Category Archives: Blog

Strengths

In the process of learning the principles of technical writing and completing assignments in ENGL 301, I was able to identify my strengths in both the learning process and written works. My most striking strength in the learning process is that I never hesitate to ask questions. Whenever there is something hinders my process of learning, I always ask my writing team members for help rather than struggling alone until the end. I also never hesitate to answer others’ questions and provide feedback to them. By sharing knowledge and opinions with others, I have successfully completed all the assignments and improved my technical communication skills. My strength in written works is that I always try to provide as many details as possible so that my audiences can clearly understand the purpose and content of my writing. Especially, Professor Erika’s feedback on my formal proposal memo helped me a lot to learn how to add details to my writing. After revising the assignment according to Professor Erika’s feedback and reflecting on my previous works, I could enhance my strength of providing details even further.

Weakness

Based on the technical writing techniques that I have learned in ENGL 301, I was able to identify my weaknesses in my learning process and written works. My weakness in the learning process is that I always have the fear of failure even before starting the assignment without reason. That fear of failure has impeded my productivity and reduced my enthusiasm for learning. However, I have been always able to complete all the assignments successfully in the end. In the process, I was able to learn that believing in myself is also important in the process of learning. In addition to my weakness in the learning process, I could also identify my weakness in written assignments in the process of learning technical writing in ENGL 301. My weakness in written assignments is that I tend to keep long sentences in the paragraphs, impending readability of my writing. Based on suggestions from peer reviews and feedback from Professor Erika, I was able to practice how to transform long sentences into multiple readable and concise sentences.

How My Skills and Strengths Will Support My Future Career

Technical communication and writing skills are crucial in Computer Science. Programming and testing are just a part of the story in software engineering. Software developers spend a lot of time and effort to write comprehensive documents about the specification of the software. Furthermore, effective communication between team members is crucial to share the technical processes of building software together. As a student who wants to pursue a career in the software industry, the skills and strengths that I gained and improved in ENGL 301 will help me a lot. The email memo and peer review practices from ENGL 301 will help me to effectively communicate with my future team members. Furthermore, my experience in preparing a formal report in the course will be extremely helpful when I prepare software documentation for clients in the industry in the future. Finally, my strengths of asking questions and providing details to peers will help me to play important role in the team of professionals.

Overall, I have been able to improve crucial skills and strengths that will support my future career in Computer Science in the process of learning technical writing in ENGL 301.

Citation for a visual: “Introductory Topic – Self Reflection.” Sam Conibear, 19 Feb. 2018, sjconibear.wordpress.com/2018/02/19/introductory-topic-self-reflection/.

Brainstorming Process

In unit 4.3, we are asked to design and create a web portfolio to highlight our academic and professional background and showcase a collection of our best-written works completed in ENGL 301. The first task for me was to determine who will be the potential audience of my web folio. As a professional in the early stage of my career as a software developer, I decided to design a web folio that highlights my technical skills that are relevant to Computer Science and Software Engineering fields so that potential employers can visit my web folio and learn about my professional interest and background. Furthermore, I decided to include my GitHub and LinkedIn links on the main page to individualize my web folio.

Creating and Revision Process

After brainstorming ideas and defining the purpose of my web folio, I had to think about where to build my web folio. I decided to build my folio by extending the existing ENGL 301 website and adding more features. After defining the basic structure of my web folio, I had to move existing content around and add more pages according to the requirement of the assignment: “Home” page, “About Me” page, “Blog” page, “Online Resume” page, “Application Package” page, and “Best Work” page that showcases examples of my best work from ENGL 301. I especially spent a lot of time and effort building the “Best Work” page. I first needed to self-edit previous assignments according to peer reviews and Professor Erika’s feedback. Then, I provided commentaries on the purpose and success of each assignment with links to each revised assignment.

Overall, I was able to learn how to design and create a professional web folio to showcase myself. Furthermore, I was able to review my previous assignments and reflect on my weaknesses and strengths in the revision process.

Citation for a visual: “What Is Reflection?” tutor2u, www.tutor2u.net/psychology/blog/what-is-reflection.

Best Practices for Using LinkedIn

In the unit 2.2 of ENGL 301, we are asked to write a list of ten best practices for using LinkedIn as a professional networking site. The purpose of the assignment was to share my research findings with the writing team members. As a professional in the early career stage, I found this assignment helped me to broaden my view on professional networking. From my research, I learned that having a good personal profile on LinkedIn is not enough, and actively engaging with people through activities such as joining LinkedIn Groups is also important when using LinkedIn as a professional networking site. After sharing my research findings with team members, I received an opportunity to review and revise my writing by editing out imperative verbs with Professor Erika’s feedback. Overall, I was able to learn how to research and study techniques for professional networking and share the findings with others in writing.

Formal Report Proposal and Outline

In the second unit of ENGL 301, we are tasked to write a formal report proposal and outline. I first started by brainstorming ideas for a formal report. As a current teaching assistant at the UBC Computer Science department, I decided to investigate and analyze the status of the departmental resources for supporting teaching assistants and provide recommendations for enhancing continuous support for them. After choosing the right topic, I defined the scope of my research and planned for the methods to collect primary data for the report. At first, I planned to distribute a survey for students and conduct an interview with teaching assistants. However, the plan for the interview was replaced with another survey for teaching assistants after receiving feedback from both Professor Erika and my peer review partner. After Professor Erika approved my proposal, I started working on a formal proposal outline. To produce the outline for the formal report, I had to accomplish several tasks to clarify the structure and contents of my formal report. First, I had to clarify the purpose and significance of my report as well as its objectives. After generating the outline of the report, I had to come up with a feasible research plan and a writing schedule for the progress report. Overall, I was able to learn how to write a proposal and an outline for a formal report, which is intended to investigate, analyze, and suggest recommendations for a problem in a public setting.

Peer Review Process

After writing the proposal for a formal report, I was given an opportunity to review my partner’s (Carman Chu) work and provide suggestions for improvement. In the process, I learned how to carefully review my partner’s work and provide positive feedback with suggestions for revision. Since I am also engaged in a problem in a public setting that she underlined, the lack of enough time to move between classes at UBC, I could read and review her proposal with a sympathetic attitude as a current UBC student. Furthermore, I could reflect on my writing from the writing strategies in her work. For example, I addressed a problem in a public setting with supporting data in the introduction, but she provided an actual number of students enrolled at UBC to support the necessity and significance of her research. My partner also provided me with critical but positive feedback for improvement such as addressing the intended audience. Overall, I was able to learn how to provide and receive positive feedback and constructive recommendations for revision.

Revision Process

After providing a peer review for a partner’s proposal, I was given an opportunity to edit and enhance my formal report proposal based on suggestions from my partner. My partner provided me with critical, informative, and positive feedback that helped me a lot to enhance my writing skills. From her suggestions, I could notice that my proposal did not include the intended audience, which had to be established as a first step. I did the research and found the names of the intended audiences and decided to address the final report to the Human Resources staff at the UBC Computer Science department. Furthermore, I was able to improve the flow of phrases by cutting them shorter for more clarity based on my partner’s suggestions. My partner also provided me with positive feedback on how I formatted the proposal for a smooth flow and how I stated the problem and solution clearly. Overall, I learned how to review and provide constructive feedback on my partner’s writing as well as how to use feedback to revise my own work. In the peer review and revision process, I was able to identify my strengths and weaknesses in writing.

Links to Assignments:

Received Peer Review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30199c2022w2/2023/02/28/assignment-2-1-peer-review-of-byung-suns-formal-report-proposal/

Revised Formal Report Proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30199c2022w2/2023/03/17/assignment-2-3-revised-formal-report-proposal/

Writing the First Draft of the Technical Definition:

In unit 1 of ENGL 301, I was asked to write three different definitions of a technical term for non-technical audiences without backgrounds in the professional field in which the term is used. Since it was my first time introducing a complex term from my professional discipline to non-technical audiences, it was very challenging to start the assignment at the beginning. However, I was able to make progress after reviewing chapter 17 of the course textbook and the guides in the instructor’s blog thoroughly. The term I chose was Automation Testing, which is a type of software testing technique from the computer science field. The most challenging part was that I had to make the technical contents understandable to audiences who do not have background in software engineering and testing. In this process, I could improve my technical writing skills a lot by learning how to write different definitions of a technical term as well as how to deliver written information to the audience in a professional tone and organized format. 

The three different definitions that I wrote for the term were a parenthetical definition, a sentence definition, and an expanded definition. Although three different definition types were used to define the same technical term, each has a different structure and purpose. I learned that a parenthetical definition is used to clarify the meaning of the word in the sentence by providing a more familiar synonym or a short explanation in parentheses. In contrast, a sentence definition is used to provide further elaborations about the term in a short sentence. Although both a parenthetical and a sentence definition can provide a general understanding of a term, an expanded definition can be used to provide more in-depth information about a term if audiences require a deeper understanding of a term. I learned that various expanding methods can be used to expand a definition such as examples and required conditions. In the assignment, I used five different expanding methods: Operating Principle, Visuals, Comparison and Contrast, Examples, and Required Conditions. Although various expanding methods are available, some methods are better than others depending on the nature of a term. For example, I chose a method of Required Conditions to introduce some technical restrictions of Automation Testing because it is a software testing technique that adopts various other technologies that may introduce new bugs to it. Overall, I could improve my technical writing skills by delivering three different definitions of a complex technical term to non-technical audiences in the process of this assignment.

Peer Review Process:

After writing the first draft of the technical definition, I was given an opportunity to read and review my partner’s (Cheka Duheme) work. In the process, I learned how to carefully examine my partner’s writing and offer positive feedback with suggestions for improvement. Since her technical term, pluricentric, was from the linguistics field in which I do not have background, reading her definitions as a non-technical audience was especially valuable to reflect on how others could read my writing. Furthermore, I could reflect on my work from her writing techniques and strategies. For example, I tended to have lengthy sentences in my writing, but all the sentences in her writing were very clear and concise without unnecessary words. My partner also provided me with critical and informative feedback for revision such as helping me improve the flow of the paragraphs and correct a citation for the visual. Overall, I could learn how to provide and receive critical feedback on writing in the peer review process.

Revision Process:

After the peer review process, I was given a chance to revise and improve my definition assignment based on feedback from my partner. From the perspective of a non-technical reader, my partner could provide me with thorough and critical feedback that was very helpful to improve my work. Based on feedback, I could improve the flow of my writing by rewording some sentences as well as correcting issues with grammar such as punctuation and verb tense. Furthermore, I was able to correctly format and alphabetize citations in work cited. My partner also provided me with positive feedback on how I organized the structure of the document clearly. This positive but critical feedback helped me to figure out what is my strength and weakness in writing. Overall, the peer review and revision process helped me to improve my technical writing skills. I was able to learn how to examine team members’ writings and offer positive feedback to them. I could also learn how to revise my writing based on the received feedback. I look forward to the next assignments for more peer review opportunities to improve my technical writing skills.

Links to Assignments:

Peer Review Assignment: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30199c2022w2/2023/02/12/assignment-1-3-peer-review-of-definitions/

Revised Definition Assignment: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30199c2022w2/2023/02/15/assignment-1-3-revised-definition-of-automation-testing/

To: Cheka Duheme

From: Byung-Sun Park

Date: February 1, 2023

Subject: Reply to ENGL 301 Writing Team Request

Dear Cheka,

Thank you for taking the time to review my application letter and invite me to your writing team. I am happy to let you know that I accept your invitation. I have read your application letter and believe that your interdisciplinary backgrounds in English Studies and Asian Studies will provide academic diversity and collaborative culture in our team. In addition to your academic background, I am confident that your communication skill earned from the supervisor role in retail and the copywriter role for an e-commerce company will help our team members collaborate together to achieve the best outcome in the peer review process.

Thank you for reaching out to me. I look forward to working with you soon.

Regards,

Sun

To: Carman Chu

From: Byung-Sun Park

Date: February 1, 2023

Subject: ENGL 301 Writing Team Request

Dear Carman,

My name is Byung-Sun Park, and I am writing this email to express my interest in forming a professional writing team with you. I am a third-year Computer Science student interested in Cognitive Science and Human-Computer Interaction. I have reviewed your application letter and believe your background in Psychology can be in harmony with my interest in relative topics. Furthermore, I am confident that we can foster team synergy in the peer review process based on our shared learning philosophy of pursuing accuracy and perfection. 

I attached my application letter in this email. Thank you for taking the time to read my email and application letter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Byung-Sun

Enclosure: 301 Byung-Sun Park Application letter

To: Professor Erika Paterson

From: Byung-Sun Park

Date: January 27, 2023

Subject: Submission of Application Letter

As you requested in Lesson 1:2 assignments, I have posted my application letter to join a professional writing team this term.

My posted application letter includes:

• Introduction of my technical interests in professional fields
• Lists of experiences from my previous Co-op placements
• Lists of my strengths, weakness, and learning philosophy

Thank you for taking the time to read my application letter and email. I look forward to your feedback.

Enclosure: 301 Byung-Sun Park Application letter.