Writing in the Technical Learning Environment

Figure 1: Writing

Introduction:

Writing is an integral part to almost all profession, ranging from an author writing their new novel, to a mechanic filling in a repair form. Going through the different levels of schooling we have often had to do more writing than some people care for, notably in college where some people feel that a technical major does not require them to do as much scholarly writing if they are just going to become an airplane mechanic, construction manager, etc. However, practicing your writing skills has a positive impact on your ability to accomplish a number of technical tasks, and can help you more easily convey your thoughts.

Discussion:

Why Write?

English and writing in general is probably the least liked subject of most tech focused college students. Many people make the argument that they are at college to learn skills and processes to better help them in their profession, but tend to neglect their ability to write. Practicing writing has a benefit to these individuals, even if they don't realize it. Practicing writing allows an individual to better convey their thoughts, on and off of paper, by expanding their vocabulary, learning to formulate more complex sentences, and convey their ideas without pauses.

Why Not?

To put it simply, often times writing is used as filler when there are gaps in curriculum, and can lead to growing resentment of writing in general in the students that have to write more instead of getting the hands on experience that they desire. Also, students that do not enjoy writing tend to inflate their writing with a lot of filler, which leads to less then stellar work, when instead if their writing requirement was shorter they may be inclined to develop better work.

Conclusion and Thoughts:

Writing is a great tool to the academic, but like most things needs to be done in moderation. Developing proper writing skills is important, but if writing is used as a filler for a course it can lead to students growing resentment towards a skill that is integral to their future. This is one of the reasons that I like this blog format for AT 21900, as it is a concise way to convey information, while allowing for creative freedoms. In short, writing is important to students in any field, but they need to focus on quality over quantity.