Elizabeth Palacios

Writing for Engineers

December 20, 2020

Final Assessment

I had tokened writing for social science in the past at City College when I had my career set on becoming a psychologist. However, as I learned more about my interests, I discover my love for coding. I didn’t think this writing course would be much of a difference from the writing for social science. However, I did learn a lot more than expected. I believe that every writing piece learned throughout this course is essential in the computer science field.  Although I’m not too fond of writing, other than journaling, I can honestly say I enjoyed this class because most of the papers I have composed for this class have been topics related to computer science.

The technical description I based on Instagram’s algorithm. I learned how Instagram designs its news feed to get specific content more exposure. I described how to increase my audience’s activities or content on Instagram by informing them how the algorithm is set up. The following paper I wrote was the memo. The memo was a group project that, despite the challenges presented to us of no in-person communication due to technology, we could still deliver a well-written memo. The memo was about how the city should change its streetlights from standard LED lights into solar power lights. I learned the structure of a memo and to organize it in its precise order. I saw the memo as a smaller version of a proposal. The only difference was the proposal goes more in-depth and delivers every detail on the writer’s big idea. My favorite writing assignment had to be the next paper, the lab report. My topic was how fake news on social media influences the presidential election. I enjoyed this the most out of all assignments I had to complete because this was a current problem that was taking place. The US 2020 presidential election had many fraudulent accusations and manipulated media because of how easy it is to upload content and get unnecessary exposure. The assignment was significantly related to what was occurring in real life, making it very informative and enlightening. The last assignment was the proposal; I found this the most time-consuming paper because of the amount of specification it had to include. However, besides it being a bother, it taught me how to persuade my readers to carry out my aspiration by presenting them with a detailed written blueprint. I based it on how to combat homelessness during the pandemic in NYC. I took this project to heart because of the number of homeless people I encounter whenever I step outside my house. I hope in the future, if I get the opportunity to abolish homelessness, I would.

Overall, I valued this writing course because of the knowledge I acquired. However, the course was taking online with no lecture. I still felt a sense of a classroom because of the constant involvement we had to do on the discussion board. I read other people’s ideas and gave my opinion by commenting on the post. This aspect of the class made it possible to learn from one another. I liked this writing course better compared to my other in-person writing class