Final Reflective Essay

Technical communication is twins with all rainbows, such is its color.

The English class, introduction to technical communication, has been immensely

beneficial to my development as a better writer. Throughout the multitude of assignments that
been completed this semester, a particular phrase has stood out which speaks volumes of
technical communication. The phrase Technical communication is twins with all rainbows, such
is its color, is one phrase that describes the multitude of learning experiences that have gone
through my mind this semester. The meaning of this phrase can best be conveyed by looking at
my technical writing track record for this semester.
Starting with the first module, writing for employment, I didnt know what to expect
going into it. From the job listings our class was first asked to find, we were asked to begin
writing drafts for the resume and letter of application. I was rather confident in my abilities of
writing a resume, as Ive had previous courses which made me do similar activities.
Unfortunately for me, the phrase Technical communication is twins with all rainbows, such is
its color began its appearance here. I found out while writing the draft for my resume that my
previous resume writing experience, from my other classes, were not much applicable to my
current assignment. I could use my previous writing knowledge as a foundation, but would
ultimately have to make some major modifications to fit the guidelines of the prompt. Similarly,
when writing the letter of applications, there were no strict how to guidelines on how to write a
letter of application for each scenario; thus, I had to employ critical thinking tactics and make do
with what I could. I finished both the resume and letter of application and produced a rough

draft, and through the feedback of fellow students, I was able to make the necessary changes to
effectively produce a final copy for both assignments. I learned an extremely valuable lesson
during this module. It was that when writing for technical communication, there was not a one
way method on accomplishing an assignment. More suitably, Technical communication is twins
with all rainbows, such is its color, the rainbow signifies the unlimited spectrum of possibilities
for writing both the resume and letter of application.
Moving onto the second module, writing instructions, our class began familiarizing
ourselves on what makes a good set of instructions. Through the use of the sample instruction
failures, we shared many examples in class and began to shed light on what makes a good set of
instructions. After this assignment, we were then split into groups, and were tasked on creating a
set of instructions for a particular preselected topic. As our group first began writing the rough
draft of our instructional guide, we were surprised to find out that the steps seemed to fall
together unusually concise. Our instructional guide was on how to create and modify a table;
thus, we all had some background knowledge on how to accurately write the instructions. Only
after we finished the rough draft did Technical communication is twins with all rainbows, such
is its color become visibly apparent.
We found out through later self-check and through the use of the usability test, that what
we did in the rough draft did not serve as a sufficient instructional report. It most likely didnt
even suffice as a rough draft, as we couldnt even accurately follow our own directions. Some of
our steps were full of holes, so if the creators of the instructions couldnt follow the directions
without the use of our prior knowledge, how could we expect users to do so? Just as we thought
we found the correct color of success, the correct color of success ultimately maintained its
rainbow nature. Once we discovered all these things, we went back and heavily modified the

amount of instructional depth for the modify section. We even added additional sections such as
the hot key shortcut section, which gave users more freedom on how to approach the
instructions.
At the cost of a large amount of bickering and stress, we eventually finished the needed
modifications for the instructions, and produced a successful final copy. I remember thinking
towards the end of the module, on how much of my technical writing assignments didnt always
fully go as planned. This even farther seemed to solidify the quote that technical communication
is twins with all rainbows, such is its color.
Last but not least, as we moved to the final module which consisted of the proposal and
annotated bibliography, the phrases relation with rainbow again came into the picture. This time
however, it served to obscure the end purpose of the proposal and annotated bibliography. Upon
the initial planning of the proposal, I had immense difficulty finding a topic. This only made my
writing experience worse, as I struggled to relate that topic to the written guidelines. As I was
writing the proposal, I also honestly didnt have any clue on where this assignment fit in the
grand scheme of the module. I proceeded to finish a rough draft of the proposal, and again found
out why Technical communication is twins with all rainbows, such is its color.
Once the peer review came into the picture, I realized that not only was my topic of
choice made by overthinking the constraints, but because of it, I would have a much more
difficult time explaining why my topic of choice was an important problem in the workplace.
Just when I thought I had found a single color for my assignment and had everything planned out
perfectly, I discovered that I would have to restructure my proposal and make a much clearer
problem and solution. As I was writing the final draft, I made sure to focus on creating a
problem, giving a solution, and making sure my schedule and cost charts contrasted each other

effectively. It turned out that instead of a single color signifying the complete completion of the
proposal, this writing assignment reflected the color of the rainbow, showing that technical
writing can never be perfect, and can always be improved. I didnt have much difficulty writing
the annotated bibliography due to the unexpected ease at finding relevant information pertaining
to my topic. Writing the bibliography surprisingly came together quite easily, which one can
even say was due to the proposal being much more complicated.
Technical communication is twins with all rainbows, such is its color signifies many
things. Technical communication if given a color, most closely resembles the rainbow. This is
because you cannot assign just one color to this type of writing. Writing is ever changing, can
always be modified, and can even be sometimes unclear due to various circumstances. Technical
communication writing skills can always be improved. Just when I thought I had a solid grasp on
a single color for what I could consider technical communication, the color changed and I
learned something new.
In the future, I do hope to be able to decipher the true color of what makes the phrase
Technical communication is twins with all rainbows, such is its color. I understand that the
writing possibilities are endless, but even if the decipher doesnt completely come into fruition,
Ill be glad to know that there is always something new to discover about technical
communication. Technical communication is twins with all rainbows, such is its color means
an obscure amount of things, but its important to be grateful for the knowledge it provides.