As I reflect back on the semester taking English 21007, I find I have learned a lot about the types of writing and the writing process in general. Over the course of this semester, I grew as a writer, as a communicator and critical thinker. Writing has always been a technical experience for me, but through the experience of working through various genres, revisiting and revising my work, addressing audience and authorial purpose, I have much more of a sense of my rhetorical choices, and research skills.

I knew from the start that my writing skills were not strong. In my 1st “Introduction Letter” admitted that writing was never a strong suit and that I had always been more of a “numbers guy”. But as I edited that letter, I started regarding tone, clarity and organization more closely. The revised version was less wordy, and more professional, showing that I was starting to be more conscious of the variations in context for which my words might be taken. 

The writing, getting feedback, and revising was a regular feature of our class. One of the more difficult types of reports for me was the technical description one. At first, I leaned too much towards listing the mechanical parts. But, following peer and instructor feedback, I reformatted the paper to include better historical background and functional flow. 

Addressing your audience is essential and I feel that my audience adaptation skills have better developed over this semester. In the memo on the CCNY escalator, I was writing in a convincing manner but I wanted to keep my professional voice throughout because I was addressing a college administrator. Our group proposal on friction, however, had to be in a more scientific manner and divided with solid structures such as a literature review and time schedule.

The group proposal and presentation projects displayed the social nature of writing. I had the role of researching the data and capturing the timing framework and the references. By meeting continuously and editing our proposal together, we assured it had one voice and complied with all technical standards. This experience made me realize the value of teamwork, of delegating and revising in professional writing arenas.

In the beginning of the semester, I viewed writing as something I would have to get through so that I could study engineering. Now I consider it to be a necessary resource that I use to exchange ideas, solve problems, and contribute to my professional community. My writing is no longer as much a chore, but a process of thinking, arranging, and effectively communicating thoughts. I have developed into a stronger and more confident writer and I look forward to utilizing these skills to continue my education as well as bring them into the engineering workforce.