Julianne Davidow
By Ahnaf Abid
Categories
Categories
Technial Innovation
THE MIRACLE “LIFE” TABLET:
ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL
Introduction
The human population has grown exponentially over the past century, ever since the industrial revolution and the two world wars. The rise of new technology and appreciation for life has increased lifespan and brought on billions of people onto this planet. The world has never seen this level of poverty reduced and the amount of resources available to the average citizen. However, the population is only growing as “The world population is projected to reach 8.5 billion in 2030, and to increase further to 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion by 2100” (U.N, 2022). Even with the access to resources being higher, there is an ever-growing population, and with this, the gap between the poor and the wealthy will only increase. Today, in 2023, there is a severe shortage of food and medical resources for billions across the eastern and western hemispheres. It is quite a sad sight to see the high obesity rates in countries like America, whilst there are children in Africa making food out of mud.
As the climate increasingly gets more erratic and the world population grows, food/water/ and medicine will be an ever-growing problem. Due to this, I propose that a pill, which can be taken once a day is mass-produced and primarily given to people in needy countries first. This small pill will be very concentrated, able to provide nutrients that come from food for an entire day, along with immune-boosting particles that will keep the body healthy and fight off diseases/viruses. With this innovation, world hunger and sickness will almost be gone overnight. This innovation could truly end up being a “miracle” for the world.
Why Life Tablets?
First of all, it is agreeable that everyone wants to live a happy life without having to worry about the essentials and surviving. Food and medicine are such precious commodities in this world and they will be even more scarce in the future. People will have to only take one pill a day and only have to worry about drinking water. Food and medicine will no longer be required as the pill will do the job. This will eliminate the countless pharmaceutical industries, drug industries, and most importantly the mass agricultural industry. In fact, “Agricultural production is a major use of land, accounting for over half of the U.S. land base. The 2012 U.S. land area amounted to nearly 2.3 billion acres, with nearly 1.2 billion acres in agricultural use” (USDA, 2012). With this more space for wildlife, people and other facilities will be opened up. In addition, a large carbon footprint from livestock will be largely removed due to the lack of dependency on animal consumption.
Furthermore, lifespans will greatly increase due to this miracle drug, as its regular use will strengthen the immune system and reduce disease and illness greatly. This will be most effective in nations in which people aren’t as wealthy and have access to medical facilities. In addition, while this pill won’t be able to help the water shortages directly, but instead it will open up more space that agriculture took to produce freshwater ponds and facilities, especially for the driest places and poor areas where clean, drinking water is a necessity. These tablets could possibly be the future of a more sustainable world and thriving human civilization.
Technical Description
For the miracle life tablet to become a possible reality, it will take a lot of cooperation between cooperations and world governments. We will need the top pharmaceutical companies to ally with the governments in a united effort to produce these pills; now, this isn’t far-fetched as just recently the governments and pharmaceutical companies worked together to produce a vaccine for Covid-19 in two years, a record that is still astonishing all things construed. We managed to single-handedly wipe out a global pandemic in just two years. Billions of dollars of funding will be needed, an investment well worth making, for this to happen. The top chemists, physicists, and biologists will need to work on this pill using nanotechnology, AI, and 3d Printing to materialize such an invention into existence. While the developmental process will be pricy and take one to two decades to produce, once tested and ready for mass production there will be no significant cost-related issues. The pill overall will be no larger than 2 inches by .5 centimeters and contain the daily amount of vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids needed for a single adult daily. However, exceptions will be for kids, as smaller tablets will be produced for them. In addition, slightly larger tablets will be produced for people exceeding a certain weight limit as well as athletes and bodybuilders. In addition, the pills will be fully utilized and flushed out of the body every 24 hours.
Potential density of tablets, nanotechnology aided
Comparing with other Vitamins/Supplements
To compare this innovation with the various vitamin and supplement pills that exist today, there would be similarities and differences. Vitamin and supplement pills have been used for over a century, as “ The first vitamin pill to obtain the approval…was…a sugar-coated tablet of vitamin A and D made from cod-liver oil using a process developed…in the early 1920s” (SHI, 2012). Since then, many other vitamins, minerals, amino acids, oils, and supplements to enhance people’s health and lives have been utilized.
Eventually, the first all-in-one multivitamins “ were invented in 1943” (SF, 2018), commercializing the regular use of daily vitamins and one of the many factors in the increasing life expectancy post WW2. However, all those vitamins certainly can help to a healthier and longer life, but they don’t have the nutrients to sustain a human. The miracle tablets can ensure that one tablet a day keeps you alive and going in your normal life, in addition to having many particles that also keep your immune system in check and flush out viruses and illnesses to a strong degree.
It also helps to add that currently in terms of vitamin sales, “ North America and the Asia Pacific together make nearly 65% of the total sales of dietary supplements in the world. The US is the leading country in terms of sales in the global dietary supplements market followed by China and Germany” (BusinessWire, 2020). This means that many of the poorer 3rd-world countries are not getting access to many of the vitamins and minerals; this is especially troubling that these are the same countries that suffer from food and water shortages, and so the miracle tablet’s priority would be the poorer countries most in need of this innovation.
Conclusion and Resources
In terms of resources, this product will not be cheap; however, if it is developed it will be worth more than any dollar amount could ever be. The projections currently range anywhere from billions to possibly trillions of dollars; however, this could be reduced if the money is spent properly. This is not likely, unfortunately, due to the bureaucratic nature of major world governments, and the greedy nature of big cooperations. At the same time, however, there would need to be countless innovations on top of this tablet to produce it in the first place. Further innovations in nanotechnology, physics, biology, and the understanding of human anatomy would be needed to manufacture a tablet of the proposed qualities. Albeit, however much money is spent and research is needed, a successful final product of such a tablet could have effects that will greatly affect generations to come.
In conclusion, there is a long way to go before even conceiving such a miracle, but I hope this paper gives people an idea of what is needed from a superficial and human level for such a breakthrough. Even with this said, I do have hope for humanity, and if these last few years have taught us anything: it is to never doubt the resilience of humanity.
References
Figure 1- https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/pills-hand
Figure 2- https://www.123rf.com/photo_14506030_pictures-of-capsule-pills-showing-the-medicine-inside-it.html
Nations, U. (2022). Population. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/population#:~:text=The%20world%20in%202100
“USDA ERS – Land and Natural Resources.” (2012) Www.ers.usda.gov, www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/land-and-natural-resources/?topicId=a7a658d4-f209-4641-9172-066ca0896abe#:~:text=Agricultural%20production%20is%20a%20major.
Wendt, Diane. “Vitamins Come to Dinner.” Science History Institute, 6 June 2012, www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/vitamins-come-to-dinner#:~:text=The%20first%20vitamin%20pill%20to.
“The History of Vitamins | Timeline.” Supplement Factory, 23 May 2018, supplementfactoryuk.com/blog/2018/05/the-history-of-vitamins/#:~:text=The%20first%20one%2Da%2Dday.
“Global Dietary Supplements Market (2020 to 2026) – North America Generated Highest Revenue from Dietary Supplements – ResearchAndMarkets.com.” Www.businesswire.com, 24 July 2020, www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200724005149/en/Global-Dietary-Supplements-Market-2020-to-2026—North-America-Generated-Highest-Revenue-from-Dietary-Supplements—ResearchAndMarkets.com#:~:text=North%20America%20and%20the%20Asia.
Reflection
The making of this project resulted in me brainstorming many ideas, and searching through the web to find ideas for the proposal of this technical innovation. In this, I was trying to find out problems in my life and the lives of others, and what is something that could improve our lives. What are some things that are frustrating or limiting us in life? In this pursuit of this question, it led me to food. Sure, most sane people like eating good food but honestly it takes a good amount of time in our day to cook and eat food and then clean everything up. Now, it’s even worse when after a good meal, you just want to sit down watch a movie or take a nap. So then, starving yourself would be ideal but we all know how that feels. So after some thinking, I proposed a pill that takes care of all your nutritional needs, and that only needs to be taken once a day.
After utilizing learning outcomes 1 and 6, I researched just how bad the carbon footprints of food were, and how many people were both obese and starving at the same time. Both were dying, just on different spectrums. The grim reality opened my eyes and led me to make this paper on this topic. In addition, I utilized learning outcome 3 by trying to convince the audience throughout my paper of the need for such an innovation and even presenting certain counterclaims or potential doubts; I did this to seem as unbiased as possible and strengthened my argument by appealing to a broader spectrum in this topic. I also had to utilize outcomes 5,6, and 8 by researching from credible sites in order to further enhance my paper by citing quotes, analyzing, and adding images. I cited using the proper APA citation as required by the assignment rubric, and am glad I was able to find good, reliable sources of information to support my topic.
Furthermore, of course, there were some issues going fully into the logistics, and I wasn’t quite able to give tangible data for certain areas of the product; especially those concerning its costs and other tangibles related to the manufacturing. This was primarily due to the various sectors involved and the sheer amount of research and innovations that would go into such a project. Overall, however, I hope that this paper gives fuel to lots of research about this innovation and I had a great time writing this and learning more about this world.
Categories
Lab Report Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis of A Lab Report
No matter what subject you are studying in college, you have definitely written a lab report at some point. Lab reports are meant to be quite informative and give the reader a good understanding of the topic they are reading about. While lab reports vary depending on whether the subject is science or humanities-related, both give information about a topic with evidence to support their claims. Most prominently, scientific lab reports are formal written reports that concisely give the results and observations from an experiment or study. As a result, lab reports need to have a level of consistency among them for the most effectiveness. In chapter 19 of Mike Markel’s book Technical Communication, it is important for lab reports to have the 8 elements of title, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references (2018). These elements serve as a checklist and foundation for a standard lab report to have. In the lab report titled “ Temperature and Pressure Measurements of an Ideal Gas That is Heated in a Closed Glass Container” (Dancy, 1999) that I will be analyzing today, these elements will be crucial.
Title
The title of a lab report, and any work in general, is important as it serves to hook the reader into reading and also is meant to give an idea of the work. This is said in chapter 19 of Merkels that the title should be informative enough to enable readers to decide whether the report interests them. Also, effective titles should be long according to Merkel and the lab report meets this criteria. The title “Temperature and Pressure Measurements of an Ideal Gas That is Heated in a Closed Glass Container” is a long, specific title that tells the reader exactly what the lab report will be about. All the information in the title is relevant to the topic, and there are no words for placeholders. The reader clearly knows that the report will be about the various temperature and pressures of gas in certain conditions by reading it. Alternatively, a title such as The Temperature of Gas in Glass would be a poor title as it is not specific enough about the lab report’s content. The simplistic, concise, and detailed title for the lab report effectively fulfills one of the first elements of a lab report.
Abstract
The abstract functions similarly to the title in that that it gives a preview of the information to be stated in further detail; however, instead of one broad statement like in the title, the abstract can be spread out through each segment of the report. According to Merkel’s textbook, “the abstract summarizes the entire report, mirroring its structure… each section is addressed in only a sentence or two. Because your abstract might be distributed more widely than your entire report, it should contain enough information so that your readers can quickly decide whether to locate and read the whole report”. Dancy’s lab report does exactly this: in each section of the report, it begins with a sentence or two outlining the segment. For example, the results and discussion section begins with “This section analyses the results of the experiment. The experiment went as expected with no unusual events that would have introduced error.” (Dancy, 1999). This brief abstract informs the reader about the section and detail about it so the reader stays informed on that end as well. So, in this case, both the preferred “informative abstracts” and “descriptive abstract” (Dancy, 1999) is given to the reader.
Introduction
The purpose of an introduction in any work, not just a lab report, is to inform the reader about what they should be expecting in the rest of the paper and in essence its purpose as well. As stated in Merkel’s textbook, “ The introduction is the section of the report in which you begin to establish that your work is important… the introduction should include a concise review of previous research relevant to your study…By placing your study in the context of previous research, you establish its significance”. With this noted, Dancy’s lab report introduces the topic by stating the experiment “ to study the relationship of temperature and pressure of an ideal gas (air) that was heated in a closed container” (Dancy, 1999). In addition, it also states the purpose of the experiment “is to test whether the ideal equation of state holds” (Dancy, 1999). From the introduction of this lab report, the reader is aware of the study, its purpose, and the structure of the lab report.
Materials and Methods
Materials and methods is a section of the lab report intended to give the lab report credibility and authenticity to ensure trust between the reader. In this section, it is crucial to “describe your methods in enough detail that another researcher could perform the same experiment using the same materials and methods. This characteristic, called replicability, is one of the foundations of the scientific method” (Merkel, 2018). Dancy’s lab report does exactly this, displaying the procedure needed to conduct the experiment step-by-step, even including how the values were calculated in context. In addition, lots of details were included in the procedures, not just a general step-by-step walkthrough. For example, Dancy gave the purpose of items such as “pressure transducer and thermocouple” used to “ measure the pressure and the temperature” (Dancy, 1999). Including proper units and their abbreviations like “voltage signals (in Volts)”, “pressure (kPa)” and “temperature (K)” (Dancy,1999) further helped the credibility of this report. These factors are crucial for the author, so as to not assume the reader’s knowledge, and give them all the details in the lab report. All in all, Dancy’s report definitely gave a concise, yet thorough section and fulfilled the qualities of the materials and methods element.
Results
The results section is important to discuss and statistically back up the claims made in your discussion. According to Merkel, in this section, you should “summarize the data relevant to the question or hypothesis you discussed in your introduction. Omit irrelevant data, but explain why you are doing so. When summarizing your data, help readers understand your findings by emphasizing major trends, magnitudes of values, associations, patterns of statistical significance, and exceptions”. I believe that Dancy’s lab report did a good job of this as it displayed various graphs and explained their significance to the reader. By describing that the “experiment went as expected with no unusual events” the author implied that the hypothesis was proven true. For each data point and graph, the author states its significance and leaves no information behind for the reader; this sets up his next segment in the discussion based on the results of the experiment.
Discussion
The discussion section is the interpretation of the results of the experiment, and the hypothesis is either further supported or unsupported by the observations made. In order to have the least biased discussion, Merkel’s textbook states to “support your argument with data from your results, and do not hesitate to discuss problematic data or “failed” experiments… sometimes a negative result or a failure to find a significant difference helps researchers create new knowledge in their field. If your results do not support your hypothesis, argue for rejecting your hypothesis” (Merkel, 2018). In fact, Dancy’s experiment results did not exactly yield the ideal results: the theoretical data and measured data revealed differences. Dancy observed, “the measured values of temperature are lower than the ideal values, and the measured values are not exactly linear”. On top of this he elaborated by giving potential reasons for such differences mentioning “precision error”, “ bias error” and potentially “a large temperature scale considered” (Dancy, 1999). This was a perfect execution of this element as Dancy mentioned “ possible explanations for the differences” (Merkel 2018) to help potential researchers avoid errors if conducting the same experiment.
Conclusion
Overall, the conclusion is meant to wrap things up, to “not introduce any new information” (Merkel, 2018), and to explain the significance of the lab report itself. I believe the author did this well as he stated how the hypothesis was a success, albeit suffering from differences “in the experimental graph of temperature versus and pressure and the theoretical curve of temperature versus pressure” due to “experimental errors” (Dancy, 1999). I believe concisely giving the conclusion was effective, yet the conclusion could use more of an explanation as to the significance of the experiment and what led the author to do such studies.
References/ Appendix
The lab report I viewed did not have references, however, it did have an appendix which serves An appendix, which follows the references, “the appropriate place for information that readers do not need to understand the body of your lab report. For example, an appendix might include long tables of measurements, specialized data, logs, analyses, or calculations” (Merkel 2018). Dancy included various graphs, tables, and calculations that supplement the results and discussion sections. Overall, the lab report “ Temperature and Pressure Measurements of an Ideal Gas That is Heated in a Closed Glass Container” (Dancy, 1999) did have some flaws and shortcomings in regard to the 8 elements of a lab report mentioned in Merkel’s textbook, the report was concise, informative, and a solid example of a scientific lab report.
References
Markel, M., & Selber, S. A. (2018). Technical Communication (12th ed.). Bedford/St. Martin’s, Macmillan Learning.
Temperature and Pressure Measurements of an Ideal Gas That is Heated in a Closed Glass Container Lab Report #2. (1999) Writing.engr.psu.edu.
http://writing.engr.psu.edu/workbooks/labreport2.html#appendix
Reflection
In the process of the analysis of these lab reports, I fulfilled the first learning outcome in reading and going through various lab reports in various fields including the medical field, engineering, and anthropology. In those, I chose one more related to scientific experimental analysis as I felt the way the lab report was structured and worded made it ideal for me to analyze thoroughly. In addition, I gained further knowledge about the structure of lab reports through reading chapter 19 of the textbook in order to break down the elements and understand how to better analyze the lab report I chose. Also, I used learning outcome 2 as I initially chose a lab report that was similar in nature but different but chose to scrap that in favor of this one. I also revised my paper in various stages of the process in terms of the format looking at the sample lab report analysis and other lab reports I researched on the web utilizing learning outcome 6. Formatting properly was key to my paper as the lab reports I analyzed had to be formatted in a certain way. Furthermore, I made sure to cite the authors of both the lab report and textbook I cited, utilizing Outcome 8. With my citations, I not only read them thoroughly in context to gain a better understanding of the content but I also compared the information to other sources on the web in order to make better interpretations, paraphrasing, and analysis in my paper for the elements to fulfill outcome 7. I used the search engine Google to make most of my research, while also initially looking at the databases that my professor provided to look for possible lab reports and gain information about them. In some ways, I wasn’t able to quite meet some of the learning outcomes as I didn’t quite collaborate with others in the process of producing this paper; common examples would be peer review, contacting my professor, and utilizing the writing center. To add on, I initially tried to write this more like a paragraph essay but I found titling each paragraph aligned to the element would be better suited and more organized. The lab report I chose and the sources I used had good credibility as they were all published by universities, meaning they were all academically focused and followed the procedures of an academic paper. Overall, by writing this paper I learned good skills about lab reports that I will surely use in the future in my science-related classes and the formatting will teach good organizational skills for my academic and professional career.
Categories
Technial Description
Introduction:
MUJI pens are popular writing instruments for their minimalist design and superior performance. Made by MUJI, a Japanese retail company known for its simple, functional, and affordable products. MUJI fountain pens are popular with writers and artists for their smooth writing and durable construction. While MUJI gel pens are incredibly popular today, the company MUJI did not invent them; rather, “ the credit for coming up with the world’s first-ever gel pen is given to Sakura – a globally renowned Japanese pen manufacturer. The company pioneered in gel-ink technology after many years of intense research” (Gel Pens, 2021).
The goal of the company was to “… to create a water-based ink that is more versatile” (Gel Pens, 2021). Initially, the Sakura company began using thixotropic elements to find the perfect ink. Ideally, the product would be “ solid when untouched but liquid when moved” (Gel Pens, 2021) but the research was in vain. However, xanthan gum, a common additive used in various food products, was used on gel ink pens. With the successful innovation, the Sakura company filed the patent for the first gel ink pens in Japan.
It is safe to say however, that MUJI improved the design and functionality of the pen, as one reviewer among many stated on their website that provides product recommendations, praised the MUJI pens for their “smooth and consistent ink flow” and “robust build quality” (Wirecutter, 2021). I can attest to this as an owner of these pens: their quality and sleek design make writing something to look forward to.
Technical Description/Specifications:
The MUJI ballpoint pen is available in two sizes: 0.5mm and 0.38mm. The pen is made of plastic and includes a clear hex barrel at the top that allows the user to check the ink level. In addition, the length of the pen is 14 cm (5.5 inches), weighs approximately eight grams, and is available in the various colorations of red, blue, black, and green as shown below.
Figure 1
Design and Functionality:
The design of the Muji pen is quite minimalist, not having any unnecessary decorations or gimmicky features. This design is quite consistent with the philosophy of the company, prioritizing functionality but maintaining smooth, simplistic aesthetics; as pronounced designer Andrea Ponti referred to the pen in its “ perfect design: functional, universal, minimal” (Nepori, 2020). With this being noted, the specifics of the pen include a transparent hexagonal barrel allowing the user to see the ink. This visible ink cartridge allows for “ an ink prevention mechanism that stops the ink from flowing in the wrong direction and prevents any breaks in the writing line or ink leakage” (Muji Gel Ink Pen. Kawaii Pen Shop). In addition, the cap located at the end of the pen has a clip attached to it, allowing for the pen to be attached to a book or binder. Furthermore, the small tip of the pen allows for finer lines to be drawn and greater accuracy, with the smaller of the two sizes providing even greater accuracy.
Figure 2 (Above)- Interior of the Muji Pen
Figure 3 (Below)- Exterior of the Muji Pen
Material:
The materials used to make MUJI pens have their purpose to ensure the utmost quality and durability of the product. To begin with, the barrels are composed of polycarbonate which is “ a material that’s both stronger and lighter than plastic” (Pen Vibe, 2022). In addition, the polypropylene (a common thermoplastic) used for the cap is “strong, durable, and resistant to corrosion” (Aberdeen Tech, 2022). The durability of the pen frame along with the oil-based ink ensures a smooth, steady flow when writing. Additionally, the ink cartridges are also made of the same polypropylene which are similarly designed to prevent leaks and clogs. As a result, it is clear that MUJI pens are built to last. The plastic construction is durable for daily use without breaking; this along with the ink being protected in the cartridges makes the pen usable in various environments and purposes.
Conclusion:
Overall, MUJI ballpoint gel-ink pens are known for their smooth writing and simple, elegant design. This is exemplified as the ballpoint pen tip provides a smooth flow of ink that goes across the paper without any smearing or skipping. In addition, the ink dries quickly, preventing any bleeding, and the pen ensures hands won’t get tired even after long use.
For these reasons, MUJI pens are highly regarded by their users in both academic and professional fields. To add on, MUJI pens are environmentally friendly as they use recyclable materials. The ink is oil-based and contains no harmful chemicals, making it safe for both you and the environment. As I have and continue to use the MUJI pen, my satisfaction with the product has led me into writing this technical description about them and learning a few facts in the process.
Figure 4 (Left)
References/Sources:
Gel pens – the history of inventing gel pens. The History Of Inventing. (2021, April 30). https://www.elkospens.com/the-history-of-inventing-gel-pens.html#:~:text=Who%20Invented%20The%20Gel%20Pen,many%20years%20of%20intense%20research.
Muji Gel Ink Pen. Kawaii Pen Shop. https://kawaiipenshop.com/products/muji-gel-ink-ballpoint-pen
Nepori, A. (2020, August 28). Simple and universal: A short praise for the Muji pen. DOMUS. https://www.domusweb.it/en/design/2020/08/28/simple-and-universal-a-praise-for-the-muji-pen0.html
The Complete Guide to Muji Pens & Pencils ( 2022, April 11). Pen Vibe. https://penvibe.com/the-complete-guide-to-muji-pens-pencils/
Thermoplastic vs Thermoset Resins – Ultimate Guide | Aberdeen Technologies. (2022, May 23) https://www.aberdeentech.com/blog/thermoplastic-vs-thermoset-resins#:~:text=This%20unique%20feature%20is%20what
Figure 1- https://www.amazon.com/MUJI-Ballpoint-Pens-0-5mm-9-colors/dp/B00J2MUV06
Figure 2-
Figure 3-
Figure 4- https://www.muji.us/collections/pen-pencils/products/smooth-gel-ink-knock-type-ballpoint-pen-0-3mm
Reflection
In the making of this technical description, I was able to learn a lot and also had a few obstacles along the way. First of all, I peer-reviewed and read several of my classmates’ technical descriptions in order to analyze and get a better grasp of what works and doesn’t work in this assignment, utilizing learning outcomes 1 and 2. During this, I reviewed various formatting, styles, and the different types of items classmates picked for this assignment. I was impressed and fascinated by the different items and styles of writing my classmates had, which gave me better insight into this paper going forward. Of course, I had to follow the guidelines given in the assignment sheet and rubric but there was some flexibility in how I formatted things, so I wanted to pick one that would be best suited for the technical description item that I picked. In addition, for my next phase of picking something, I was eyeing something electronic or more mechanical that didn’t rely on some form of energy source. After conducting research on various items on the web and brainstorming items I had familiarity with, utilizing learning outcome 6, I was deciding between a pen and a speaker. Both of these are items I have in my possession, but I ended up choosing the pen, specifically a Muji ballpoint gel ink pen due to it having more prominence in my everyday life. After choosing this, I had to conduct research about the origins, materials, functionality, and design of the pen in order to gain a further understanding of the technical description. In addition, for this particular paper, I utilized learning outcome 5 by looking for various images of the pen and its manufacturing process- I also had to match the images correlating to the particular subject matter I discussed and give a brief description of the image as well. In addition, I cited these images as well as my other quotes in the paper using APA citation as mentioned in the rubric, fulfilling outcome 8. In my citations, as well, I had to integrate them with an understanding of my own and paraphrase certain quotes and sentences from the sources and websites that I cited from. In doing so, I was able to fix a few errors in which I was redundant in certain parts- doing so allowed me to proofread certain areas and gain a better understanding of the information I was writing about. Furthermore, I had some difficulties finding some information about the muji pens in detail as most websites were pretty low in specific information and were more or less advertising points and less informative about the specifications, make, and manufacturing of the pen. However, after countless research and looking through various sites, I was able to find adequate information to write a technical description of this muji pen. Owning one of these, I was satisfied with the product and could have never imagined such design and complexity and something so simple.
Categories
Theory of writing
The theory of writing is an interesting term, as it can mean varying things to different people. Everyone writes one way or the other, ranging from texts on your phone to diary entries to typing for your school or job. We may not all consciously realize it, but writing is in our lives one way or the other. Writing is one of the ways to communicate, but more importantly, to express our creativity. A bit of ourselves spills into our words, whether we mean to or not, and it really can reveal a lot. To me, the subtle things definitely matter but also can the things that we write explicitly.
To me, I can definitely enjoy writing with a more open-ended capacity in which I have more freedom to write about topics that interest and/or are relevant to me. When I have this incentive, per se, in these situations I tend to write better as I am not forcing the words onto paper as much. However, I always try to write with some sense of purpose as it helps me stay on target and remember why I am writing it in the first place.
More specifically with my papers, however, I keep this sense of purpose as to why I am writing the paper in its context. Before beginning my paper, I of course read the assignment sheet and from there I try to first see and read any relevant coursework such as texts given in class, or any work-related papers I have done with it in order to gain some ideas. For example, with the technical innovation proposal, I reread and went through the technical description I did prior to get an idea about how various innovations are made and how they help humans. In addition, the formatting from that technical description ranging from the headers, and table of contents, to the way I described the item, and even to the quotes and their analysis helped shaped that future paper.
In addition, I improved my ability to quote, cite, and analyze citations throughout my writing journey this semester. For example, in the Lab Report Analysis paper, I was able to effectively mix quotations into my sentences in order to enhance my work with tangible evidence in a smooth, concise way. For instance, in an excerpt from that assignment, I wrote, In this section, it is crucial to “describe your methods in enough detail that another researcher could perform the same experiment using the same materials and methods. This characteristic, called replicability, is one of the foundations of the scientific method” (Merkel, 2018). Dancy’s lab report does exactly this, displaying the procedure needed to conduct the experiment step-by-step, even including how the values were calculated in context. In this part, I properly introduced the context for the information I was setting up, then I gave a quote using APA citation to back up my claims, and afterward, I explained the quote by giving an analysis of it. Doing this procedure was able to give the reader an understanding of what I was talking about, and overall grasp the point I was making and the purpose of it as well; with this, both learning outcomes six and eight were fulfilled.
With this said, my ability to research has improved throughout the course of this class. Now when I am researching, or just browsing the web in general, I look for the author, and keywords in the headline or article to look for credibility as well as bias. In addition, I check what organizations or companies that the website I am on is involved in. Doing so has also sharpened my eye even in everyday news, in which I may analyze articles, posts, and the like for clickbait or to check if they are advertisements trying to promote something or not. This is one of the useful and applicable skills that utilize going forward in my life.
Furthermore, one other skill I improved on, utilizing learning outcome two, is the ability to edit the work I do. The way I did this is when I get stuck, perhaps in writer’s block, I just write for a bit on whatever comes to mind, not worrying about the formality of it. After I take a bit of a break, I reconvene and really try to hone in on my ideas and format the work, making it concise and presentable for the paper I am doing. I feel for me at least, this is more productive than just getting stuck, giving up, and procrastinating so I continue to utilize this.
Overall, just the practice of writing in different ways about different topics can impact and change ones writing abilities and perspective on the matter. The only way to change is to get out of your comfort zone, and this certainly is true in almost all facets of life. A lot of the skills I learned in this class I will be able to take with me in the future, and I am grateful for having learned them. Writing is a process that we all go through, and the journey of it is truly remarkable.
