Dear incoming students,

During the Fall 2021 semester of ENGL 21007, I was able to learn quite a bit. I had originally thought this class would be similar to my other English classes in which I would be given assignments with no real need to focus on the limitations of what I was writing. However, that was not the case with this class each assignment was heavily restricted on what can and can’t be implemented; this forced me think deeper and build my writing upwards instead of sideways. This class not only broadened the horizons of what my writing could accomplish, it also helped me understand the hidden depth writing can have in a professional setting. As this semester is winding to a close I hope to give a little insight in to how I have grown and what future students should expect.

First, to what extent have I achieved the course learning objectives?

By better understanding and applying different forms of genre throughout this semester I was able to meet all the course learning objectives to varying degrees of competence. I am able to find and articulate research that I have found in a professional manner, including ways to cite and present it properly in either a text or presentation. I am also able to use my new understanding of rhetorical elements to better convey my ideas and make my stance, purpose and content more pronounced and distinguished from each other.

Now, in what ways have my perceptions on what writing is and does evolved this semester?

My perceptions on writing before this course was that each and every section should bleed into the next to make reading easier for the audience. But after this class I have understood that each sectioned being distinguished from the next is not necessarily a bad thing as it can also make reading my documents easier. At least in a more professional setting, transitions are not as important I used to give them credit for. I have learned that proper structuring of my topics and sections can function as transitions themselves.

But if we go more specific on the rhetorical elements, how does the audience impact the content and purpose of my text?

There is very big connection between the audience, content and purpose.  The most obvious being the content should reflect the audience’s competence in a certain area.If your audience is high school students, any engineering jargon will fly right over their heads. Purpose follows in a similar fashion, the purpose must also adapt to the audience. The purpose is what we seek to accomplish with this document, so it is important to tailor our purpose to audience. If the purpose is not tailored the audience will not feel the need to act upon your document as they are incapable of doing anything according to your purpose.

All three of these point are co-dependent on one another. If you were to alter the audience the purpose and content would need to reflect, if you were to alter the purpose the audience and the content would need to change. Content holds the least sway among the three as no one would ever decide on their audience and purpose based on their content.

For example, my lab report topic was about using Nitrogen concentration measurement to see if different forms of gas detection are viable. This topic had a specific purpose, audience and content in mind, which all depended on the other. However, I found that my topic was not quantifiable so I would be forced to alter my topic. After I changed my topic in order to make my lab produce something quantifiable, I was forced to look for an audience that would have interest in these finding and then have a purpose that would align with my audience.

Finally, a huge highlight of the course this semester is how we had to move completely online due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The primary benefit of this class being online is that it mimics how engineers work in a professional setting. A huge highlight of my time in this class is learning to organize our fractured group without meeting whether it be in person or online. While the initial struggle of getting my group members to work together and manage their time properly was frustrating, there was a sense of gratification when we were able to work together properly by the end of the semester.

Sincerely,

Abdul Hossain

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