It is difficult to believe that we have reached the end of this course. At the beginning, I was nervous to complete the course — I work full-time as a software developer, and honestly, the volume of assignments made me nervous. However, I knew I wanted to take this course because of the practicality of it! It is rare to find a course that helps you prepare for navigating the professional world.
Practical applications of this course mainly pertain to professional correspondences, specifically surrounding employment. Namely, obtaining a job and excelling at professional communication. For obtaining a job, we practiced cover letters, resumes, professional social media, and letters of reference.
My favourite part of this course has been the peer review process. I know it has been highly beneficial to my skills as a writer in general, and being able to provide feedback with a You-Attitude is a great gift to give someone. Helping them in a way that is constructive rather than critical is something they will appreciate greatly. On this same note, avoiding imperatives was a big wake-up call for me; it made me realize how authoritative and standoffish my writing could be when consistently using imperatives in my correspondences. Further, a highlight of this course for me was the textbook. I don’t usually enjoy reading textbooks as they are usually dry and outdated, but this one was highly relevant, helpful, and even humorous!
I particularly enjoyed my professional writing team, Team MASK. We worked very well together, and it was great to watch my teammates’ writing techniques grow and mature over the semester. And thank you, Dr Paterson, for a great term. I hope you all enjoy the remainder of summer!