How you currently answer
Someone at a party asks what you do. Say your actual answer, out loud, as you would really say it.
- Did you mention Brazil?
- Did you say "designer" or "architect"?
- How long was the answer?
What B-C27 actually says
The licence number on your own title blocks, and what it licenses.
Two titles, two different things
| Title | Regulated in California? | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| Landscape Architect | Yes — a protected title | Licensure through the California Architects Board: accredited education, examination, experience |
| Landscape Designer | No — not a protected title | Nothing formal. Your licence, B-C27, is a contractor classification, not an architecture licence |
This is not a technicality. Calling yourself "landscape architect" in California when you hold a landscape-designer classification is not a register slip — it is a claim to a protected professional title you do not hold, and it is the one error in this unit with real consequences beyond an awkward sentence.
Your own drawings already get this right: every title block says LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, never LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT. This unit is about making your spoken and written English as careful as your own drawings already are.
Who, what, why you
The shape of a professional introduction
| Move | Answers | Goes wrong when… |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Your title, correctly, and your training | The title is wrong or vague |
| What | What you actually do, concretely | Stays abstract — "I do design work" |
| Why you | One piece of evidence — a project, a number, a specialism | Left implicit, as if credibility speaks for itself |
What do you already control?
Match each term to what it means. Click the term, then its meaning.
Choose the best answer.
1. Why does calling yourself "landscape architect" in California matter more than an ordinary register slip?
2. What does your licence, B-C27, actually authorise?
3. What do your own title blocks already get right, that this unit asks you to match in speech?
"Tell me about your practice"
Your Day One marker for this unit.
Task card
A new acquaintance, at a professional event, who has never heard of you
Answer "tell me about your practice" in under a minute. Cold, no notes.
- Use the correct title.
- Include at least one piece of evidence, not just a description.
- Keep it. Lesson 8 comes back to it.
Which title did you use?
- Which word did you actually use — designer, architect, or something else?
- Did you give evidence, or only a description?
- Did Brazil come up? Should it have?
Before the next lesson
Homework. Find the exact wording on your own website or business card, if you have one, and check the title against what you learned today. Bring what you find, correct or not.