Hello Dr. Grogan,

This is an application for your Technical Communication course (ENG 3050) being taught this Winter semester. This applications outlines why I believe I’d be a strong candidate for this class.

Although this course is one of many required for my degree program (Computer Science), I find that I would benefit significantly from this specific course. As a software developer at the university I am often exposed to a wide variety of technical documentation, except as a reader and rarely an author. I have been tasked with producing some technical documentation in the past but I felt as though I didn’t have a strong grasp on how to write it, which I believe this course will remedy. As a frequent reader of technical documentation, I feel as though I have a basic understanding of technical writing but this class will allow me to have a solid grasp on producing it, a skill which will be very useful to me in the future considering my discipline.

As a software developer I am involved in wide variety of projects with diverse teams. These projects require a great deal of communication and I believe this course would assist me in communicating my thoughts, ideas and solutions more effectively. At times I find myself struggling to present technical solutions in an effective manner and I believe this course would provide me with the tools to present these solutions confidently.

Beyond writing some basic technical documentation, I do not have much experience in technical writing other than the knowledge I’ve obtained from reading other technical work. As a writer, I have written a number of essays throughout my high school and college education, mostly to present facts (most frequently in essay format) to an instructor on works that I’ve read. In the past year I have not written as much as I have in previous years due to the focus on math and sciences in my current degree program but this course would give me the opportunity to brush up on and improve my writing skills, as well as allow me to produce works that serve a practical purpose. This course would also expose and allow me to produce works in styles and structures of writing (i.e. report, memo) that I have not used in the past and present them using forms of media that are new to me.
In the workplace I have had the experience of collaborating on a wide variety of technical projects, although, often with the same group of peers that come from very similar technical backgrounds. Therefore, I have not been exposed to working with peers from a wide variety of academic disciplines and I also have not been exposed to much collaborative work in a classroom setting in general which, from reading the syllabus, this class would give me an opportunity to experience. I feel that this would allow me to understand and adapt to working with a more diverse group, a skill I may need in the future. Although, with my past experience on collaborative projects, I believe I can be an effective member of a classroom group. As someone who is currently employed in a technical field, I feel that I can also offer myself as a resource in areas relating to technology, specifically programming and web design as well as providing various other insights into my particular technical field.

I feel that taking your course would benefit me significantly and provide me with new knowledge and experiences that I would not otherwise not be exposed to.

Thank you for your consideration.

-- 
Claudio Bryla
Academic & Core Applications 
Computing & Information Technology 
Wayne State University 
fb8780@wayne.edu