ENGL 301 is an interesting course because it teaches me many useful writing skills and let me notice some of my weakness from feedbacks given by the instructor and peers. On the other hand, it is quite challenging because there is actually a lot of workload throughout several months, especially for me who is taking two other summer classes and studying for MCAT during the summer. My time management skills seem also being improved.
The most challenging assignment I have encountered in this course would be writing the formal report, and one of the biggest lessons i have learned to write is to think about the audience. Since i have two years of research experience, I can not let go the mindset of writing a research paper. This kind of mindset created some troubles in the process of writing a formal report. Research paper usually needs more resources and time to construct and its audience usually are technical people, but the formal report is more simple and its audience could be various. The topic I chose for the formal report is about antibiotic resistance. At the beginning, I was too ambitious which I wanted to write a paper studying the situation about misuse or overuse of antibiotics across Canada and China. That was definitely too much for a formal report, so I changed the scope of the study and the purpose in order to make it as a formal report after discussing this issue with the instructor. Moreover, after I finished my formal report draft, I was still quite confused about who my audience would be exactly. The more appropriate way to write a report should be to think about who I am going to write it for, and then starting to construct the ideas. In addition, as English is not my first language, it is difficult for me to avoid grammatical errors. Therefore, careful proofreading is very important for every piece of my writings.
On the other hand, I have some strengths while writing my work. Due to my abundant research and volunteering experience in Psychology research lab, Chemistry research lab, hospital and clinic, I have learned of some big problems we are facing today and have my own ideas to solve these problems. Like Isaac Newton says “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”, experience and knowledge could act as shoulders for people to stand and let them see further because they could inspire them to be more creative and insightful. Ideas are most important for many technical writing report, but it needs good writing skills in order to deliver the ideas to the audience. I am glad that I have taken this course because I have practiced various kinds of technical writings, and I have gained feedbacks from my peers and instructor about what my advantages and disadvantages are.
The skills I have learned from this course will be very relevant for my future education and future career. Having professional technical writing skills is a big asset for me to pursue my future education and career. This course has raised my awareness of using Linkedln for networking. My connection on Linkedln has been doubled since I learned the tips for networking through Linkedln in this course. I will definitely further explore and exploit Linkedln for better networking in the future. Upon my graduation, I would like to have a tutoring or teaching job, the skills of writing resume, cover letter and creating Web Folio will give me more opportunities to find a job. In the further future, I would like to pursue a medical degree and a career as a physician, the technical writing skills will also be utilized to communicate with other physicals and institutions.