Monthly Archives: June 2021

This is my reflection for the past Unit 2, ENGL 301.

LinkedIn pleasantly surprised me. Initially, I thought it was a forum that was similar to Facebook or Instagram where people could follow people they know or their interests. After discovering how valuable it is linked to your career and connections, I am grateful that this has been introduced to the course. Researching different aspects of how to create a LinkedIn profile was interesting to see how simple yet complex it is. To create a profile that defines you in simple yet intricate keywords is the goal. I am fortunate to have a couple of entrepreneur friends that gave me tips in how to create an all-encompassing account. Another aspect that I found interesting with LinkedIn is how you contact previous employers or connections to write reviews for you to increase followers and potential business prospects. For my career in possibly opening my own dental hygiene clinic, this is an excellent tool to practice and implement now. 

The idea for the formal report proposal has come together nicely. I am worried about the outcome of the final report as it does rely heavily on the dental team I work with and without their cooperation, I will not get the results that I need to complete the project. I am unsure of how that will impact my report; if I have to start over or the project just becomes null. Currently, I am enjoying the process as I feel the opportunity for the topic (implementing yoga to prevent a musculoskeletal disorder) has come at an excellent time. With the lifting of COVID 19 regulations and the business of the dental practice, it will be complimentary to get into an aerobic exercise routine.

Peer reviewing is one of my favourite parts of this course because it allows one to see how other peoples minds work and their ideas. It is challenging in how to formulate a concise review that the reviewer will be able to digest and to further improve on their original report. It’s interesting because I find after the review process, rereading my paper alone, I find changes that I could improve on. Right now, to work on a formal report, I have seen a lot of different ideas that I wouldn’t have considered before due to COVID 19. There has been a lot of different subjects that have popped up that are unusual resulting from the Pandemic, and I am curious as to their final reports. 

Below are links to the revised formal proposal and formal report outline:

301 Alanna Mckeigue Formal Report Outline

ENGL 301 Alanna Mckeigue Formal Proposal

This post is a reflection of the past Unit 1 in ENGL Technical Writing. I will be discussing the phases of creating definitions for the term ‘Periodontium,’ peer reviewing another teammates definition, and editing my final assignment. 

In the first step of the assignment, choosing and creating the term for the definitions assignment was very thought-provoking. I strived to choose a term that was intricate and informative to the peer reviewer. The term ‘periodontium’ was chosen because as a dental hygienist, I understood it well and there was a good chance that it was new to the team. It challenged me to simplify and find a fluent way to describe it so that the peer reviewer would be comfortable using this in day-to-day life. In choosing which definitions to use under the expanded definitions to make it flow nicely went easier than I expected as I already had it in my mind that I wanted to capture all areas of the periodontium. The tricky part was define it in a couple sentences or less. I love how with one simple word so much thought can be put into making it universal for readers. 

The peer review process was the most uncomfortable for me. I didn’t want to be too direct and yet as to the point as possible. In the past, I have found it difficult to find fault in people’s writing; and further, my teammates definitions was well written. It made me reread the textbook to analyze and compare the definitions in a new way. After reading the definitions out loud, I did find a couple small errors in the sentence structure. As the course goes on, I believe, that peer reviewing will become easier as I practice my writing skills. I have already found that they are improving. 

With all the great feedback from my peer reviewer and professor, editing was enjoyable. I like how illuminating peer reviewing is on personal writing compared to reading it yourself, which makes it difficult to see the mistakes. Even with proof reading the definitions, once I had the feedback I could see clearly how to make the definitions flow nicely. I see now the importance of the peer review process and am excited to grow with this experience as the course progresses. 

The following links are to Brendan Chan’s peer review of the definition ‘Periodontium’ and the revised definition:

http://Brendan Chan’s Peer Review for Alanna’s Definition of ‘Periodontium’

http://Alanna’s Revised ENGL 1:3-Definition of ‘Periodontium’