Bismah Hasan 

Writing for Engineering 

05/20/2020

Self-Assessment

Looking back at the semester, I have gained a sense of accomplishment. Personally English has not been my strongest subject and I’ve lacked interest a few times. I believe we are a true writer when we write about what we feel, or of a topic, we are most passionate about. In my past experiences with writing, I was given the book, the topic, or the idea to write about. This is one of the first times where I sat in a class and researched my interest. With that change, I was able to adjust to this class very well. This semester I have learned the many tactics that will be useful in the future. More importantly, writing for engineering helped me realize what I truly want to study in.  

From writing the past 5 assignments, I have gained knowledge of many perspectives. In this class, I have properly understood how to professionally write a resume and a cover letter. This is the most useful assignment for me because I have always struggled to format those pieces. I have properly learned to write a resume and cover letter after I revised it. In my first attempt, I lacked to add details on my resume and I struggled to explain why I would be a good candidate in my cover letter. In my revised version I was more detailed and specific about my intentions. For the Business memo, I struggled to add evidence to my claim. However, in my revised version I used more quotes to help the audience analyze my claim. For the lab reports, I enjoyed reading two different articles and comparing them. For my Technical Description and Instruction, I interpreted the purpose of the assignment wrong. I chose to write about multimeters. Multimeters are very useful for electrical engineers and even computer engineers. I decided to focus on the device’s functions instead of how the device functions itself. I decided to redo my assignment and write about how the Multimeter works. I had fun creating the group presentation. My group and I maintained a well-divided work among each other. The group presentation was on cybersecurity and this has been an ongoing problem so we decided to present valid solution companies should have.

I’ve learned that I can achieve the best piece of writing when I have researched well enough. Research assisted me in understanding the topics very well. I gain prior knowledge and specific details that would be important to discuss. For example, for the group presentation, I have the actual statistic of the women’s population in the cyber program. This is very useful information because it shows how male-dominated computer programs are. Furthermore, I wasn’t aware of how unsafe companies can be because of hackers. Researching also helped me with Business memos because I learned more about Google. For Technical description and instruction, I learned from my research how the Multimeter works internally. Before this class, I believed that writing was about how well you understand others. Most of my previous writing was trying to figure out what the other authors are trying to say. I used to analyze the writings of other authors to help me write an essay on their writings. In this class, I practiced with many different writing categories, which will assist me in the future. I enjoyed writing the business memo the most. I was very interested in the topic that I have chosen to write about. I focused on writing my business memo on the Google code of ethics. I hope to work with Google in the future and researching their code of ethics helped me understand the environment google has.  

Over the years I have been very confused about what kind of engineering I want to pursue. In Highschool, I learned a lot about aviation engineering and mechanical engineering. I am very grateful that I gained experience in those categories because I learned a lot about engineering in general. However, I also learned that I was not interested in those areas. Computer science has always been an interest of mine because I enjoy designing and developing sites. I believe computer engineering can be very creative. However, I am also interested in electrical engineering. Electrical engineering is needed every day with the rapid amount of technology growth. In high school, I learned a lot about electricity, and math is heavily incorporated in this area. My strongest subject is math and I did well in my electrical classes. I am thankful for this class because it gave me an opportunity to research both of these careers. I have a better understanding of each of these categories. I learned that in software engineering, electricity is heavily incorporated, and with this fact, I have chosen to study software engineering. Some of the assignments that helped me shape that decision were the Business memo and the Final group project. For the Business memo, I got to learn more about Google (where most employees are software engineers) and for the final Group Project, I learned about some of the responsibility that comes with being a software engineer. 

Overall, this was an effective semester because it made me a better writer and allowed me to think more creatively. I learned different writing skills that will help my career. This class helped me realize what I truly want to become. Most importantly. I am very grateful for the opportunity to revise our grades. This helped me learn more effectively. Professor Coppola explained where I went wrong very thoroughly. I appreciate how he has always answered my questions during this difficult time. Learning from home has been a challenge for me because I learn better in a class with professors. I felt demotivated to continue to work hard and ace my classes. However, I am thankful that the only assignment we had left was the group presentation. The group presentation was very easy and straightforward. I was able to complete it without any trouble or feeling pressured. Sadly, I did not get to learn more effectively as I would have remotely. However, I did learn a lot that will eventually benefit my future.