
when personalizing a message is needed and when you know who the recipient is, you should
use a named salutation. When posting a message to a large group of people, you will need a
non-named salutation (e.g., Dear All).
The embeddedness of an email may also shape the salutation style. In the emails that start a
chain of exchanges with a person you dont know, it is more proper to use a formal and named
salutation. But, after a few exchanges when you and your recipient start to know each other
better, an informal style is more natural.
Task 8 Explain why the different styles of opening and closing salutations are used in the
samples studied in Task 1.
5.6.2 The conversational and the non-conversational styles

Task 9 Study the language used in Sample B and Sample C provided in Task 1. What do you
notice about the language used in the messages?
The language to use in the body of a message can be informal or formal. Informal language is
typical of that used in conversations with friends. It is characterized by use of:
short sentences;
sentence fragments, e.g., great, got it, etc.;
informal words and expressions, e.g., just call me if you need help instead of please feel
free to contact us for assistance;
contracted forms, e.g., cant instead of cannot;
abbreviations and acronyms, e.g., see u for see you; and
emoticons, e.g., : ).
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When you write to a person who knows you well and does not expect any formality and
niceties, it is more natural to use informal language. This may explain why emails sent after
several exchanges tends to be written rather informally.
When writing to a person who does not know you and expects some degree of formality, you
should use a formal style. This applies to the first message you send to a person you do not
know. Formal language displays very few conversational features, e.g.,
please feel free to contact us for assistance instead of just give me a call if you need
help; and
we can discuss the matter later instead of lets talk about this later
Note that the language style used in a message should be consistent with the style of its
salutations.
Task 10 Account for the language styles used in Sample A and Sample C studied in Task 1.
5.6.3 Language use in calls for action

Task 11 Read the following sentences and state the speech acts they perform.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Extend the deadline for us.

Is it possible that the deadline be extended?
I should be grateful if you could extend the deadline.
I was experiencing some difficulties. I was thinking whether I could submit the
work next week.
There are various ways to ask a person to do something, but they do not all necessarily achieve
the same effect. This is the case for the expressions listed in Task 11. Expression a may sound
blunt. The language used in the expression exemplifies what linguists call high impositional
language.
High impositional language is marked by frequent use of imperative structures, e.g., Extend
the deadline for us. It is also marked by an emphasis of the recipient as the only actor
responsible for the requested action, e.g., Could you extend the deadline?, You may now
extend the deadline. High impositional language is often used in orders or instructions.
Therefore, you should use it only when you are sure that you can exercise some power over the
recipient.
Expressions b to d sound more polite than Expression a because of the low impositional
language used. They are marked by a de-emphasis of you (the recipient) as the primary (or
sole) actor responsible for the requested action, or an emphasis of I (the sender) as either the
primary actor or a co-actor in the requested action. These can be achieved by the use of
impersonal tone and passive, e.g., Is it possible that the deadline be extended?
I e.g., I was wondering if I could submit the work later.
we, e.g., Could we meet up to discuss the paper?.
questions, e.g., Would it be okay if I submit the work next week?
embedded requests, e.g., Do you think we could submit the work later, I was wondering
if I could submit the work later, I should be grateful if I could be allowed to submit the
work later.
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Use low impositional language when communicating with a person you do not well or a person
of a higher position.
Calls for action can also be expressed formally or informally. See the examples below.
I should appreciate it if you could extend the deadline. (formal; embedded)

I wondered if you would be so kind to extend the deadline. (formal; embedded)
Could I submit it later? (question: somewhat informal)
How about extending the deadline? (question fragment: very informal)
Task 12 Read the following two messages. State whether the language used in each can reflect
the stated relations between the senders and the recipients. Edit the parts where you think the
language is inappropriate. The first message is written by a person to a colleague. The two
know each other very well. The second message is written by a student asking a professor for
an appointment.
Dear Mrs. Pat Wong,
This message is to inform you that a table has been booked at Rice Paper under
my name. I was wondering if we could walk over to the restaurant starting at
City University at around 12:00.
Yours sincerely,
Lena Chan
Dear Professor John,

Howr u doing? You know, I really like your lectures, but Im kinda confused by what
you said today. How about you explaining the concepts again? I am free this afternoon
for an appointment. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at
9288-3388. Thank you.
TTYL
Your student
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Unit 5 Appendix Writing prompt for Assessed Task 3

The Senior Consultants message
From: ralphcheung@A&MEngineering.com
To:X@A&MEngineering.com
Date: March 18, 2013
Subject: a few duties to do
Hi X1
Herere a few duties that Id like you to act on while Im away for the conference in Florence.
Write me a brief report on what happened in the test runs of the system for Delphi and call
up Emily2 to explain the situation to her. Ask her if its possible to postpone the systems
launch date. If she wants to talk to me in person, then you can ask Christy 3 to schedule a
meeting for me.
Also, let me have a copy of the solution blueprint for Y 4. I am going to go over the thing
tomorrow. We can go on Skype to talk about it next Monday afternoon HK time. Get the
team to join us too.
Best,
Ralph
1 Your name
2 Emily is the contact person from Delphi, a client of A&M Engineering.
3 Christy is Ralphs Personal Assistant.
3 Y stands for the name of your clients organization. Use the actual name in your reply to
Ralphs message.
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Unit 5 Appendix Meta-Reflection Practices for Assessed Task 4

Task 1
To prepare for the meta-reflection assignment, take out a piece of paper and answer the
following questions:
1) What is my imagined relationship with Ralph Cheung?
2) What did the lecture material from Unit 5 say about the importance of knowing your
audience when writing an email?
3) What kind of language would be appropriate for addressing Ralph (See Unit 5)?
4) What kind of reason would NOT be acceptable to Ralph for not completing the
blueprint on time? Why would I avoid these reasons? Explain.
5) What kind of reason would be acceptable to Ralph? And why are these reasons better
than the ones from question 4?
6) How much detail should I supply to Ralph about my reason for being late? In my case,
what might be too much detail, and what might be too little detail?
7) How casual should my language be in writing to Ralph?
8) What kind of words can I use to express respect for Ralph?
9) What kind of words can I use to express the importance of my work and my dedication
to the project? Give specific examples.
10) How should I end my email? Write some specific sentences as a practice.
Task 2
Read the following two paragraphs (samples of meta-reflections) and then identify which metareflection is better.
Example A
Because I imagined Ralph to be a new boss, I decided to use low impositional language as
suggested by the textbook. This kind of language will show my respect for Ralph and will not
assume that we have a casual relationship. For example, in my email, I used low impositional
language when I said, I was wondering if it might be possible for me to submit the work at a
later time. This type of sentence stands in contrast to more casual language such as, I am sure
that the work can be completed later. It also stands in contrast to high impositional language,
such as, You can extend the deadline for me to next week. In fact, I avoided high
impositional language because it can sound demanding. My use of low impositional language
does not assume too much about what Ralph should and should not do. Basically, I wanted to
be careful not to command Ralph, my boss, to give me an extension.
Example B
Ralph and me worked together for a long time. I felt comfortable addressing him as Ralph.
Also, I imagined that Ralph wants to promote me because we are good friends and because I
always do good work. Consequently, when I wrote the email, I was very casual. I simply said
the work will get done. No problem. Then I told Ralph to wait for two days and to enjoy his
vacation. I wanted to change the subject. So I was also sure to ask Ralph about his vacation.
Then I ended the email by telling him to go outside and get a suntan and to go surfing. I think
this language distracted him from the fact that I was late.
64
References
Bilbow, G.T. (2004). Business writing for Hong Kong (3rd edition). Hong Kong: Longman
Hong Kong Education.
Evans, S. (2012). Designing email tasks for the Business English classroom: Implications from
a study of Hong Kongs key industries. English for Specific Purposes, 31, 202-212.
65
Unit 6 Running and participating in workplace meetings

In your future career as an engineer, you will work in a number of projects and meet up with
different people to talk about them. This unit aims to develop your understanding of project
meetings run by engineers. By applying what you learn in this unit, you should be able to:
describe the purposes and structures of project meetings; and
describe and apply various interaction skills needed to run and participate in a project
meeting.
You are also expected to apply what you learn in this unit when running and participating in the
meeting in Assessed Task 5.
6.2 Purposes and participants of project meetings

An engineering project is one in which a team of experts from an engineering firm work closely
with a client organization to develop and deliver a solution to a problem that the organization is
facing. A project meeting is therefore one in which participants come together to discuss and
make decisions on matters relating to a solution project.
A project meeting can be run externally. By that it means a team of experts will meet up with a
team of representatives from a client organization. A project meeting can also be an internal one
and involve members of a party only (e.g., team of experts only or client representatives only).
In this unit, you will learn how to participate in both types of project meetings.
6.2.1 Pre-project meetings
One starting point to learn about project meetings is the flow of project work. A p roject carried
out in an engineering firm often starts as some kind of pre-project consultancy work. That is, a
representative from a client organization approaches the firm for advice relating to a problem
facing the organization.
After this initial contact is established, and if both parties see the potential for further
collaboration, a project team in the engineering firm will be assigned to look after the client.
Key members of the team will meet up with representatives from the client organization to gain
some preliminary understanding of the clients problem and to obtain information that can help
them decide whether it is feasible to develop the solution for the client, and whether the project
is worth pursuing.
Meanwhile, through the interactions in this meeting, the representatives from the client
organization will appraise the suitability of the engineering firm. If they see a good chance of
hiring the engineering firm, they will invite the project team to submit a project proposal.
Likewise, if the project team finds the project promising, it will accept the clients invitation to
submit the proposal. At this stage, members of the project team will work together to develop a
proposal for the client. Note that sometimes it takes more than one meeting before both parties
decide that a proposal should be prepared for further discussions.
When the proposal is ready, members from both sides will meet up again to discuss the
proposal. If the client representatives are happy with the proposal, both parties will meet up
again to discuss, draft and eventually sign a contract for the project.
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6.2.2 Project meetings

Once the contract is signed, the project team will start working according to what is specified in
the document. Throughout the project, both parties will run numerous internal and external
meetings to discuss the progress made and to resolve issues that emerge. These meetings can be
grouped roughly according to the stages in which they are held, which are the initial, interim
and final stages.
The tables below provide an overview of the major types of internal and external meetings that
are held at various stages. (Note that internal meetings will include those in the engineering
firm but not the clients organization.)
67
Table 1: External project meetings

Project stages
Participants
Pre-project
(consulting)
Project team: Project leader, sales

engineer, and a few engineers.
Purposes
To gain some preliminary understanding of the clients problem, their need and concerns, the parameters
(requirements such as the scope of work, time, budget, degree of disruption to work in the organization) the
client has set for the solution and the items or tangible outcomes that that they expect the engineering firm to
deliver (deliverables)
To decide the feasibility of the project
Client representatives: head of the

unit that requires the solution, key
players in the unit
To provide details about the problem / need facing the organization

To inform the engineering firm the parameters they have set for the solution and the items that they expect the firm
to deliver (the deliverables).
To find out the suitability of the engineering firm, i.e., whether the consulting firm can deliver what the
organization is looking for, and whether the firm can deliver their services within parameters they set
Pre-project
Project team and client

representatives
(contract
drafting/signing)
To discuss and negotiate the contents of the contract

To finalize the contents of the contract
To sign the contract
Project (initial)
Key members of the project team

To gather specific details to inform the design and implementation of the solution.
Stakeholders from the clients

organization who will be affected by To gain some understanding of the project being conducted
the outcomes of the project (mostly
end users of the solution)
To provide details of the expected deliverables
Project (interim)
Key members of the project team

To inform stakeholders the progress made in the project
To present some of the deliverables being developed
To obtain interim feedback from stakeholders to inform the next stage of the project
Stakeholders who will be affected by
the outcomes of the project (mostly To obtain details about the expected deliverables being developed
users of the solution)
To provide feedback on the deliverables being developed
To monitor the development of the project
Project (final)
Representatives from the project

team
To present the deliverables developed

To demonstrate or train end users in the operation of some of the deliverables (where this applies)
To obtain feedback from stakeholders of the project
Stakeholders who will be affected by To inspect (or try out) the deliverables
the outcomes of the project (mostly
users of the solution)
To provide further feedback on the deliverables (where needed)
To learn the operation of some of the deliverables (where this applies)
Table 2: Internal project meetings

Project stages*
Participants
Purposes
Pre-project (consulting)
Selected team members and

sales engineer
To prepare for the first meeting with the client representatives
Pre-project (contract
drafting and signing)
Selected team members and

sales engineer
To prepare for meetings with clients in which the contents of a contract are discussed, negotiated, drafted.
Project (initial)
Members of different subteams
To discuss the part of the project that the team is responsible for (e.g., architecture of a system)
To set targets and tasks
To allocate work, etc.
To set timelines
Members of different subteams

Project (interim)
To discuss progress made within the team

To discuss issues arising within sub-teams, solutions to problems, actions to take, etc.
Project team leader and leaders To update project leader and other teams on progress made in different teams, actions to take as a project team,
of sub-teams
issues to resolve, need to reallocate or readjust resources, etc.
Project (final)
Project team leader and leaders To discuss matters relating to the launching of the solution
of sub-teams
To evaluate outcomes of the project
6.3 Structure of a meeting

All meetings begin with an opening remark and end with a concluding remark. What goes between the
two parts, however, varies with the purposes of individual meetings. This applies to project meetings.
Task 1 Tables 3-5 below show the prototypical structures of three types of project meetings. Discuss with
a colleague what might go into each of the blank cells.
Table 3: An internal pre-project team meeting
Stages
Key activities
Opening
Briefing
Briefing the team about the initial contact with the client
organization
Brainstorming
Participant(s)
Team leader
Planning & task

assignment
All
Closing
Summarizing actions and parties responsible for the

actions
Setting the date for the next meeting if needed
Table 4: An external pre-project meeting with client representatives

Stages
Opening
Key activities
Participant(s)
Chairperson (Project
team leader or Leader
of clients team,
depending on who
sends out the call for
the meeting)
72
Describing the
problem
Probing &
confirming
Project team seeking clarification about the problem,

probing for missing information, and confirming
details obtained
Discussing future
collaboration
Closing
Table 5: An interim meeting with client representatives

Stages
Opening
Key activities
Participant(s)
Chairperson
Presenting the
solution
Depending on the purpose of the meeting:
Project team
Presenting some aspects of the proposed solution

Presenting the progress made in the design of the
solution
Presenting some aspects of the solution that have been
developed
Discussing the
solution
Client representatives
Project team
73

Project team and client
representatives
Closing
Chairperson
6.4 Preparation
In order to run a productive meeting, both the chairperson and the participants need to do thorough
preparation. Below are two preparation checklists, one for chairpersons and the other for participants.
6.4.1 The chairperson needs to
set the goals of the meeting;
arrange the date, the time, the duration and the venue of the meeting;
prepare an agenda for the meeting, i.e., a document carrying the items to cover in a meeting (see the
sample on the next page);
gather the information that will be needed in the various parts of the meeting;
assign roles and responsibilities (e.g., to report or to lead in one part of the meeting); and
send out a call (usually via email) for the meeting to all participants. The call should specify the
arrangement of the meeting and is accompanied by the agenda and information that participants
need to review before the meeting.
6.4.2 All participants need to.
study the agenda carefully and be prepared to discuss the items listed on the agenda;
study the information provided in the call for meeting; and
prepare the information that they are requested to present in the meeting.
74
A sample project meeting agenda
PROJECT STATUS MEETING AGENDA

October 9, 2012
2:30 - 3:30
Room 2609, e_logistics Wing E
Attendees: Patrick Kam (facilitator), Kuldeep Bhatia, Alan Gibbs, Christy Wong
Goals of meeting
To review the status of the Milestone Inc. project (Project #278)
To identify issues and risks
To discuss/decide any needed mitigation.
Items of discussion
1. Project tasks accomplished/commitments being met
o Technical status (requirements, design, code, test, documents, etc.)
o Conflicts and issues (technical, resources, tools, schedule, cost, etc.)
o Schedule tracking
Actual schedule vs. planned
Dependencies between groups
o Action items (current AIs status, new AIs)*
Project tasks upcoming in next 7-14 days
Date of project status review meeting
*AI: action items
6.5 Meeting etiquette and responsibilities

6.5.1 Chairperson
Open and conclude the meeting on time.
Guide and monitor the discussions:
Make sure everybody has an opportunity to express his/her own views. Call on the passivists
and silent participants to contribute ideas.
Intervene when a member is causing undue disruption to the meeting, e.g., when a member is
dominating the discussion or is going off-track.
Be objective, and if possible listen to everybodys suggestions or views before guiding them to
reach a decision.
Ask the participants to vote on an item rather than impose your own decision.
Ensure that the meeting achieves its goals:
Follow the agenda.

75
Keep the time well. When too much time has been spent on an item, end the discussions at an
appropriate point. Then, decide whether another meeting will be needed for the item.
Takes notes of all decisions reached and confirm with the participants the details of each decision.
6.5.2 Participants
Be proactive and contribute ideas.
Speak succinctly and do not digress.
Be open and listen to others.
Be collegial.
Interrupt at an appropriate point.
Take notes of all major decisions made.
Seek clarification and confirmation. Dont assume.
6.6 Language of meetings
Task 2
1. Examine the following excerpt taken from a meeting. Decide the speakers role and what he/she tries to
do.
Good morning. If I could have everyones attention, I think we are ready to start. Let me // just a
note on format of this meeting too formal. Its gonna be just an open discussion about the items listed
in the agenda, which I hope will take approximately half an hour.
2. You will be shown a video clip of one part of a meeting. While watching, fill gaps with the expressions
that the users use and decide what the speakers are trying to do in each of their turns.
Chairperson:
I'm sorry I have to call this meeting in short notice.

Did
Members:
Yes.
Chairperson:
Good. So,
that there are two areas that
the latest sales figures?
that
today.
Firstly the reasons of these very poor results. And, secondly what action
we can take. Now, we need to spend time on this, but I would like to
Members:
?
(Nod.)
76
adapted from Effective Meetings (Oxford University Press, 2005)
3.Now, watch another clip. Again fill in the missing expressions and identify their functions.
Tina:
My flight was delayed by two hours this morning I felt I wasn't going
to make it.
Susan:
Tina:
Oh, just after 9.
Susan:
Oh,
Chairperson:
Tina
Tina:
No, thanks.
Chairperson:
Right, let's
.
before we start?
.
. I'd like to start
by
to the head office for
the first in a series of what
I particularly
Franco Novelli,
our area manager for Italy.

Franco,
Tina and Susan?
Franco:
Chairperson:
.
So, as you saw from my memo, the purpose of this meeting and future
meetings,
on
our local markets. As we're all working in different regions,

its
all share our experience.

this objective?
adapted from Effective Meetings (Oxford University Press, 2005)
6.6.1 Opening the meeting
Right, thank you for coming

(Its ten oclock). Lets start
Right, lets get the ball rolling.
Weve received apologies from (names of participants who cannot attend the meeting)
Any comments on our previous meetings?
Thanks for coming and welcome.
77
Its great to see you all
6.6.2 Introducing participants
Im going to ask everyone to say a few words by way of introduction(Chairpersons line).

Hi folks, Id like you to meet the representatives from Y. This is(name) and (name) is the
(capacity of the person being introduced). (Chairpersons line)
My names and Ive been working as (capacity) for the past (number of) yearsHeres my
name card. (Participants line).
6.6.3 Greeting
Hi nice to meet you.

How do you do?
Hi, weve met already How are you?
Hi, Jack, its good to see you again.
6.6.4 Stating objectives and introducing the agenda
This meeting will give us a great opportunity to understand the needs/problems at Y and to
explore whether our services can be of help to solve the problems.
By the end of the meeting, we should be in a position to decide what/whether
The purpose of is to so that we can
Youve all seen the agenda
On the agenda, youll see there are three items.
Theres three main items to discuss/ we need to address
6.6.5 Calling on a participant
Id like to ask / invite Mary to tell us about

Can we hear from Mr. Passas on?
Ken, I know that youve prepared some to
John, could you brief us on that ?
6.6.6 Seeking and clarifying information
Youve just said... Could you be more specific about that?

Can you explain that in more detail?
What do you mean by?
Oh, what I mean is

That means
What I want to say is
6.6.7 Drawing (tentative) conclusions and making (tentative) decisions
Right, based on what youve told us, we believe (I think) what you need is
Alternative 1 is (might be) a better choice.

78
(I guess) we need to visit your site first before we could come up with a solution to
(I think) we need more time to consider the proposal.

6.6.8 Ending the meeting
I think we should end there. Right, let me just summarize the key points...
Weve covered everything, so Id like to go over the decisions weve taken
Well be in touch again.
Well gentlemen/folks/ladies, its been a pleasure to see you today and I look forward to our next
meeting.
Its been a very useful meetingWell be in contact again.
Right, everybody, Ill ask Jack to arrange another meeting with you sometime next week. Hows
that?
79
Unit 7 Documenting meeting records

This unit aims to develop your understanding of meeting records. By applying what you learn in this unit,
you should be able to describe and analyze the following aspects of meeting records:
purposes
prototypical formats
contents
language
You are expected to apply the above knowledge in producing the meeting record in Assessed Task 5.
7.2 Purpose of meeting records

A meeting record is a document that summarizes the discussions held in a meeting. There are various
ways to name a meeting record. Records of formal meetings tend to be called minutes whereas those of
informal meetings are usually referred to as meeting notes.
The record of a meeting is an important document. It is kept for future reference and is particularly
needed when disputes arise over the agreements reached in the meeting. This explains why the record of a
meeting may need to be confirmed by their participants and signed by an authority.
7.3 Contents and formats of meeting records

The format of a meeting record and what to report in it depend on the type of meeting held and more
importantly the items discussed in the meeting.
Task 1 Study two sets of minutes that will be shown to you. In the table below, check the items that are
recorded in the minutes. Also compare their formats.
Types of information
Sampl
eA
Sampl
eB
Title of the meeting
Date
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Time
Participants present
Participants absent with apologies
Purpose of the meeting
Minutes from the last meeting
Reports of matters arising from the last meeting
Reports by different participants on specific matters other than matters

arising since last meeting
Discussions
Any other business (discussions of items not appearing on the agenda but
brought up in the meeting)
Decisions made/ actions to take (and action-takers) regarding issues

discussed
Conclusion drawn by the chair
Time the meeting ended
Date of next meeting
Sample A studied in Task 1 is a record of an ad hoc meeting held to discuss a fire incident. Note that the
items recorded are all related to the purposes of the meeting stated in the first paragraph and are
sequenced in the order in which they were discussed in the meeting. See below the description of the
structure of the record.
Header
The record is provided with a header that shows the name of the company, title and date of the meeting,
81
names of the participants and their titles.
Body
Paragraph 1 summarizes the reason for the meeting (a fire incident) and also the goals of the meeting
(to look into the incident, to discuss arrangement of remedial actions and to solicit suggestions of
preventive measures). Presumably, this summarizes what the chairperson said in the meeting or the items
set in the agenda sent to all participants of the meeting.
Paragraph 2 reports the act of reporting by a participant who had inspected the incident and the
materials he produced in his reporting.
Paragraph 3 summarizes the key details of discussions held about the cause of the incident.
Paragraph 4 summarizes the key details of discussions held about the remedial work that could be
carried out and that could be considered.
Paragraph 5 summarizes the key details of the discussions held about the preventive measure that
needs to be introduced and the decision made about the preventive measure.
Paragraph 6 reports the act of concluding of the meeting by the chairperson and making a brief
mention of the content of the concluding statement (concluded with a summary of decisions
reached).
Closure
The record closes with the signature of the secretary (the person who wrote the record)
The second example is a record of a bi-monthly meeting, which involved members of a sales team
mainly. The structure of the record follows primarily the structure of the meetings agenda (i.e., the list of
items found in the agenda): Minutes from last meeting, Matters arising, Report on market survey, and
Any other business (AOB). Note that the first two items, namely Minutes from last meeting and Matters
arising are not shown in Sample A because the meeting reported in it is an ad hoc (presumably one-off)
meeting.
Sample B is typical of records written for meetings that are run periodically. The contents of each part of
the record are described below.
Header
Body
The name of the company, title, date, and time of the meeting, names of the participants and their titles,
apologies from a participant who is absent
Section 1: Minutes from the last meeting
The section reports the acts of reading (going through) the record of the last meeting and approving the
record by all participants. This means the minutes will be signed and will become an official record.
Section 2: Matters arising
The section summarizes the follow-up actions on a production problem raised in the last meeting. The
summary carries a few details of an investigation report presented by a participant who had looked into
82
the problem.
Section 3: Report on market survey by Mr. Hong
The section summarizes some key details of a market survey report presented by another participant. The
matter was not discussed in the last meeting. The section also summarizes the discussions about some of
the points presented by the participant.
Section 4: Any other business
The section briefly reports the following:
that no other matter was discussed after the report by Mr. Hong
the time the meeting ended (adjourned)
the date of the next meeting
Closure
Signature of the secretary (the person who wrote the record)
Note that there is an extra column in Sample B headed as Action which displays names of people
responsible for the actions reported on the left.
Since a meeting record is normally organized around the items set in the agenda, it would be best if you
have the agenda with you when writing a meeting record.
7.4 Language use in meeting records

7.4.1 Tense
Task 2 Study Meeting Sample A again. What tense is used throughout? Why is the tense used?
7.4.2 Recording speakers identities
When writing a meeting record, you may need to record the people who spoke in the meeting.
Task 3 Study Samples A and B examined in Task 1. How many times are individuals names mentioned?
How many pronouns are used to refer to those whose speech is recorded?
Names of speakers are needed mainly because they show that what is reported represents the individual
voices of the named participants. Sometimes they are recorded so that the named participants can be
approached for clarification. Occasionally the name of the chair (the person in authority) may be provided
in minutes which record their instructions.
Names are normally not needed when an action (e.g., decision-making) was carried out collectively by
the participants in a meeting. The passive voice tends to be used to describe actions done collectively
where names of individuals are not important, e.g., The minutes were read and approved, The issue
was discussed, It was generally agreed that the most probable cause was vandalism, and Discussions
then turned to.
Task 4 Study the two meeting records again and identify the parts where discussions or decisions were
reported but not the identities of the speakers.
7.4.3 Reporting participants acts

83
Participants acts are often reported in meeting records. They can be physical or speech acts. Physical acts
refer to physical movements. They are rarely reported in meeting records. There is only one found in
Sample A, which is [Mr. Fung] produced photographs to show.
Speech acts refer to the types of action performed through what people say. They are frequently reported
in meeting records. Various types of speech acts are reported in meeting records and they are represented
by different speech verbs. One type of speech act frequently performed in meetings is decision-making.
Some common verbs used to describe this act are decide, agree and resolve. A list of the speech act
types and examples of speech verbs can be found in the Appendix.
Task 5 Underline all the verbs used to represent the speech acts performed by the participants in the two
records studied in Task 1. What speech acts do the verbs represent? You may need to refer to the table
provided in the Appendix for the answer.
When a speech verb is used, one or more of the following grammatical patterns can be applied.
a. Subject + speech verb + a that clause, e.g., John agreed that replacing the existing system with an
entirely new one may not be a good idea.
b. Subject + speech verb + to + infinitive verb, e.g., John offered to look into the existing system
within the next couple of days.
c. Subject + speech verb + gerund (~ing), e.g., Mr. Wong suggested taking the modular approach to
the design of the system architecture.
d. Subject + speech verb + the fact/idea + a that clause, e.g., Mary referred to the fact that some
software used in the organization needs to be replaced.
e. Subject + speech verb + a noun, e.g., Mr. Fung described the existing system being used in the
company.
If you are not sure which pattern can be applied to a verb, look up the answer from a dictionary. You can
refer to the sample sentences provided to exemplify of the usage of the verb.
Task 6 Find out the meanings and grammatical patterns (a, b, c, d, or e) of the following verbs. You may
consult an online dictionary e.g., the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English at:
http://www.ldoceonline.com/ or Oxford Dictionaries Online at: http://oxforddictionaries.com.
acknowledge
concede
propose
resolve
bring up
84
Task 7 The following lines were spoken in a meeting. Turn them into minutes.
Jack: Perhaps we need to talk with Mrs. Wong to clarify // I mean to get a full list of the data types
that we need to handle. Its important to use the labels that they use for the classification but not ours.
You know what I mean. [Record the proposal]
Neil: [in response to Jacks proposal I thought shed given us the list already. [Record Neils
response]
Dick: Okay, everybody. Are we going to use navy blue for the background? [Dick is the project
leader and is the chair of the meeting.]
All participants: responded with yes, sure or nods [Record the decision]
85
Unit 7 Appendix Verbs expressing different types of speech acts

Speech act
Examples of speech verbs
providing a factual account of something
announce, describe, explain , report, present
emphasizing a point
emphasize, stress, point out
reaching a decision or a consensus
decide, resolve, agree
suggesting
recommend, propose, suggest
approving something
approve, pass (e.g., The minutes were approved

or The motion was passed)
agreeing with someone or something
agree, argue for, support, admit, concede, accept,

acknowledge
disagreeing with someone or something
argue against, disagree, dispute, counter
volunteering or promising something (or to do

something)
volunteer, offer, promise, agree to
asking
question, ask, query
responding to questions or comments
respond, reply, address, counter
calling for actions or assigning somebody (X) to

carry out an action
ask, remind, invite, or assign X to do something
bringing up a topic
refer to X (e.g., an item on the agenda), bring up,

raise, touch upon
concluding or summarizing
conclude, wrap up, summarize, end
expressing something (a fact, a concern, an issue, a

suggestion, an opinion, etc.)
mention, say, express, raise, state.
86
Unit 7A Understanding Blueprints

Engineers often communicate their ideas and sell their clients on ideas by making blueprints.
The word Blueprint can mean at least two things:
1. scaled architectural drawings with specifications for engineers;
2. booklets or reports (often also containing a scaled drawing) dramatized to sell the client on
the design and to report the functionality/use of the design.
Because your audience is a client team, you will need to make the second kind of blueprint.
Your blueprint should help you lead your meeting by helping your client see your solutions. The blueprint
should contain the following:
1. Title Page: holds the name of the project and name of your firm and your client team;
2. Table of Contents: makes it easy for your client team to review and follow discussion during
the meeting (note: the blueprint should help you guide the meeting and help you explain how
you solved the clients problem).
3. Introduction of Firm: brief description of your engineering team members, titles and roles;
4. Problem Definition: brief one page introduction on the background of the project /
description of the project, which presents the problem (shows the client you understand the
problem);
5. Problem Solution/s: easy to understand, non-technical textual explanations of all specific
solutions needed by your client, per the Information Gap Activity;
6. Visual Solution/s: images showing how the design solution/s might look. scaled drawings if
needed (with specifications if needed) showing how the design functions and solves the
clients problems;
7. Time Factors: information about the estimated time schedule for completion of project;
8. Financial Factors: information about the estimated costs and required budget;
9. Anything else your client team may want to see or know (such as an emergency plan or a
plan for continued maintenance).
Note: your blueprint should be easy to read (not overly technical or confusing for the client), visual,
and act as a tool to show and explain your solutions, addressing your clients concerns. You should
be able to accomplish an effective blueprint in 5-7 pages.
Task 1
Visit the following websites and point out aspects that might fit into your own blueprint. Look for good
ideas and for ways to effectively explain your solutions to your client using the blueprint. Remember:
your firm may have a vastly different problem to solve than another firm, so a blueprint solving a mobile
phone issue will necessarily look somewhat different from one solving a nuclear waste issue; however,
every blueprint can still contain the same basic parts, i.e. an introduction, solutions, visuals, etc.
Note: some of these examples contain too much information, others contain too little. These are not all
perfect examples for you and your project. They are, instead, a starting point for thinking through your
own document. Use these as brainstorming tools and as ways to see how other people have appealed to
their own audiences.
87
(City of Chula Vista Sewer Management Plan)

http://www.chulavistaca.gov/city_services/Development_Services/Engineering/PDF
%20Files/2009SSMP.pdf
(Concepts in Nuclear Engineering Pamphlet)
http://mitnse.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/nuclear_power_011.pdf
(Waterproof Mobile Phone Design)
http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee15n/Waterproofcellphone.pdf
(Certification of Battery Solution to the Boeing 747 A presentation)
http://www.boeing.com/787-media-resource/docs/787-battery-certification.pdf
(World Trade Tower website)
http://www.wtc.com/about/memorial-and-musuem
(Birds Nest Stadium website)
http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Beijing_National_Stadium
(Daniel Libeskind project, CMC)
http://daniel-libeskind.com/projects/run-run-shaw-creative-media-centre
(Energy Modeling Services)
http://www.taitem.com/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Modeling-Services-FINAL.pdf
88

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GE 2410

English for Engineering

Course pack (5th Edition)

Part B: Instructions of Assessed Tasks.....................................................................15

Part C: Study Units....................................................................................................21

5.4 Relation between a sender and a recipient.................................................................59

Part A: Course Syllabus

Course aims and intended outcomes of learning (CILOS)

analyze and evaluate workplace communication;

Group & individual

Due date: Thursday, Week 5 (Feb 20,

Group & Individual

Performing secondary research

Writing progress reports

Forming of project teams

Planning for effective presentations

Peer-reviewing draft progress reports

Delivering effective presentations

Delivering effective presentations

Preparing for Assessed Task 2 (presentations)

Presentations (Assessed Task 2) in-class

Presentations (Assessed Task 2) in-class

Collecting information for Assessed Task 5

Information gap activity

Running and participating in workplace

Discussing the blueprint

Preparing for Assessed Task 5 (meeting with client

Reviewing meeting records as a way to

Meeting with the client reps (Assessed Task

Meeting with the client reps (Assessed Task 5)

(use only if needed to complete course due to

The Student Booklet

Late assignments will be given a lower grade.

Part B: Instructions of Assessed Tasks

Background of the Assessed Tasks

the Project Team Leader

energy / lighting problems:

develop the blueprint of the solution;

Part C: Study Units

Unit 1 Performing secondary research

differentiate reliable and unreliable sources; and

conduct searches of on-line databases

An edited book chapter

A newspaper / magazine arti

(full date needed fo

(name of the newspap

(if the journal

(for on-line versio

Fine-print page ( after the title page)

The chapter to use

Unit 2 Writing progress reports

2.1 Aims and learning outcomes

its generic organization

some of its language features

topic (see instructions for Assessed Task 2 on p.13)

2.2 Audience and purposes of progress reports

or a senior consultant overseeing the project; and

for the project

2.3 Formats and components of a progress report

Components of a memo report

Contents and organization of the report

Most progress reports carry the following components:

Work completed and