Self-Assessment
This is a rewind of my journey in Writing for Engineering during this semester with Professor Nicholas Otte. At the beginning of the semester I was lost to say the least, did not know what was awaiting me, but Professor Otte provided us with some insight about the class which shed some light on the class. He broke it down in such a way that even a child could understand what the body and purpose of this course was. Furthermore, although the class was online, we got to introduce ourselves in the forum section with other classmates and this also permitted me to get acquainted with some mates that could relate with me on how I was feeling. During this semester, professor Otte, after teaching us and explaining us matters concerning how to write as a professional, had us write 4 major assignments: Technical Description, Memo, Lab Report, and an Engineering Proposal. Theses assignments, although challenging in their own way, equipped me with the tools necessary to advance in my engineering career. Before we dived into the major assignments, we began this course with some simpler assignments to get adjusted to the course. The first work that was assigned to us was the analysis of an article which enlightened me on key component of an article; the Audience. In a way or another we have all heard about the key term but during this course the importance of it was magnified to me as I got knowledge of it. It is crucial for any writer to know their audience to facilitate the “capturing of the readers”. This one thing helped me throughout my major assignments.
Technical Description: This was officially the first assignment we were graded on. We began it by brainstorming and freewriting on the subject of the mechanism/object we picked. The topic I chose was about foldable phones and I tackled this assignment by following a simple formula: what, how, why, and, who. It may seem like a basic strategy, but it is very efficient. You incapsulate in your essay the main ideas and then expand on them to write a complete and full technical description. An error I made while writing the first draft was to include my opinions and luckily my peer pointed that out and caught my attention on it. It was leaning more toward an essay form rather than a more technical, detail-oriented piece. So, I had to revisit it and keep in mind that I had to describe my subject clearly and concisely which is the goal. To do so I broke the description into sections, address each detail individually, and generally employ different tactics for informing and engaging my audience in a brief amount of space. Another strategy that can be used that I implemented in technical descriptions is adding a visual element such as a graph or diagram that helps illustrate subject and the details of its function which improved its effectiveness. A lot I was taking from this assignment that helped to improve my writing; anything from knowing your audience to describing something in clearly and concisely which is a must as an engineer.
Memo: The second assignment we were given was to write a memo which was a group assignment. The hardest task of this assignment I must say was working together online and finding time to all come together and share, elaborate, and work on the assignment. A typical memo consists of five organizational elements: a specific subject line, a clear statement of purpose, a brief summary, informative headings, and a prominent recommendation. The workload was divided into 3 different roles: topic supervisor who had to introduce the topic and keep track of all project requirements; the research director who lead the group in researching and incorporating at least 2 sources; and the submission manager who was in charge of compiling and submitting the team’s work. As the topic supervisor I made sure to gather the group to work on the assignment making sure we targeted each requirement. This role taught me patience because I had to come to the realization that people have different schedules so I had to accommodate to their needs as a supervisor and make sure we could complete the work in due time. The Memo that we worked turned to be quite interesting as we talked about ways to improve the MTA transportation system. Little to no changes were made from the first draft to the final; we expanded it and included one more source to complete the assignment. I have to say that as one that is used to working by himself this proved to be harder than it seemed, but with the help of my mates I was able to understand how to work as a team and most importantly have patience. Frustrating experience but the end result turned that feeling into a great one.
Lab Report: The 3rd assignment we had was the lab report which probably was the hardest assignment for me. Just finding a topic was quite difficult, not to talk about writing the report itself. The most difficult task was blending every information that I had and articulate a question about the issue concerning distance learning which then had to be answered with the inclusion of credible sources that would support my stand. Peer review was very much needed for me in this assignment. My peers stepped in to aid me in this report and finalize it by expressing my results and limitations. This assignment was the most challenging and I can definitely say that it equipped me with tools that I was lacking prior to it. I learned how to conduct research more efficiently by excluding unnecessary information and figuring how blend in the various source to create a coherent writing. Also, analyzing data was also something that I needed to learn in order to write this report.
Engineering Proposal: The final assignment we had was the engineering proposal. Although the lengthiest of the work we had, it was actually the easiest to complete in my opinion. And the reason is, everything we had learned so far with the last three assignments needed to be compiled and synthesized in this final piece. Prof. Otte broke down this assignment with weekly goals to achieve. Our first goal was identifying a need for a certain innovation in NYC which had to be expanded into a short 250-word paragraph. We then were asked to find sources related to our topic and on the last breakdown session we provided our outline. The work was basically done at that point; all that was needed was to amalgamate everything together and expanding it to fulfill the page requirement of the proposal. I was very happy with my first draft which thorough and well researched. The skills I had acquired in the previous assignment aided to the completion of this assignment. Overall, this assignment helped to improve my acquired skills and ultimately prepare for the next stage of writing as a professional.
Prof. Otte did not teach us just how to write but also how to collaborate with others, analyze data, and much more. This semester equipped us with tools and strategies to approach this new professional world that we are being introduced to. Writing is much more than just an assignment and receiving grades for it, but it has much more to offer as I’ve experienced during this semester. I have noticed that I’ve been using my skills acquired in this class on a daily basis without even realizing so I must say Prof. Otte really did leave a mark within me and I am thankful for that.
