This blog post is a reflection of the process of writing for the definitions assignments. The reflection is broken into 3 parts explaining the lessons from: the original writing process, peer-review process, and editing/self-editing process.
The definition assignment illustrated that there are three different ways to define a relatively complex term. Prior to this assignment I was not aware that there are different methods of defining an expression. This process also highlighted the importance of knowing the audience and the purpose of the writing task. Being asked to write for novice readers forced the writer to use simpler terminology and ensure all technical jargon was fully explained. This greatly influences how the author organizes their work and writing style to make certain the novice readers will understand.
The peer review process demonstrated that my writing style still lacks clarity and conciseness. Sometimes sentence structure is awkward and can get long and wordy. This has been identified as a trouble area before and has room for further improvement. While editing Alirod’s assignment, the strengths in his work highlighted and demonstrated writing components that could be incorporated into my own work. For example, in the ‘Expanded Definition’ section of the assignment, Alirod had great headings that made the definition very clear. This was not something incorporated into my assignment and was something I implemented into my assignment following the peer review process.
While self-editing, it was highlighted again that conciseness and redundancy is an area that needs improvement. Often my writing can lack precision and becomes many sentences trying to explain the same idea instead of one clear and concise sentence. Through the peer-review and self-editing processes, editing and restructuring of sentences was key in improving the quality of this assignment.
Attached below is the revised definition assignment and Alirod’s peer review of my original definitions assignment:
Alirod’s Peer Review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/05/peer-review-of-claire-definitions-assignment/
Revised Definitions Assignment: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/09/assignment-1-3-revised-definitions-environmental-impact-assessment/