Looking back on English 301 – Technical Writing, I had predicted that it could be potentially one of the most beneficial classes I take at UBC. I stand corrected. The content that I learned ranged from how to properly communicate, how to effectively peer-review, and how to convey myself professionally in writing. This class wasn’t potentially the most beneficial classes I could take, it was THE most beneficial class I could take.
Considering that my future is either in the law or business world, the ability to formulate a proper, professional piece of writing was something that I was already good at. As I discussed in an earlier post, I quickly came to learn that while I was strong at creative writing, I certainly had a thing or two to learn for technical writing.
When thinking more about this class, my strengths, my weaknesses, and my development overall, I am very glad that this was not the first online class I have taken at UBC. In semesters past I have missed deadlines for online classes that have come back to haunt me. Thankfully I learned my lesson for this class and was able to maintain a punctual, (albeit it borderline last-minute) posting schedule that allowed me to stay up to date on the content, the peer-reviews, and most importantly, the learning.
My strengths coming into this class were my writing abilities. As much as it was a realization that I needed significant development to succeed in this class, I surely could not have been the only one in that circumstance. In fact, if everybody else already had that ability, it would render this class useless. That is not the case and therefore I was alongside fellow classmates who were in a generally same position. To have a strong baseline of writing benefited me in the long run as it did not take long for me to overcome the learning curve. From unit one, to unit two, to unit three my grades kept on increasing as a result of the development for my understanding of technical writing.
An area in which I was weaker coming into this class, was following some of the guidelines required for technical writing. Thanks to my love for more creative writing, I wanted to try to implement more creativity to my pieces which came back to haunt my grades slightly. In a way, I look at it as trying to complicate things that did not need to be complicated. I was trying to run before I could walk. Once I did go back to the basics and grasped a concept of the fact that this does not need to be fancy, or complex, the content became significantly easier.
I am beyond grateful for this class. I feel as though it has helped me not only with my technical writing but given me the motivation and guidance to where I need to start to continue on to a career in Law. Learning how to create a formal report, the webfolio, and many other skills I feel has set me up for success no matter where I end up for school, and no matter which sector of Law I pursue.
