Welcome to Fahim’s Web portfolio

Hello. My name is Fahim, and I am a Junior majoring in Mechanical engineering at The City College of New York. Enjoy!

Fahim’s Self-Assessment for Writing for Engineering class

     Before enrolling for the ENGL 21007 class, I was worried and stressed about the workload and homework. But thanks to Mr. B and his easy-to-understand guidance throughout the semester. I was able to develop a lot as a writer. I assumed the course to be like previous English courses where we had to write numerous essays and research papers. However, it turned out that this course was geared towards teaching students how to properly present data and convey information using proper citations and effective communications.

     Having a broad spectrum of classmates from diverse backgrounds helped me in my writing process. Working with peers from different backgrounds helped me acknowledge and include different views and perspectives in my writing. When I took my peers’ perception and background into consideration, my understanding and perspective on various subjects enriched. It helped me reach a broader audience who could now relate to my content. In this online setup, it is hard to interact with our classmates, but peer-reviewing helped us get a glimpse of each other’s life. Through this, I think my contents were more relatable and understandable for all.

     My writing skills drastically improved this semester because of the concept of “Shitty first draft”. Unlike many others in the class, Creative writing was not a subject of study until college began. Even in college, the writing process felt like a nightmare solely because I had no clue how to tackle the writing process. Many times, I have written a whole essay in one seating without any drafting. But I have learned the process of writing and strategize before writing any papers.

     I took strong consideration of the genre, medium, and purpose for each assignment. Since different assignments were geared towards different sets of audiences, the tone and attitude of the writing were really important. This also helped me reach my targeted audience and convey the message efficiently which is the goal of the writing process. For example, the tone of my writing for the Introductory presentation was quite laid-back and friendly since the intended audience was my classmates. On the other hand, the intended audience for my cover letter is experienced professional individuals so I adapted to a serious, meaningful, and confident tone.

     Group settings for assignments were helpful when members communicate effectively. For me, being able to get feedback from others is a great aspect of group work that helps fine-tune my work. However, due to the online environment and lack of communication from other members, I could not utilize my group to the fullest. My sisters and my best friend helped me in this situation.

     Just like the students in the class, the course curriculum was also full of diversity. We worked on different forms of writings, such as PowerPoint presentation, resume, cover letter, lab report, proposal, and essay. We were able to learn different types of writings in the course.

     I have thought about my tone in my writings as it has a huge impact on the reader. My tone and attitude were mostly dependent on the target audience. As noted previously, I used a serious and confident tone for my lab report but for my introductory presentation, it was relaxed and more laid back. Also, the use of specific vocabulary was taken into consideration while setting the tone.

     I used various types of sources for my assignments. The sources can range from google maps to online journals. I have used personalized data produced by my phone. I have also used scientific research articles for the data display lab report assignment. The citation of sources was always a priority when applicable.

     When researching for my assignments, I always questioned the credibility of the source. Thus I evaluated and analyzed the sources to ensure credibility. I mostly paraphrased and quoted my sources and described the connection of the source to my writing.

     Overall, I am glad that I took the decision the enroll in this course with Mr. B. I do not fear writing as much as I used to, and it has improved over the course of this semester. I now have an applicable strategy to tackle any writing assignment and know what the necessary steps are. Lastly, I want to thank Mr. B for the immense effort he puts into teaching us the course material.