The final chapter: what ENGL 201 has taught me.

I learned that technical writing might be a different genre, but it applies the same principles of writing: proofreading, editing, rewriting, summarizing and close reading. What fascinated me about the course was the time and effort required to produce a well thought of document. I took this for granted until I saw essay #1 how the language, color contrast, fonts and quality of the material could either elevate a company's product or completely destroy it. I never thought of technical writing as a profession until I became entrenched in creating documents for the class. My most difficult time was creating the flyer for Bridgewate State University. The alignment of information with graphics became an exercise in futility. I remember being so frustrated that I threw all my drafts across the living room; ten pieces of paper scattered on the floor. Then I stopped caring about the entire thing which led to a crummy document. I didn't know enough about the features I could have used and I lost focus on my audience and my purpose for the assignment. I keep hearing the word "Audience" in my dreams. Isn't that sad? Seriously, I must have heard this word a million times. It became a part of me like breathing. The minute I sat down to do an assignment I heard myself  asking out loud, "Who is the audience?" Finally, the best part of the semester was being a part of an eclectic group of personalities in an intense five week summer course. No one prepared me for it and it was a culture shock. The jokes, silly banter and lighhearted humor kept me from going stir crazy. Thank you all