Make my article easy to understand

My Growth Across ENGL 21007

I used to think that writing an article meant putting as much useful information as possible into it. The more information there is, the more complete and professional the article will be. However, during this semester of ENGL 21007, I gradually realized that what engineering writing truly tests is not information, but making it easy for readers to understand. During this process, I learned to find keywords. I began to learn to think about the audience’s purpose first, and then decide which information must appear, where it should be placed, and what examples or data to support it. Through the resume and cover letter, probability lab report, student center proposal, robot dog technical description completed this semester, In addition to visiting the museum and reflecting on the dance at Lincoln Center, I will summarize my progress in engineering writing and use specific works as evidence to show how I have shifted from piling up information to making it easy for readers to understand.

Writing a resume and a cover letter was my first work. In the past, I used to think that a resume was simply listing educational background and experiences, but later I learned that the goal of a resume is to enable readers to easily understand my qualifications within a few seconds. One method I learned is to label keywords. I didn’t write ordinary words. Instead, I matched my language with the recruitment advertisement and made sure that key skills were visible, such as CAD/SolidWorks, data analysis, technical report writing, problem-solving, and bilingual communication in both Chinese and English. When making revisions, I even highlighted the key words in the resume and cover letter to enable others to quickly find the most important skills. Then there are specific examples to support each keyword. For example, my truss bridge team project and my reporting and presentation experiences supported my communication and writing skills. The form of a job application credit paragraph taught me the same lesson: it should not repeat a resume but link key words with evidence and explain why they are important. Overall, this assignment has enhanced my understanding of the audience purpose. My resume and cover letter are targeted at busy recruiters or hiring managers, so my aim is to convey my suitability quickly and clearly. Using key words and supporting them with specific examples helps readers understand my qualifications more easily and directly connect my experience with the employer’s needs

My second work is an experimental report, “Probability Analysis of Dice Sum”. It trained me to argue more rigorously. In an experimental report, the audience is those who are not familiar with the experiment, so the aim is to make the theory easy to understand, the conclusion reliable and the argumentation rigorous. I realized that I couldn’t simply say my assumption was correct. I must prove this through a series of clear pieces of evidence. This is why I write the experimental report in the structure of Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Analysis, References and Appendix. I also learned to distinguish between observation and explanation: First, I reported the frequency and probability of 200 trials using tables and bar charts, and then explained the meaning of these numbers. When my experimental percentages do not exactly match the theoretical values, I explain the possible reasons. For instance, errors caused by a limited sample size and random variations. Finally, relate my discussion to the viewpoint of “Investigation of Probability Distributions Using Dice Rolling Simulation” in Lukac, S. & Engel, R. (2010). This citation reinforces my argument as it indicates that my interpretation of the median sum has received academic support from others. Overall, this experimental report helped me establish a rigorous argument. The conclusion of the experimental report is logically drawn from scientific methods, clear results and responsible explanations.

My third work was a proposal writing for the New Student Center. The greatest progress it brought me was learning to transform abstract ideas and thoughts into measurable and evaluable plans. In the past, when I described other plans in my writing, I was often not very specific, making it difficult for the audience to understand. But this proposal requires us to provide a detailed and specific plan. I have learned to approach proposals from the perspective of request for proposal. The reason is that the request for proposal focuses on whether the deliverables are clear, the budget and schedule are reasonable, and whether the proposal can be evaluated. To meet this standard, we must specify each claim: what functions each of the four floors should undertake, how many square feet each floor requires, how the space should be laid out, how the interior decoration and equipment costs of each area should be calculated, and ultimately form a complete budget breakdown. Through this way of writing, I also understand more clearly that the power to convince the audience comes from verifiable information. At the same time, we also need to present the plan as a speech to our classmates. This has trained me to disassemble a large number of numbers and details into key points, enabling the audience to understand the overall structure and cost logic in a short time. Ultimately, let’s persuade the audience to choose our surrender. Overall, this task has trained me to turn ideas into plans that can be compared, evaluated and executed.

My fourth work is the technical presentation of Robot Dog. And my gains are mainly reflected in my public speaking skills. In the past, when I presented technical content, I tended to be too scattered. There was a lot of information but the key points were not prominent, making it difficult for the audience to keep up. To enable the audience to keep up in a short time, I learned to first explain with a brief background “Why quadruped robots are needed”, and then introduce the limitations of wheeled or tracked robots in complex terrains. I also practiced using specific comparisons to help with understanding, such as the differences from early mobile robots to modern robot dogs, emphasizing key improvement points such as stability, navigation ability, real-time decision-making and interaction. Then, clearly break down the functions of the mechanical dog into four major systems: Mechanical Structure System 2. Actuation and Control System3. Perception and Sensor System4. Navigation and Intelligence System Explain in sequence what each part does, why it is important, and how they work together. Because I have to face a real audience, the process of speaking forces me to constantly cut out irrelevant information, make key sentences more direct, give more specific examples, and prepare possible responses to questions in advance. Through this speech-based assignment, what I truly learned was how to transform complex techniques into expressions that the audience could understand and remember.

My fifth work is a museum visit. The progress it has brought me is mainly reflected in my learning to support my viewpoints with specific sensory details, thus making my expressions more persuasive and easier for readers to understand. In the past, when I wrote reflections, I tended to draw conclusions directly. For instance, when I encounter a scene, I would directly say it’s shocking without describing the details, but readers may not understand why I have these feelings. This time at the Natural History Museum, I focused on the details that could be seen and imagined. For instance, Mammut americanum’s huge long teeth, her legs as thick and straight as stone pillars, and the contrast of the atmosphere from cold to warm when I walked into the exhibition hall from the cold of a snowy day. Let readers first see what I see, and then understand what I feel. More importantly, I further connect these details to the significance of protecting animals: Rather than abstractly stating that environmental protection is meaningful, I hope readers can feel a real sense of loss through this skeleton. For this reason, protecting wild animals is not just a slogan; it is to prevent more lives from becoming a past that can only be watched in museums.

Overall, ENGL 21007 has truly enabled me to understand the core of writing: writing is making information easy for the reader to understand. This semester, through assignments such as resume and cover letter, probability lab report, New Student Center proposal, robot dog technical presentation, and Reflections on Museums and Dance, I repeatedly practiced the same set of abilities in multiple scenarios: Clarify the audience and purpose, organize the content with structure, support viewpoints with data and details, and express complex information clearly and credibly. Now I am more confident in treating writing as part of my engineering skills. In future courses, projects and internships, I will use more professional expressions to make my ideas understood, recognized and more likely to have a practical impact.