I have really enjoyed working through the various assignments in English 301. Now that the course is coming to an end, it is time to reflect on some of the progress I have made throughout the course. Below, I have written about my overall thoughts on my weaknesses and strengths in both my learning process and my assignments. Additionally, I have provided some of my thoughts on how my skills and strengths gained from English 301 support my future career and educational goals.
One of my major weaknesses in technical writing is that my writing can often become ‘wordy’ and lack conciseness. Furthermore, I have noticed that quite often I write some very long sentences that can become confusing to readers. Lastly, sometimes I tend to write very dense paragraphs, which can make it harder for readers to follow my writing. During the first few weeks of the course, Jasmine Spencer, the TA of the course, also pointed out similar weaknesses in my writing. Ever since, I have been using the team forums on the English 301 website to learn from some of the elite students in the class who are very concise in their writing.
At the start of the course, I thought I could adapt my writing to be more brief and concise; however, I quickly realized that this is not an easy task. After reading some of the work of others in my writing team, I came to the conclusion that by eliminating certain phrases from my writing, my assignments can become substantially easier to read. Furthermore, to improve on my weaknesses in writing, I have to continue cutting some extra words or phrases in paragraphs that are more dense. For example, I should cut verbs ending in ‘ing’, adverbs, and some prepositional phrases. This will certainly help sharpen my writing. Using these strategies have really helped me improve my writing in the last couple weeks of the course. When comparing my assignments from the beginning of the course to the end, it is clear that my writing has improved significantly. The lesson I have learned is that technical writing is meant to convey messages in a simple and effective manner. I know there is a long way to go in improving my writing skills, but as long as I work towards sharpening some of my sentences and paragraphs, my writing will continue to improve.
One of my strengths in technical writing is my ability to write using the YOU-attitude. Writing with YOU-attitude is something that I have practiced a lot throughout the second half of the course. At first, it was very difficult to refrain myself from using the pronoun ‘I’ in peer reviews. Furthermore, it was also difficult to refrain from using the pronoun ‘you’ in my reviews when I intended to give suggestions on potential ways for improvements. However, after writing many peer reviews and memos throughout English 301, I am very confident in my skills to write very effective memos and peer reviews using the YOU-attitude. That is not to say I have fully mastered this type of writing. I know there is always room for improvement; however, I still believe this is one of the strongest skills I have gained from English 301. I have always loved giving feedback to my fellow students; therefore, I am very happy to have attained the skills essential for providing constructive feedback without insulting anyone in the process. Furthermore, I find it interesting how the simple idea of putting the focus on the readers and their needs can be so effective.
Another strength I have gained through this course is the ability to review my own pieces of writing. Through the first half of the course, I realized how important the peer review process could be in paving the path for an effective final product of an assignment. Furthermore, I started to feel very comfortable in providing effective peer reviews to my writing team members. Realizing the importance of peer reviews and my level of professionalism in writing them, I thought it might be a good idea to review my own writing assignments. Thus, I started to apply the same skills I have gained through peer reviews completed for my classmates to improve my own pieces of technical writing. For the second half of the course, I started to review my own assignments from an outsider’s perspective. I found this to be very effective. Moreover, I noticed that I started to make some improvements in my writing. Some of the skills I have gained through English 301 are more useful than I would have ever imagined.
I believe my writing skills and strengths, which have significantly developed throughout this course, will support my educational goals and future career. The next challenge in pursuing my ultimate educational goals is researching more into various dental schools and strengthening my application. Thanks to English 301, now that I have a very effective application package, I am very confident that with some extra revisions, I should have a very good chance of receiving an interview for dental school. Furthermore, one of my writing team members and I, who have similar goals regarding professional school, have actually promised to carefully peer review each other’s application package in the next couple months. We both know how helpful peer reviews can be, and we hope to use what we have learned in this class to help each other succeed in pursuing our career goals. I must also mention that getting into dental school and going through the process of becoming a dentist are not the only aspects of my future that are supported by the skills and strengths gained through English 301. In working towards my future career and becoming a great dentist, I will be taking full advantage of my technical writing skills as they can be very helpful in any professional environment.
Being a dentist requires a great deal of professionalism. Dentists deal with their receptionist and patients on a daily basis. Furthermore, these interactions often require some professional form of communication. Thus, I hope that the writing skills I have developed through English 301 can be fully incorporated into my communications as a dentist. For instance, if I need to leave a document for my receptionist to review and mail, I can simply write a memo with the document attached and place it on my receptionist’s desk in the morning. In any type of career, these kinds of professionalism can be very beneficial.
In closing, this course has taught me a great deal about my writing and has exposed me to various types of effective writing techniques. By reflecting on my work, I have been able to point out my flaws and have work towards eliminating some of my bad habits. I have learned that writing is a dynamic skill. As I grow and develop as a professional, I must continue to review my own work and reflect on my writing techniques in hopes of making significant improvements. I want to thank Dr. Erika Paterson and Jasmine Spencer, who have helped me a lot throughout the various stages of the course. I am very thankful for what this course has allowed me to achieve.