Formal email to Professor

Dear Professor Blackstone,

I trust you had a great weekend. My name is Nic Voon and I am one of your students in the Critical Thinking and Communication class this trimester. I would like to introduce myself and let you know more about my background, communication strengths and weaknesses, specific goals of this module and what differentiates me from others.

I graduated with a Diploma in Civil Engineering from BCA Academy in April 2022. After spending two years in the National Service, I chose to further my studies in Bachelors in Civil Engineering with SIT University in September 2024 as I always find construction and engineering interesting and challenging. Since young, I was fascinated with the skyscraper in Singapore and wondered how all these high-rise buildings were built from scratch. In addition, my father is a general manager of a reputable construction company in Singapore and he always shared with me numerous technical challenges he faced in his projects and how his teams think out of the box to resolve them successfully. That inspired me to choose civil engineering to be my future career and I would like to contribute what I learn in SIT to the built environment industry in Singapore.

One of my communication strengths is clarity. When communicating with others regardless of age and background, I always use simple sentences, words or phase so that they fully understand my thoughts, messages or points with clarity. I have to admit that my weak in communication will be nervousness in public speaking to large audience. This communication-related anxiety increases my heart rate and I experience a quiver in my voice as well as struggle to find the right words in my speech.  Managing nervousness in public speaking effectively will be the area in communication skills which I need to work on and improve.

I have two specific goals for this module, namely, (1) to improve my critical thinking abilities so that I am able to think clearly and rationally as well as identify, analyse and solve problems logically, and (2) to be a better communicator so that I have more confidence in speaking and able to carry on a conversation with others.

What differentiates me from others is my strong will and never give-up attitude. When I decided to do something, for instance, chasing my dream, I will put in all my efforts to achieve it. I will not easily give up, even if things get really tough as I believe that achieving success is never easy.

I look forward to attending your class and learning more about Critical Thinking and Communicating.

Yours Sincerely

Nic Voon

SIT Civil Engineering

Comments

  1. Zenden SohJanuary 19, 2025 at 12:13 AM

    Hi Nic,

    Thank you for writing this self-introduction. It was insightful to learn about how you were strongly inspired by your father and your fascination with buildings as a child to study Civil Engineering. I think you have shown a lot of clarity in this respect and I believe that you will make significant contributions to the Built Environment industry in Singapore. In addition, your letter has flow and structure from the beginning to the end, which makes it an easy read for me.

    For areas of improvement, I think that your grammar can be improved. For example, it should be "This inspired me to choose Civil Engineering...." instead of "That inspired me to choose Civil Engineering...." and "Managing nerves in public speaking..." instead of "Managing nervousness...". These mistakes are common and even I myself do makes these mistakes so let's strive to improve and never give up!

    Overall, it was an interesting read and it would bring further clarity and flow with further improvements.

    Best regards,
    Zenden Soh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nic Voon LeiJanuary 20, 2025 at 12:19 AM

      Hello Zenden

      Thank you very much for the kind reply and compliment to my blogpost. I will strive to improve myself in my english and this Civil Engineering Industry. I look forward to studying well with you in SIT and to our future endeavours in the workforce after university graduation.

      Best Regards
      Nic Voon

      Delete
  2. Brad BlackstoneJanuary 30, 2025 at 8:56 PM


    Dear Nic,

    Thank you for this well developed and informative letter. You address the points of the brief quite well.

    I like learning, for example, about your background and how your father's job was a factor in your developing interest in CVE. It also seems that as a young boy the environment itself was influential as you wondered about the buildings you would see.

    I also appreciate you sharing about your comm skills and your module aims. I am encouraged to see by your behavior that you are embracing the opportunity to speak up in class as often as possible. Kudos for that approach!

    In your letter, you also explain how you see yourself as having "strong will and (a) never give-up attitude." That's really a significant attribute, and I feel that your future will be made a lot more fulfilling since you won't give up on your goals.

    In terms of your language use, this letter is a very good effort. There are, however, a few areas that I'd like you to take note of:
    1a. Since young, I was fascinated with the skyscraper in Singapore and wondered how all these high-rise buildings were built from scratch. > (noun referents and agreement)
    Since young, I was fascinated with the skyscraperS in Singapore and wondered how all these high-rise buildings were built from scratch.
    1b. ...I always use simple sentences, words or phase.... > (lack of parallel number structures)
    ?
    2. ...and he always shared with me numerous technical challenges he faced in his projects and how his teams think out of the box to resolve them successfully. > (verb tense issue/lack of parallel structure)
    ?
    3. I look forward to attending your class and learning more about Critical Thinking and Communicating.
    Best Regards, > (overuse of caps) ?

    I look forward to working with you further this term.

    Best wishes,

    Brad

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nic Voon LeiFebruary 6, 2025 at 10:03 PM

      Thank you very much Professor for the kind comments to help me improve.

      Delete

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