When I first started to settle in my Writing for Engineering class, I was not aware of what I was getting into it. I was confused by the topic as I did not understand how it would be different from any other English course. However, down the line, I started to see what exactly it is that makes this class special. Through each assessment that I had worked on, I gained much more of an understanding of the importance of writing in the engineering space. Along with this understanding, I also progressed in my skill as a writer.
While in Writing for Engineer, I was able to “strengthen your source use practices”. When working in the Memo group project, I was assigned the role of resource manager. This meant that I had to find the sources that would be integrated in the memo. For each source that I found, I analyzed it thoroughly and wrote a summary for my group members to read and decide if the source was good for their talking point. In terms of writing, analyzing sources show trust to the reader, at least in my opinion. It is a tool to use to show your reader that what you are saying is supported through articles and other types of media. It shows honesty to the reader and will let them read on without having to do any heavy research themselves. The following image shows one of the sources that I analyzed for my memo project.
Another skill I showed in Writ was to “enhance strategies for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and self-assessment”. For all 4 big assignments, I was required to create a first draft and to send it to one of my peers and the professor. With the feedback I would get on my drafts, I would revise my work and change it up to make it the best possible work that I can. I was also able to self asses my own work while I would conduct peer reviews. I would compare my peers work to my own and tell my peer how their essay made me realize what I needed to fix. In terms of writing, the drafts were crucial as it gave me an idea as to how I would write an assignment. It gave me room for failure and allowed me to experiment to see what did and didn’t work.
Another skill that I achieved in Writing for Engineering was to “engage in genre analysis and multimodal composing to explore effective writing across disciplinary contexts and beyond.” For each assignment that I had to do, I read the textbook for its format. The Technical Description, Memo, Lab Report, and Proposal all had different formats to follow and different genres. A I cannot make a Proposal in the form of a Memo or a Lab Report because then it will no longer be a Proposal. All four assignments show that I was able to understand each genre and had explored effective writing across disciplinary contexts and beyond. In terms of writing, exploring different genres trained me to be more flexible. Knowing different forms of writing will allow me to use whatever genre I need for a specific type of topic.
Another thing that I was able to accomplish while in Writing for Engineering was “develop and engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes” The second assignment in the class was a group project memo. I was assigned with two groupmates and we successfully associated ourselves with roles and responsibilities in the projects. We worked in a group chat to discuss the work. Additionally, with every draft that we would write in the class, we would be assigned peers to review each other’s work. With each peer review, I read my peers work and told them what I thought they did good on and what it is that they can improve on. In terms of writing, this skill allowed me to become more creative. Two heads are always better than one, and when you have someone else that can catch mistakes that you missed and tell you what works, it’ll help make a better paper. The following image shows one of my peer reviews.
Another skill that I was able to do during my time at Writing for Engineering was “practice using various library resources, online databases, and the Internet to locate sources appropriate to your writing projects.” For each assignment that I did, it was a must to find trusted resources to support your arguments. I used a variety of sources such as: scholarly articles, website pieces, journals, and books. The way I would get these sources is through the ccny library, but most of the sources would be from Google Scholar. In terms of writing, this skill allows me to bring more trust in my papers. To be able to find scholarly sources, it would bring more trust from my audience to the paper. When they are able to notice quotes that are used by scholarly articles, they would see that what I am talking about is backed up with trust. The following image shows the sources that I had gotten from the different types of data bases used.
Another skill that I showed in Writing for Engineering was “formulate and articulate a stance through and in your writing.” In the memo assignment, my groupmates and I all decided to tackle the issue of outdoor dining in NYC. Our stance was clear, that of being against outdoor dining. In that assignment, the stance of being against outdoor dining was very clear, all be it to heavy. We gave reasons as to why we thought outdoor dining was bad for NYC, however I do feel that I went to far for claiming that the NYC officials do not care for human life. If there was one thing I could change, it would be that aggressive assumption. I learned to not be so aggressive when taking a stance, as aggressive assumptions never make a good argument. In terms of writing, taking a stance is crucial as it gives your reader a path as to what you are trying to say. When reading quotes and what you write, they would be given a reference point in your mind to interpret it out of. The following image shows the stance that I took in the memo.
While I was able to practice and accomplish many skills in Writing for Engineering, there were still some challenges. One skill that I feel like I did not meet was to “negotiate your own writing goals and audience expectations.” While I tried to keep my audience in mind while writing my assignments, I did not go a good job on it. I understand the need for your audience to understand what it is you are talking about; however, I feel with each assignment I did not make things clear. I have a bad habit of expecting people to know the terms I am talking about, and I must start fixing that. When I wrote, I did not have audience in mind, so my works may have sounded a bit confusing.
Another skill I feel like I did not achieve in Writing for Engineering was “acknowledge your and others’ range of linguistic differences as resources and draw on those resources to develop rhetorical sensibility.” I never wrote about linguistical topics, so I didn’t see the need to include them or point them out. While the way I write could be considered as a form of linguistics, I never touched upon it as a resource. I also did not use the linguistic differences of my peers as resources as, in my opinion, there was nothing to use as a resource for my topics.
During my time in Writing for Engineering, I was able to learn so much. All the skills that I had acquired and learned made me view writing differently. To me, writing is a form of self-expression. Not only is it one of many forms of self-expression, but this class made me appreciate it to the point where I believe is the best form of self-expression. In Writing for Engineering, I was able to communicate with people solely through writing. I never met anyone face to face or even heard their voice, but I was able to understand who they were through their writings. When I wrote, I did not think they were the best types of articles written as they were far from it. However, I did show passion in my papers, and I am pretty sure anyone who peer reviewed my work saw that passion. I want to start using all the skills that I gather to practice this form of self-expression. Going forward, I would continue to practice on my writing to the point where it comes as second nature. I will continue my journals, and try to aim for a journal a day, so that when I have to take an English class in the fall, I would be more than prepared.
