About this Assignment

Writing For Engineering

Introduction:

My name is Jonathan Valdez and I am in the class of Writing For Engineering 21007. I am a Freshman in CCNY and my major is Environmental Engineering. My initial expectations for this class was to learn more about writing for engineering and how it differs from really storytelling writing. Our first assignment was to do a technical description for the Staples box and this is where I learn what certain words to use in a technical sense. We had to describe the box in technical description terms in describing a normal box which was difficult. This class is almost similar to my first English class last semester which involved critical reading, rhetorical knowledge, discovering ideas, composing first drafts and revising for meaning. In starting this class it was a bit confusing for me because I really didn’t understand what we had to do for certain assignments and I had to look at examples to get a better understanding. 

Body:

With the many assignments that we had in this Spring semester the toughest was to create a lab report and this is where I had to look for samples within the notes of the class. What I had to do was recognize the role of language attitudes, standards in empowering, oppressing, and hierarchizing languages and their users while developing and engaging in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes. For example, we had different phases talking about technical description, a memo, a lab report, and an engineering proposal. With these phases we had to always do a first rough draft to get our thoughts and our ideas down. Another example is we would do a discussion board on blackboard based on the phases we were doing. This class has given me a synopsis of what to expect to write as an engineer within my field. With the assignments and the reading we had to do, this class has teached me on how to brainstorm my thought process when it comes down to writing a lab report, technical description of an object and an engineering proposal. 

The two assignments that were hard for me to understand was the technical description and the lab report. The reason why I found these two hard was because I really didn’t understand what to do and I was rereading every single thing that was given to us on blackboard. For example, For the lab report I was confused with the outline because it didn’t make sense at all for me and I had to ask one of my classmates for help to get a better understanding. For the technical description I had to ask one of my classmates for help to get a better understanding because I was stuck on how to make one.

For our first assignment which was a Technical description, we had to describe the different objects such as a pencil and a staples box. We had to include things such as an introduction, background, context, etc so there can be enough data to manufacture the object. For example, for the pencil we had to include the dimensions, materials and design. The experience I had throughout was a bit difficult for me because I really didn’t understand until one of my classmates explained to me what I do. 

For the lab report we had to  research a project on an engineering-related topic of our choice. For example, it took me a day or 2 to find a good topic that was related to engineering. The main goals for this lab report were the analysis, discussion and conclusion. At some point I was struggling a little bit trying to figure out what I wanted to say in this lab report so it could make sense with the topic I chose. For example, I was stuck on materials and methods. I had to get more clarification with that part.

 

Areas of improvement:

One thing I want to improve on is to ask for help whenever I get stuck on a specific section. I need to improve my ability to prepare my writing style and tone to comply different audiences. When I review my work, I need to strengthen my reading and editing skills. Next time I want to have more time to carefully review my writing and checking for grammatical errors. Also asking for feedback from my classmates that can help me identify areas for improvement that I might have overlooked.

 

Weaknesses in Writing:

Throughout the semester I had developed some weaknesses in my writing that made my writing a bit confusing. For example my professor said, “ Some of my sentences were a bit “run-on,” like you’re connecting some thoughts in a way that doesn’t flow as well as they could for your reader.” This means that I’m trying to connect thoughts so then it could flow and won’t be confusing but in reality it wasn’t really making sense. Another example, on the lab report we had to do a peer review with any classmates and one of my classmates noted on the printed paper I had was being more detailed and researching more on my topic. It made me realize that I had to put more effort into my work.

 

Strengths in Writing:

I feel that I had some strengths throughout the course of the semester. For example, I did really well on the final draft of the memo. My writing was very good on this and I did good on explaining the topic I chose. I always make sure to reread everything two or three times to make sure everything is correct so then I can submit it. Another example is I have developed the ability to convey information in a way where I understand what I have to do without asking any questions to clarify with what I am doing and also use my ideas efficiently and save time for both myself and the person who is reading it.

 

Conclusion:

Overall, this class was very hard at the beginning of the semester but after a while it became easier because I already knew what I had to do when I got help from my classmates. I took my time on rereading everything with what we had to do with the assignments that were given to us. This semester was very interesting because some of my classes were hard including this but the others were easy. Finally, this semester was great because of the teachers I had and they gave us information that was easy to understand with what we had to do with each assignment.