Hello

The writing assignment for Module 1 was straightforward. At first, I was disappointed that the final assignment only needed to be bullet points, but that feeling did not stay. As I look back at the writing process, my thoughts on writing did shift.

Although I knew there were different styles of writing, I disregarded this detail because for me, there was no wrong answer in writing. For me, writing was all about style. Synonyms did not provide an insight on nuances; they replaced mundane words. Repetition was a rhetoric tool, but I learned to never use the same words. If the writing made sense to the other person, it was enough. If you were lucky to compose a poetic sentence, the whole essay seemed like a thoughtful one.

I knew I could not use the same writing habits for my career as a biological engineer. In fact, I was excited to shed the glittery, pompous words of my writing, and adopt the simple, practical style of science writing. However, after examining the comments from my assignments, having too much "fluff" was a common one. I was too wordy. I was writing unnecessary details. I thought writing styles were easy to fake, but it does take practice to attain a good writing style.

A good writing style no longer requires the "right" chain of words; you know, the words that feel right, the ones that you think sound good together. A good writing style requires the right words; the words that mean what they mean, the ones that are technically right. For this writing style, there is a right and a wrong because it is answering a real question and not just a reading prompt. It is straightforward question, and it requires a straightforward answer. As I continue writing in 20.109, I hope I can still have a voice in my writing, yet gain the professionalism of a true engineering student.