Final Reflection

Ruby Leal-Sanchez
Eng3308
April 24, 2008

Final Reflection
This class was very useful to incorporate the techniques into my place of employment. The type of work I do requires a lot of communication not only through email but memos as well. Before taking this class I did not know how to create a proper memo much less an adjustment letter. One thing the memo letter helped me in was being able to send brief memos to my co-workers and get the message across without having them come back with questions like before.
The goal of analyzing and applying ethical responsibilities was also helpful to my job being that I deal with low-income families and diverse cultures. So this class has helped me understand and better improve my communication with these families. So this also helps in the goal of communicating effectively with diverse audiences as mentioned above that is the majority of our clients. I have also developed useful documents to be used within the agency.
In creating each item for the portfolio it seemed harder as the semester progressed. Because I had never done any of the items required it was hard to start from scratch. It may heave been better if I already used these tools. My weaknesses are not being able to say what is on my mind, I hold back a lot, my greatest strength is that I love working with people and meeting new people so that helps me communicate better, which I think I was able to do in this class to an extent.
The easiest assignment and the one I am most proud of is my resume. That really shows my hard work throughout the years as well as my accomplishments. The most difficult assignment and the one I am least proud of is my proposal because I feel we were cheated out of participation. We did participate but others went behind and changed what had been said and that was unfair. I think more time could have been spent on it and maybe more interaction between the group. This was difficult as well as challenging. The most challenging assignment and the one I learned the most from was the adjustment letter because again I had never written one of those and may very well be helpful in the future if the time arises. It was challenging because I was unsure of what words could be placed on the letter.
I feel this class was extremely hard, not the material but my health was not good and that made it hard for me to keep up. I really did feel like I was always behind, even though I turned in everything. I think my writing and communication skills have improved tremendously since I began this class. I again feel that my biggest accomplishment in the portfolio is my resume and cover letter. The resume stated my accomplishments and hard work and my cover letter showed what I wanted.
At this point in my writing experience I am able to send better memos, e-mails, and am able to document required information for the clients in a more professional aspect. The documentation is in short complete sentences, to the point, and states what is needed without a lot of jargon.
I will walk away from this class with the knowledge of how to use communication skills better, and also how people are treated. I have never been in a situation like the one here with the proposal. I felt cheated and like my work was useless and a waste of time. I worked really hard and then for that information not even to be used was very unfair. But I did learn and probably have always known that some people are immature. And I really do think that is what happened here. I know that I tried my best and gave my all and if it was not used that was beyond my control and after speaking with the instructor that is all I could do.
The tools and items I have learned in this class will help me in the short-term and long-term. Because in my field whether I stay with this company or not I will always work with people where communication skills are necessary to conduct professionalism. And with the way technology is moving so rapidly we have stay focused on communication skills that update daily through the internet or classes. I thank you for this opportunity to attend your class, I truly feel you are an excellent instructor and very much liked your way of teaching.