My name is Brandon Valentin. I take an in person writing for Engineering class. I brought a lot of creativity and questions to this class. I took this class because it was mandatory for my hardware engineering major. 

Before I started this course, I believed that I was already a good writer and did not have much to improve on. But through all the papers I wrote and papers I analyzed I saw that there was a lot that I needed to improve on especially in formal writing. The shift from free writing in previous writing classes to formal writing in this class was a significant change. All assignments and 3 additional artifacts helped me grow one way or another. Seeing my peers’ papers and the contrast between their papers and mine allowed me to open my mind when it came to writing and using what I learn from their work into my work. The artifacts in this class that helped me to grow were: The Formal Letter of Introduction, Product Review Essay, Leadership-Presentation, Lab Report Analysis Essay, Technical Description, Collaborative Project and Presentation, Self-Reflection Memos, Joseph Ricci’s Presentation on Writing Process, Professor Rodwell’s peer Review of LRA, and Image of Transitional Words. 

The Formal Letter of Introduction was the first assignment given in this class. This was also my first chance at attempting formal writing. I improved strategies for self assessment by looking through my letter to see if there were any informal words or phrases being used in my writing. In addition, I analyzed my professor’s review of the formal letter to see any informal words or phrases that I missed or did not know were informal. 

The Product Review Essay was my first ever writing assignment that I had to analyze and describe an item. This was also our first assignment that we used peer review with our fellow classmates after creating our “best draft.” I improved strategies for drafting, and revising and engaged in the collaborative aspects of the writing process.When writing the product review we wrote our best draft where we analyze our own work for grammar and punctuation mistakes before having our peers look for mistakes. After receiving feedback from my peers I compared the feedback between each of my peers to see common factors that I really need to improve on. 

The Leadership-Presentation was our first in person live presentation. This assignment helped me learn how to research information. Then I would have to relay this information to a live audience in a way that they can understand in 5 minutes. I strengthened my source use practices in this artifact.I was forced to learn how to use my own words when presenting information that I researched. I also needed to cite the source that I got my information from. This will help me avoid plagiarism in the future which carries heavy penalties in college and even in a working environment such as being expelled or even fired. 

In the Lab Report Analysis Essay I improved strategies for reading. I read and analyzed lab reports on cancer research. I saw how the writer wrote to a specific audience using terms only people with prior knowledge to the subject of cancer would know. I improved strategies for drafting. I created several drafts improving each time accomplishing the goal of comparing all 3 lab reports that I analyzed with each other. 

The Technical Description introduced me to subtle persuasion. Subtle persuasion is using facts to persuade someone to do something and leaving out your opinion. In the Technical Description Essay I engaged in the collaborative aspect of the writing process. I struggled with understanding how to convince someone to buy a product without telling them “this product is great.” I used peer reviews as an opportunity to get a better idea on what subtle persuasion was. I saw how others implemented subtle persuasion in their writing and I also took my peers’ advice when it came to my paper. Their advice was to not be afraid to say the cons but tell the audience how the pros outweigh those cons.

In the Collaborative Project and Presentation we developed and engaged in the collaborative and social aspects of the writing process. We reviewed the sections required to make this project and decided to divide this labor amongst the 4 group members. After each member finished their section we each peer reviewed each other’s section when his/hers section was due to find informal language, errors, and proper formatting. I learned that group work is easy to do with a small group that you know. I say this because the smaller the group the easier it is to stay in contact and get along. With a bigger group dividing the work may not be a tactic that would work because a person may get lazy and not do their section. 

We did Self-Reflection memos after each essay that we wrote. In these memos we analyzed our best draft and compared it to our final draft to see any growth. I improved strategies for self assessment and revising by seeing how I went from my best draft that was reviewed by my peer group and professor to a final draft. When reviewing my final drafts I checked to see how I implemented my peers’ critiques on my best drafts and whether it improved my paper or did not improve my paper. This will help me in the future because when revising my paper I do not want to put all reviews that I see from my peers because not all critiques are helpful for a writer. I have to be able to pick and choose which critiques work best for my paper.

Both the image for transitional words and Professor Rodwell’s peer review of LRA improved strategies for revising. When getting ready to revise a paper I look at peer reviews for changes that I think fit and I also look to see if my ideas flow smoothly throughout the paper. Professor Rodwell’s review was written very organized so it was easy to see where change can be made. Throughout the LRA best draft I failed to stay in line with my thesis statement which was about what lab report was the best. I revised the LRA with that in mind and used transitional words like “however” and “similarly” to compare and contrast the lab reports.

Joseph Ricci’s Presentation on the writing process helped my approach to writing essays. Before I used to write essays without a draft. Now I write an outline, then a draft and revise. I established a procedure for writing. I improved strategies for drafting. 

I learned a lot from this class in the few months we had. After every assignment it is hard to see my growth at the moment. However, looking back at all the assignments and how different my approach to each paper was I see the height that I have reached. At the beginning I thought that I did not have much to learn and now I know that even after learning all these important things about writing I still have much to learn and perfect. My reflections and peers’ comments helped me see that.