Technical Writing

When we were first introduced to technical writing it did not seem like a hard concept.  However, once we actually did it ourselves it turned out to me a lot more work and detail than I thought.  It was hard to determine which parts to leave out or what details to make sure we included in our instructions.  Even though we thought some things were clear, the group that had to interpret our directions thought they were confusing.  It was hard to explain some of our objects as well.  They were not actually circles, squares or other normal geometric shapes.  We also left out important components such as how much time it would take or adding graphics.  They would have been very helpful.  Overall, technical writing can be challenging, but it would get easier with practice.

Native Tongue

Tan’s teachers encouraged her to follow a career path in the math or science field because they said she had awful writing.  One of her bosses even told her that her writing was her worst skill.  Since she was an Asian-American student, she tended to speak “broken” English.  Her math scores were overshadowing her reading and writing scores.  It would make more sense for the teachers to drive these students towards careers that require them to have certain skills sets that most Asian Americans have.             

            In this article, Tan is trying to make the point across that you should not allow teachers and your backgrounds decide what you are going to become.  If someone believes they can be a great writer and put enough effort into it, then her or she can be a successful author.  She went against what her “Native Tongue” told her to do and she did not let her teachers persuade her into doing premed.  She wants people to be tenacious and do what makes them happy.   

My Digital Storytelling

For my digital storytelling I'm going to talk about growing up on a farm.  It is a different way of living and has allowed me to experience things that many people haven't.  The farm has provided me with many helpful things including my current summer job.

CWS Lab Meeting

During our lab meeting we discussed the progress we've made throughout the year.  Mike informed us about what to expect next year with our classes.  He says we will have more 'freedom' but we will also need to focus more.  Our sophomore year is the transition between becoming Juniors and Seniors which are big years for us. We went around the table and discussed our majors and ideas for studying abroad.  He answered questions we had about job opportunities and conflicts we have with our schedules.  It was a very beneficial lab session.