Professional Review

Communication Task
Guidance
 Contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3

IEng-level Communication Task .............................................................................................. 3

Format of the Communication Task at Professional Review .................................................. 4

Joining the Communication Task ............................................................................................ 5

Accessing your Communication Task ..................................................................................... 5

Communication Task instructions........................................................................................... 7

Starting the Communication Task ........................................................................................... 8

Submitting your response........................................................................................................ 8

Uploading your response......................................................................................................... 9

Marking of the Communication Task ..................................................................................... 10

Preparation ............................................................................................................................. 11

ANNEX A – CEng-level scenario themes and response formats .......................................... 12

Scenarios................................................................................................................................ 12

Response formats .................................................................................................................. 12

Frequently Asked Questions.................................................................................................. 14

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 Introduction
The Written Exercise at Incorporated Professional Review (IPR), Chartered Professional Review
(CPR) and Chartered Professional Review (Progressive) (CPRP) was replaced with a new
‘Communication Task’ on 1 January 2022. This document provides information on the ICE
Communication Task and sets out the process for accessing, completing and submitting it ready for
your Reviewers to view.

The Communication Task will form part of the assessment of the Interpersonal Skill and
Communication attribute. It will be based on current issues within the industry, and you will be
expected to respond as an engaged civil engineer, not a technical expert.

The aim and style of the Communication Task varies according to whether you are taking part in an
IEng-level or a CEng-level Professional Review.

IEng-level Communication Task

At IPR, the objective is to confirm that you can produce straightforward documents without
assistance from others and you have the ability to report factual information clearly. You will have 60
minutes to complete the task. Your Reviewers will set two questions and you will have to answer
one.

Some examples of the type of questions you can expect are:

▪ Describe the process you would use to put a 3-weekly look-ahead programme together
including activities, dates, and resources (labour, plant, materials)
▪ What activities do you undertake to ensure the safety of yourself and those around you in
your job
▪ Discuss and explain the elements of an Inspection and Test Plan you have used and how
this ensures quality

At the CPR and CPRP, the aim is to test your ability to take a piece of information, digest it, organise
your thoughts and put them forward logically and clearly in writing. You will have 90 minutes to
complete the task. Your Reviewers will set two questions, each made up of a scenario and a
response format, and you will have to answer one.

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 Some examples of the type of questions you can expect are:

▪ Nuclear energy and the balance of risk and reward

With global emissions on a seemingly unstoppable upward trend there are clear concerns
that civil engineers are adding to the problem of climate change, but the construction of
nuclear facilities could be one of a range of ways to reduce emissions. However, when
Greenpeace claims “nuclear power is incredibly expensive, hazardous and slow to build” and
with the catastrophic failure at Fukushima in 2011 in recent memory, many feel this is the
wrong technology to use, and alternatives must be sought.

You have been asked to write a piece by a journalist on this subject for inclusion in an
industry supplement.

▪ The need for resilience of infrastructure and how to achieve it.

Covid-19 has shown us that there is a need for resilience to unexpected economic shocks in
terms of our infrastructure and its design and maintenance. The time has come for a rethink
of what kind of infrastructure is required and how engineers design, build and maintain such
infrastructure, as well as what training and development is needed to allow engineers to
ensure its fitness for purpose.

Write a blog for people with a technical background but without specialist knowledge in civil
engineering.

An indication of the type of scenarios and response formats that may come up can be found in
Annex A.

Format of the Communication Task at Professional Review

Incorporated Professional Review (IPR)
You will be set two questions and will have to answer one. You will have 60 minutes to complete the
task. At IPR the objective is to ascertain that you can produce straightforward documents without
assistance from others and that you have the ability to report factual information clearly.

Chartered Professional Review / Chartered Professional Review Progressive (CPR/CPRP)

You will be set two questions, each containing a scenario and a format. You will have to choose one
question to respond to, and you will have 90 minutes to complete the task. At the CPR an d CPRP,
the aim is to test your ability to take a piece of information, digest it, organise your thoughts and
present them logically and clearly, bearing in mind the audience that you are writing to.

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 Joining the Communication Task
If your Professional Review is online, you will receive an invitation to an MS Teams meeting. You
will need to click the specific Communication Task MS teams link provided in your online review
meeting request. Please join this meeting 15 minutes before the start allocated time of your
Communication Task.

This will bring you into a lobby where you will be accepted in by your invigilator. You must turn your
video and audio on and keep your video on for the entirety of your Communication Task.

If you are attending an in-person Professional Review, you will receive instructions of the location
and start time of you Communication Task when you register at the venue, you should arrive to be
seated at least 15 minutes before the allocated start time of your Communication Task. This allows
time for you to set yourself up.

You will then be asked to state your name and membership number as confirmation of identity.

Please be advised that if you are late and do not join your Communication Task meeting before the
start time written in your notification letter, you will not be allowed to join this sitting. If you have
missed joining your allocated slot, if online you should contact the Professional Reviews team
immediately at professional.reviews@ice.org.uk or speak to a member of ICE staff at the venue.
You will be required to provide an explanation as to why you were unable to join, and you will be
given a new timeslot.

Accessing your Communication Task

Approximately 5 minutes before the start time you will receive an email from ICE. This will contain
your username (which will be your email address) and password, as well as the link to access the
Communication Task.

Once you have received the email, you will need to:
a) Open your browser in Incognito/InPrivate mode. (This is to avoid disruption if you already
have a SharePoint account)
b) Copy the link and paste it into your browser which will take you to the login page
c) Input your email address and the randomly generated password included with the email you
have received

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 You will then be taken to your Communication Task questions - example screenshot below:

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 Please confirm to your invigilator that you have successfully accessed the questions and are ready
to proceed, by putting a message in the chat function if online or confirming to the invigilator when
asked if at a venue.

Do not start the Communication Task until you are instructed to do so by your invigilator.

Communication Task instructions

Outlined below are some important rules that must be adhered to during the Communication Task: -

▪ In addition to the internet browser/tab being open the only other programs open on your
desktop should be the following:
o MS Teams – with only the ICE meeting open (if online)
o MS Word or a similar program where you are completing your Communication Task
– with a blank template to complete your Communication Task
o Communication Task instructions (this document)
o two sides of A4 material that you have prepared for reference (this is optional). The
material can be either printed hardcopy or an MS Word document. Other reference
materials and notes are not permitted.

▪ If the invigilator notices that you are using unauthorised materials, they will ask yo u to
stop, and a note will be recorded, and your Reviewers informed

▪ You are not permitted to talk to anyone during the Communication Task. If you are online,
then you should be alone in the room and free of distractions

▪ You must answer only one out of the two questions

▪ You will be given a 15-minute warning before the Communication Task is due to finish and
then you will be told when you need to stop. You will then be given 15 minutes to upload
your response through the portal

▪ Leaving your seat should be avoided but if you do need to leave for any reason – toilet
breaks, getting a glass of water etc - you must let your invigilator know, by either putting a
message in the chat function or raising your hand. You will not be granted extra time

▪ If you leave for a significant amount of time or you do not inform the invigilator that you are
leaving, this will be considered as breaking the rules and will need to be recorded and
your Reviewers informed

▪ The Communication Task must be your own work. Where you need to quote exactly from

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 material developed by others, be sure to fully reference the source, and where
appropriate, enclose the material in quotation marks. A good rule of thumb is that you
should treat as quotes any material derived from others except content which could be
assumed to be common knowledge, e.g., standard equations in the public domain. The
use of re-drawn diagrams/figures is allowed if permission is obtained (where appropriate)
and the source is acknowledged

▪ The use of the internet on your computer or any mobile devices is not permitted during
the Communication Task, except to access the Teams meeting, the login email from ICE,
and the Communication Task page required to carry out the Communication Task

▪ The use of external hard drives and USB memory sticks are not permitted

▪ Plagiarism is not acceptable and is taken seriously by ICE. Samples of the

Communication Task response will be selected and put through plagiarism detection
software, and if this shows significant levels of similarity with any unattributed sources
then you will be contacted by the ICE and asked to provide an explanation. Your
Reviewers will be provided with a copy of the plagiarism report and your response. Your
Reviewers may use this information in the assessment of your Communication Task or
other attributes

▪ Mobile phones must be turned to silent and put to the side

Starting the Communication Task

The invigilator will tell you when to start.

If you are using MS Teams you will be asked to turn your audio off, but you must keep your video on
at all times. You will also be asked to turn off any backgrounds effects, therefore please make sure
that there are no personal details in sight behind you.

Submitting your response

At the end of the allocated time your invigilator will ask you to stop writing. You will then have 15
minutes to save and upload your answer document. Please save your answer as a PDF file.

If you have handwritten your response, you should take a picture or scan it and upload it to the
portal if online, or hand it to the invigilator at the venue who will arrange for it to be scanned and
uploaded.

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 Uploading your response
Once you have completed your Communication Task you must upload your response. You need to
return to the Communication Task page where you accessed your questions and click the ‘Upload
file’ button at the bottom of the page. You can then locate your response and upload the file.

Once the upload is complete, you will receive the message below, click ‘OK’.

You can upload other supporting documents, for example, your Communication Task plan.
However, you will not receive an acknowledgement message. If further confirmation is needed that
the document/s has been uploaded, please ask your invigilator.

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 The invigilator will check the submissions in case of corrupted files or incorrect document upload.

Once this has been undertaken you may leave the meeting or room.

Please note that at the end of the Communication Task session your access will be revoked. If you
try to upload further documents, you will receive an error message:

If you try to refresh the page, you will see a ‘you need permission to access this site’ message :

Marking of the Communication Task

The Communication Task forms part of the assessment of the Interpersonal Skills and
Communication attribute, your written response will be assessed against the following three criteria:

▪ Knowledge and relevance

▪ Use of English (grammar and syntax)
▪ Clarity and presentation
Please remember that at IEng-level your Reviewers are looking for evidence that you can report
factual information clearly, while at CEng-level they will be looking for you to organise your thoughts
and deliver them in writing in a clear and logical fashion, bearing in mind the needs of the audience
you are writing for.

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 Preparation
In terms of general awareness, we encourage you to follow industry and institution developments,
both in the news and trade press, and to read around the subject. You should also be familiar with
the two most recent Presidential addresses.

In terms of practising critical thinking and written skills, organised discussion groups can help
develop your writing skills and encourage debates between engineers. Your local Graduate and
Student group can give you more information about discussion grou ps. Find your local contact at
www.ice.org.uk/nearyou.

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 ANNEX A – CEng-level scenario themes and response formats
Questions will not be published in advance, but we recognise that you will want an indication of the
type of scenarios and response formats that may come up if you are sitting a CEng-level
Communication Task.

Scenarios
The 2022 scenarios will be based on the following themes:

- The Presidential themes from 2020 (Rachel Skinner and 2021 (Ed McCann)1

▪ Decarbonisation
▪ Climate impacts
▪ Infrastructure resilience
▪ Transport and connectivity
▪ Asset Management
▪ Water and sanitation
▪ Energy supply
▪ Productivity challenge
▪ Digital and data
▪ Emerging technologies
▪ Security of Assets
▪ Future of civil engineering
▪ Education and skills (Careers and Skills shortages)

Response formats
You can expect to be presented with two of the following response formats, one for each scenario:

1. You have been asked to write a piece by a journalist for inclusion in an industry supplement

2. You have been asked to write a summary note to inform civil engineering students at your
local university undertaking a piece of coursework

3. Write a letter to a local resident group explaining how these issues will affect them

1
Note that themes from a given inaugural address typically appear in Communication Tasks questions after 6
months.

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 4. Write a blog for people with a technical background but without specialist knowledge in civil
engineering

5. Write to students in your local secondary school explaining the main issues involved

6. Write a briefing note to your local government representative outlining the main points

We recognise that the themes are broad headings, but we reiterate that you will be expected to
respond as an engaged civil engineer, not as a technical expert. We would expect any candidate
who can write clearly, and who is familiar with current issues within the industry, to be able to
respond well.

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 Frequently Asked Questions

I have not received an email

If you have not received the email with your joining instructions, let the invigilator know and they will
arrange for a further copy to be sent.

I am having technical issues

If you experience any technical issues during your Communication Task, contact the invigilator on
the phone number that they provide at the beginning of the session. If the technical issues cannot be
resolved your Communication Task will be re-arranged. If you are only delayed for a short time by
technical issues, then additional time will be added to match the duration that was lost.

My access has been revoked but I have not uploaded my response

If your access has been revoked then this means you have missed the upload timeframe. You
should contact the invigilator, who will ask for an explanation and this will be recorded . The
invigilator will then reinstate your access to allow you to complete the upload.

Can I have a copy of my Communication Task questions?

Yes, if you require a copy of your Communication Task, you can either take a screenshot of the
screen you accessed to view the questions or ICE staff can do this for you.

Can I access other sources during the Communication Task?

No, the Communication Task is a closed book examination. The only exception is two sides of A4
material you have prepared for reference. This can be hardcopy or as an MS word document. Other
reference materials and notes are not permitted.

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 Our vision
Civil engineers at the heart of society, delivering sustainable development

through knowledge, skills and professional expertise.

Core purpose
▪ To develop and qualify professionals engaged in civil engineering

▪ To exchange knowledge and best practice for the creation of a

sustainable and built environment

▪ To promote our contribution to society worldwide

Diversity statement
As a membership organisation and an employer, we value diversity and

inclusion - a foundation for great engineering achievement

Institution of Civil Engineers

One Great George Street
Westminster
London SW1P 3AA
UK

T: +44 (0) 20 7665 2344

E: professional.reviews@ice.org.uk
W: ice.org.uk

Institution of Civil Engineers is a Registered

Charity in England & Wales (no 210252) and
Scotland (SC038629).

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