May 18, 2023
Gustavo Garcia-Flores
Professor von Uhl
ENG 21007
May 18, 2023
Theory of Writing
Writing is a very important aspect in our lives. Many people have different ways in which they view and express themselves through writing. Before taking this class, I thought of writing as a way to express yourself or simply just answering a prompt. Based on my own experience as a writer I mostly wrote based on what my teachers told me to write about. I honestly don’t consider myself the type of person who writes as some form of hobby. My theory of writing changed throughout the works of writing I accomplished in this Writing for Engineers class this semester.
Throughout this semester our class was assigned lots of writing assignments. Each writing assignment was different and was designed based on the course-learning outcomes for this English class. This semester when I had to write I took some time to process what kind of writing I needed to complete. My process of brainstorming ideas usually involved going outside to take a break and carefully analyze each route I could take with my writing. I have learned that in order to succeed as a writer you need to think of the audience you trying to appeal to and how they might interpret your ideas. When I was in high school, I remember that my AP English Teacher would teach us about conveying ideas through argumentative writing and how to analyze the choices authors make through their written work. Over time I became more familiar on how to write based on research conducted. An example of this is last Fall semester when in my FIQWS 10108 Composition class I got some experience using and citing credible sources such as the CCNY Library Databases. In my FIQWS class our professor taught us how to identify credible sources and how to back up our claims with evidence. I accomplished this through writing about social media in my Exploratory Essay and writing a Research Critical Analysis. It was while taking FIQWS 10108 when I was introduced to the term rhetorical situation.
Up to this day I continue applying rhetorical situation in my writing. I’ve learned to analyze who is my audience, the purpose of my writing, and language. After taking this Writing for Engineering class I have the skills needed to be a successful engineer. Some of the writing assignments that had an impact on me were the Lab Report Rhetorical Analysis, Technical Description, and Proposal. For the Lab Report Rhetorical Analysis, I honestly found it challenging and was clueless on where or how to start. It took a lot of research to come to a consensus on what to write. I usually like reading but this was one of those instances in which I hated it. The lab reports were very long most of the time and had all this vocabulary which I didn’t understand that much.
When it came time to work on my Technical Description, I enjoyed completing the assignment since it helped me learn more about technical writing. When completing this writing assignment, I got experience writing in a very descriptive way about a technical innovation. I applied rhetorical situation for the Technical Description by focusing my writing on an audience that had no idea the logic behind how a stapler works. From my own experience, I can say that peer review did help me while working on this assignment. I also used revision throughout my writing process. Based on the feedback I received from my peers I was able to revise my writing to make it stand out more to my audience. I shifted my writing to focus more on the actual parts of the stapler than mentioning too much history context.
When our class worked on the Proposal, we were assigned to work in groups for this writing assignment. Working in groups is something that I enjoy since it gives me an opportunity to work with a team and have support in case, I need help. This writing assignment required us to brainstorm what innovation would be beneficial to NYC currently. This assignment helped me to become familiar with making calculations just like engineers do when making a proposed project a reality. I also thought of my audience which were my English professor and hopefully, if possible, city officials.
Overall, the theory of writing I had prior to taking this class has changed. Before taking this class, I used to think writing was simply just answering a prompt given. I now understand that to produce your best writing, you need to think about rhetorical situation. Understanding the purpose on why you are writing something and your audience who will read your work is very important. However, if answering a writing prompt there is lots of room to improvise and make your work unique. I look forward to continuing evolving as a writer using the skills acquired during this class and apply them in my future career.
