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Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
Bradley Bock Last Revision: January 2016
© Copyright reserved
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria i
Table of Contents
SECTION A: ORGANISATIONAL COMPONENT ............................................................................ 1
1. Introduction / Word of welcome ....................................................................................... 1
2. Administrative information ................................................................................................ 2
3. Study materials and purchases ........................................................................................... 2
4. What is expected from Lecturers ....................................................................................... 2
5. What is expected from Students ........................................................................................ 2
SECTION B: STUDY COMPONENT ............................................................................................... 3
6. Background to Course ........................................................................................................ 3
7. Assessment ......................................................................................................................... 3
8. Course Themes and Outcomes ........................................................................................... 5
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 1
SECTION A: ORGANISATIONAL COMPONENT
1. Introduction / Word of welcome
Welcome and brief description of the module The professional engineer spends a significant portion of their time communicating ideas and
documenting outcomes as result of the multi-disciplinary and often long term nature of their work
environment. Thus an understanding of how to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing
is crucial.
Common means of verbal and written communication will be covered, such as presentations,
meetings, report writing and the writing of engineering specifications.
To provide a framework for these various assignments a project will be implemented throughout the
course. This will also provide some valuable, although limited, project execution experience.
1.2 Using the study guide The study guide provides a high-level summary of the course, and also supplies important
administrative information on the course. The course consists of a number of related modules. Each
module is briefly summarized and an indication is provided on the skills and capabilities the student
is expected to master at the completion of the module.
This study guide is a crucial part of the general study guide of the Department. In the study guide of
the Department , information is given on the mission and vision of the department, general
administration and regulations (professionalism and integrity, course related information and formal
communication, workshop use and safety, plagiarism, class representative duties, sick test and sick
exam guidelines, vacation work, appeal process and adjustment of marks, university regulations,
frequently asked questions), ECSA outcomes and ECSA exit level outcomes, ECSA knowledge areas,
CDIO, new curriculum and assessment of cognitive levels. It is expected that you are very familiar
with the content of the Departmental Study Guide. It is available in English and Afrikaans on the
Department’s website.
English:
http://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/120/Noticeboard/departmental-studyguide-eng-
2016.zp77597.pdf
Afrikaans:
http://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/120/Noticeboard/departementele-studiegids-afr-
2016.zp77599.pdf
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 2
2. Administrative information
2.1 Contact information Name Building and
room number Telephone number
E-mail address
Module Coordinator and Lecturer
Bradley Bock Eng III, 6-81 012 420 2195 [email protected]
Time Table Contact Session Venue Day & Time
Lectures/Tutorials Eng I-7 Monday 09h30
Lectures/Tutorials Big Chemistry Hall Friday 11h30
General communication Please note that clickUp will be used extensively to communicate announcements. It is the
student’s responsibility to ensure they have access to the clickUp course.
Consulting Hours As only roughly 1 hour of the 4 hours allocated every week for MJJ 210 will used for lectures, it
is recommended to use the remaining Tutorial time for consultations.
Matters that require more private consultation are by appointment through email.
3. Study materials and purchases Course notes and miscellaneous study material will be posted on clickUp immediately after each
lecture.
There is no recommended textbook for this course.
4. What is expected from Lecturers
Courteous and professional in all interactions with students
Well prepared for lectures
Fair in all decisions
5. What is expected from Students
Courteous and professional in all interactions with each other and lecturers/TAs
On time hand in of all deliverables
Disciplined behaviour in class
Discussion of problems in/with course with lecturer as soon as possible in a professional
manner
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 3
SECTION B: STUDY COMPONENT
6. Background to Course
Course Aim To provide the base knowledge of communication, as well as practice in the skills thereof.
Course structure The course takes the approach of lectures, where understanding of core concepts and
background to best practices will be covered followed by assignments wherein to practice the
concepts covered.
Articulation with other modules in the programme This course will feed into all future professional work. With respect to university studies, it will
feed into your various future project courses (MIA 320) as well as your final year thesis and
design (MSC 412/422 and MOX 410 respectively).
Learning presumed to be in place Familiarity in word processing (e.g. Word 2013) and presentation software (e.g. PowerPoint
2013) is expected. Tutorials will be given to assist with the more advanced knowledge, as well as
resources made available on clickUp.
7. Assessment
Lectures and Assignments The course consists of 2 hour classes twice a week.
The general trend will consists of a lecture followed by an assignment, to be worked upon in class as
well as after hours. Certain projects will require more time, and as such may spread over multiple
classes.
Attendance of classes is compulsory as per University regulations.
Assessment Breakdown The breakdown of the course mark is described in Table 1.
Table 1 Assessment contribution breakdown
Assessment Contribution
to Final Mark (%)
Technical Report 25
Oral Presentation 25
Other assignments – Group 12.5
Other assignments – Individual 12.5
Exam 25
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 4
Handing in of assignments All assignments must be handed in before the deadline communicated. If submitted late the
following applies:
Technical Report
o If ill over the 5 calendar days before the assignment deadline, a doctor’s certificate
with a specified amount of days booked off can be used to obtain an extension. The
extension will be equal to the number of days booked off. The doctor’s note must
adhere to the requirements prescribed by the Mechanical and Aeronautical
Engineering Departmental Study Guide.
o If handed in late, the following applies:
If less than an hour late – mark, if above 50%, is reduced by 10% to a
minimum of 50%
between 1 hour and 1 day late – mark, if above 50%, is reduced by 20% to a
minimum of 50%
If late between 1 day and 2 days – mark, if above 50%, is reduced to 50%
If late more than 2 days – report will not be accepted
Oral Presentation
o In the same manner as for a test, a doctor’s certificate booking the participant off
will be required. A new presentation timeslot will then be allocated. The doctor’s
note must adhere to the requirements prescribed by the Mechanical and
Aeronautical Engineering Departmental Study Guide.
Other assignments – Individual
o If late, assignment will not be accepted
Other assignments – Group
o If late, same late criteria as Technical report will be used
Group Work assessment At the end of semester a group work review process will be undertaken. This will involve all
members of a group reviewing each other’s performance and rating them accordingly. These ratings
will then be used to calculate an adjustment factor. The adjustment factor will then be applied to the
student’s group work mark.
Exam Entrance and Pass Requirements As per departmental guidelines, a student needs a semester mark of 40% to gain entrance into the
exam.
Furthermore, the Technical Report and Oral Presentation must be completed to gain entrance to the
exam and be allowed to pass the course.
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 5
8. Course Themes and Outcomes Course Outcomes
The outcomes expected of the students at the end of the course are:
1. Write a Technical Report
2. Structure a Logical argument
3. Implement Harvard style referencing
4. Differentiate between plagiarism, poor paraphrasing and adequate academic citation
5. Differentiate between good and poor information
6. Present a technical presentation
7. How to compose slides 8. Identify the influence of body language on communication
9. How to present data in graphical form
10. Identify common errors in data display
11. Be able to write a technically sufficient requirement statement
12. Know the practices of formal business emails
13. Conduct an effective meeting
Course Themes
The course covers communication of three main types, illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1 MJJ 210 Central themes
Written Communication
Verbal Communication
Visual Communication
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 6
8.1.1. Written communication All engineers need to communicate the results of his/her work at some stage to engineering
audiences and the community at large. This often takes the form of written communication.
In this theme the student will be exposed to various areas where written communication will play a
role. Working in teams and individually the student will gain knowledge and experience of the
following outcomes:
Write a Technical Report
Structure a Logical argument
Implement Harvard style referencing
Differentiate between plagiarism, poor paraphrasing and adequate academic citation
Differentiate between good and poor information
Be able to write a technically sufficient requirement statement
Know the practices of formal business emails
8.1.2. Visual communication The use of visual media to communicate results and ideas is crucial in simplifying the transfer of
thoughts and ideas to an audience. The outcomes of this theme are:
How to compose slides
How to present data in graphical form
Identify common errors in data display
Identify the influence of body language on communication
8.1.3. Verbal communication Effective verbal communication is the starting point and cornerstone of all engineering
communication. This can take place both the in the general day-to-day conversation and meetings
one encounters, as well as the more structured presentation format. It will be practiced and
developed in this course through group work, and students will be taught to:
Conduct an effective meeting
Present a technical presentation
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 7
Course Outcomes – Credit Map
Outcome UPDATE THIS Mode of instruction
Learning hours estimated
Contact session:
Write a Technical Report
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
20 6
Structure a logical argument Lectures and Tutorials Self Study
3 2
Implement Harvard style referencing
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
2 4
Differentiate between plagiarism, poor paraphrasing and adequate academic citation
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
3 2
Differentiate between good and poor information
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
5 4
Present a technical presentation
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
17 5
Identify the influence of common body language signs on communication
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
1 1
Identify common errors in data display
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
2 2
Be able to write a technically sufficient requirement statement
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
10 2
Know the practices of formal business emails
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
1 2
Conduct an effective meeting
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
6 6
Total 70 36
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2016 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 8
In terms of Blooms taxonomy, (discussed here: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html)
students are expected to achieve the outcomes to the following level of proficiency:
0
1
2
3
4
5
Know
Understand
Apply
Analyse
Evaluate and
Create