Course Reflection

The overall goal of this course was to grant students the tools necessary for navigating writing in a professional environment. We engaged with classmates through peer review, the generation of professional business documents, a portfolio, an application package, and a formal report. In this sense, the course both met and exceeded my expectations.

I had plenty of opportunities to practice technical writing, peer review other’s work, and revise my own work. I am now aware of the tools necessary for navigating writing in a professional environment. Business letters resume, cover letters and formal reports are just a few of the tools I now have to do so. Although I won’t masterfully be able to produce professional documents, bridging the gap from where I am to excellence will come with more practice. Despite falling short of my goals, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to take this class.

However, through my reflection and review of my assignments, I have noticed a marked improvement. I have developed an intuitive sense for writing with ‘YOU-attitude’ and now take into consideration details like splitting apart run-on sentences and using clearer language. Despite seeming simple, all of these were tremendously useful, given their repeated occurrence in both our peer reviews and the documents we would write.

What I Offer

Before taking this course, I thought I had sufficient communication skills to navigate the field of Software Engineering. This was in part due to my background in scientific writing. I was sorely mistaken. The software industry is not only concerned with technical skills but involves communication.

There is a very profound difference between writing on academic subjects, and writing that concerns people. Working on a project with co-workers, handling disputes and disagreements. This is where the importance of a course such as this shines. Treading such territory is difficult, and there are many opportunities for one to make blunders while not meaning to. The “YOU-attitude” specifically addresses this, as it offers the writer the opportunity to be kindly critical.

In addition, making requests, and formal reports to address a problem or present data are the less spoken of parts of the industry. However, they are still vital, and being able to effectively communicate one’s ideas to a team can open a wealth of opportunities. I have come a long way in the past three months, and am confident I now have the tools to communicate successfully in the professional world.