Reflective Essay

   For the spring 2019 semester, one of the class that I took was Writing for Engineering, 21007 with professor Adam Bubrow. From the first day of class to the last day of class professor Bubrow provided us students with the knowledge and information to prepare for the real world. His assignments were not no ordinary assignments that he gave us students, they served a purpose. I was assigned six assignments throughout the semester, the intro paragraph, resume and cover letter, interview report, lab report, group proposal, and technical description. Each assignment taught me something different to expect once I graduate college and obtain a job.
One of my very first assignments in the course, Writing for Engineering was an intro paragraph. The intro paragraph was about introducing myself to my teacher and my fellow classmates on my background. Me and my classmates all posted our paragraphs on blackboard where we read about each other to get to know one another. The intro paragraph gave me an insight on where my classmates came from, the high schools they attended and their favorite hobbies. I liked this assignment because I was able to relate to some of the students as well as get to know the people that I spent an hour 15 minutes with every Tuesday and Thursday of the semester. The intro paragraph was a great assignment to start the semester off with.
After one assignment came another in order for us students to have work graded. My second assignment was a resume and cover letter. The purpose of this assignment was to create a resume for a summer internship in my field of civil engineering that I found on indeed.com. My resume and cover letter provided my education, work experience and skill and qualities in detail. I would say this had to been one of the most important assignments for the semester because throughout my college experience I would have to look for internships. This helped me prepare a resume and cover letter for further job experiences. I liked how it taught me what needed to be in a resume and what shouldn’t be placed in one.
From writing my resume and cover letter assignment to finishing it, my interview report assignment was next. My interview report assignment required me to find someone who worked in my field of civil engineering and interview them about how they became a civil engineer. That included the schools they attended, their grades, internships, first job, second job, how they found the company they work at today, their daily schedule at the firm they attend and how much they write at their job. This assignment taught me a lot that prepared me for the real world once I graduate college. It taught me that networking is key to find internships and getting a stable job. I liked that I was able to find out more information on what it’s like to be a civil engineer and the struggles you endure to become successful. From not giving up when a difficult task is given to you to completing your work to the best of your knowledge. This assignment gave me a wake up call on what to expect on when I become a civil engineer.
On March 21, 2019 my lab report assignment was due on blackboard along with a hard copy in class. The lab report required me to conduct an experiment of rolling a pair of dice 100 times and analyze the outcome. Before starting the experiment I had to research the outcomes of what number can occur the most and create a hypothesis. I predicted that the number seven will occur the most and from conducting the experiment my hypothesis was correct. This assignment was not my favorite out of the course because creating experiments isn’t my area of confidence. However, it taught me the structure of a lab report in case for further preferences.
The second to last assignment that my professor, Adam Bubrow gave us was a group proposal. The group proposal assignment required my classmates and I to work in groups of four and decide on improving something at The City College of New York. My group partners and I decided on redesigning the NAC library due to space being limited for the students. We decided to remove the bookshelves from the second, third and fourth floor and place them on the fifth floor. With the bookshelves being removed, there will be more space for couches and tables for the students to study, interact with their friends and take naps. The group proposal helped me learn how to cooperate with my group members in order to get the assignment at hand completed. As well as, make sure your partners are hard working and not last minute. The group proposal didn’t just help with doing class assignments, it helped prepare for the real world. I liked that it gave me an insight on what it might be like to work with people at your job in the future. You will have to be able to make sacrifices and compromises in order, for you and your coworkers to complete your job.
The last and final assignment for the spring semester in Writing for Engineering was, the technical description. The technical description was an assignment for students to write about a topic that dealt with their major in engineering. For example, my topic was suspension bridges because suspension bridges is a form of bridge that civil engineers design world wide. Once my report was finished I had to present my information to my professor and class. This assignment specifically gave me information about suspension bridges that I didn’t have an idea about. I learned where suspension bridges came from, the first type of suspension bridge, how they are designed and learned about the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Also, having to present in front of my classmates created more encouragement for me as someone who is shy. What I liked most about this assignment was the knowledge I was able to gain about suspensions bridges. It helped me looked forward to designing a suspension bridge of my own one day in order for people to get from point A to point B.
Additionally, this English class was not only a class where my classmates and I walked in and was given an assignment. My professor taught us on better ways to work with our grammar and punctuation. Students often make simple mistakes when placing their commas, semi colons, colons, run on sentences and quotations. I learned on how to become a more improved writer by correcting my grammar and punctuation due to the help of my professor. He provided us with examples on the board as well as practice sheets to allow us to improve. In the end we were even given a final test on what we learned throughout the semester to make sure we payed attention and practiced. Also, professor Bubrow taught us how to use the CCNY library database. The CCNY library database provided scholarly reviewed articles that supported my evidence for the required assignments. Not only was Mr. Adam Bubrow my professor, he gave us knowledge on what to expect in the real world once we move on. From his assignments to jokes taught me what to look forward to as I become a mature adult.
In conclusion, with Writing for Engineering ending, I walked out of this course learning more about grammar, punctuation and how to prepare myself in becoming a matured adult. From writing my first assignment to last assignment, my writing improved. I learned how to write a sufficient resume and cover letter, how to work with a group, what it is like to be a civil engineer and history of suspension bridges. Professor Adam Dubrow helped me understand the process of becoming someone successful in life and the applications to obtain success.