Writing Development

When I started this class, I had zero knowledge about technical writing. My first
homework assignment was to write an instruction set, for which I got eighty-six. While it
was a decent grade, I expected a higher one. That is when I started taking my
homework more seriously. I began to look over the class's PowerPoint more thoroughly,
looked over multiple examples of positive technical writing pieces, and paid attention to
feedback from my peers and instructor. After a few weeks, I developed a better
understanding of technical writing and how to achieve a better paper. I got more
confidence with my writing as I learned positive practices, such as choosing appropriate
font sizes, placing images correctly, and including color when needed. Although the
summer session only lasted five weeks, I saw a significant improvement; hence, my last
piece of writing received a higher grade than my two papers. I'd also like to note that
feedback for the discussion boards would be helpful, especially when we edit papers.
The feedback would help to realize whether we pointed out correct technical writing
errors; hence, that would help a lot when we write essays.

​Course Goals

While no student can be perfect, as there is always room for improvement, I set goals to
be a better writer and get an A as my final grade. I can tell that I became a better writer
as I expanded my technical writing knowledge, which was between zero to none at the
beginning of this semester. I saw improvements in my grades as we came to the end of
the term, and I felt more confident when it was homework writing time—also, my
improvements were thanks to the significant help, peer reviews, and instructor
feedback. Multiple peer feedback helped me see what I was lacking in my papers from
a different point of view since everybody had something different to add; the input from
the instructor enabled me to edit my work to look more professional. As for the final
grade, I am unsure whether I will get an A. However, my predictions are low A or high B.
I hope this website will land me a goal grade. As for course suggestions, my only one is
to provide multiple good papers as examples of work for students to understand better
what's asked of them.

Assignments

The assignment I am most proud of is my white paper about the wildfire crisis in the
United States. Some of the reasons why I am proud of this assignment is because I
spent more time on it than on any other homework assignment. Moreover, I did
extensive research on this topic, learning a significant amount of new information. Also,
it was homework I genuinely enjoyed doing due to my interest in this issue. While I liked
every assignment, I would add a few to the course. For example, I find a training
manual exciting and valuable project. This assignment could include a few paragraphs
that explain the duties and responsibilities of a particular job position.