Critical Reflection

4 April 2025 

 3.2.1 Module learning: Refer to the goals you set yourself at the start of the course. Using what you have learned about critical thinking and reflections, reflect on the extent to which you have achieved (or not) the said objectives. You must also reflect on what you have done in terms of building on your communication and critical thinking skills, as well as what you should do to further improve these skills.

At the beginning of this module, I have set two goals for myself. My first goal was to enhance my public speaking skills in order to deliver presentations with my confidence and clarity and secondly, to develop stronger technical writing skills to effectively convey project ideas and reports. Both of these goals were crucial in preparing me for my future as a civil engineer, where clear communication in the form of verbal, and writing, will be essential skills in my career.

After completing due reflection about my progress, i believe i have made significant efforts in achieving this goals. Through class presentations, i have slowly become more confident and a little bit more comfortable in speaking infront of others. I have also slowly adapted the skill of preparing for a presentation and public speaking by efficiently studying my presentation material instead of pure memorizing. Although i have learned much in verbal speaking skills, i still have a lot to learn. While I still experience moments of nerves during my presentations, I will learn to approach presentations with more composure and clarity.

In terms of Technical writing, i have also noticed several improvements. This module's emphasis in clarity, conciseness and structure, has allowed me to articulate better concepts related to technical writing skills. I have become more skilled in presenting ideas logically and how to support them with relevant data and citations. Critical thinking has also played a major role here as well, where it helped me questions assumptions and strengthen my writing.

3.2.2 Project learning: Choose one focus of your research project and critically reflect on your learning. Discuss specific points, such as presentation skills, writing skills, or teamwork skills. DO NOT just describe what you did and whether you liked it.
Rather, explain what you learned about yourself and others in the process. For
take from this project experience?
instance, how has this experience changed

One key focus of my research project was report writing, and this aspect significantly contributed to my development in terms of communication and team member. At first, I mainly believed that strong report writing was about perfect grammar and formatting. However, after going through this module, I came to realize that effective report writing is far more than this. It also requires strong logical flow, thought clarity and awareness of the intended audience.

However, as the project progressed, I realised that writing a report isn’t just about using perfect grammar or having the best vocabulary. It’s about clearly communicating ideas, staying organised, and working with others to refine and improve the content. Getting feedback from my teammates made me feel more at ease. They pointed out both strengths and areas for improvement, and I began to see that my writing had value.

I also learned how important structure and clarity are in technical writing. Instead of just dumping information into paragraphs, I had to think critically about what the reader needed to know, and how best to guide them through the report. I became more comfortable drafting, revising, and discussing ideas as part of a team.

This experience helped reduce some of my nerves. I learned that writing, like speaking, improves with practice and collaboration. I still get nervous when others read my work, but I’m starting to see feedback as a tool for growth rather than judgment. Moving forward, I want to keep practicing and actively seek feedback to become more confident in my report writing.