Brien Spencer ENC 3250 Professional Writing Midterm Reflection

2.  What I learned so far in professional writing:
Get to the point.
Never drag out.
Only include relevant information.
Never mention details that the reader
already knows.
Use the functional outline to plan out your
response.
Always remember the 5C’s to hit every
element of the paper.
Way different than regular composition
based writing.

3.  Start with the news paragraph:
State what your talking about right off the
back in one sentence.  Get to the point.
I learned this in the first writing analysis
assignment. It was easy to just refer to the
request and tell my purpose for writing.
It is also pretty unique because I never
knew a paragraph(let alone the
introduction) can be one sentence.

4.  Next is the details paragraph:
I learned to provide details but vital details
to help get my point across.  Relevant
information; Never drag out.
In the complaint letter assignment, I
explained my experience in a dispute with
Walmart.
I only used information pertaining to my
dispute with Walmart instead of adding
excess information such as the rain outside.

5.  Finally the closing paragraph:
Two ways to handle this: What I want the
reader to do or a honesty statement.
I personally always chose to make the
reader do something.
I finally nailed this concept in the WA2,
where I recommended three books for first-
year college students.
By being polite I suggested the reader
choose these three books as they had a
vivid impact on a college student’s career.

6.  Clear: I learned its very simple to just state
what your talking about; its even easier to
relate it back to the topic.
 Concise: I learned by getting to the point, it is
faster to keep it simple and not think too
much; there is really no need for excess
information.  KISS: keep it short and
simple.
 Complete: I learned to have all parts
completed; just like grade school, with a
introduction, body, and conclusion, in
professional writing it’s a news paragraph, a
details paragraph(s), and a closing
paragraph.

7.  Correct: I learned its easy to use spell check
to correct grammar, fragments, and word
usage.
Example: “Their,” should probably be
“There.”
 Courteous: I learned to always be polite in
any response to anyone and never come
across mean.
Never be bias and always be neutral.
Example: “Hello guys,” should be “Hello
everyone.”

8.  I learned the audience’s needs are very
important, that is why a purpose must be
clear.
 Outlining is like a road map from point A to
point Z, moving carefully between each point
so I do not lose my way.
I learned this well provided the functional
outline.
 I now proofread and revise everything I write
to make sure it all makes sense.

9.  The Internet provides different access to
different forms of writing including blogs,
forums, emails, text messages, memos, or
letters.
 Each form requires a different set of rules.
For example, by doing the complaint letter,
a letter is not an letter without a name, title,
mailing address, and phone number
among other things, while you would not
mention these things in a text message.

10.  I learned how to be more mature with my
writing.
 This chapter made me realize to rethink the
things I say before I write them down.
For example, a weak statement like
“Walmart decided to stay open for 24 hours
after Christmas Day,” could be revised.
A stronger statement would be “Walmart
will be open 24 hours the day after
Christmas.”

11.  I learned how to be more concrete and use
power adjectives to describe the five senses
such as “I hate my job due to long hours
from night until morning. And my boss is the
biggest jerk because all he cares about is
getting the job done instead of my needs for
a break.”
 Also I should never be bias in my writing
such as saying “his” or “her”, I should use
“their.”
 Also avoid vague words like “good” and have
a better word choice like “spectacular.”

12.  Designs and visuals can enhance my writing
but I learned to use them carefully.
 Designs and layouts should be clear and
organized such as a standard header and
footer.
 Visuals like bar graphs, line graphs, pie
graphs, and picture graphs have a specific
purpose.
For example, line graphs should be used
to show a trends over a period of time.

13.  Everything I learned has much significance
to me as it helps me grow as a writer.
 Personally I find it much easier and faster to
get my work done than regular writing I have
been doing since preschool.
 Furthermore, something new is added each
week but it really is not that complicated to
achieve.
 This class is more responsive then wordy.

14.  As an accounting major, my information
needs to get to other departments quick and
in a hurry to plan the company’s next big
move, so this stuff is very helpful to me.
 And since it is short, quick, and to the point it
makes me feel more secure because I just
need to tell anyone what they need to know
instead of beating around the bush.
 After the statement is done, I can move on
about my day.

15.  Part of my future, I plan on being a manger
one day and as a manager I have to
communicate with others.
 Theses skills helps me because I can tell
them exactly what needs to be done.
 Also these help me prepare for my internship
this summer because one the requirements
is communicate among others through
computer writing.