Coming into this year I thought writing for engineers would merely be a filler class. Being my first and only English course in college I assumed that it would require less effort than everything else on my schedule. It wasn’t until I was faced with real obstacles that I realized that I would have to put in the work to receive a good grade. As I participated in discussions and did some of the work, I learned that in the professional writing is a means of communication between people and it is very important to maintain professionalism and concision. This was my main issue coming into the class as much of the writing I did prior was creative writing and although I was good at articulating, I had to adjust to the tone of formal writing. Another obstacle that I faced throughout the class was presenting information. Often times I would not know how much information to present as I never had to know my audience that well before. There were five assignments that I had to complete throughout the course which included the formal letter of introduction, memo, lab report analysis, technical description, and the final group project. The different essays helped address the problems that I had in my writing coming into the course and helped me fulfill many of the course learning outcomes established by my instructor at the beginning of the semester. 

The formal letter of introduction gave me the most inaccurate first impression of this class as I found it overwhelmingly easy. It was before I realized what goes into a professional piece of writing, so I approached it the way I would approach an essay that uses informal tone. I didn’t gain much from writing the formal letter of introduction besides setting my goals for the upcoming semester and introducing myself to my instructor. The only growth that I can see from this assignment is that I am more familiar with writing correspondences such as formal letters. 

The first assignment that really forced me outside of my comfort zone was the memo. For this assignment we had to choose and research an issue within the school and write a memo to the President of the college. This was the first time I was writing to resolve an issue that is present in my own life. I was also addressing someone that I am familiar with that can have a direct impact on my college life. The issue I chose was the faulty travel system present in the school. I had to research the population in the school and come up with a solution that can be put into place and have an overall impact on school life. The course learning outcome that was fulfilled by way of this writing was the skill of drafting and self-assessment. Of all the assignments I have had throughout this class, the memo had the most drafts and revisions from my peers. In fact, I had 4 different people looking at this assignment to let me know if it was ready for submission.  

The beginning of the writing process for the lab report analysis began soon after we began drafting our memos. The balance between finalizing the memo and beginning was especially difficult and it really forced me to focus and fix my time management. The lab report analysis required the most intense initial research and planning of all the work I did in this class as I had to analyze 3 different professional works by researchers. I made it easier on myself by picking three experiments that were related to each other as they all concerned machine learning. One problem I faced in doing my analysis was writing an inclusive analysis for all three research papers without being too over spoken or under spoken. I found it hard to find the balance between what is important and what isn’t. Eventually I was able to find a balance that I was satisfied with. One course learning outcome that was relevant during this assignment was practice of the use of library resources and databases. I feel like by way of this assignment I’ve become more adept at perusing the CUNY databases for my purposes and in future classes or even in my where I will have to produce papers that require credible research I will be able to find my sources quickly. In addition, I also see an improvement in incorporating sources in technical writing. In a field that’s driven by facts it is important to properly use work done by previous individuals in the field and to cite them properly. This falls under the course learning outcome of strengthening source use practices.  

Of all the writing assignments that I completed, the technical description was the easiest and most enjoyable. This is mainly because I was given the freedom of choosing the subject matter entirely as Ms. Rodwell expected us to choose an item and describe how it functions. I decided to take advantage of this privilege and do an item that I already have a lot of experience with. I chose the Nike Adapt BB, a self-lacing sneaker that released recently. The best part of my writing process was that I didn’t need to really learn anything new as being a sneakerhead, I already understand the necessary components in building and designing a sneaker. The only difficult part was labeling the parts as there weren’t extensive written sources to look at online. This forced me to use pictures of the shoes deconstructed and videos posted by Youtubers. After doing my research I began to appreciate all types of sources not only written ones as the videos assisted a lot and gave me a more visual perspective. This assignment mainly assisted me in fulfilling the course learning outcomes regarding source usage and source implementation, similar to the previous assignment.   

I feel like my final project is the culmination of my writing endeavors throughout this course. The proposal and the final project combined many aspects from every assignment I have completed thus far including research, technicality, figures, and articulation. I would consider it the magnum opus of my growth as a writer as it forced me to consider all the aspects that initially challenged me at the same time. I had to find an overarching issue, consider a very real audience, perform extensive research, use sources of many forms, and maintain a high level of professionalism in my writing. These are all things that were new to me coming into this course and that I had to deal with throughout the semester. The only things different about this assignment were the fact that I had group mates that I needed to collaborate with to earn a grade and that I would have to present in front of an audience. This carried a lot of pressure as the grades of my peers depended on my performance both in my writing and on the day of my presentation. I strongly believe that this assignment was the greatest showing of the growth in my writing I am very pleased with what my group mates and I were able to produce. This project helped me fulfill the course learning outcome of developing and engaging in the social aspect of my writing process as I had the pleasure of working with equally motivated group mates and produce something, we can all be happy with. 

My time in this class has given me a real insight into what my future endeavors may be like in the engineering field. Throughout the semester I have been exposed to scenarios that I may very well encounter when I enter the work force in a few years’ time. Whether it be colleague and employer communication or collaborative work, I feel better equipped in handling any situation that may require technical writing. 

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