Pulling It All Together

This semester, we covered diverse topics from punctuation and formatting to team building and getting a job. You learned how to produce letters, memos, and e-mail. What were your favorite topics? How have your skills and thinking changed? In short, what did you learn and how are you using it?

Comments

  1. Andrea Mackert says

    I was exposed to an entirely new format of writing, whereas I only knew of academic writing. I have learned how to express ideas and thoughts professionally and attract employers to me. I especially enjoyed formatting, since I had never paid attention to it before. I still tend to struggle with it, but now I have a more firm idea of what a professional paper needs to look like if it wants to even be considered.

  2. Nitavian Sims says

    My favorite things I feel will help me going into the business world are the memos and resume. I learned how to format and what to put in them depending on what the discussion may be. I am applying the direct style in emails as well. Instead of beating around the bush, I get straight to the point and take care of business. My skills and thinking have changed from little lessons. I notice when I email a professor concerning an assignment, My approach is different than it once was. I think the thing I will most likely look to improve and continue to grow on is building my resume. This should help me with future job endeavors. Usually in writing classes I don’t feel like I really pick up anything new, but in this class I can honestly say that I have learned somethings out of it.

  3. Austin Kolesiak says

    I have learned many things that I have heard about in the past, but have never done previously. The topic. or rather the assignment I liked most was the writing interview. I was not only able to conduct an interview with someone in the field I’m interested in and learn more about, but was able to create a paper in which presented the facts of the interview discussion in a professional writing format. I have learned that I tend to be wordy in my writing that often is unnecessary and that I need to become more direct in many instances. The documents like memos are new to me, so it was interesting in seeing how to create one that is used in the professional world. I still have much that needs improving, but this course definitely improved many aspects in my writing that I will continue to use throughout my writing in the future.

  4. By the end of the semester, I was more confident about my writing skills. We learned a lot of diverse topics but my favorite one had to be the assignment of the writing interview. It gave me a great opportunity to look more into my future career and compare so many different elements of writing –emails, memos, letters, etc. I also loved learning about how to properly write letters. I learned that a colon needs to be used instead of a comma after the salutation. I learned elements of a letterhead and how each section of the letter needs to be arranged.

    In addition, I also think my writing skills changed greatly. As I mentioned before, I used to write super lengthy but through this class, I learned more about concise writing and how it’s more efficient to get straight to the point. When I did the first post for the class, I remember I wrote so much and included way too many redundant information. Now reflecting back and looking at the last few posts I can tell they are much more concise. This is something I learned in this class that I will be applying to other classes.

  5. Hope Johnson says

    I have learned so much in this course. I have many new writing tools that make it easier to compose. Not understanding the proper use and purpose of punctuation made me feel stuck in a very basic style of writing. In addition, a lot of my writing was a bit wordy. I really enjoyed the chapters on punctuation, tone and being more concise. My professional and academic writing has greatly improved and I am much more confident because of it. There has been such a change in my writing that my other professors are noticing.

  6. Mia Yoshikane says

    This class has taught me how to properly write a letter and memo. My favorite part of this class was learning the several types of letters and how to properly reply to an acceptance and denial letter. I feel more confident when I write and I do not automatically give up. I finally have went through the motions of several different types of writing processes that I can refer back to in the future. Another great skill I have learned is the APA formatting. I have never wrote an APA style paper until I have joined this class, and I am relieved that I finally can complete on confidently.

  7. mya garrett says

    My favorite portion of the class was going over formatting and how to conduct and email depending on the recipient. This class has served as the perfect reference for the future. I plan to apply everything that i have learned in this class, as it all has been essential information. I enjoyed the overall focus on professional writing; ranging from cover letters to emailing staff an coworkers. i liked that the assignments were from so many different points of views.

  8. Stacy Buckley says

    I have always felt at ease in the world of writing. Grammar and punctuation came easily, as did sentence structure. Numerous times I have been told I have a way with words.

    That being said, this class was a great refresher for the foundations of English. Being able to review topics last visited in high school (many moons ago for me!) was helpful, as it opened my eyes to how some things have changed.

    I enjoyed the module regarding feedback. It checked me with how I handle other people at work. I feel I am able to answer questions and concerns in a more efficient way.

  9. Megan Morales says

    My favorite topics that we covered in class this semester were all the ones about leadership and giving positive and constructive feedback. To me, these were the most invaluable topics to read about because I can apply them every day at work and in my future job as a teacher as well. Reading about these has certainly changed my perspective at work. I feel like I can better relate and communicate with my coworkers now. However, I know I still have a lot to learn as leadership can always be improved on. I already learned that outside of class in being a manager. I mainly still want to work on my feedback skills so that I can be the best leader I can be.

  10. Connor Bennett says

    This class has been a wonderful edition to my course plan and I am thankful that I have taken it. Upon entering the class I felt that I was an inept writer, but this class really allowed me to see what a writer I could be. In my opinion, I think that every student at Indiana University should enroll in this class. It teaches the basics of professional writing and the skills needed to be a proficient communicator in the world outside out of higher education. However, these skills are also very useful through one’s college experience. Personally, I really enjoyed learning how to format a résumé and how to create and format cover letters. I think because of this class I have an upper-hand when it comes to professional communication and writing. Professor Young was really proactive in making sure she comments and coaches her students along the way. Now I feel more confident about my writing skills and in addition to my verbal communication skills. I am definitely keeping the books assigned in this class because I think their usefulness goes beyond the class setting.

  11. Ursula Williams says

    Although this is a professional writing course, I learned more personally about myself than I expected. It is my belief that my writing skills now correlate with my professional and personal values. I am now speaking in my own voice, together with the knowledge that less is better. Thank you Professor Young — you are an awesome educator!

  12. Miriam Ramirez says

    The steps on how to get a job were valuable to me. I understood that a great resume and cover letter was a great start, Other great tools I learned was how to properly write a letter and emails. This is especially important in this day and age where we communicate online. It is important to be formal and present myself in a professional matter to be taken serious. I’ve learned many valuable skills this semester that I’m currently using in my job search!

  13. Madalyn Maatman says

    Throughout the semester, I learned so many new things. Most of the grammar and punctuation things we covered I already learned in high school, however it was good to freshen up on it. I really enjoyed learning how to format specific documents. I have never had to make things such as a cover letter and a resume, so that was really interesting to me. I never knew how to properly format anything like a thank you letter or a denial letter, so that was interesting to me, as well. I will definitely use all of the things I learned in the future as I search for a job and become a teacher. I never knew what the correct salutation was, the correct punctuation for greetings, and more. I will applying all those things in my future business letters.

    My skills have changed in a few ways. I now find myself being more aware of my punctuation and making sure that is correct. I also find myself thinking more about how I was to present my sentences. For example, I always think about writing sentences in either a passive or active voice. I am more aware of every aspect of my writing and want it to be the best and most professional it can be every time.

    I will continue to work on how I word my letters. I found that to be the most challenging as I went through this class all semester. I now know how to format my letters correctly, but sometimes I am not exactly sure what to say. I know that I need to sound very professional and I have an idea of what I need to put into my letter, but I do not always know how to word it in a way that is proficient. I will continue working on getting my words together in a way that makes sense and flows well.

  14. Jason Roland says

    I’ve learned a lot of new things throughout this course and I applying them to my writing. A couple that I feel like I always use is using simple language and removing redundancy and outdated expressions. Yes, I do feel like my skills has changed for the better. My thinking has also changed for the better. I say this because I feel way more confident when doing writing assignments now. I apply the principles that I’ve learned in this course and it makes everything easier. I would say my current growing edge is having a flow throughout the whole paper. I’ve always kind of struggled with having a nice flow and having good transitions in my papers.But I can honestly say I’ve been getting better especially with this class.

  15. Audrey DeYoung says

    I have learned an immense amount of information in this class. I had learned a lot throughout school, but was not very confident in my writing. I have not been very good with grammar throughout my years, but now I feel as though I have gotten much better. I loved learning about APA because it has been something that I have struggled with. I appreciate how clear and concise the textbook is and I will refer back to it in my career. I learned things in this class that I feel are essential to becoming any kind of professional. I also loved learning about writing e-mails because I often email my professors and I knew that I had not been formatting them professionally. I will continue to get better at writing in the future thanks to this course.

    Best wishes,
    Audrey DeYoung

  16. Mister Houston says

    In the beginning I did not think much of this class. I thought it would just be a lot of writing and that would be it. I soon realized how wrong I was. Some of he topics we went over were things that I learned from elementary through high school, but it was still good to get a refresher on them. Other topics were some I had forgotten all about as well some I was never taught such as the usage of semicolons. The different type of business letters such as the denial and thank you letters were very helpful and after reading the sections on them and searching them on the web, I now see the importance of them. I look forward to using those in the future.

  17. Annika Alleva says

    This class has been so beneficial for me. Before this class, I never realized all the mistakes I was making in my writing. I feel a lot more confident in my abilities and using the correct formatting and grammar. My favorite part of this class was everything related to getting a job. It is something that I will need to use to get the first job in my career field, and possibly a few jobs a long the way. Having the knowledge to create a great resume, cover letter, or email feels good. I am not a perfect writer by any means, but I have come a long way since the start of the semester. I believe everyone should take this class; it offers something for everyone!

    All the best,
    Annika Alleva

  18. Nicholas Rennie says

    This class helped me learn about what to expect in the workplace in terms of formatting workplace documents, learning when to use the appropriate document, and what to expect during a job hunt and interview process. What I have learned will be so valuable it is hard to put into words. My favorite topics were the job interview discussions and the formatting of workplace documents. I will change my formatting to the format outlined in the textbook. I will take these lessons everywhere I end up working in the future.
    Best wishes,
    Nick

  19. Leo Del Valle says

    One of my favorite topics was making my resume. This was one of my favorites because it helped me build my resume in the correct way for future job opportunities. My other favorite topic that we did was the discussion of “What Kind of Leader Are You?” I liked this because I found out more about myself. I learned more of who I was as a person.
    This class, this professor, made me so much more knowledgeable with life. I learned what to do if you respectfully resign, if you get rejected in a job offer, and if you accept a job offer etc. It made me realize about my future job that I want and it brought me many steps closer to that.
    Thank you.

    Best regards,

    Leonardo Del Valle

  20. Anthony Taylor says

    It is amazing how time flies! Here we are at the end of the semester when it seemed like yesterday we were introducing ourselves on-line. The “pulling it all together” phrase was appropriate manner to entitle the end of the semester. While we learned something new on a week to week basis we’re given the opportunity this week to put in writing just haw far we’ve come from week one to now.
    I said in my last discussion post that the chapter I gained the most from was “The Mechanics of Writing”, specifically punctuation and its proper usage. Another important principle learned was the “less is more” principle. So on that note continued success to all students and continued success to you, professor Young!

    Best regards,
    Tony

  21. Kaylie Kissane says

    This class has taught me to be more concise and more importantly confident. Confidence is something I always lacked in my writings. Editing is so important and I learned dong it more then once is more important. There were many times I caught grammar and punctuation errors on the second or third go around. Professor Young was very clear on or larger assignments to do this, and I now understand why. APA formatting was by far the most challenging for me, but probably the most important. I have been out of college for a few years, and this section will be so important in finishing my degree. I had used this format in the past, but it got lost. It was very helpful to have an engaged class, that used criticism to help everyone out. I will continue to work on my editing skills and refer to the text books for all the different punctuation rules we learned in the semester.

  22. Rachelle Manns says

    This class helped me feel more confident in what I writing because of the skills I gained and were able to strengthen. Being that I want to go into a professional field where professional writing is necessary, it was important that I learned these skills. I write e-mails to professors constantly and occasionally other students when we are working together. I’ve gained better ways to acknowledge them in e-mails, rather than addressing them all the same way. The semester has really taught me to be more professional in writing, how to do that in a simpler manner as well as doing it correctly.

  23. Robert Swanson says

    The class is instrumental to becoming a more competent writer. After learning, or re-learning the correct ways to structure sentences, we composed professionally formatted written communication. These exercises, coupled with the knowledge that I learned from my classmates in the discussions, have propelled my growth as a writer. I also enjoyed the professional communication methods that we discussed. Professor Young has challenged me to be the best I can be, and it started with becoming a more proficient editor. I would recommend this class to anyone who thinks they have professional writing conquered: it will change your mind.

  24. Haley McGinley says

    Going into this course, I did not know what to expect. All I knew was that I was not the best writer and I was not confident at all. These two thoughts are completely changed now. Not that I am the perfect writer, no one is. My confidence is higher, and it shows in my writing. I learned how to effectively email professors and employers and sound professional. I also learned how to format business emails and a resume. For resumes, I used to use a template because it was easy. Now I know how to create one with the correct format without a template. One thing that I will continue to be a better writer is to edit my writing a little bit at a time and often. I usually sit and write my thoughts as fast and as much as possible. Now I will edit a little every day to improve my writing in all aspects.

  25. Caitlin Brady says

    This semester made me feel more confident about talking to people in the professional world. I was unaware that there were proper salutations and greetings so I was just writing them on what I thought was right. Even emailing people now I am implementing what I learned and making sure that I am sounding professional with the words I choose and greeting people correctly. Knowing how to properly format my resume and cover letter was a big one because I never really knew how to make them. In high school I was never taught how to make either one, now I am sending resumes to employers feeling confident because I set it up right. This class will have a big impact on how I communicate with people when I get into my career.

  26. Amber N. Bolin says

    There is still a lot that I need to work on. I have realized its easier to write a draft to get all your ideas down, walk away, and then come back to edit the next day. But editing shouldn’t be a one-time thing. It should be done at least twice. I think my favorite topic was learning how to write the letters and memos. I’ve seen them written before but never really fully understood the format. I’m glad I had the class to know the difference between writing a memo and writing a rejection letter. I definitely have a long way to go but, at the very least, I know where I need to improve and where to look if I need help.

  27. Asaad Bryant says

    This semester was really interesting all together. I do not think I did the best I could do, but given certain circumstances, I did not do horrible. It was more of a trial process for me. Mainly to see if I could take classes and handle all of the obstacles life was throwing my way. This class was no different. Having to juggle multiple avenues in life, makes people more superior in my opinion. Being able to multi task is very important and this semester was huge on that aspect. As far as the class goes, I do think it had a huge impact on my outlook on my future. Being able to create my own scenarios was pretty interesting, as well as help with my resume and cover letters. I look forward to using the skills I’ve learned in future opportunities.

  28. Alyssa Lancaster says

    Throughout college I have struggled to finish all my assignments and achieve good grades. Having epilepsy has been a real burden, and I do try my best. Even though that is the case, I will say, I have enjoyed this class. I have also enjoyed learning all the material. I feel like I have a better knowledge of how I write letters, memos, resumes, emails, etc. I will use what I have learned to better my future career. Writing professionally has already come in to place. I had to write a letter to the financial aid department, and I applied for a new job using my resume I created this semester. I will continue to use this material as I finish my degree.

  29. Alyssa Rosales says

    I have learned so much from this class. I feel every student would benefit from this class. I not only gained confidence within my own writing, but I feel like I also improved my grammar and formatting skills. I loved learning about the theories behind communication. I feel that it was so important to focus on the human interaction, as well as working with technology. I still have a few years of school ahead of me, so learning APA now was a huge help. Prior to this I only knew MLA and go figure my (hopefully) chosen profession only uses APA.

  30. Melissa Gondek says

    I learned things that will greatly help me through out my career. I realized now that my format was incorrect sometimes when responding to emails a work. I really struggled with my writing and I feel that it has improved through this semester. On more then one occasion I have referenced my books for this class to help me with my writing in other classes. My favorite part of this class was going over grammar rules. I still feel that I struggle a little but am much more comfortable then I was before this class. There were many useful topics covered in this semester and I really enjoyed this class and found it to be very beneficial.

  31. Kiefer Kersey says

    I have become more confident in my writing because of all the work we have done in this course. I learned so many new rules that I haven’t learned before in all my schooling. As of today, I feel that I can communicate with my other professionals in a manner that is correct. Also, I learned that writing is not something you learn in a day but you learn throughout a life time and will always grow. My favorite topic that we learned about was the process of obtaining a job. I learned so many things that will help me when I am searching for a career like writing a resume, answering interview questions, writing a follow-up letter, and writing a letter for whatever decision I make for the job.

  32. Lauren Bunchek says

    I feel more confident in my writing because of this class. In the beginning, I struggled with seemingly easy concepts like punctuation and grammar. Now, I feel like I can effectively communicate with others in a professional environment. My favorite topic that we learned was how to write e-mails. As a student, I have to write e-mails to professors and peers all the time. Being able to properly format my e-mails shows professionalism that I once lacked. I will use the techniques that we learned in this class in all of my writing and verbal communication from here on out.