Throughout this semester in the Writing for Engineering course, I’ve embarked on a journey of improvement and growth as a writer, excelling as well as reflecting on my progress. Reflection upon the work and pieces of writing I have written serves as an opportunity for me to reflect on my progress in achieving the course learning objectives and to explore how my perceptions of writing have evolved. The perception of writing has evolved through time, encompassing a wider range of mediums, formats, and collaborative possibilities, thus becoming more interactive, expressive, informative, and accessible. It’s a form of communication of creating and recording language that utilizes letters, symbols, characters, and punctuation that allows individuals to convey their thoughts. Writing can generally be analyzed quite subjectively, as different people write and convey their thoughts or messages differently, but in the end, it’s important to write a cohesive and readable piece of writing. Because of this, my writing has evolved throughout this semester. 

Starting with a Course Learning objective number 7 that I’ve implemented and practiced was using various library resources, online databases, and the internet to locate sources appropriate for my writing projects. An incident of this usage was in my lab report assignment where I incorporated articles from the CCNY library database. I’ve gathered an article, “Self-Driving Cars and Engineering Ethics: The Need for a System Level Analysis” to integrate it into my lab report comparison. By integrating it, I was able to apply another course learning objective, number 8, by strengthening my sources using practices, such as when summarizing, discussing, quoting, and analyzing the source that I was citing. For instance, with the same article discussed before, I summarized and discussed the discussion that the authors of the articles were conveying. When inputting that article into my lab report essay, I explain their goal and objective they did, which the authors, “discussed multiple and major concerns there would be if companies rush to bring self-driving vehicles into the market because it many cases it would result in compromising consumer safety and autonomy”(Liang, 14-15). From this, it led to an in-depth analysis of the topic and concern of the article. I draw upon this concern and used it to highlight the solution to the concern; that, “they have described and discussed two traffic scenarios with the acknowledgment that these aren’t the only possible scenarios, but that they are highlighting and showing some of the key system issues and potential resolutions”(Liang, 17-20). Incorporating these practices adequately strengthens and improves the source I used through analytical analysis, leading to improvement in my writing. When writing such pieces that I’ve written in this course, I’ve always taken to negotiating and accounting for my own writing goals and audience expectations regarding conventions of genre, medium, and rhetorical situations. When writing and drafting my technical description of my chosen technical item, the Olight Warrior Mini 2 Flashlight, I specifically design my layout to be attentive toward my audience. I made use of close-up images of each part of the flashlight, discussing each part thoroughly, to better explain to my audience the specifics of the technical item. In the end, I believe I have successfully applied these course-learning objectives. 

As this semester unfolded, I developed a deeper understanding of writing and what it can achieve. As a result of exploring different writing styles, genres, and communication modes, my understanding of writing has been broadened and my preconceived notions of how to approach it challenged. Previously, I primarily considered writing as a means of conveying information. However, this semester has shown me that writing can be more than just a means of passing on information; it can also be a powerful means of communication and connection. Inspire action with your writing by stirring emotions, challenging assumptions, and challenging the status quo. Due to this, I’ve learned to approach writing as an opportunity to engage, persuade, and connect with my readers on a deeper level, not just informatively. Whether a piece of writing conveys this or that, any piece has some sort of purpose and that purpose should contain any of the course learning objectives because that’s what’s going to create a well-written piece of work. 

My perceptions of writing have evolved significantly throughout this semester. As opposed to being viewed as merely a rigid process, writing has evolved into a dynamic, collaborative, and transformative endeavor that can be used for communication, critical thinking, personal growth, and advocacy. Through embracing these expanded perceptions, I have developed as a writer and gained a deeper understanding of its impact and potential.