I am excited to finally launch into my computer science career with the technical writing skills I’ve gained from English 301. In this reflection blog, I discuss some of my strengths and weaknesses in my learning process and assignments.
My Weakness
I have to admit that the course materials were difficult, as each lesson and assignment challenged every aspect of what I previously knew about writing. In particular, I struggled with writing in a concise manner and writing for non-technical readers. Although I am now more mindful of how I can skillfully structure my sentences to allow for an easy read, I still catch myself writing unnecessarily long-winded sentences that may be confusing to the reader. My assignments reflect this weakness. My peers often point out my wordy sentences and recommend me to break them down into more concise phrases. I hope to continue to practice technical writing and overcome the five years of academic writing that I was accustomed to.
My Strength
Upon learning to write with ‘You-Attitude’ in Lesson 3:1, I was able to quickly apply this writing style in my assignments. I believe I was immediately able to grasp the concept of ‘You-attitude” because Dr. Paterson provided many helpful examples of how we can apply it in our peer reviews. My strengths in the learning process comes from being able to follow from examples and detailed instructions. Naturally, my strongest assignments are my peer reviews, especially the later ones that I wrote with the ‘You-Attitude’ in mind. Therefore, I am especially proud of the final peer review I wrote for Helen Yu, as presented on My Best Works page.
Applying my Skills and Strengths to my Future Career
The skilled I’ve gained in this course, particularly writing with ‘You-Attitude’ will prepare me well for the predominately peer-to-peer work environment in the computer programming field. Beyond the classrooms, programmers can no longer rely on instructors to teach them how to code. Instead, a programmer’s support system consists only of work colleagues. Often, in the workplace, program codes must be reviewed and tested by peers before a product can be launched. Therefore, by using the ‘You-Attitude’, I am confident that I can produce peer review reports that effectively critique and offer suggestions in a way acceptable to my future colleagues.
As a result of this course, I have finally created a LinkedIn profile that I am satisfied with. I initially had the wrong impression that having a LinkedIn profile is not important in developing a career. Once I began exploring and navigating through LinkedIn, I have discovered many people that I hope to eventually connect with, especially those who currently work for the companies I want to work for. Together with the social networking strategies that I have learned from this course, my now professional-looking LinkedIn Profile will surely allow me to connect with great peers and mentors in the field.
——
Although there were many challenges encountered, the English 301 course was extremely rewarding. The course not only provided me with effective writing skills to use in the workplace, it also led me to realize that even the toughest obstacles in the learning process can be overcome. I am thankful for Dr. Paterson’s and Jasmine’s guidance throughout the term. I look forward to the next challenge in my career.