Final Portfolio & Reflections

Reflection 1 (Technical Description Reflection)

Initially my writing process began with me considering which object to focus on. I found this to be harder than writing the Technical Description itself. Though it may seem odd I was stuck trying to find an object that was simple yet could be described in great detail, on what it is and how it works. Once I found an object that I felt interested in and knew I could write around 1000 words about, I found writing the actual paper to come quite easy to me. The paper was definitely something I had anticipated to write in a Writing for Engineering course. I personally prefer this form of writing to those I have written in previous courses because of how engaged I felt while going through the entire process of writing the paper. It had been my first time writing a Technical Description and it made me feel like an engineer, looking at the components of an object and how they work. While completing the paper, the drafting process was very important. Moving from a rough draft to a final draft wasn’t necessarily challenging but showed me the importance of proofreading and editing one’s work. My work personally did not change significantly from the rough draft to the final draft but there were some mistakes that had to be corrected and some information that had to be added. I am used to writing in stages and find that writing in stages produces the best writing. A writing piece is never perfect and can always be edited or worked on in some way. It’s always good to write a rough draft and then proofread multiple times to make sure that your writing is the best it can possibly be. Something I would do differently next time is maybe have a classmate or someone from the outside read my paper to bring an outside perspective and fresh ideas. I plan on writing rough drafts for all of my major papers this semester and proofreading them multiple times to look for mistakes or any edits that can help improve them.

Reflection 2 (Memo Reflection)

Composing the memo assignment had been my first group work writing assignment in college and it went surprisingly well. I would like to first off say that both of my group members were great to work with and there are no complaints toward either of their work ethics. My previous experiences with group work had a commonality of some of my group members not producing their share of the work resulting in me picking up their slack. With this project the collaboration had gone very well and made my job far easier than it would have been crafting this assignment on my own. To collaborate we mostly used slack as our main technological tool. On slack we sent messages to each other relaying our ideas and deciding on what our next move would be. Outside of slack some texting had been done, mainly casual questions, such as asking if a certain idea or phrase is written correctly. Our group did not face any challenges or disagreements that were detrimental to the group’s ability to work together. In the beginning when deciding our main idea to focus on we had a discussion and politely agreed or disagreed with each other’s ideas. I think our final draft came out very well and can easily say that my group members did a great job. It didn’t seem necessarily as something I wrote as not all of it had been my words and ideas but overall the group’s ideas worked very well together and the writing was there to prove it. I think my idea of group work has not changed after this assignment. I know that when working with groups there is always potential for good results and bad ones. The circumstances rely on different factors such as how well you and your group members work or the sheer fact of whether your group members want to do the work in the first place. Overall I feel that group work produces great results as there are many ideas and perspectives being thrown around when working with a group.

 

Reflection 3 (Lab Report Reflection)

As with the other assignments we have composed in the course so far I found writing the Lab Report to be highly interesting and challenging in a good way. I enjoyed the more scientific and technical aspect of writing a Lab Report, researching various studies and presenting data was something I’ve yet to do in a writing piece. Despite my previous thoughts on group work I would have to say I had mixed emotions returning to working alone. Though I did enjoy working at my own pace and on my own schedule, I did feel that the collaborative aspect that I had with my group members on the memo assignment was something I was lacking. For the peer review I did find it to be quite challenging. Due to this being my first time exploring and writing a lab report I feel that I didn’t give my group members the best feedback. Not knowing all the best techniques to writing a lab report hindered my ability to write a really good peer review. I found that the peer review that I received was helpful and pointed out the areas in which I could improve my report. Though I feel that my group members may have encountered some of the same problems I had as I wish I received a little more critique. With the help of the peer reviews I received I feel that my lab report is well organized. I tried to address any mistakes or areas that needed improvement which were pointed out by my peers. Finding sources wasn’t the easiest as I struggled to find good academic sources. Despite the challenge I feel that the sources I found suited my lab report and gave me the necessary information I needed to execute the lab report properly. After completing the assignment I still feel that I have more research to do as more and more studies will be conducted. The remaining questions I have regard those who preferred online learning vs. in person. What were the reasons that online learning was their preference?

 

Reflection 4 (Engineering Recommendation Reflection)

Writing the Engineering Recommendation with my group members was an interesting process that consisted of a lot of brainstorming. At first coming up with an idea that we all agreed with and liked took some time. Once we had our product in mind the ideas started to flow. The positive side of working with a group is that you get many views and perspectives that you would not come across on your own. Our final product turned out to be something that I found to be very cool for one and a possible idea that could be implemented into our city. With some minor adjustments to our proposal for the product and the product itself, I would indeed be comfortable submitting the product in a professional setting. New York City needs help in keeping the streets clean and our product does just that. Now our numbers in terms of budget and other costs will most likely need to be adjusted but the idea of the product itself is something other countries have already implemented. Working with my group definitely made executing this recommendation much easier. Since this was our second time working together the process was far easier this time around. We already knew what roles we could fill and knew what each member brought to the table. To collaborate we mostly used slack and occasionally would use some outside communicating services such as texting each other if an idea came up. There weren’t any major challenges that we faced, we mostly had to adjust to each other’s schedules which was slightly difficult at times but manageable. Altogether working with my group was great and our product turned out to be very cool.

 

Reflection 5 (Final Reflection)

When I looked at the class name “Writing for Engineering” I didn’t quite understand what that meant. Joining the first zoom session I had many questions as to what this class is going to be like. Will it be super hard? Am I going to have to write an essay every week? What will the writing be about? The first assignment we received was to write a technical description. Prior to the class I had never written a technical description and didn’t really know where to start. Something I stated in my first reflection was that finding an object to describe was what took me the longest in the assignment. I spent a few hours thinking about multiple objects and what I can really write about them. Until I remembered having a conversation about a Peloton Bike with my brother in law and thought that would be the perfect choice. The technical description was my favorite writing piece we did because it made me feel like I was truly becoming an engineer. I found looking at an object and its parts, seeing how they work as one, to be very interesting. I talked about drafting in my first reflection and how it was a key aspect in my writing process, something that changed throughout the semester was how I approached writing drafts and proofreading. In this specific assignment we used technical writing, something I wasn’t too accustomed to, so I had to look for specific language in my drafts. Avoiding statements that formed bias and just strictly stick to ideas that were objective.

The second assignment I faced a major change in the fact that I was now working with a group. We had to write a memo identifying a problem in New York City’s infrastructure and how we can address the issue. I automatically didn’t like the idea of working in groups due to my past experiences. In past experiences I was stuck doing work for other people who simply didn’t want to do their part and pitch in. Despite my prenotions of how working in a group would be, I found that working with Yustina and Mohammad was very pleasant and enjoyable. This was my first major collaboration in college and it definitely changed some of the views I had. I liked that we all brought in different ideas and built off each other to form one perfect idea. Collaboration is something I will face a lot in the engineering profession and this assignment gave me a good taste of how working with other people can benefit me. This specific assignment changed my process of writing a lot. I did most of the research for the project and while doing research I recognized how important research is to technical writing. Having all the facts and certain details when explaining an issue or an object is very crucial. I recognized that researching and outlining makes writing the final paper far easier as I already have the bulk of the information. I used CUNY library databases for a lot of the research and found the databases to be a very powerful tool.

The third assignment was a lab report which was something I’ve never even imagined having to write in an english class. It was different from any other assignment I’ve had and for that reason I enjoyed writing it. The assignment once again proved to me the importance of research and helped change how I wrote papers. I looked at various studies and read through data deciding on what I can use to support my question. I chose to focus on how students and teachers felt about online learning and what their preference was. I began to write drafts of the report but before that I did extensive research and created an outline to guide me, things that I would have previously never done when writing an essay.  I didn’t have my group members for this assignment which I found to be a drawback, something I never thought I would say prior to this course. Though I still had some collaboration with Yustina and Mohammad as we had to do peer reviews. The comments I received helped me clean up my report and keep it organized which was something I mentioned in my third reflection. 

For the fourth assignment I was back with my group again and was tasked to write a Engineering Recommendation. Without knowing too much about the assignment I was quite excited and interested as introducing an innovation is something I find to be really unique. The assignment started off a bit challenging as we couldn’t come up with an idea that we liked and felt we would be able to write about. Despite the challenge I feel that the debating my group members and I did helped improve my ability to collaborate and share ideas with others. After a while we came up with the idea of having a robot clean the streets of New York City and help out with sanitation. We all had certain roles and parts that we completed to make up the final paper. Throughout the entire process I saw that research and collaboration proves to be a necessity in technical writing and should be an aspect of my writing process.

With classes being online I have had a tough time staying on top of my work and in all honesty caring for college. Being at home for someone who learns better in a classroom environment has been very unmotivating. A lot of the time I don’t pay attention in my classes and do work at the last minute. Despite all the negative aspects online learning has had a few benefits. For one I found myself being able to work on my writing more with not wasting time on commuting to college. I have had the opportunity to write more drafts and proofread multiple times. Overall I found the course to be one of the most interesting courses I have taken in my college life. That statement is something I never thought I would say because anyone who knows me knows I despise english classes and writing. I was never good at writing and always struggled to find ways to improve. The assignments in this course weren’t typical english class assignments but instead presented themselves with a lot of real world application. The technical writing aspects that I picked up on helped change how I wrote in the class and how I will continue to write.