The Final Piece to the Puzzle: Reflecting on the Writing for Engineering Course

            As the frigid temperatures and winter holidays roll in, yet another semester wraps up at The City College of New York. And with that, the Fall 2024 chapter of Professor Bubrow’s Writing for Engineering course concludes. I am pleased to have been a part of this chapter; with the numerous learning opportunities and fun class memories I got to experience throughout the course. But what was there to learn about? Most importantly though, how did I tell my story?

Starting with the Resume and Cover Letter assignment, it greatly enhanced my learning by providing a practical and professional application of the skills we were beginning to build at the start of the semester. This assignment taught me how to effectively articulate my technical skills, academic achievements, and professional experiences in a concise and organized manner, which is crucial for career development in architecture. Crafting the cover letter helped me learn how to tailor my communication to a specific audience, emphasizing the importance of aligning my qualifications with the needs of potential employers. Additionally, the assignment improved my ability to write persuasively and with clarity, skills that are essential in both technical and professional writing. Overall, this exercise gave me valuable experience in presenting myself confidently in a professional context, preparing me for future job opportunities in the architectural field.

Moving onto the Lab Report assignment on the analysis of probability in dice rolling, this helped me better understand how to break down technical ideas and explain them clearly. Writing about probability in a simple and organized way taught me how to take something complex and make it easy to follow, which is an important skill in architecture. It also showed me how to back up my ideas with data and present it in a way that made sense, like using tables and graphs. Overall, this assignment gave me a better understanding of how to combine math, analysis, and clear writing, which will help in future architectural career endeavors.

Next, the Group Proposal assignment, where The Curry and Rice Foundation (my team and I) designed a theoretical student center for The City College of New York using Minecraft, was a fun and valuable experience that improved my learning in many ways. Working with three other classmates taught me how to collaborate effectively, share responsibilities, and communicate ideas clearly as part of a team. Creating the proposal sheet and slideshow helped me practice organizing our vision into a clear and persuasive format, while using Minecraft to build the student center allowed us to translate abstract concepts into a creative, visual model. Presenting our slideshow to the entire class, complete with images from our Minecraft creation, gave me experience in public speaking and explaining our ideas to an audience. This assignment not only improved my technical writing and visual communication skills but also boosted my confidence in presenting projects, making it one of the most engaging and rewarding parts of the course.

Lastly, the Technical Description assignment, where a classmate and I created an informative poster about the New York City Subway and presented it to rotating small groups, was a great learning experience. Working on the poster taught me how to research and organize technical information in a way that was both clear and visually engaging. Collaborating with my partner improved my teamwork skills, as we had to divide tasks and ensure our work was cohesive. Presenting the poster to small groups helped me practice explaining technical concepts in a simple and concise way, while also answering questions on the spot. This assignment helped me build confidence in both creating and presenting technical content, which are essential skills for the architectural field and professional communication.

All in all, the Writing for Engineering course with Professor Bubrow was a very valuable experience that helped me develop essential skills for both academic and professional success. From crafting resumes and cover letters to writing lab reports, creating proposals, presenting technical descriptions to everything in between, each assignment and task taught me how to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively. Working individually and collaboratively pushed me to think critically, manage time, and adapt to different audiences and formats. These experiences not only improved my writing and presentation abilities but also prepared me for the challenges of engineering communication in the real world. So as the Fall 2024 semester comes to an end, I am leaving this course feeling more confident in my ability to express ideas, to solve problems through writing, but most importantly, in my ability to tell my story.