The skeleton, from memory
Say the four-slot skeleton aloud. Then produce three requirements using it, on any subject, in thirty seconds. Speed matters more than accuracy here.
From speech to spec
What a contractor actually says
“Right, so on the sauna — I need to know what you want me to do about the disconnect. Because the unit is round the back, and if I put the switch inside by the panel he is going to have to walk all the way round every time. I would rather put it out there where he can see it. That is fine, is it not? And the other thing is the wire, I do not want to guess on the wire, so tell me what you want and I will price it.”
Three requirements are hiding in that. Finding them is the skill; wording them is the easy part once you have.
The three moves, in order:
- Extract the requirement from the surrounding talk. What actually has to be true when this is done?
- Decide the register. Performance requirement, or specific item?
- Find the authority. What governs this — a code article, a manufacturer instruction, or your own judgement?
Only then do you write. Writing first is what produces vague notes.
Buying time while you think
On the phone, in English, under pressure
You need these more than any vocabulary in this unit.
The most valuable one is the last. Asking the contractor to repeat their own request back is not a weakness in your English — it is standard professional practice in any language, and it catches misunderstandings before they become built work.
Rewrite as requirement
Rewrite each loose sentence as a specification requirement, using the word given. Do not change the word given.
The electrician has to follow whatever the manufacturer says. ACCORDANCE
Make sure the wire is the right size — check the code table. SIZED
The city has the right to inspect all of this and turn it down. SUBJECT
He is allowed to put the disconnect outside if he wants to. MAY
Do not let them join the wire anywhere inside the conduit. SHALL
The call
Live, no preparation, no template.
Task card
Your teacher is the contractor from Phase 02. He calls with five things.
Extract every requirement, ask what you need to ask, and read back the note you would put on the drawing.
- You are allowed to say “let me check the article.” You are not allowed to say “fine, do what you think.”
- Read each finished note back to him out loud before moving on.
- At least one of his five requests should stay a permission, not a requirement. Catch it.
What broke first?
Under pressure, which went first: the modal, the passive, the citation, or the register choice? Whichever it was is the thing to drill, and it is almost never the one you expect.
Before the next lesson
Homework. Bring the will / should / may list from Lesson 4 homework. Next lesson works entirely on your own documents — including one note in them that is already inconsistent.