Prior to taking English for Engineering, I was annoyed that I would have to take another English class. English and I don’t get along. I usually feel bored or unmotivated to write any assignment. English 217 was different, it included assignments that I was very interested in and engaged with. The course represented industry insights and improved my writing skills for the work environment.

Writing has a lot more than just passing the information in written text. Writing should inspire ideas and lead the reader into imagination or at least to the correct information. To achieve this, the text should be very elaborative and detailed without missing critical information. The writer should also refrain from making assumptions about their reader. The short paragraph below from the Baffling Description assignment shows a few assumptions I had about my reader.  

“To play straight drive in cricket, a batsman is supposed to prepare themselves before they enter the ground. A few knockdowns are necessary to set your eyes to the ball. Make sure to warm up and stretch your arms to play freely on the pitch. When it is your turn to start the innings, walk and jog into the ground whilst clearing your mind for any premeditated shots. A few stretches such as lower back stretch and ‘toe touching’ stretches are recommended. As you walk in the middle of the ground, question your partner for swing, speed, and game plan for the innings.”

Assignment 1: Baffling Description

There were many assumptions I took while writing for Baffling Description, a few that assumptions are:

• My reader will understand my writing style easily.
• My reader is well informed about the subject I am writing about.
• My reader will fill the gaps.
• My reader understands the key word like knockdowns, batsman, drive, and pitch.

The assumptions have cost me for years. I have spent more and more time explaining what I wrote and trying to answer questions that could have been written in my text. I have improved on these writing skills ever since I have enrolled in this course.

Great writing needs preparation. Reading before writing, drafting, and revising are all part of the process of writing to be understood. During this course, I was about to understand that deleting paragraphs to make them better is a good practice. Many get emotionally attached to their writing but rewriting always brings out a better version. Understanding the audience was a critical part of this course. I was able to evaluate who my audience was for each assignment using the help of the Task and Audience Analysis assignment. when we first studied about whom we are writing the content for.

Every part of this course was creative, innovative, and thoughtful! The PJ&B Challenge was the best way to understand how the reader understands the writing/instructions you provide to them. Here I learned to make sure to cover the grounds when providing instructions. Leaving the reader to guess creates confusion and possible chances of a disaster. Having clarity in writing increases productivity and ensures that the reader will follow instructions without encountering any assumptions. These skills will certify the creditability at work and increase the level of respect from peers for simplifying their work.

Doing this course during Covid 19 pandemic, I thought I would never see my classmates or there was no chance of collaborating to exchange ideas. But I am glad that I was able to collaborate more than my physical classes. For each assignment, I was supposed to post my reviews/ reflections to provide feedback to everyone in the class and my peers were supposed to reply with their contributions. This made the course so collaborative that it never felt like an online class. I was able to learn how to emphasize using written communication and provide effective feedback to my peers. The other collaborative part of this course was the proposal writing assignment. Here, I was able to lead the group of 2 students and establish an understanding to achieve milestones together. I have attached the Gantt Chart in the portfolio section which was my favorite assignment for this class. During proposal writing (attached), I learned how to communicate verbally and professionally with my peers to get work done and avoid missing deadlines. While leading the project a great lesson was to understand that leading is not all about instructions, but it is about providing guidance through putting an equal amount of effort or sometimes more.

I utilized a few resources such as the internet to search for information regarding my assignment. The online databases were also a great place for me to research my topic or to obtain historical data. During this course, I was able to use these resources effectively to find accurate information. If any resources had been used, they are all supposed to be cited using MLA Citation rules. Obtaining information for this course was not just copying and pasting from the internet. While researching, I had to analyze my reader and view the information from the reader’s perspective. Integrating the information from different types of resources needed to be evaluated before adding them to my writing. I was also able to summarize the information obtained from the resources mentioned above and synthesize my writing to provide relevance to my reader.

This course has been very beneficial for my college, and I am sure that skills learned during this course will be utilized for the work environment. Realizing what this course has thought me will be useful for my entire career and beyond makes me appreciate the importance given to this course. I would recommend every engineering student to take this course regardless of whether or not this course is compulsory or not.