Developing Effective Writing skills in an Engineering Graduate

Abstract

Abstract

Communicative competence in today’s Engineering graduate is no longer being measured just by his oral communication skills. The change in the selection process, where the initial screening is based on the student’s ability to draft a mail effectively, emphasizes the fact that mastering written communication skills is equally important along with oral communication skills for an engineering graduate. Moreover, written communication skills play a vital role further in an engineer’s career, where simple written correspondences such as maize to complex report writing and documentation is expected to be handled by them with expertise. Ironically, in most of the English classrooms such an important skill is limited to few question and answer sessions without touching the core problem. What is needed in today’s Engineering communication skills classroom is a three dimensional program that includes brainstorming sessions which involves critical thinking, providing a scaffolding for students to learn and build sentences and finally helping them to organize the thought process into a meaning full written piece. Writing skills should be integrated into the syllabus in such a way that the above three components are practiced and perfected in the classrooms. The paper focuses on the various needs and issues that emerge in this attempt and suggests ways to resolve them to some extent.