Course instructor, Dr. Vicki Peake, was shocked the first day she saw the number of biology majors in her Advanced Tech Writing class, a class generally reserved for English and computer science majors. 

In an interview with her, she said, “I thoroughly enjoy having the biology majors in my course. Never once do they complain about the amount of work they have to do. Even though they may not be as creative with their writing as the English majors, they are hard workers and will do anything and everything to get the job done. My definition of creativity is far different from a biology major’s. English majors tend to be more creative on paper with how they organize their words and phrases. The biology majors exhibit their creativity through their experimental and laboratory work.”

 

Dr. Peake said she knew from the start that teaching students who were not strong writers would not be an easy task, but it was capable of being done. “This course can be useful to any major at UNT. Any field of study, whether it is biology, medicine, business, engineering, or merchandising, requires knowledge of technical communication.”

 

As a biology major at UNT, I was just as nervous about taking a technical writing course as Dr. Peake was teaching a class full of biology majors. Advanced Technical Writing was not my first choice as a class to take, but many biology majors take the class to satisfy their foreign language requirement. I was not excited about the course because I thought there would be tons of writing involved. My strong point does not fall in writing. In fact, I dreaded the course because an advanced English class conjured the thought of many lengthy, tedious papers. However, my attitude changed as I became involved in the course. Dr. Peake taught everything from formatting and designing a resume to creating how-to manuals. All the topics covered really intrigued me because I could actually apply these out in the business world.

 

The group project we did for designing this newsletter is a great example. The project put us in a real life situation with a client and deadlines to meet. The project required us to present a demonstration of the final product to our client and make them a how-to manual that illustrated how to use the product. While the group project was in progress, each student also had to draft an individual manual of a topic of their choice. English 4180 classes teach students to plan ahead and stay organized so that all projects are completed. The group project, especially, teaches a student how to coordinate their schedule with other students of different majors. In a way, this situation simulates a project that could occur in a real workplace.  

 

After taking this course, I would recommend it to any biology major. Not only is it important that every student be able to write before they graduate, but they should do it in a manner that is clear and concise. Not to mention, it helps eliminate the notion that biology majors cannot produce a paper outside the science realm. Also, no other course in my college career has specifically gone over ways to improve or design a resume. This class gives students advice for the future that they will find valuable as they step out of college.