Welcome to English 230 OL: Technical Writing
Week 1: July 1st - 6th
Post a brief professional introduction about yourself to the course blog. Your introduction should state your academic field of study, your professional goals, and how technical writing relates to your future career by highlighting at least one way in which it is used within your field.
Once you have posted your introduction, you will also need to respond to one other entry.
My name is Leslie Patching, and I am your course instructor. I have been teaching for eleven years at the university level, and one year for EvCC. My undergraduate background is in scientific and technical communication, and I will be continuing my graduate level Ph.D. work at University of Washington in composition and rhetoric emphasizing in technical communications. I have a technical (specialized) background in aviation, and I have worked for various companies (related and non-related to aviation) as a technical writer.
ReplyDeleteTechnical writing is used in all professions (from cosmetology to engineering), and I hope each of you will see how the assignments for this course enhance professional skills needed within both academics and in the professional work place.
I look forward to getting to know all of you!
Leslie Patching, EvCC Technical Writing Instructor
Hi, I am Christopher Campos and this is my second quarter attending EVCC. I graduated high school in 2005 and a month later joined the U.S. Navy. I served 8 years all around the world as an aircraft mechanic and an aircraft quality assurance inspector. After separating from the military in December 2012 I decided to start my college career in the field of aeronautical or electrical engineering. Technical writing is related to the aviation and engineering field because not everything can be remembered and there needs to be organized references to go to in order obtain the information needed to complete a task. As an aircraft mechanic technical writing is used every day. Maintenance is done exactly how technical publications specify without deviations in order eliminate damage, injury, and death to yourself and the crewman operating the aircraft.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to learning more about technical writing in order to advance my education and performance in my career.
Christopher Campos
Christopher,
DeleteThank you for all you've done to serve our country. My dad was Navy, and two sons have served in the Air Force and Army.
Congratulations on going back to college at this point in your career.
Hi Christopher,
DeleteI am back in school studying engineering, too. I look forward to working with you and perhaps I'll see you in other classes in the coming years!
Hello, I am James 'Jim' Conant. I am retired from the U.S. Air Force from 20+ years playing with airplanes. After graduation high school in 1983, yes that long ago, I worked at a couple local companies in Spokane, WA. Seeing no real future for jobs in the local community, I decided to join the Air Force. I have been stationed in Texas, California, and the majority of my time was spent at Fairchild, AFB, in Spokane, my home, all the while working on KC-135 aircraft. During my career I wore many hats, Isochronal Inspection dock supervisor, Crew Chief, tool room supervisor and Quality Assurance Chief Inspector.
ReplyDeleteAfter retiring from the Military, my partner and I purchased a business in Coeur d'Alene, Id., we ran the business for 5 years and, as the economy declined, we decided to close the shop and move over to Everett. We have been here for about 1.5 years. I have always wanted to go back to school and just decided that I would tackle the engineering transfer course here at EVCC, in hopes of getting my Aeronautical or mechanical engineering degree. I have par-taken in writing of A. F. Technical Orders, and special OTI's (One Time Inspections.
I am excited to be in this class and look forward to learning what I can.
Jim
Congratulations on retiring and serving 20 years, thank you. I worked on a few airforce bases while i served, do you ever spend any time on deployment in other countries and if so which place was your favorite?
DeleteJim,
DeleteHappy Independence Day, and thank you for all your years of service to our country. My son was also Air Force and served proudly as a medic. Congratulations on your retirement.
Christopher, thanks, Loved the 20 years in the Air Force. I was fortunate enough to travel to five of the seven continents, Antarctica and South America escaped my travels. In all honesty I believe that the best place to travel was right here in the USA. That may sound like a cop out answer, but we have the nicest people and best food, ease of communication. I also loved traveling in Turkey, The Med. is BEAUTIFUL. Australia, was my first experience at driving a right hand drive car. Another interesting place I traveled was to Saudi Arabia, when we were deploying to Riyadh, We would take turns driving a 22 passenger bus to the Gold Market in the downtown area, driving is S.A. is an experience, they do not require drivers licenses, if you can reach the pedals and have cash to pay, if there is an accident, you can drive. The place I traveled to that made me the most proud to be an American, was when I deployed to the Netherlands. The place we stayed has a lot of WW2 survivors, I have never had so many free beers in my life. These Norwegians, to this day, were still so thankful to America for helping Europe during that time. We Americans are hated all over this globe, but we are also loved and respected too.
DeleteThose sounds like amazing experiences! Congratulations on your accomplishments! I'm also working towards the engineering transfer degree for mechanical engineering. Only taking night and online classes, it's going to take a while. Perhaps I'll see you in classes in the coming years!
DeleteAmazing experiences, love to read your introduction. I hope you enjoy the classes in EVCC
DeleteHello, my name is Dan Parrish and I have been attending EvCC for 3 years now. I am 21 and graduated from Sultan High school in 2010. Although the average associate degree is 2 years long, it has taken much longer for me due to the fact that I am paying out of pocket and working a full time job. I am striving to become a mechanical engineer by earning my associates here and then hopefully transfer to the engineering program at the University of Washington.
ReplyDeleteI can take away a lot from this class because the techniques learned here can be used in everyday engineering life. When working as an engineer, you are usually not working individually. It is necessary to be able to clearly and concisely communicate your work with other teammates to reach your ultimate goal.
It is rare in the high school that I graduated from that the students go on to become engineers, I hope to someday become one of the proud few who do.
Can't wait to meet you all,
Dan Parrish
Hello, Daniel. Fellow Turk here...I get what you mean about High School. I see you are working toward Mechanical Engineering. That is probably my main focus, as well. I am also ok with pursuing one of the MANY other Engineering fields. Good luck on the Associates, keep grinding away at it. I am planning to apply to the WSU program offered at EvCC. It is closer for me.
DeleteJoshua
Going to school while working is tough, but getting your engineering degree was a good choice. I'm 30 years old and just started my engineering transfer degree in January. I'm also attending while I work. You're much farther along in the program than I am, but I'm happy to have the opportunity to work with you in this class!
DeleteDavid
I am amazed by your hard work! Working full time and preferring for UW should be very tough! I am planning to transfer to UW too. It is a little tricky as completing the DTA degree don’t necessary meet the major requirement of UW. I suggest you to download the Academic planning worksheet from UW (maybe you already know).
DeleteWarm greetings to all of you. My name is Michael Herrewig. I've been taking classes at EvCC for about a year. I'm here primarily to have fun but after this quarter the school is going to give me a piece of paper that says I have reached a milestone in the focused study of computer systems. Because I love this school and because I have discovered, or rediscovered, some of my strengths and talents, I plan to continue having fun here learning about engineering.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what I want to be when I grow up. I've made an attempt at several careers that turned out to be, simply, occupations. My dream is to discover a niche where nonconfrontational, soft-spoken introverts are valued. I've subjected myself to such job titles as Army Reservist, Warehouse Stock Selector, Computer Operator, Enterprise Application Support Analyst, and Coach Operator.
I currently play the role of a Network Engineer for a locally headquartered internet services provider. Whether it be filling out incident reports, application logic diagrams, project progress reports, or lists of authentication credentials, technical writing and communication have been major components of all of my occupations but this current job consists almost entirely of technical communication. I've seen how it's done in the real world and now I get to see how it's supposed to be done.
I'm eager to learn from all of you.
Hey Michael, I have to say I loved that greeting you gave up there... haha pretty original. Also, you're attitude towards what you're doing is actually kind of inspiring. I mean, the main reason why you're here is "to have fun" and that (to me at least) was a great reminder of what I'm here for as well... you know, sometimes we forget that we are here to build up our careers and instead we think more of them as occupations. anyway, really liked your attitude and hope you find your niche soon!
DeleteTo me, a career is something I can be 100% invested in: emotionally, morally, spiritually. It is something toward which I could devote 16 hours a day and not notice the passing of time because I enjoy every minute. Most of the "real jobs" out there do not qualify. The closest I've gotten to that ideal is right here at school. So I guess I'm going to be a career student until they kick me out or until I find something better. I haven't yet encountered an advisor that is prepared to hear that career goal ;)
DeleteMost of my occupations have felt like the second definition of the word. A stronger power (corporation) imposing its will on a weaker power (me) for its own strategic gain.
Hello. My name is Joshua Thompson. I graduated from Sultan High School in 1997. I took a year off to relax and travel, then took several quarters at EvCC desiring a career in Meteorolgy. I didn't feel ready for school, so I went to work instead. I worked as a Metal Finisher, Dental Laboratory Technician, and a Pharmacy Technician. Fast forward to the present and I am in my first quarter, (re)starting my college career. I am working toward a career in Engineering, probably based in the Mechanical/Materials/Process/Aeronautical arena.
ReplyDeleteAll of my previous jobs have used Technical Writing in some capacities. Technical Writing will be very necessary in my career in Engineering as not only a way to produce precise and predictable results, but also as a way for team members to convey instructions, ideas, and results to one-another clearly.
Thank you, and I hope to learn a lot!
Joshua Thompson
Never thought I would be meeting another turk in this class! great to meet you. Glad to hear your interested in engineering, its by far the best degree at EvCC (my opinion). As for WSU moving to EvCC, its way better financially and your making a smart move. I'm a die hard husky man myself so I can't switch sides. Hopefully we get to work on a project together in the future.
DeleteHello, my name is Jonathan A. Giraldo but most people call me by my middle name, arjuna(pronounced ahr-joo-nah). I just graduated from Everett High School, although I’ve been attending to Evcc for a little over two years due to the running start program. Just recently I decided to major in some type of engineering (as of this moment I’m inclined to become a mechanical engineer because of the flexibility of the degree and the job opportunities it has). One of the many reasons technical writing is essential in mechanical engineering is because engineers are always writing reports or instructions for other people/ teammates to follow and get exact outcomes.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time taking an online class so I am a little intimidated by it (although at the same time I’m really excited for the new experience). I’m looking forward to learn from you guys just as much as from the actually class.
Jonathan A. Giraldo.
don't worry about taking online classes. the hardest part about it is actually pushing yourself to do the work. great choice on your degree. it really is flexible and you can do almost any engineering job with just a mechanical engineering degree. Good Luck!!!
DeleteThanks Sean. haha and yeah, I've seen my dad (he got a mechanical engineering degree)work for many different companies and never actually work as a mechanical engineer but rather as other types of engineering. What about you? what made you choose aerospace engineering? are you planning on working at NASA eventually?
DeleteHi my name is Sean Kustra. I was born and raised in Japan. My Dad was in the Navy for 20 years and finally retired here WA. As a navy kid, I experienced many things that other kids don’t get to experience and I am grateful for that. It’s probably because of military influence that I had all my life that I decided to join the military. I haven’t joined yet though. I plan on going for an aerospace engineering degree. After I get my degree I will join the military as an officer and go up the ranks as high as I can. This class will help me in my career because I need to be persuasive in my designs. I need to persuade my future managers and the people who are going to buy the product. This class will not only help me in my persuasive writing skills, but also add a little touch of design to each document to maximize the documents full potential.
ReplyDeleteSean Kustra
Hi Sean,
DeleteHow long were you in Japan before you moved? Did you visit a lot of countries when you were growing up? I think joining the military after you finish your degree sounds like a sound plan. How far along are you in the engineering program?
Hi everyone.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Sandi Brock. I am an alumni of EvCC (2002). After earning my AA, I went on to earn a BA and then a Masters in Library Science. EvCC was a great starting point for my academic career, and I was very well prepared for my later educational experiences. I am a teacher/librarian (currently looking for a position after taking a furlough to care for a family member).
I am taking this class to fulfill my final requirement to add an English/Language Arts endorsement to my teaching certificate. Although I majored in English, technical writing was not a requirement. I am thrilled to be able to take this class at EvCC, and online.
As I read the introductions that have been posted thus far, I was struck by the fact that all of you are engineering students (or plan to be). I am sure that engineering requires a whole lot of technical writing, but so do many other occupations, so that was a surprise to me.
I have used technical writing in my career to write grant proposals, business letters, email memos, conduct needs analysis, and reports to supervisors.
I am looking forward to the class, and being able to produce more professional-looking technical writing.
Nice to meet you Sandi Brock, you did a great choice to get in to Evcc. Nice to being classmate with you, I am also looking to taking this class. It seems like you are having some of the idea about technical writing. which is better than me. I am looking forward to ask you for help
DeleteHi, Sandi. I also noticed there are a lot of engineering-interested people in this class. The military also seems well represented. I'm glad you're here; your presence will add some much-needed diversity.
DeleteIf I could rewind my life, Library Science would be my top choice for continued study. You're my hero.
Hi. My name is Yiu Ming Lai, and everyone just call me Ming. I am an international student. I am from Hong Kong. I graduated high school in Hong Kong in 2009. Then I went to Louisiana for an exchange program for one year. It was my first time to go to United stated, and attending high school in here. I was having a lot of fun during this program. At that time, it is really help to improve my English skill as my second language. However, now I have been attending Evcc for about 2 year. I am majoring in mechanical engineering. I am almost finishing all of the mechanical in here, and then I am going to transfer to the other four year University after fall. Unfortunately, there got too my choice, and I still didn’t decide it yet. I hope I can make my decision during the summer.
ReplyDeleteHi, nice to meet you, I am from hk too, you did make a very great point that it wasnt easy to having english as a second language. Lets work hard together, for the University choosing, don't just look at one University try look more and understand more about the school before choosing. Btw I am Eddie
DeleteHi, nice to meet you. It will be smart for you to plan for your transfer as there are different choses here. I guess you are a hard worker as you finished most of your classes in such a short period of time. What is your goal for this class?
DeleteMy name is Sze Chung Ng. I am an international student from Hong Kong. I study in Everett Community College for three years, I major in Mechanical Engineering. This is my last quarter in here, and I will transfer to Washington State University for my engineering degree.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time to start using the Technical writing skill. Personally don't have much idea about it. The only idea is technical writing is professionally introduce the idea or product. That is what I know about technical writing, and I hope I will know more about it.
David Ng
Sze, I hope your tie here in Everett is going well for you, I bet you miss Hong Kong. It looks as though I am following your steps in a way, my plan is to continue on to WSU for either my Mechanical or Aeronautical Engineering degree. Are you planning to return to H.K. or stay here when you complete your degree?
DeleteI am in Hong Kong right now. I will came back to U.S in July 25. I will just go back to Hong Kong once a year until I finish my degree
DeleteHi David, I am little bit surprise that we study the same class in this quarter :) let's work hard and get A grade together :D!!
DeleteHello classmates,
ReplyDeleteI studied graphic design, then film and media arts in school. I wound up working as a drafter at an engineering company in 2008. After 2 years of doing 3D and 2D graphics in a Boeing warehouse as a supplier, I grew frustrated with my direction. It wasn’t the career I had in mind. I quit to teach kindergarten in Korea for over a year.
By the time I returned to the USA, I was determined to readjust my aerospace career to focus more on management. I started working at the same engineering firm I was at before, but this time I was a drafter on a smaller project. By the end of that project, I was not only managing all drawings, but also all my team’s actions and schedules. I loved it. Now in charge of configuration management on a larger project, I must review both technical documents and drawings in preparation for delivery to our customer.
As my responsibilities grew, the need for an engineering education grew. I started here in January. Technical writing is not only an essential part of my engineering degree, but also a vital part of my growing responsibilities at work. I look forward to working with everyone and can’t wait to learn everything I can!
David Koch
I always admire people who work and study at the same. I wish you success in both academic result and your career.
DeleteHi David,
DeleteI had also been interested in studying graphics design, but went to school to become a drafter. It is not the most exciting job, I want to design products therefore I am back to school working on my engineering degree. I am currently working for Boeing and I never thought I would have to look at so many documents. I'm with you 100% on "Technical writing is not only an essential part of my engineering degree, but also a vital part of my growing responsibilities at work."
Looking forward to learning together.
Hi guys my name is Pui Yuen Ng, you can call me Justin if you want. I studied in EVCC for a year and I still have lot of classes to take. My major is Environmental Engineering because it is my interest and I like it!! However, I am still thinking which university I will transfer because there are a lot of options in America. In the job, I would like to take any job that can contribute to the world and environment.
ReplyDeleteI take this class because I believe technical writing can advance my english skill in my studying and working. Hopefully I will be the technical writing expert at the end of this quarter ;) nice to meet you guys!
Justin Ng
Hi, Justin, I am glad to meet you. I wonder if you are also Chinese. I am very impressed by this statement made by you, “I would like to take any job that can contribute to the world and environment.” It is not very common to find people who have such ambition to improve our world and the environment.
DeleteHello, my name is Matt Stewart, I am 19 years old, and I've been attending EvCC for one year. I am currently studying Computer Science and I plan to major in Computer Engineering when I transfer to a four-year university in the fall of 2014. I originally wanted to major in Computer Science, but I decided that I wanted to work more with hardware in addition to programming and developing software.
ReplyDeleteTechnical writing is very important in the field of Computer Engineering and Computer Science because developers need to carefully document their products and code so that their coworkers can reuse what they have created. Many software development companies don't have technical writers so it is up to the engineers to be able to accurately document and explain what they design. The programmer who wrote a section of code is often the only person who fully understands it, which is why documentation is critical for other programmers to be able to incorporate the code into what they've written.
Unless I have overlooked someone's entry by mistake, I'm glad that there's someone else that is also majoring in Computer Engineering. It's nice to know that there's at least one other person who shares the same possible career choice.
DeleteGood luck and have fun~
Hello, my name is Alexus Doton. Some people call me Alex, but Alexus is more preferred online in order to not make confusion. I am entering my second year of being at EvCC. I am a bit nervous taking this course, as the other courses I am currently taking might take up most of my time (Math 152, Chem 161). Hopefully things will run smoothly for me during this quarter.
ReplyDeleteI am currently majoring in Computer Engineering. Technical Writing is important in Computer Engineering as we will need to be able to document our results and information for others to use.
It's very nice to meet you guys and I hope we all can have a great Summer Quarter.
Hey Alexus!
DeleteWhat makes you want to be a computer engineer? I'm interested in computer engineering too and just thought I'd ask.
Calculus and Chemistry in Summer Quarter? That's hardcore.
DeleteHi Alexus! Nice to meet you. Are you studying full time in this quarter? That is really tough. Hopefully, you would have time to relax and enjoy the summer!
DeleteHi everyone, My name is Eddie, I am an exchange students from Hong Kong, as english is a second language, so exciting about this class and ready to get more from it. My major is mechanical engineering, the reason I choose this is because, I was always interested in cars, engine, machine, but I never actually understand the concept or study it. After knowing and understand about what mechanical or just what engineering is. I think it attracted me somehow, I am so interested in how engine work and keep have many questions asking why this and what that happen, it keep drives me willing to explore more and more. I believe this course can help me a lot, not just focus about my major, anyway I believe no matter what company I end up in, technical writing is so important, like emails letters or memo, all these is so useful in our daily life. This class is helping me to improve my writing, at least when i write letter or resume, or send other something, people will see I have the ability to write some formal letter or do formal greetings. The last reason is that, as this class had a lot of writing need to be done, I see it as a good way to train my English. By the way, nice to meet you guys.
ReplyDeleteEddie Law
I am glad to see your enthusiastic attitude on engineering. I know a lot of international students who choose engineering as their major. Sadly, some of them aren't motivated by their interest but the well paid job opportunities that engineering provides. I hope you enjoy your experience in EVCC.
DeleteHi Eddie. Im going for a Mechanical Engineering degree as well. I'm constantly amazed and respect the genius behind a good machine. Even something simple as a lawn mower. Anyways, good luck with the course.
DeleteHello, my name is Wong KamYiu, I preferred to go by Ryan though. I am also an international student from Hong Kong. This is the first time I have a class with so many other Hong Kong students. I have been studying in EVCC since last year spring. I am majoring in Communication Studies. To be honest, I have communication studies as my major because it isn’t a difficult subject. Although I already graduated in June regarding the DTA transfer degree, UW won’t admit international students till next summer. So I am going to take some more classes before transferring. At the same time I can try to do some more volunteer work in order to get some experiences on working with others.
ReplyDeleteTechnical writing should be very useful for different field of professions. As for me, I guess technical writing will come in handy when I am writing my personal statement for the admission profile when applying for university. Getting familiarize with technical writing earlier may give me more chances to practice before the real one come. I am looking forward to learning with all of you.
Hi, my name is Arturo Zertuche. I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. When I turned eighteen I joined the Navy as an Aviation Mechanic. I spent five years in the military and decided I wanted to further my education and training in the military and pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering. This is my third quarter here at EVCC, and this is my first online class. Technical writing will be useful as a future engineer to explain designs, cost, constraints and objectives. Also to write instructions on how to use the products that are made. Im excited to learn and gain experience in Technical writing.
ReplyDeleteHi my name is alex voin and I was born in Portland and raised in Everett. This is my fourth quarter at EvCC and second year in college. I played soccer one year at a D2 school in Arizona. Technical writing is related to my field because I want to work at Boeing and being able to document your work is a great skill and will make it easier for others to read your work and help correct mistakes if any are present.
ReplyDeleteHello Alex
DeleteNice to meet you. You made a decision to study in EVCC because EVCC is very good in aviation. But I would like to ask what kind of job you would like to do in Boeing??
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreetings Everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Cedar (c-der) Yim. I am working towards a Mechanical Engineering transfer degree like many of us here in this class. I have a Mechanical Drafting AAS from Lake Washington Technical College and this is my first quarter at EvCC.
This course is relative to every aspect of my current job as a Technical Designer (Drafter) at Boeing, and to my future career as an Engineer. Engineers must write clearly and concisely when communicating designs, instructions, and problems, among many other things using different communication tools such as; e-mail, instant messaging, online meetings, in-person meetings, phone, and others. One very important use for technical writing, in my experience, is clearly describing a problem on the plane. Problems are processed for disposition, someone interprets the problem in their investigation to fix the problem. That someone can be anybody, so your explaination of the situation has to be very clear, leaving minor margins for other interpretations.
I look forward to learning more about Technical Writing to help better my communication and writing skills as a Technical Designer and Engineer.
Thank you,
Cedar Yim
Hey Cedar!
DeleteThat's great that you have a drafting degree. Just out of curiosity, what does that degree entitle and what do you do as a technical designer at boeing? It sounds pretty cool like you'd be drawing a lot.
Hi Thomas,
DeleteWith that degree I am taught how to translate rough sketches, layouts, 3D design models, CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) designs, and written specifications of the engineer/designer into drawings and CAD databases showing the complete details and specifications for the finished product. At Boeing I translate engineering dispositions for problems on the 747. There is no actual drawing involved since everything is done in CAD, but design changes may involve creating a new part (designed by an Design Engineer). At Boeing their are is a variety of jobs to do.
Hello everyone!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Thomas Lefotu. I am from Lake Stevens, Washington, graduated from Lake Stevens High School last year(2012) and have been attending Everett Community College for one year, in which I am intending to earn an associates transfer degree in computer/electrical engineering and plan to then transfer to a four year university to finish off my bachelors degree in computer engineering. As far as my professional history goes, all the jobs that I've had have been normal day jobs, such as working at a pet store and being a buss boy at a chinese restaurant,and in my day to day duties there, there were no aspects that required technical writing.
In the field of computer engineering, which is my intended future career, there are many instances where technical writing is used. One instance could be to write a users guide/manual for a newly designed computer. Another example could be to write design specifications for the manufacturing of this newly designed computer, which would provide explicit information and specifications about how the computer should be put together.
I look forward to meeting you all and getting to know you throughout the course of this class.
Thanks,
Thomas Lefotu
Hey Thomas!
DeleteIt's great to see someone else that shares the same interests that I do. Computer Engineering is a very interesting field of study, yet it is also quite difficult, so I'm not surprised to see only a couple other people studying computers in this class.
I look forward to getting to know you and work with you in this class. Good luck!