|
|
2015 » Papers » Volume 1 » Developing Argumentative Documents in Engineering: A Case Study through the Curriculum 1. DEVELOPING ARGUMENTATIVE DOCUMENTS IN ENGINEERING: A CASE STUDY THROUGH THE CURRICULUM Authors: Calle Maria, de Castro Adela, Garcia Lucy, Soto Jose, Torres Luis, Candelo John, Gonzalez Ricardo Volume 1 | DOI: 10.12753/2066-026X-15-003 | Pages: 24-30 | Download PDF | Abstract
Communication skills are very important for engineers, especially when they need to justify professional choices by developing arguments in written documents. Engineering students at Universidad del Norte learn how to write argumentative documents in the second semester. However, when students reach their senior year, their communication skills do not show their previous training. The paper presents preliminary results of a diagnosis of this skill in engineering students of different programs, different semesters and two different universities. The methodology for the diagnosis consisted in asking students to first read documents on a particular subject, and then, in the classroom, to write an argumentative essay about the same topic. All students used computers and submitted their essays digitally. The professors evaluated the essays by using a predefined rubric. Results show the students have a low level in academic writing and argument developing. Few students properly cited their sources and no essay fulfilled the minimum requirements for an argumentative document. Noticeably, even though all students employed word processor software, they did not use grammar or style check features. As a consequence, the research team believes that students may not be familiar with these tools. Additionally, students do not allow time for the text to settle before verifying the document, or they do not correct it before submission. Regarding formal aspects of the argument document, fifty percent of the students do not include a thesis in the introduction. Nonetheless, in most cases the research team identified some statements that could form or be understood as a pseudo-thesis. Essays in general lack evidences and facts to support the arguments. Moreover, most essays did not provide a conclusion where they clearly set the reader in a context and they did not resume the thesis. | Keywords
written communication, thesis, argument support |
|
|
|