A for Effort, F for Spelling
The semester is ending, and so is my time in this course. As of right now, I guess I’m supposed to reflect on what I’ve learned over the semester and how I have grown as a writer. My self assessment aims to shed light on the progress I have made, taking notice of my strengths and the areas that still need improvement moving forward.
Over the various assignments that we had been given during this course, I had been able to notice that my vocabulary had slightly improved and went more into detail when explaining technical stuff. In example, there was one discussion board assignment we had in which we had to watch a video titled “Exact Instructions Challenge” and in this video it had given us a tricky situation in which the lesson was on how to be more detailed and specific with instructions because “you can never assume everyone has common sense”. I hope the people reading this do though,lol. I believe this helped me in being more descriptive on certain topics when I had needed to be. I can take ideas and make them easier for others to understand. Despite this, I know there is a continued area of improvement and I have to work on it if I want to sound more like a pro.
I’ve never been a fan of writing and surprisingly, this class did not change that. I always believed the part I never enjoyed was coming up with ideas, I guess it’s called writers block? Right? Yeah, I get that a lot. When it comes to talking, I can go on and on for hours about anything. When it comes to putting my thoughts on paper, I never knew what to write, just like now, even though it is a SELF assessment, I still stare at my screen with words just coming out every 5-10 minutes. For me, perfectionism has proven to be a challenge. It can be crippling to want every sentence to be perfect from the beginning. I will admit though, once I finally get an idea, the words will just start flowing out and probably won’t make sense until I end up revising it at the end. Breaking down the writing effort into smaller, more attainable tasks has worked well. Setting realistic goals for each writing session has helped the sensation of a massive work and makes progress feel more attainable.
Understanding your audience is a very important part of writing in this class. It’s like figuring out what your classmates or professor would get from the words you speak or write down, or maybe even among friends. Not everyone is an engineer you know, so not everyone might understand all of the technical stuff. This goes back to my previous paragraph as well, in detailing and giving thorough explanations. I’ve been changing my writing to fit the level of technical depth that my readers can understand what I am saying. Still, there’s space for development. I want to continue to improve my ability to adapt my writing to various reader types and ensure that everyone can follow along.
Correcting errors in my engineering class papers occasionally reminds me of piecing together a puzzle. The larger issues are easy for me to identify, but the smaller ones get past me. It’s similar to identifying tiny mistakes in a large blueprint. I’m aware that I should use precise and clearer sentences, but those little errors frequently go unnoticed. I don’t believe I have improved in this area because those small mistakes still get by me and I’ve only noticed it after submitting assignments, when my feedback comes. I have received good feedback from my peers and I believe they could say I gave them good feedback as well.
Okay, the biggest problem that I have, and not just in this class, is deadlines. I do submit the majority of assignments on time, however, I put some on till the last minute and I end up just stress writing and I feel like this is my downfall. Because of the time strain I put on myself, I don’t always believe I have my writing live up to its fullest potential. Even when I try my best, it’s tough to keep up with time. It feels like always rushing to get everything done. Sometimes, unexpected problems show up, and I have to handle many things at once. It’s not that I don’t want to finish on time; I’m just learning how to use my time better.
The time I spent in the engineering writing course has been a worthwhile educational endeavor. Every difficulty, from figuring out technical terms to managing the difficulty of meeting deadlines, has offered a chance to improve. Being able to overcome writer’s block, improve my writing structure, and grasp the significance of knowing my audience have all helped me become a more proficient communicator in the engineering industry. I look forward to the future with enthusiasm, equipped with a stronger knowledge of my abilities and a dedication to lifelong learning, even as I acknowledge my areas for growth. I want to use what I’ve learned, hone my abilities, and use well-written, succinct, and clear communication to make a meaningful contribution to the engineering community with every writing assignment.
