Web Folio
For the last assignment of ENGL 301, students were tasked to create a Web Folio that fulfill a specified purpose. The Web Folio serves to highlight specific details that would benefit the intended reader. In my case, the Web Folio serves as a platform that showcases my marketable skills to potential employers in the tech field. The Web Folio contains various components such as:
- A Home page which welcomes the reader
- An About Me page which gives the reader more detailed information about myself
- A Blog page that showcases my reflections on previous units
- A Resume page that contains an online version of my current resume
- An Application Package page which contains a specific job posting, tailored cover letter, custom resume, and letters of reference requests
- A Best Work page which contains revised assignments showcasing a sample of my best work during my time in the ENGL 301 class
- A Projects page which contains work relevant to my career choice
The Web Folio was a major assignment, taking a significant amount of time to revise previous work, design an online portfolio, and editing through multiple iterations until the final product can be published. Although I chose to use my existing ENGL 301 blog page as the framework to my now Web Folio, it was difficult to find a theme that I thought was appropriate for my intended audience. Furthermore, there were difficulties in designing the Web Folio due my lack of experience with the UBC Blog platform. However, despite the difficulties, creating the Web Folio was a very enjoyable task. I had the opportunity to read through my previous assignments and edit them, fixing any previous mistakes and incorporating feedback given by my peers and instructor. I witnessed improvements in my writing over time and this was evident through the peer reviews I have received. While some assignments, such as reflection blogs, required few corrections. There were other assignments, such as the Formal Report Proposal, that required more effort to revise.
In addition to revised assignments contained in the Blog and Best Work pages, the Web Folio contains an application package to a SAP internship position and a Projects page that was created for tech employers to see projects I have created outside of ENGL 301. The purpose of the Application Package and Projects pages is to highlight employable skills that I have and support my career in tech.
All in all, I believe the Web Folio assignment has provided a wonderful opportunity to self-reflect on the improvements in writing that I have made during my time with ENGL 301 and use those improved skills to create a platform that can be used to support my career. Through the Web Folio, I have gained practical experience in designing an online portfolio, revising assignments through incorporation of instructor and peer feedback, and completing a major assignment in an intensive writing course. I believe the experience I have gained from this assignment will greatly benefit me as I continue my pursuit to become a Full Stack Developer.
Self-Assessment
At the beginning of ENGL 301, I approached the course with confidence as I had previously completed a Bachelor of Science degree with UBC in 2022. During that time, I composed numerous reports and essays for upper-year courses, professors, researchers, and doctors. However, while the previous experience in academic writing have undoubtedly contributed to my success, the writing style I am familiar with may not be the best approach to professional writing. For example, in academic writing, passive voice is often preferred as it is less direct and creates a more objective tone. However, in professional writing such as memos and emails, active voice is preferred because it is less wordy and often more clear. In the beginning, the feedback I received from my peers often stated that the assignment was very wordy and indirect. While not innately a weakness, I believe that my writing style tended to focus on the passive voice and as a result, was more wordy than necessary. Since then, I have learned to differentiate between active and passive voice and the situations in which one would be preferable. It was a difficult process and even currently, I believe I still favor the passive voice for academic assignments. However, I have gained valuable experience from completion of the assigned work in ENGL 301 using various writing styles which will benefit my long term career aspirations to become a Full Stack Developer.
A Full Stack Developer utilizes code to develop new applications for the common user. Code, while difficult to understand, is commonly seen as a language and therefore can be written and reader. Therefore, there are objectively better written code that are clear, concise, and easy to read/follow along. I believe that the skills I have learned in ENGL 301 allows me to write code that is more clear and concise. Given that the manner which code is written directly affects profits, it is greatly beneficial as an aspiring Full Stack Developer to be able to write a solution that works but also be able to incorporate feedback to improve the efficiency of the program. I have demonstrated this skill on various occasions through revision of assignments that included rewording of sentences that were deemed wordy by my peers, and incorporation of feedback given by my instructor on my assignments. Furthermore, it is crucial that Full Stack Developers have great attention to detail, as a single missing semicolon within thousands of lines of code would render the whole program unable to run. Therefore, it is crucial that the Full Stack Developer has great attention to detail and be able to check through the code, just as writers check through their assignments for grammar and spelling mistakes. I have demonstrated this skill through constant revisions and utilization of spell-check programs to ensure minimal grammatical mistakes in my writing. Therefore, I believe that my current skills and strengths, demonstrated in ENGL 301, would serve as a strong foundation on my journey to become a Full Stack Developer.