Communication Competence

    The artifact I have chosen to represent my communication competence program outcome is an informational essay entitled “A Look into Maternal Mortality,” which I wrote during my Writing/Research in the Disciplines (ENG-112) course in the spring semester of 2022. In this essay, I explain maternal mortality, its causes, and ways to prevent it. I have chosen this artifact because it showcases my ability to effectively communicate ideas within my program of study.  
    The instructions for this essay were to write an informational report on a topic or issue relevant to my specific program of study while also following its particular formatting rules. For this assignment, my instructor had us choose our topic, but they required us to confine our topic selection to three subjects before picking one. I went for maternal mortality because it allowed me to research a topic that fit my future interest. 
    My first goal was to learn how to format and craft a scientific essay properly. First, I used the materials in my course to research the writing format that scientific papers generally use. Within that research, I determined that the APA writing format was the best format for my essay. Secondly, I looked at multiple examples of other scientific essays to help me properly format my paper. As a visual learner, the examples I found on the internet and the ones provided by my instructor gave me a great visual representation of how my essay should look. For example, all the articles I saw had a title page, an abstract, in-text citations, and headings that split the report into sections. Thus, I also implemented those details into my essay. Nevertheless, the important aspects I missed in my rough drafts were highlighted during my teacher review, and I was able to correct them and learn from my instructor’s critics. In the end, I used the examples and my instructor’s recommendations to create a properly formatted artifact. 
    My second goal was to learn how to write within multiple disciplines by exploring a topic related to my career interest and my program of study. I have known that I was interested in the medical field for many years, so this assignment was an excellent opportunity to learn how to write within the scientific and medical disciplines. For instance, I learned how to source and include tables and figures in my writing in this assignment. As this was my first time implementing this type of resource into my writing, it was an opportunity to learn how to reinforce my writing with sources and visual charts. I also learned how to explain discipline-specific ideas and terminology so that less knowledgeable audiences could understand.

  Ultimately, this artifact taught me how to write within the scientific and medical disciplines. More specifically, I learned how to format an APA essay and effectively communicate discipline-specific information. However, this assignment was also essential because it exposed me to a new writing style I had never explored but am very interested in. This artifact will benefit my future as I enter the medical field because it allowed me to have some basic experience with writing within the scientific and medical disciplines.