My Work Throughout This semester:

• Technical innovation Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15G9ogA23XtCUUQ3hFl3d_CMN7P7R61su8w7VZvJeFFw/edit#slide=id.g12afc527152_0_10
• Technical Innovation Reflection: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OMLZFozoAOH5Dio076zITr4SWO9zKkhE359FRt9Ivjc/edit?usp=sharing
• Technical Description Paper:
  https://docs.google.com/document/d/16SUz-rPnj3UEC5vkYP2Et2DGG75jYf6sFjfoL6MD6EU/edit?usp=sharing
• Rhetorical Analysis of Two Labs:
  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w8vSTHRsJgdHQG9ApE-Yto1f16VcMUejeTyIj0MYLBk/edit?usp=sharing
• Letter Of Introduction:
  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IJfXGWCbkClIPhrosfFIhdu2oHLW86VOaTCqK9RMc6Y/edit?usp=sharing

As I was growing up, the idea of learning English never crossed my mind. However that all suddenly changed when I was 7 years old. My dad had the opportunity to fly my older brother, my mother, and me out to the United States to permanently live with him here in New York. When I arrived in the summer of 2008, I was living my life casually just as I had been doing for the past 7 years of my life back in Ecuador. However that all took an immediate turn once the summer ended. I was now enrolled in school and was absolutely mortified by the idea of being around kids who knew a completely different language than my native tongue.

I was now sitting in this classroom filled with a bunch of kids speaking English. All I can think to myself is, “What is going on here.” In my head, all I was able to hear coming out of kid’s mouths were “Blah Blah Blah.” It felt as if I was in the show Peanuts in which the teacher speaks to the Charlie Brown and all you can hear is ” Wah Wah Wah Wah”

Luckily Enough, the teacher in my first-grade class was Hispanic and she slowly began to teach me English, and by the end of the school year, I had made a huge progression in speaking, writing, and reading in English. Because of her, I am where I am today as she made me feel comfortable in every way possible and didn’t make me feel left out as the “only kid who didn’t know English.”

Fast forward several years and I am still learning ways to become a better writer and learning how to write my thoughts and research in the best way possible. It has been a long process filled with many successful stories, and many failure stories. But nonetheless, it has been a fantastic journey as once I feel like I’ve fully achieved the grasp of the English subject, there’s just so much more to learn that is presented to me.

What is writing to me and what do I think My Theory Of Writing is? Well at the beginning of the Semester I had thought that we just come in and do research on a topic and compose it together along with our findings. I used to write very vaguely and not really go into details in my research findings. I was also very disconnected from my audience and my papers seemed to be rather boring. This quickly came to a change as I went along through the many lessons in English 21007. I began to learn several techniques and key factors that you needed to include in your writing.

For example, two assignments that helped me really enhance my theory of writing had to be the Technical Description and the Rhetorical Analysis of Two Lab Reports assignments. These two assignments were different from any assignments that I had ever done throughout my English Classes, specifically the Technical Description Assignment.

In the Technical Description Assignment, I chose to talk about the Swingline Stapler and it opened my eyes as an engineer because it showed me how the simplest things, such as a stapler, can have an intriguing build to it that has to be very planned out thoroughly in order to work. Not only this but it made me write in a more detailed manner because I had to explain to my audience how the Swingline stapler necessarily works in the most detailed way possible. Not only this but I had to dive into its structural aspect and describe in full detail how each part of the stapler works and how they help the stapler complete its job. This assignment also taught me how even pictures need a title to it explaining what the picture is demonstrating. Lastly, I would say this assignment has made me understand that even the most overlooked things have a structural concept built around them that isn’t easy to think of or develop. Not only that but this project also helped me expand my abilities in using the library’s database as I was able to find sources that helped me understand the background of where a stapler originated, specifically the Swingline Stapler.

Whilst doing the Rhetorical Analysis of Two Lab Reports I was able to learn the importance of Lab reports and what makes a difference between a good lab report and a poorly written lab report. I was able to do so by using Mike Markel’s Textbook of Technical Communication. This textbook helped me understand the key fundamentals to creating a concise and well-written Lab report in the best way possible. It broke down the key segments of a Lab Report and made it simple to understand. For instance, Markel believed that there were eight components that were fundamental when writing a lab report. These eight components were a title, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. In addition to this, I was able to compare lab reports and determine which lab report was missing what and which one excelled in a certain area as opposed to the other. This helped me with my theory of writing as I was able to now grasp the idea of how accurate one has to be when writing a lab report and what one must include. This was one of the many helpful assignments in the class as this helped me write two lab reports for my Biology class in which I was able to score excellent grades. It improved my theory of writing by demonstrating to me how even the smallest things such as a title can have a huge effect on the outcome of a writing piece.

Another Assignment that we did throughout this class was the Technical innovation project. My group and I based our project on encryption and databases and were able to come up with an idea for an enhanced database. For this, I also used the CCNY Library database to expand my knowledge on encryption and the different types of databases there were when it came to cryptocurrency. Throughout this project, I was able to somewhat develop my skills in Teamwork and communication but not to the fullest extent as there were some issues with my group.

There were several things that all these assignments had in common which were writing skills and writing strategies that I learned. For example, throughout each assignment, we peer-reviewed and revised one another in class to help each other out on what we should work on or on how we can enhance our writing. Not only this but throughout the assignments we also worked on brainstorming skills.

To wrap this up, this course taught me several learning outcomes. There are some I need to work on and some I feel like I’ve somewhat mastered. I feel like my skills in teamwork and communication need more work because I feel like I am lacking in this area. Throughout this course, I’ve fully been able to understand the concept of research and how to go about it. I also was able to achieve cognitive skills as I had to present and help others understand the different points I was trying to get across to my audience. Lastly, I’m grateful for the fact that I was given the opportunity to enroll in this course, and without it, my writing wouldn’t have improved as much as it has now. This class has taught me several standpoints in the English language and how to make the best of my writing.

I wish the best of Luck to Whoever comes across this site!!!