The main two tasks in unit three were drafting the formal report and researching an advertisement for the job application package assignment. An aim of the unit was to write with “you-attitude” by focusing your writing on the reader and their benefits. Overall, I have learned that incorporating this strategy will make my writing more clear, concise, and convincing.

Formal Report Draft

Researching

At the beginning of this unit, I changed the topic of my formal report causing me to fall behind on researching, organizing, and writing my formal report. Luckily, I had done preliminary research on my own, about psychology graduate programs. I began my research by reviewing government labor statistics reports and papers from psychology associations. Once I got an idea of the job requirements and skills needed to become a professional psychologist, I drafted questions for informational interviews with professionals in the field and for an online survey with psychology graduate students. I incorporated both research methods because each method represents a different perspective (professionals in the field vs. students entering the field). 

Organizing

When it came time to organize my report, I followed a similar layout and design as an example from our textbook. I like that they used two types of analyses (feasibility and comparative) in their report and adopted that format. Based on that approach, I selected a line graph as a visual for the projected job growth of professional psychologists and a table comparing the relative advantages of each career path. 

Writing 

As I drafted my report, I realized that I couldn’t complete much of the report because I had not finished collecting data. Conducting informational interviews took a lot longer than expected as most professionals had limited availability to meet. In addition, I struggled to find a place to post my online survey for psychology graduate students. Therefore, instead of formally writing portions of my formal report, I showed my plan for each section and what graphics I would use to display my results in the most effective way.

Peer Review and Self-Editing 

As I completed my peer review of Beenish’s formal report draft, I understood the importance of incorporating the “you attitude”. Not only did it make her writing more concise but also made her recommendations sound more promising to her reader. While reading Beenish’s peer-review of my draft, I see how I can eliminate the use of imperative verbs and eliminate pronouns to enhance the conciseness and persuasion of my writing. Beenish pointed out inconsistencies in my design and organization; therefore,  in my final report, I will use a more consistent layout to enhance the organization and readability of my document.

Enclosure: 301 Brionne McWilliams Formal Report Draft

Unit Two Reflection Blog

LinkedIn Profile

The process of creating a LinkedIn Profile proved very useful. In fact, I added my LinkedIn profile URL onto my resume. Creating an online profile has allowed me to easily search current job opportunities in my industry. In addition, I have been trying to make connections with previous professors to inquire about research opportunities. Initially, I used my CV to fill out the various section of the profile, but I soon realized the potential to add more details and experiences on my CV and my profile. Therefore, this assignment prompted me to update my CV as well.

Report Proposal and Outline

Thinking of a problem/solution situation for the formal report was very challenging. At first, I thought that the formal report would be very similar to a research proposal. However, that was not the case. The goal of the analysis report is to identify a problem in our community and propose practical solutions. Another challenging aspect of the assignment was creating items for my primary research documents. Identifying the participants for the primary sources of data proved to be difficult as well. In fact, I had to change my proposal topic due to ethical concerns. After receiving the evaluation sheet for the proposal I re-read the chapters in the textbook to get a better understanding of what analysis report entailed and decided to do a feasibility analysis of a professional psychology career. I chose a topic where I possess the necessary qualifications to carry out the feasibility analysis. My goal was to be able to learn something from this report and apply the recommendations in my own career.

Peer Review and Self-Editing

While reading Beenish’s review of my proposal, I was able to reflect on the ethical issues regarding my complex topic. I was trying to choose a topic from my line of work as a behavioral interventionist, but I found the topic too challenging to carry out due time constraints and accessibility of participants. I learned that I had to choose a topic that was more applicable to the field I am interested in.

Through the peer reviewing process, I was able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of my own work. I was able to compare Beenish ’s page design and style details(use of bullet points) to my document’s organization and determine inconsistencies in my peer’s work. Now I am more critical and pay attention to details in my own work.

Enclosure:

UNIT ONE REFLECTION BLOG

February 10, 2019

In Unit 1, we were instructed to create a blog, introduce ourselves using various professional documents, compose three definitions, and peer-review a teammate’s definition assignment.

Original Writing

When first thinking about a specialized term for the definition assignment, I asked myself what is a term I enjoy researching in psychology? I decided to choose Frontotemporal Dementia because I had recently finished a literature review on the disease. Therefore, I initially thought this assignment would be easy for me, but little did I know, that wasn’t the case. The first challenge I encountered was determining a unique reading situation where the audience lacked general knowledge about the term. My second challenge was choosing appropriate expansion strategies. When first reading the textbook, I understood operating principle to mean how frontotemporal dementia would be diagnosed, rather than how the illness progresses biologically.

Peer-Review Process

The peer-review process was enlightening as I got to see my strengths, weaknesses, and sources of confusion. When peer-reviewing Tamar’s assignment, I tried to find a balance between giving constructive criticism and positive feedback. I would always start with noting a positive strategy and then would follow it up with a suggestion for improvement. At first, I was shy to have another student critique my work, however, I have learned that this process only makes your writing better.

Self-Editing

While editing my definitions assignment, I made sure to incorporate all of Tamar’s feedback from his peer-review. I thought carefully about ways to improve the overall organization of the document. I chose to add in information about the expected timeline of symptoms for the disease under the operating principle strategy. In addition, I deleted irrelevant information to make the document more concise.

Overall the process of writing, peer-reviewing, and self-editing were very instructive. I learned key strategies for technical writing, such as choosing the correct definition for a specific audience, formatting techniques for various professional documents, and page design strategies to increase readability.

Enclosure: Brionne-Revised Definition Assignment
Tamar’s Peer Review of Frontotemporal Dementia: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99c-2018wc/2019/01/27/peer-review-of-assignment-1-3-write-three-definitions-frontotemporal-dementia/

Memo

To: Erika Patterson, ENGL 301 professor
From: Brionne McWilliams, ENGL 301 student B.M.
Date: February 13, 2019
Subject: English 301 Application Letter Posted

Please find my application letter for a writing team attached.

The attached letter of application includes:
• Professional interests – Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Previous experience and relevant skills – Completed an Honors Psychology thesis and have extensive research experience
• Strengths and weakness in writing and work habits – thorough explanations, but lack organizational skills
• Learning philosophy – collaborative and honest environment promotes continual improvement
• Contact information – UBC student email

Please let me know if you require any additional information. I look forward to hearing from you.

Enclosure: 301 Brionne McWilliams Application Letter

University of British Columbia

2136 West Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
January 25, 2019

Dear English, 301 classmates:

Please consider my application for a position on your writing team as posted on the English 301 blog. As an honors Psychology graduate of U.B.C.O., I have refined research skills necessary when composing abstracts, literature reviews, and a thesis. Your attention to detail with the design of your blog page encouraged me to apply. I am detail oriented and will provide thorough feedback accompanied by specific suggestions for improvement on your assignments. Below, I outline my previous research experiences and describe the relevant skills I have that will make me a good candidate for your writing team.

During my undergraduate degree, I was introduced to the cognitive issues surrounding unconscious shifts of attention. My current interest is studying human mental processes, including their behavioral functioning, and the impact of having deficits in these cognitive processes. For my graduate studies, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Neuropsychology researching the cognitive effects of neurological illness or brain injury.

Through a research internship at the Centre for Cognitive Development, measuring approximate number system acuity and confidence acuity concerning children’s math ability, I researched literature related to cognitive development, interviewed parents and siblings for data collection, administered tests to children, analyzed data, and presented my findings at lab meetings. Seeking to expand my research interests, I am investigating neuropsychological and behavioral characteristics of individuals affected by familial frontotemporal dementia in a study at the Centre for Brain Health. Conducting literature reviews, presenting research posters, and collaborative problem-solving with a research team

My previous experiences have enabled me to develop the tools to become a proficient writer. My strengths in terms of writing skills include my attention to detail and my ability to tailor certain documents in situations. My weakness in terms of writing skills includes organizational issues and fragmentation in the flow of ideas.

Throughout my academic and professional experiences, I have adopted a learning philosophy that focuses on both practice and revision. Thus, to achieve this, students and teachers must work together and provide each other with constructive criticism to allow students time to learn and improve. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh set of eyes to set a writer on the correct path.

Please email me at Brionne.mcwilliams@ubc.ca if you’re interested in forming a team together. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Respectfully,

Brionne McWilliams

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