Brooke's Blog

This post will be the very last thing I write not only for English 301 but for my university degree… something that seems insane to think about. My journey in completing my arts degree has had many highs and plenty of lows. To have Eng 301 as my final class, is to have my degree end on a high note. I enjoyed this class so much. At first the thought of taking a summer course seems like a horrible idea, but the content, the timeline and the assignments made this class great. All the assignments were using applicable skills that I knew would be of use to me. I never felt like I was wasting my time while working through the course.

That being said, throughout the course my biggest struggle was time management. My procrastinating ways caught up on me a number of times. But I completed the course, and was able to grow and develop at the same time, so I’d say it was a win.

The biggest take away from this course is the work I did on my resume. It will definitely be an asset to me as I begin my career. Understanding simple formatting guidelines, the preferred tone to use are some of the skills I will take away from that assignment.

English 301 will be an asset to me. I believe this course should be taken by all students. It has taught me to have more confidence in my writing and has given me great tools to continue to excel in my professional writing endeavours.

As this course comes to the end I am happy to be putting all my work together to create my Web folio. I spent some time selecting the writings I am most proud of. Not surprisingly, I am most proud of some of my final pieces. I feel like my writing has continued to improve throughout the course, something I am very proud of.

With the web folio I was initially sceptical of its usefulness. As I began editing and adjusting the different pages and adding appropriate material I realized how great of a tool it can be. I feel like it is something I could easily keep up and continue to add and adjust it to reflect my current needs. Having my resume uploaded onto the site in both text and pdf format makes so much sense. Using my LinkedIn in addition to web folio will be beneficial when I begin to seriously look for a job in Calgary.

Well unit three has come to an end, and this unit has been the biggest struggle. The craziness of summer, personal obligations as well as other career/course works has created a pretty full schedule. That being said, I feel like my final paper is coming together nicely and is shaping up to be a well thought out and executed paper.

The format of this proposal is unlike any other work I have completed. Creating the draft and spending time planning out my format helped to keep me focused and on topic. It also makes completing the paper less daunting, each time I sit down to write I focus on one subsection. The formatting and specific requirements needed in the proposal was my biggest learning opportunity for this unit. With a focus on tone and positive writing, I feel this unit will be extremely beneficial in my professional writing going forward.

Reviewing my peers draft was pretty straightforward. It was beneficial to see how they decided to set up and organize their paper. At times, I found it difficult to give specific feedback due to the lack of content. However, I feel like I was able to provide constructive feedback with regards to formatting, using the guild lines/rules from the textbook as support and examples were needed.

I conclude this unit excited to complete the final unit and finish my report, hopefully with a better grasp on my time management.

301-Brooke Bowles- Report Draft

As we have come to the end of Unit 2, I am proud of my writing and assignments that I have produced. Im able to reflect back on all of the components of this unit and see my strengths and areas still needing improvement.

The first assignment was the creation of the LinkedIn profile. The biggest difficulty I found while completing this was talking about myself. LinkedIn included subsections including skills and talents, I did not feel comfortable listing a set of skills. I think aspects of Linkedin can be very useful, in particular the ease of networking it allows you to do. I found it as a great start to a resume, since you are gathering and entering educational and work experience. It would be very easy to take what you enter into LinkedIn and convert it into a strong resume.

The report proposal was something completely new to me so at first I found it rather intimidating. Once I was able to find the example in my textbook I was off and running. The format and the writing was very straightforward. The hardest part of the assignment was finding a topic that was of interest, and fit the model required. Setting up my research was also a first. I knew the type of data I wanted to include in my paper, and had to give some thought to the questions that is required to support and give proper recommendations and solutions to the problem I have brought forward. I feel once I am able to pass along my survey and begin to receive data, I know the direction I want my paper to take.

For the proposal, I found my peer review to be difficult. My partner did not follow the same format as I, which led to a fair bit of editing and adjusting that I had to work through in order to give him the best feedback possible. I also found his topic to be one that was not appropriate for a research paper (based on the assignment details). Throughout reviewing peers work I have learnt a fair bit about my own writing. I see my strength in format and sentence structure. I am also able to identify the strengths in my peers and take away from their papers what they excel at and apply it to my own paper.    

This unit went by extremely quickly, hard to imagine we are halfway through the course.

301 Brooke Bowles Edited Formal Report Proposal
Link to my peer review 

We have come to the end of Unit 1, and I feel like I am finally back in the studying groove. The final week focused on creating effective and clear definitions and then sharing them with our group. We all completed a peer review to give constructive feedback to help strengthen our peers work. Through completing my own peer review I was also able to improve upon my editing skills and even reflect back on my own work. Let’s begin by looking back at the first part of this week’s assignment.

I chose the term “Blue Chip” for my definitions. I enjoyed reading and understanding the purpose of the three different types of definitions. I believe that understanding their different uses and significances is crucial in professional writing. The key is to always remember who your audience is and adjusting your writing style to fit appropriately. 

For the second part of the assignment I reviewed Lani Diana’s definition of calculus. Here is the link to my review. Lani also provided a review of my work. I enjoyed the peer review component of this assignment. I have always enjoyed editing work, while grammar and spelling isn’t always my strong suit, I believe I excel at structure and sentence formating. Luckily for me, Lani’s work was well written and I only had a few suggestions for her work with regards to formatting. Lani did a good job of reviewing my paper and pointed out a few things for me to consider. The biggest of which was my missing reference section. This was a complete editing slip on my part. I had completed the references, I just forgot to insert it into the posted version – a great reminder to take my time and to review my  work before hitting the post button. (Edited/Final version of my definitions is included at the bottom.)

I think my biggest takeaway from this week is the importance in not only reading the instructions, but understanding and following them completely. When looking over other classmates definition, you can see a wide variety of formatting and execution of the assignment. Always referring back to the textbook is key. Along with that is the importance of understanding your audience. When writing my definitions, there was many times I had to stop myself and “dummy” it down. It is easy to get caught up in using words and expressions that are familiar to you and others in your field. It is crucial to always keep your reader in mind and tailor your writing to insure they have an enjoyable and easy time reading and understanding your work. When it comes to professional writing this is key.

1.3: BrookeBowlesDefinitions

To: Rob Trigo

From: Brooke Bowles

Date: May 26, 2017

Subject: Invite to Writing Group

Hello Rob,

Upon reviewing your application for English 301 writing group, I would like to extend an invite to join our profession group for this term.

I believe your dedication and leadership skills, as well as your interest and strength in English will be a great asset to our team.

I look forward to working with you and hope to hear from you soon. I have attached a copy of my application letter for your convenience.

All the best,

Brooke Bowles

301 Brooke Bowles Application letter 

To: Lani Diana

From: Brooke Bowles

Date: May 26, 2017

Subject: Invite to Writing Group

Hello Lani,

Upon reviewing your application for English 301 writing group, I would like to extend an invite to join our profession group for this term.

I believe your past experience tutoring, as well as your leadership and organization skills will be a great asset to our team.

I look forward to working with you and hope to hear from you soon. I have attached a copy of my application letter for your convenience.

All the best,

Brooke Bowles

301 Brooke Bowles Application letter 

To: Michael Aaron Robinson

From: Brooke Bowles

Date: May 26, 2017

Subject: Invite to Writing Group

Hello Michael,

Upon reviewing your application for English 301 writing group, I would like to extend an invite to join our profession group for this term.

I believe your creativity, work ethic and past experience will be a great asset to our team.

I look forward to working with you and hope to hear from you soon. I have attached a copy of my application letter for your convenience.

All the best,

Brooke Bowles

301 Brooke Bowles Application letter 

To: Professor Erika Paterson

From: Brooke Bowles

Date: May 24, 2017

Subject: Application Letter

Hello Professor,

I am writing to inform you that my application letter has been posted in response to the posting for team members. It includes the following information:

• Educational history, specifically my current studies as a full-time UBCO student
• Strengths, including my focus, team work and time managment skills
• Weaknesses, including my self editing skills

I have attached the full content of my application letter below. Please let me know if you require any further information

Kind regards,

Brooke Bowles

301 Brooke Bowles Application Letter 

May 22, 2017

English 301

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

Dear English 301 Classmates:

Please consider my application for the position of writing team member in your professional writing team for the duration of English 301. I am confident that I will be a valuable member of your team, being able to collaborate and provide insight into the topics covered.

I am currently finishing my last semester of my Economics degree through UBCO. Over the summer I will be a full time student, with my commitment and focus dedicated to the completion of this course. I demonstrate excellent time management skills and enjoy working in team environments. My diligence to this course will be an asset to your team. One thing I hope to improve upon throughout this course is my self editing skills.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to consider my application, and hope to work together to form a strong writing team. If you have any further questions regarding my application, please feel free to email me at brooke.bb@hotmail.com

Thank you again for your time,

Brooke Bowles  

301 Brooke Bowles Application Letter