I do not think very differently about writing now than I did at the beginning of the semester. I definitely feel more comfortable writing in XML, but I do not think that my process of work habits have changed. At the beginning, my process was reading and understanding the prompt, doing the necessary research for the project, and then writing it in XML according to the devised schema. I did this same thing at the end of the course too. I do think that genre can be useful in and out of academic settings. In academic settings it is necessary to know how to structure certain pieces of writing, like a lab report, to effectively convey and experiment or project. Right now it useful for good grades, but in the future it will be useful in professional settings. Outside of academic settings, genre can be important for how a writer interacts with his or her audience. This is especially true within different social circles; a person will address friends, family, and coworkers in different ways in order to maintain successful relationships between the different groups. I think that the projects have helped me be more informed about my field. If I ever write part of a research paper, it would be useful to know how to write an annotated bibliography. In professional settings, I would not be surprised if I participated in writing a feasibility report or a cover letter.
For project 2, developing a schema was absolutely worthwhile. My group wrote a feasibility report, which contains many clearly defined sections and elements. Having a schema helped to organize the report structurally, and it ensure that all the necessary considerations and details of a feasibility report were included. Writing in XML made me more focused on the content that needed to be included in each writing assignment. However, it could be constraining at times, and I think that my writing style became more disjointed than it usually is when I write with a word processor. The mix of software and applications was not especially difficult to use. I just think that there was an initial challenge because I have only ever written using word processors. It was strange to see my writing so explicitly broken down into different pieces.
I think that my favorite project was the second one, where my team wrote a feasibility report. Although I think that this was one of the more difficult projects, I think that it will be the most useful for me in the future. One of my least favorite readings was Miller’s Genre as Social Action. It was fairly long, and as an engineer, most of it went over my head. One of my favorite activities was the discussion of uptake with the video and articles about Ted Cruz not explicitly endorsing Trump. This was interesting because we were using a concept taught in class and applying it to a current situation.
After this course, I will think more about the rhetorical situation when I am writing. Although my other courses and work environments are within engineering, writing will still be involved. Whether I am writing a lab report or an email to a coworker, I need to be aware of my audience and constraints so that I can effectively communicate my ideas.
