Will Grant

Professor Marcum
28 January 2016
Invention Draft
Favorite Writing Experience
One piece that Ive written that I feel was very important to me is called the Whole Life
Concept Report, which is a paper that I had to write for a grade in my ENGR 1201 class last
semester. What made this paper important was that I had to write basically about my entire life,
past, present and future, focusing on my passion for deciding to go to engineering school. I had
to describe my influences from family, acquaintances, and school out of my past. There needed
to be a good explanation on why I want to be an engineer and what I plan to do in this field
during and after school. In going about writing this piece, I had to think very deeply about my
inner passion for engineering and discuss what I want to do with it. I had to extract childhood
memories and memories growing up to explain how I became influenced to being an engineer.
My main influence was definitely my family. My father and most of my aunts and uncles are
engineers and some of them have some pretty cool jobs, so this certainly had an impact on me.
Also, Ive naturally been quite good at math and science so that was another plus for wanting to
become an engineer, because those two subjects are the main focus in this field. Overall, writing
this paper was very difficult and it took a lot of thought to process into words. I feel like I could
have done better on the paper too, because the feedback I received from it wasnt all that great,
but if I could write it again and for a grade I would have definitely put more thought and research
into it to make it better.

Feelings About Writing

Numerous people may view writing differently from each other and have their own
personal opinions on how they feel about it. My first thoughts about writing is that it is an
important method of communication and tool for expanding literate peoples knowledge and
thoughts. Many may know how to write, but I feel like its not taken for granted by enough
people. Writing is a great way to share information and resources to others who might be
interested in it. Personally, I dont think Im a very good writer and honestly never really enjoyed
writing, but I do want to improve because these days it is used in almost any high paying
occupation. I remember the first time I wrote papers and I absolutely detested it and felt like I
was always struggling. Even now I still struggle at writing some things and have a hard time
following rubrics exactly, but that doesnt mean Im going to give up at trying. I really want to
improve and try to expand my vocabulary and make it so that my writing isnt dull so that people
will actually want to read it and enjoy it. This could take much time and a great amount of
practicing for me to achieve. If I can make this possible for myself, then I may look at writing
more differently than I do now and try to enjoy it further. Improving my writing skills to a point
where Ill start to like writing and do really well at it is a major goal for my growth as a student.
Currently, I feel like my writing skills, style, and technique are mediocre and it still needs much
more improvement to reach the level I want it to be at. For me to reach this level, I must pinpoint
my weaknesses and attempt to transpose them into strengths. I need to motivate myself to try to
use a stronger vocabulary, better sentence structuring, and attempt to write at a scholarly level.

Your Writing Process

I view my writing process when I write research papers or essays as being fairly simple,
but I also feel like it could be bettered towards a more studious level. Most of the time when I
write papers I just write about everything thats required to be in the piece according to whatever
rubric Im following. Almost all the topics I write about are not written by choice, but are found
and given to me by teachers in school that I must write on for a grade. Many rubrics Ive been
following will have a question or set of questions I must answer to get the point of the topic
across to my readers. With these types of rubrics, Ill just brainstorm and answer each question
until I run out of things to say. After brainstorming, I would then attempt to make an outline of
my piece using the answers I found from the questions off the rubric. My outline is pretty basic,
usually consisting of an introductory thesis, body, and closing paragraph. After making an outline
I would then begin writing my draft papers, and I would follow the outline as I write. Many
topics that people would write about also requires researching to gather information needed to
explain them. Most research I find is either on the internet or in books, and I try to make sure I
cite the sources that I use so that I may add them to my final draft. After writing my draft and
making sure I have all the information I need, I then start my revision process. When I revise, I
first go through and try to locate any common mistakes, like incorrect sentence structure, bad
grammar, or run-on sentences. After I fix all my errors, I finally start touching things up in my
piece so that it sounds intellectual and reasonable for my topic. When I feel like I cant revise my
paper anymore, thats where I begin writing my final revised draft. The whole process is very
long and time consuming for me to complete, but if I do everything correctly, then it will be
worth it in the end.

Feelings About Reading

When I think about reading my first thoughts usually are questions, like How long will it
take me to read this piece? Will it be a good read or a boring read? Am I going to be able to
finish it? I wonder all of these things before I actually begin to read something. Sometimes, when
I see a really large book I would get scared to even touch it because I feel like I would never
have the time to finish it. I believe I get these feelings about reading because I dont do it
enough, mainly because I havent found much enjoyment in it. Most books I really enjoyed were
childrens books that I read when I was younger, like The Magic Tree House series and many of
Dr. Seuss books. Today most of the books Im reading are required for school, many of which
are dense and tedious subject textbooks or novels. These books I dont consider enjoyable but
Im forced to read them anyway in order to learn the material for each of my courses. This is
what makes reading very important to me though, to give me the opportunity to learn more about
various topics. It helps me to gain knowledge in so many different things and I feel like Im not
doing enough to absorb it all. I really want to try to expand my knowledge by reading more and
doing more to better prepare myself for the future to come ahead of me. This is how I feel about
reading now, and I think after being in a university for some time, Ive come to realize that you
cant really accomplish much in life if you dont know much, and thats what reading gives us, is
something to know and to understand.

Your Reading Process

When I read I like to read in absolute silence so that there are no distractions around me
what so ever. I find that I usually have a hard time focusing on a piece of writing when there are
others around, or if theres any type of background noise or movement in my hindsight. I like to
be in area of tranquility where I may hear my own thoughts, and hear the words from whatever
Im reading flow through my mind. After I find a quality space for me to read in, I then of course
begin reading. If I find things that I dont understand in a read, then I use other resources to help
me get back on my feet. These sources could either be the dictionary, the internet, or simply just
asking others who seem to have a full grasp on the concept at hand. Most of the time when I
read, I feel like I wont be able take in all the information at once after reading everything. Its
hard for me to remember every detail in some of the things I read, so I might try to take notes on
these details. I tend to remember things better after I write it down and look over it constantly.
There also moments when Im reading where I may start to get tired of boredom and potentially
fall asleep, so I have to take breaks in between so that I dont lose focus. Reading can be very
difficult and time consuming sometimes, but Ill do whatever I can to try to digest the necessary
information into my brainpower. This might require a lot of coffee, naps, and many hours of
focus for me to manage, but if I work hard enough I can make it happen. Overall, if I have to
read to something Ill read it and do whatever I can to take in take in the information it gives, and
if I ever find myself having any problems, then I seek out support through other available
resources, and if I seem to have a hard time remembering some information Ill take notes on it
to go over.

Entering A Discourse Community

Discourse communities are very important for people who want to get involved in their
interests. Examples of these communities are workplaces, social circles, academic disciplines,
etc. I am currently involved in an academic discipline discourse community. The specific
academic discipline that Im working in is engineering technology and construction
management. I came upon this community after deciding that math and science subjects were my
passion, which is a huge part of engineering. This engineering community is located at the school
Im attending which is the school of engineering at The University of North Carolina at
Charlotte. In becoming accepted into this community, I was required to have high skills in math
and science in high school and had to maintain a high enough GPA to get in. My main influence
for becoming part of the engineering community is my family. My father and most of my aunts
and uncles are engineers and they have really cool jobs. This inspired me to want to try to follow
in their footsteps and become a part of their world. Also, Ive always been naturally good at math
and science in school so that was a plus for me. Engineers are defined as people who design,
construct, or maintain engines, machines, or public works. I of course went into engineering
school knowing this, but I really had no clue what I was going to be learning. I found myself
doing things I never would have thought of doing, like making a beam calculator or a working
mini car using household items. Its all very interesting and new to me but at the same time very
difficult to learn and master. Although work is hard in the engineering community, I still have a
passion for it and wish to continue working in this community for as long as I can. Its important
to be involved and thats what discourse communities like this are for.