Both Jack Hyde and Anayeli Real attended college and started careers in construction. Having a basic college background has ultimately helped them in their careers especially with their communication and writing skills.

Anayeli, project manager at Kiewit, has to submit requests for prices of equipment, materials and other costs. So there is no confusion when submitting these requests, she relies on accuracy and clarity to make sure there are no incorrect quotes that could ultimately cost her company hundreds of dollars.

As a project foreman for Midlands Contracting, Jack recommends specific materials, suppliers and strategies through written communication. This has proved to be more effective than verbal conversation because it will always be on file to support his views and judgments.

Written communication is important when it becomes a permanent archival document and can be used as a reference for the future. Jack and Anayeli have to provide a daily job log, reports and other types of documents every day. Their tips for keeping logs and reports are to be consistent, neat and clean so they are easy to understand and follow.

Help your students learn what’s to come in a construction career by having them use this handy Practice Log PDF as a classroom activity to sharpen their written communication skills.