Pencils are for Pussys:

And Other Teaching from Writing for Engineers

When I started the fall 2024 semester of Writing for Engineers I thought that I had little to learn. I had already acquired a degree in English and had experience out in the world. However, I was mistaken and have learnt much about writing mechanics, the world, and team work. I learnt usage of punctuation that I had forgotten from years of informal writing. Also how to effectively collaborate with others in a team: giving constructive feedback and finding compromises with others. Throughout this course I’ve written multiple drafts, in an effort to get to the clearest, most concise final result. The following paragraphs are reflections on the projects in this portfolio and my growth as a writer.

The first project of the semester was an intro paragraph where I introduced myself to the class. I painted an image of myself using pertinent facts and provided an image to reflect the description. The major learning from this assignment was the importance of captioning images, which I forgot to do. Captions reflect the importance of considering your audience. Leaving out a caption meant that my audience didn’t have some necessary context to understand the relevance of the image I provided. This made it more difficult for my audience to understand how the image supported my description.

The next assignment was a resume and cover letter. I’ve always struggled with writing resumes and this was no exception. My biggest struggle in resume writing is quantifying my professional accomplishments and using persuasive language to compel the audience to interview me. Chatting with Mr. Bubrow was helpful in figuring out how to quantify some of my accomplishments and build myself up to entice the audience.

The third assignment was a lab report in which I experimented with the probability of the sums of two dice. This assignment focused on the idea of information literacy and the use of CCNY’s online library to research scholarly articles. I used the CCNY library to research probability and find academic resources that reflected my findings. I learnt that the hypothesis of a lab report must be very scientific and precise, rather than broad and slightly informal. Also, outside sources must be cited in APA style, something I was unfamiliar with. Finally, despite learning about proper comma and alphanumerical usage, I should have been much more aware of errors in the drafting process.

The fourth project, a group proposal, saw LungPin Lien, Brian Tigre, Ivan Victoria, ad myself form the Tools. Together we proposed the creation of a student center for the CCNY campus. This project emphasized collaboration with others, something that I had rarely done in a literary sense. With regards to collaboration, I learnt the importance of compromise, especially in regards to differences of opinion. This project taught the team the importance of information literacy, drafting, synthesis of information, and use of technology. As a team we had to synthesize multiple sources of information in order to create a concise argument for the creation of a student center. We then used technology to create a multi-dimensional floor plan and  present the project as a powerpoint to a group of peers. 

In the final project, Brian Tigre and I created a technical description of extra vehicular activity suits from the 1960s, when the first humans went to space, to 2024, when SpaceX tested a new suit with the intention of traveling to Mars. We used technology to create a beautiful poster to display our findings, which we synthesized through our information literacy and cited in APA style. In considering our audience we added keywords and provided a roadmap to make it easy for them to understand the information we were presenting. This project also helped me understand the importance of breaking a project into smaller tasks, thereby making the project easier to manage.

Aside from the projects presented above, I’ve also learnt other important aspects of writing. These included the uses of commas, semi-colons, and colons in punctuating writing. Also abbreviations such as A & P standing for “audience and purpose” of RFP abbreviating “request for proposal.” The creation of two-part titles was also taught and their importance for hooking a reader and providing them with relevant information about the piece. The difference between count, a subject that is quantifiable, versus non-count, subject that’s not quantifiable, was also demonstrated. Finally, I learnt the best times to use the alpha and the numeric in writing out numbers.

I’m surprised with how much I learnt throughout this course. However, perhaps I should be surprised with how much I did not learn in my English degree. Or, perhaps I should reflect that learning is a never ending journey and that it is a pleasure to be able to continually grow. One of the most important things emphasized throughout the course was the importance of telling the story and making the easy for the reader. There’s a whole big world out there and communication is the way of the future. Writing is how we communicate one idea to multiple people, hence the ability to write with clarity and concision is of extreme importance.

A final remark, through this course I learnt that pens are for pussys. I have felt the same for some time and haven’t owned a pencil for some time. However, in my recent studies of calculus and physics I’ve discovered a counter argument: pencils allow for trial and error, creating an tidy and correct final product. I suppose you’ve always got to choose the right tool for the task. While I will always write an essay or story in pen, I will also carry with me a pencil in case I’ve got to write out an equation on the fly.