CER Writing Hints and Tips

What is a Career Episode Report (CERs)

A report written by candidate describing experience, can be written about a project, program
of work or period of service
The report can demonstrate one or more elements
Cover:
o Personal contribution and responsibilities
o Challenges and problems faced
o Solutions found
o Engineering judgements made
o Impact of solutions and judgements
The report must be verified by participants supervisor, reviewed by mentor and endorsed by
EA assessor

Demonstrating Competency Element

Need to write about how it was done not just what was done, ie the activities undertaken

Eg. for element E1B.3 Manages People, it is not sufficient to simply state ..managing a
team of 10 engineers, technicians etc , but rather need to demonstrate how you -
participated in the selection of staff
ensured team has adequate skills & resources
discussed project scope/objectives with team
delegated tasks
monitored team and individual performance
ensured adherence to ethical, OH&S and quality standards etc
provided performance feedback, etc

Suggested Structure for a CER

Introduction - including title and dates
Overview of task or project you will write about
Define your role and responsibilities together with your interactions with other engineers
Describe the work, emphasising the issues encountered, how resolved, judgements made,
decisions taken, advice sought and outcomes
Conclusion - task or project outcomes, successes, lessons learned, deliverables
Follow the example in Handbook - Appendix D on page 39

Getting Started
1. Select a task or project that will demonstrate your engineering skills and competencies
2. Give the CER a Job Title and indicate time period
3. Plan the structure for the narrative to flow in logical sequence
4. Write in the first person singular to clearly define your roles and responsibilities
 CER Writing Hints and Tips
5. Edit your CER, checking spelling and grammar for a professional presentation
6. Lastly, allocate elements of competency in margin against paragraph where demonstrated
7. Do a reality check to ensure Defining Activities are met

Some Tips on Writing your Report

Write using simple style & everyday words
Avoid jargon or acronyms
Avoid use of we or passive tense
Use clear font, eg. 12 point Times Roman
Consider competency Elements only after writing the CER
Ensure Defining Activities are met
Mix and match from different Units
Accumulate Elements

Common Pitfalls
Selecting Element by title description
Starting out by first selecting the Unit/Elements to write about
Claiming Defining Activities individually
General statements - use examples
Writing up a complete Unit in one CER
Covering your whole career with CERs
Duplicating claims for an Element

How Much Writing is Involved?

Some rules of thumb (on average) are

each element will require 200 - 300 words

each page of CER will cover about 2-3 Elements
an EPR will comprise 9-12 pages of text
For further information please see the Chartered Status Handbook or download from
www.engineersaustralia.org.au