Self Reflection of the Writing Quality of all my Essays in Writing for Engineering
Angel Gabriel Acevedo Maceo
Department of English, The City College of New York
ENGL 21007: Writing for Engineering
Professor Crystal Rodwell
May 15, 2024
I have learned about a variety of basic writing styles that are common in STEM professions, which has made this English course really rewarding. Technical writing structures and tactics were foreign to me, so even though it was difficult at times, it forced me to step outside of my comfort zone as a writer. I worked on a variety of writing-related tasks this semester, such as the Technical Description, the Lab Report Analysis Essay, the Product Review Essay, the Formal Letter of Introduction, and Collaborative Projects. All of these helped facilitate my growth as a writer.
Formal Letter of Introduction
Each of these activities offered different learning chances as well as tedious and meticulous challenges. For example, the Formal Letter of Introduction; our first major course assessment, gave me the opportunity to formally present myself to my professor, something I had never done previously in my undergraduate career. This task improved my writing abilities in the setting of formal communication by allowing me to present my objectives, aims, and background information in a professional manner.
Product Review Essay
The Spigen Cryo Armor phone cover was the subject of my product evaluation essay, which ended up being my least effective assignment of the year. I failed to provide readers a thorough understanding of the product by omitting important details like its size, motivation, and parts. This omission cost readers important information about how the phone case was developed and designed. Furthermore, I mistakenly gave my article a salesy tone, which undermined the objectivity of the assessment. Moving forward, I understand how critical it is to provide readers with a contextualized knowledge of the product, covering its creation, design, and comparative viewpoint. Possible, future assessments will address these deficiencies in an effort to comprehensively and successfully cover the whole range of writing a product review essay.
Lab Report Analysis
The third big project, the lab report analysis essay, turned out to be a really instructive experience. As thorough documentation of studies, lab reports are essential in STEM subjects because they make it easier to document, assess, analyze, and communicate the results of scientific research. Due to CUNY’s restricted resources, I first had trouble getting test results since I couldn’t find any information on major depressive illness solutions, which was my primary focus. Still, I persisted and adjusted, turning my attention to a new problem: the effects of digital devices on teenagers.
Technical Description
The fourth significant assignment was a technical description essay, which required me to go into the technical intricacies of a product, specifically the Cuisinart GR-4NP1 Griddler. Technical descriptions are distinguished by their significant use of descriptive language, which includes measurements, materials, and function details that break down the key components and subparts of a product. Reflecting on this assignment, I realized how difficult and time-consuming it may be to write a technical explanation. The technical description essay helped me better grasp how to write extensive product descriptions by forcing me to widen my writing abilities, increase my research abilities, and communicate complicated information more effectively and concisely.
Collaborative Project
The final big project was the collaboration project, in which I collaborated with six other students—Brigitte Siguencia, Axel Corichi, Mahin Hassan, Pape Ba, Md Alam, and Joseph McNally—to create Adaptive Tires, a potentially successful product. This experience taught me vital lessons about collaborative partnership as we effectively defined a proposal plan and distributed tasks among ourselves to attain the highest possible score. The project required extensive research and critical thought, with duties allocated to group members to evenly split the burden. This project taught me how to properly manage work in a team setting, provided insight into the dynamics of collaborative projects that are crucial in STEM fields, and improved my ability to critically assess and provide new solutions to real-world issues and inconveniences.
This course proved to be quite valuable to my progress as a writer, due to the guidance of a critical yet compassionate teacher who was really interested in her students’ development. Professor Rodwell provided a multitude of supporting materials, including class discussions, group exercises, and extra publications, which substantially assisted in comprehending important technical writing styles required in STEM professions. I am particularly grateful for Professor Rodwell’s dedication, patience, and high expectations, as they challenged me to improve and ultimately led to significant growth in my writing skills throughout the course.
