Self Assessment
Writing for Engineering was a class that really surprised me. Both in my abilities as a writer, and what the class had to offer me. One of the great things I enjoyed the most was working closely with my peers. I was able to acknowledge “others' range of linguistic differences as resources,”. The feedback that I received from my peers has improved my writing in a dramatic way. Also being able to submit a second and final draft allowed me to look over my weaknesses in areas of my writing and correct them. Working with collaborative and social aspects of writing processes allowed me to get a different view and aspect. Sometimes I am not able to pick up on my mistakes and working in a group allows me to fix those mistakes. Furthermore I learned about new genres, and were able to fully comprehend these genres. Some of these were Lab Report, technical, and a proposal. The knowledge that I have acquired from this course will extend throughout my academic career, and my professional career as an engineer. One example, would be the senior design that I will work on during my finals years at City College. Where in this case having the skills to put together a well established Lab Report, Technical Description, and a Proposal will be a crucial component of the senior design. This course has also taught me how to utilize online databases. For example when I was working on the technical description and the proposal, I used CCNY database to find information on my topic. Knowing how to find information on an online database, but through communicating with my peers and my professor this process was much easier. Furthermore the information that I was able to find made it easier to form a powerful stance in my writing. Looking back at my writing in high school, its clear that it was missing a stance to compile all the information. Thus this course has taught me the importance of a stance. One of my favorite an most resourceful project for this class has been the Technical Description. Working on this paper has taught me a new professional way of writing. To add on it was a learning curve working on a different type of genre that I haven’t worked on before. Some of the lesson that I have learned is doing relevant types of research,. When writing a technical description, you will have to research very specific details. Sometimes looking them up on the internet doesn’t work. That’s when you will have to use online databases and even sometimes physical books. Doing this has taught me new ways to do research. Another key lesson working on the technical description has taught me, is being able to write in a an organized manner. I organized my writing in this manner; I. Introduction II. History of the Stapler III. Technical Description IV. Function of the Stapler V. Conclusion VI. Works Cited When writing a longer piece, such as the technical description its vital to organize your writing. What I have done is started of the table of contents, this is so the readers understands h how the paper is structured. This is also to give the reader the idea of what’s to come. Furthermore I broke up the sections into sub sections so it is easier to read and follow. This allowed the paper to look more neat and organized. Another piece of writing that has been learning curve me has been the Lab report analysis. I was able to analyze different types of lab reports. For example I stated, “In the second lab report Design of a Temperature Measurement and Display System Using the 68HC11 Microcontroller, the format is drastically different. This is due the fact, that this is design report.” Learning about a design report is crucial for me, since I am pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering. Being able to effectively explain and write a report on a prototype or a design is a skill I will be able to utilize in the future. However I still do have flaws in my writing that should be addressed. My writing isn’t cohesive at certain points. I have a difficult time transitioning from one point to another. I will continue to work on this through my academic career. I appreciate all that this course has had to offer me. I will utilize the knowledge and the skills it has given me.