Mohammed Hossain
Date: December 12, 2019
Reflection
When I saw that I had to take “Writing for Engineering” at CCNY as a course for my designated field, computer science, I was baffled. I never saw computer science as a field by which writing and presentations were needed; computer science seemed to be strictly math-based with the addition of science. However, without this course, the true reality of this field amongst other engineering fields my peers were majoring in would have never been exposed. The task of creating and introduction paragraph, a resume and cover letter, a lab report, a group proposal, and lastly a technical description were all building blocks to the skills I would need as I venture into computer science. These fields, inclusive of engineering and computer science, are not strictly by the book or by an equation; rather I realized that good writing skills, a decent work schedule, good communication skills, and in general a wide array of abilities are what gets the job done effectively and efficiently. Writing for Engineering at CCNY was a tedious class, it required lots of effort and a good work ethic. However, in the end, it strengthened my overall skill-set and abilities that can be replicated in potential internships, jobs, and even in other classes.
My first essence of this class started with the introductory paragraph about myself, in late August. The prompt ordered me to stay simple, and straight to the point. This seemed like a task because I remembered whenever I would introduce myself in any form of writing I would be encouraged to go into details. A prime example would be in my college essay, by which I wrote specifically about myself in around six hundred words. At first, I genuinely thought this was an absurd idea. I did not understand why I would have to introduce myself for this class, and why I should have kept it basic and to the point. However, as I started drafting out what I was going to say I realized that in interviews for instance and when meeting people no one gives a detailed analysis about themselves (unless asked to). For the most part, I started to realize that sticking to the most important features of my life would be the ideas I focus on. In this case, being an immigrant who did not always understand why education was important. It was with this paragraph that I realized, an introduction about yourself sets one aside from other candidates and people in general. The introduction served as my first exposure to expressing who I was, and my purpose for the respective task or essentially what I have to offer as a person. Sometimes, simply expressing who you are and what you can bring to the table are the best ways to introduce yourself. After this assignment, I knew that the other assignments leading up would be game-changers.
As the class went on, a resume and cover letter were introduced. Previously, I had never curated a formal resume or cover letter, nor had I been taught about any of these tools. I thought the process of creating a resume was tedious, work experience was needed, and references ( at least the time this is what I thought was needed). I started to realize that resumes can include volunteer activities, honors of any sort, publications, and much more. While it was time-consuming to create this resume, I began to see how employers view these pieces. Quality over quantity was the main idea established here, anyone could have a resume full of great experiences but how this resume is formulated matters. It took multiple attempts to organize all my experiences and took me an even longer amount of time to grammar check to make sure my resume was up to par. The cover letter process was also another reminder of this virtue. The cover letter could not be an analysis, but mostly an overview of who I was as a person and why my candidacy would be again and not a loss. At this given point, it was easy to note that cover letters were a make it or break it moment for candidates in a job. This piece was read fast, as many candidates would be considered for the designated job; so being precise and concise was a major necessity.. The one idea I had wanted my hypothetical employer to note was that I was about being innovative, I felt as though to curate the best pieces of work and successful collaboration being someone who could adapt in various ways was a need. As I said warier, this was my first formal introduction into a solid resume and cover letter and I would definitely say I appreciated this aspect! Starting off late in making one of these tools would never benefit anyone, any quality piece of writing needs to be in the continuous real of drafting for solid progress and something worth another’s time. Resume and cover letter curation were the first steps to understanding the hiring process. The resume and cover letter process were noteworthy for me, however, I would have loved to continually amend these tools as the classes progressed and I gained more insight. Perhaps now that I have accumulated all course knowledge that this course highlighted, this will be my next step.
Adding on, the lab report was something that was highly undervalued yet a tool that was valuable to both those going into computer science and engineering. Previously, I had not written a college lab report up until this point. My physics class lab reports were not on the level Mr. Bubrow exposed to me, rather this class honed into the essence of analysis. The experiment was simple to conduct, the process of writing this lab reported not only a lot of drafting but the idea of synthesis. The information I obtained from the experiment was not solely enough to create a lab report that needed an abstract, introduction, and various other components. This required the good old fashioned CCNY library databases, or simply information literacy in this case. Information literacy was critical in creating a well-supported lab report, I found various articles on what probability was and how it related to dice. In summary, over ten sources were found but when it came down to choosing the ones for the lab report I continually had to synthesis information to fit in unexplored aspects that were not delved into There were many sources that did not suit my level of analysis for this report, often some resources were filled with arcane material. This prompted me to organize all the pieces found to support my lab report into a written out chart, there I was able to synthesize the major ideas of probability and how it was reflected in this experiment. The CCNY databases were an oasis for information literacy, not only did I focus my research into this sole database but I discovered Jstor which provided even more background on the ideas featured in the lab. Broadening my horizons for research was one of the best things I got from this lab report. Even learning how to correctly use citations, from APA to MLA style was utilized here. The works cited page was interesting for me to look into, and it was a preliminary into citing work for a bibliography. Reading became the greatest gift for this lab report, as it totaled eight pages. Bobrow’s lab report set up, not only explained why this was important but also how it can help in the future. Engineering and computer science are two fields that are continually developing, detailed work on the findings observed are what serves as the oasis to even greater vicissitudes.
The next assignment was based on interviewing someone who was in the engineering or computer science field. I pride myself in being very reserved, my communication skills are not as developed, but they are growing. One of my sources of inspiration in the computer science field is none other than my brother. This project forced me to get in touch with those around me, it was also a start to networking for me. When I spoke to my brother, although still shy I did get great pieces of information. I realized collaboration with others is a key factor. Jobs in engineering and computer science are not only limited to hands-on work, but it requires skills where one will need to collaborate with others to answer inquiries and get help. As I interviewed my brother I got to understand what this field was, and how much it meant to him. These findings made me understand what I had to do to better myself if I wanted a successful path. To manage all the information I was being told, I had to make usage out of Microsoft Word. Since there were various points brought up, I had to keep all of it in chart form on Microsoft Word as a technical rough draft. Once the interview was done, I referred back to these charts and made my information concise for the interview questions and easy to follow. The use of technology was great it made the interview organized and helped me refer back to points. The interview was a great insight into networking and how important it is to collaborate with a peer, engineering and computer science is always developing.
Furthermore, in the group proposal project, collaboration efforts were increased. There were four of us (including myself) working in this group, and we had to get to know each other. We all had to give a brief introduction to ourselves, which further enlightened me on everyone’s career paths and goals. Some of us were great at the use of technology while some of us were writers, and heavily into citations and analysis. Altogether, I realized how each of our different skill-sets made the team a good one. We collaborated effortlessly and shared ideas on the chai situation we came up with together. Some of us had complex solutions for getting the chairs into the CCNY campus, while others were slightly more innovative. Overall, we worked together and added all our ideas on the document and discussed together which would work and why and vice-versa. The use of technology was a great addition here, we were able to model on the computer how arrangements would look for the seats and highlight the features of the new chairs we would add. While I thought the task was simply busywork, I say this expanded my collaboration efforts which were then easier to explain in words. I believe now that communicating in groups can make writing easier. I noticed how we all taught each other something new, like how citations were used for authors. It was helpful for me to see the various ways citations can be used in APA, especially for articles without an author. Overall, the collaborative efforts made the task easier; this expanded my network I met people who have similar goals like me.
The final project was none other than a selected research topic which formulated into a presentation. My topic was nuclear energy, I had to learn the differences between nuclear energy and nuclear power through the databases of CCNY. As silly as the project may have seemed, the use of technology is what put this project into effect. I had to learn how to make a brief pamphlet like the sheet to give out to the class. Microsoft Word was helpful in learning how to wrap texts, to get images to fit better. This skill actually helped me to organize my notes and other components for classes on one sheet. It saved a tremendous amount of time. When it came to the actual presentation, my audience was my main interest. I had to engage my audience so I kept my main points intact and excluded any filler information. This project helped me to understand how important it is to engage the audience, and how to keep any presentation organized with any use of technology.
Hence, at the end of this course, my final words are is that while yes the work was tedious and a lot at times; it also helped me to expand my horizons. I learned how to write better, but also how to communicate ideas and network better. Engineering and computer science are hard fields, but the CCNY Writing for Engineering class gave me a slice of what to expect. In the end, I because of a better student primarily due to the challenges and self-advocacy I had to enforce for each class. In the near future, I know this class will be one I look back on in a positive light in terms of helping me succeed.