Throughout the Fall 2021 semester I grew as a writer, researcher, and engineer through the ENGL 21007 class taught by Professor Barber. The class distinguished the importance that not everyone is perfect at writing, especially not when first sitting down to write, which was a concept that was new to me. I was able to learn from and achieve the objectives outlined by the syllabus in the beginning of the marking period.

Learning objective one and two state “Acknowledge your and others’ range of linguistic differences as resources and draw on those resources to develop rhetorical sensibility” and “Enhance strategies for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and self-assessment” Which I feel go hand and hand because of our consistency with working in a group throughout the process of creating and submitting assignments throughout the term. Throughout peer assessment I was able to not only help others with their own writing but also see where I can do better. The communication with peers certainly developed my ability to draft and revise not only my own work but others work as well. Self- assessment is something that I have struggled with, and I still do, but through collaboration and the understanding that the first draft will be bad, has made me feel more confident and willing to critique my own writing.

Learning objectives three and six state “Negotiate your own writing goals and audience expectations regarding conventions of genre, medium, and rhetorical situation” and “Formulate and articulate a stance through and in your writing” which I feel was developed very effectively specifically throughout the assignments given. We were given tasks throughout the semester where audiences were different. This allowed me to think about how my writing style should be and how to address who I am talking to. This has helped me be less mindless when writing, specifically in emails.

Learning objective four states “Develop and engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes” which I thought was done very commonly throughout the term. My group often met to tell each other how we could do better with each other’s writing which I thought was done endearingly and effectively.

Learning objective five states “Engage in genre analysis and multimodal composing to explore effective writing across disciplinary contexts and beyond.” This was done throughout the different assignments we were given. For some assignments we were given the task of writing a paper, some were career building assignments, and some were even presentations. I find these to be different genres of writing and each assignment helped progress me and my peers in each of those useful writing skills.

Learning objectives seven and eight say “Practice using various library resources, online databases, and the Internet to locate sources appropriate to your writing projects” and “Strengthen your source use practices (including evaluating, integrating, quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, synthesizing, analyzing, and citing sources).” These objectives were developed throughout the entirety of the semester as we were consistently looking for data to use throughout our projects and assignments. We effectively learned how to use the IEEE citation style which is commonly used throughout the engineering world.

Writing is not something I have ever cherished, but the ability to write about data and collaborate with others on topics I cared about helped further my excitement for writing. I am ending this semester excited for what writing can do for me and the objectives that I felt I was able to complete have helped be foster that excitement for writing. I am more intrigued now than ever to display research through new ways, and specifically through writing.