Bharti Kakkar, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2023: This writing course helped me develop critical analytical skills and enabled me to reflect on my personal research questions with an overarching inquiry. I felt better acquainted with my academic interests and this course helped me narrow down my academic goals as much as core engineering courses did.
Begum Ferdous, Computer Science, 2022: This writing course has helped me think critically about certain concepts and articulate my findings in an eloquent manner. My writing style has significantly improved after taking this course. My ability to turn complex statements and ideas into concise sentences improved, which helped reduce the length of my essays and other writing pieces.
Andreína Vivas Thomas, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Class 2017: The name might trick you into thinking that in this course you will try to string words together to fulfill a dull requirement. Don’t be fooled, however. Writing The Essay will open your eyes, leverage your innate curiosity and blend your personal experiences with existing literature to awaken your dormant appreciation for any kind of craft: definitely writing, naturally visual media, and luckily so much more.
Course-specific comments:
Uma Dhamija, Integrated Design & Media, Class of 2021: I found this course to be helpful not just in regards to becoming a better writer, but also a better thinker. Learning to acknowledge real-world problems and properly address them was helpful in more than one way. I was able to write more effectively. I began to consider how my work was impacting the world - if I was doing something for the sake of an assignment, or if it was for something more.
Rachel O'Keefe, Computer Science, 2022: In engineering, it can feel that writing is unimportant; however, writing is an essential skill because it allows us to effectively articulate our ideas. EXPOS-2 challenged my ability to express my interests and research questions in an interesting, creative, and effective way.
Aaron Hsieh, Computer Science, 2023: Although general writing classes have a lot of transferable skills, the lessons I learned from AWE: Research felt more applicable to my engineering studies. Additionally, learning how to thoroughly read scientific articles/papers has enabled me to better understand current advances in research fields I'm interested in.