Overall, this course has allowed me to learn new skills as well as improve other ones. I learned about writing with a “You Attitude” and polished up on memo writing and email communications. The skills and techniques learned in this class are extremely useful and applicable, and will serve me in the academic and professional worlds.
I believe that a strength of mine is editing. I enjoy reading my peers work and seeing their perspectives through their writing techniques. Many assignments in this course utilized the peer review process and this helped my writing immensely. The peer review process made me look at my peers’ work through a critical lens, which opened my eyes to different styles of writing. I was able to learn from their weaknesses and apply these concepts to my own writing.
A weakness that I struggled with throughout this term was following all assignment instructions and keeping up with deadlines. Instructions and deadlines for the assignments were included in the lesson unit, the course schedule, the textbook and the instructor’s blog. I would oftentimes miss details that were mentioned in the instructor’s blog because I didn’t reference the source regularly. It is necessary to follow assignment directions carefully by reviewing all of the resources, making note of the requirements, and planning for assignment due dates well in advance.
Professional writing and communication skills are essential to my career as a student and as a dental hygienist. In the modern world, we are constantly communicating in the written form in emails, text messages, and through conventional letters. The skills learned in ENGL 301 will be undoubtedly be applied through my communication with my colleagues at work, in addition to my peers and professors at school. Overall, ENGL 301 was a very practical course and my professional writing technique has greatly improved as a result.