To Any and All Prospective Students,

English 2100 is a strenuous course that takes a lot of dedication and perseverance. It is not an

easy course, but it is worth it.

There were many of the General Education Learning Outcomes and English Threshold Concepts

used throughout this course. I will start with the Learning outcomes. The first outcome that I

used was “Students Communicate Effectively”. Technical Writing is different than any other

writing course that I have taken, and it included a lot of effective communication in the

professional world. I have noticed significant improvement in my ability to communicate since

taking this course. I also developed quantitative literacies necessary for my field of study. In

studying deeper into, and writing more about the mortuary science field, I developed a deeper

understanding and instilled the fact that I want to pursue a career in this field. I also further

exercised skills in thinking critically and creatively. The design project was a perfect example of

how to do both.

Of course, there were several English Threshold Concepts that were used as well. The most

obvious is writing. This was the core of the course for almost every assignment. With writing,

there was the concept of action, for we were constantly following up and staying on top of our

writing projects. Another one of the threshold concepts that stood out to me the most was

engagement. There is so much involved in this course with engagement. Everything is directed at

a target audience, research involves with engaging with others, and there are also peer reviews to

communicate and engage with others in the class.

I always considered myself a decent writer but taking the technical writing course opened an

entirely different threshold of writing that I didn’t even know I needed. At the same time of

starting this course, I started a new position at work. In searching for the “why” of why this

course would help me, I knew that it could better prepare me for communication in my new

position. And help, it did. I saw my emails improving throughout this course, and when it came

down to write an appeal letter to my higher ups, I knew the exact steps to take to keep it

professional in tone as well as appearance. Practicing the different aspects and formats of

technical writing, as well as constantly receiving feedback from my peers and professor were

huge components in my success in this class.

I will be honest. At the beginning of this class I was so lost. I honestly felt like every single

concept was going over my head and I was so behind because I couldn’t grasp anything. Andrea,

the professor, is amazing in this aspect. She offered so many times to help me, but I felt so

incompetent that I didn’t even know where to start. I really feared that I would fail this class just

for lack of understanding. But with her support I was able to grasp the concepts, and by the end

of the course I was really enjoying the assignments. However, there are skills that I am still

developing, like focusing on a target audience.

To piggyback from my previous paragraph, I would say that my best work in this class was my

writing project. I got to immerse myself in the field that I want to make a career out of and

writing about it was a thrill. It was so fun to do, and I hope that it will help other students

prospectively looking into the Mortuary Science/Funeral Directing field.

The writing project also helped me grasp different connections to the world outside of the

classroom. I got to go to a funeral home and talk to the funeral director for hours. I got a tour and
I got to hear the realities of the field unfiltered. I don’t know if I would have had a structure for

achieving that if it had not been for the writing project. My action in the community has

absolutely been influenced because now I feel even more deeply about this field, and I want to

bring others to light who would like to understand more about it.

This course was different than any other class that I have taken at Salt Lake Community College,

but it was interesting because at the same time I was taking a Math 1030 class that did involve a

few writing assignments and essays directed to the professor. I was able to utilize the skills from

this class to make sure that my assignments had substance and professionalism that need to be

reflected at this level of schooling. It also helped my deeper and critical thinking skills for

participation in this class.

So, whether you take this class is of course, up to you. But I highly recommend it. I have no

regrets about my decision to take this course, and I don’t think you will either.

Sincerely,

Natalie Sheppard