Writing the first draft of the definition
In lesson 1:3 of the ENGL301 course, I decided to introduce the term Solar Photovoltaic Panel from the science field because Canada has promoted this technology to protect the environment in recent years due to its ability to reduce carbon emissions and restructure of national power companies. I read several materials about the panel and determined how to write a clear definition for audiences. During the writing process, I understood that the three definition types have different functions: parenthetical is the easiest way to explain a term but it’s often too short to make everything clear; sentence definition is clearer than the parenthetical and it’s also concise so it’s very suitable to the verbal explanation; the expanded definition is the most detailed way to explain jargon. It explains as much as possible to the general audience, including methods like comparison, contrast, and figure illustration. I like the figure illustration most because it’s more direct and vivid to understand and always more attractive to readers. Through the writing process, I learned how to write an explanation of one technical term for general audiences. I believe this topic is fairly useful at the workplace and even in daily life. Because except for practicing my writing skills, I learned to think about it for the sake of others, which is very important to get others’ understanding and support. It’s also a critical interpersonal skill.
Peer Review Process
I chose to review my team member Han Li’s work because our topics are in the same field in terms of renewable technologies and environmental science. Reading others’ work is a great opportunity to learn and retrospect since we often can’t notice the small mistakes that we made but others can. Han pointed out that I didn’t put a comma before “and” and I didn’t use the correct tense once. She laughed when I wrote to her that she put an extra space before “which”. Peer review corrects our mistakes and bonds us together. I enjoy this way of learning. Han also suggested that I should add an introduction part and a conclusion, which I totally agree with. These two parts will complete my work and it’s more logical in the organization. All in all, the peer review process improves my writing skills and taught me how to make non-technical readers understand a term.
Revision Process
I was worried that my writing skills when I was writing since English is not my native language. However, my team member supported me a lot and I really appreciated that they gave me lots of positive feedback. Also, their valuable suggestions help me delete unnecessary expressions and focus more on the environmental effects of solar PV panels. The revision process made me understand deeper about the PV panels and improved my writing skills to a great extent because I’ve never revised an article so many times before. I noticed more inappropriate expressions whenever I revise my work and I enjoy this refining process a lot. I believe this assignment strengthened my writing, learning, and interpersonal skills. I look forward to the future tasks in the ENGL301 course.
Revised Definition Link: