Self Assessment 

Hello! My name is Selma Ozdemir, and this is my portfolio for the Writing for Engineering course, completed during the Spring 2025 semester. In this portfolio, I highlighted my writing development as a writer throughout the course. I explained the steps I took in my writing process, starting with brainstorming, then revising, and finally finalizing my work. This course taught me how to write in a professional manner. I’m confident that the skills I have gained will be valuable in my future career as an engineer. 

The assignments I would talk about are:

1- Letter of Introduction

2- Memorandum

3- Technical Description

4- Lab Report Analysis

5- Proposal

6- Presentation

Each assignment in this portfolio includes the draft, final version, and a reflection to show my writing process and progress. These pieces highlight how I developed my ideas, responded to the feedback of my professor, and improved both the structure and clarity of my writing over time. Taking this course helped me become more aware of the importance of organization and clarity, which improved the structure of my papers. I learned the importance of going through multiple drafts until I had the right version. Each time I revised an assignment I could clearly see the progress I was making. An example of this is my technical description. When I first wrote the paper, I thought it was well done, but after receiving feedback from my professor, I was able to see the areas that needed to change. I realized that I needed to be more specific with my the components of a record player. 

My first draft did not separate the internal and external components, so when I started working on my revision, I focused on organizing the content to make it easier to follow.

In this image, my external components are shown clearly, along with the additional “case” components that I included to improve accuracy.

Throughout this class, I also learned how to adjust my writing based on the audience, format, and the purpose of it. For example, when writing the memorandum, my purpose was to persuade the college president to change the library entrance policy, so I had to keep my message formal and direct. I argued that the extra ID check at the CCNY library was unnecessary and should be removed. I had to present my point clearly and support it with comparisons to other CUNY schools, while keeping a professional tone. Writing this memo taught me how to take a stance on an issue, back up with evidence, and communicate my message in a persuasive way. I had to stay objective by sticking to the point, supporting my argument with evidence, and offering a recommendation.

Here it can be seen that I revised the paragraph to use active voice for greater clarity. I have also clarified the sentence about access to study spaces. These changes helped me improve the flow and support my argument more clearly.

I have interacted with other students in this class, especially during the proposal group project. Working on this assignment required clear communication and effective division of tasks. We reviewed each other’s sections and supported each other with feedback and ideas to make sure the final proposal was cohesive and well organized. This project helped me improve both my writing and collaboration skills.

In this class, I had the chance to evaluate different types of technical writing formats, such as memos, technical descriptions, and proposals. Each of these assignments has its own unique structure and purpose. I also worked on a digital format, CUNY Commons for my portfolio, where I had to think about my layout, visuals, and how to present my work. Putting together both written and visual elements taught me to be flexible with my writing and how to explain my ideas in different formats.

For my lab report analysis, I used the CCNY library database to find credible and peer-reviewed sources. To conduct my research I searched databases from Academic Search Complete, General File Full Text, GreenFILE, Applied Science & Technology Source, Readers’ Guide Full Text Mega, and Urban Studies Abstract. Using this database from the CCNY library allowed me to locate reliable sources efficiently. I made sure to select reports that included sections for introduction, methods, results, and discussion. At the end, I found two lab reports that relate to the psychological effects of the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake.

I have written multiple assignments in this class where I had to use outside sources, such as the lab report analysis, letter of introduction, and proposal. In the lab report analysis, I picked two different articles from the CCNY library database to compare how each study approached the psychological effects following an earthquake. In the technical description, I had to use several different resources to clearly explain how a record player functions. Lastly, for the proposal, we used a variety of sources to support our research with background information. Each group member contributed by gathering reliable sources, which we then used to explain the purpose and design of our experiment. For these assignments, I have used in-text citations in APA format and created a full bibliography at the end to properly credit the sources.

In this image, you can see my bibliography for my technical description.

Throughout these assignments, I became more thoughtful about which information to use and what to leave out. I focused on selecting details that directly supported my argument. To introduce outside sources, I used phrases like “According to” or “The report highlights” to show when referencing someone else’s ideas in my writing.

In this image, I referenced our textbook for this class using an in-text citation to support the purpose of the methods section. This helped me explain the structure of the study.

Overall, this course has helped me grow as a writer. Through each assignment, I learned how to adapt my tone, structure, and evidence to suit different types of writing. I now understand the importance of drafting, revising, and reflecting on my work to have a strong writing. I am proud of the progress I have made in this class, and I am confident that the skills I have gained will benefit me in both my academic work and professional career.