Reflecting on my work over the past months, I can see where my weaknesses and strengths lie.

Weaknesses:

Being an English Literature major, one aspect that I struggled with is writing in shorter sentences. Technical writing is dependent on sentences that are concise – only necessary information needs to be given. Compared to writing essays for Literature courses, I found myself having to edit out unnecessary fluff. From this, I learned that English writing and technical writing have two different styles. I also struggled with remembering proper formatting for memos. Small things like leaving out closing remarks or having ‘Memorandum’ as a heading were difficult for me to remember. I believe it is because it has a different structure than I am used to. My main weakness for this course was keeping up with the work load. At times, I fell a little behind on readings or started assignments later than I would have liked. This was important for me to experience because it is reflective of how work is requested in real life. While I struggled initially, I feel that I improved as the course went on. I caught on more quickly, and completed assignments sooner.

Strengths:

While I struggled with leaving out unnecessary words, having to write professionally was something I felt comfortable with. My style of writing is generally formal already, so I felt that I did well in this area. I am confident with grammar and spelling so I also did not have any issues with these across the term. While it was sometimes challenging, I found myself rising to the occasion to complete the assignments. I worked hard for each unit and was rewarded with new skills. For assignments, I consistently edited my own work so that I was handing in something I felt confident in. This is my biggest strength for assignments. I am proud of the work that I have completed. Regarding my learning process, I tried to incorporate things I learned here into my daily life. I think this incorporation helped me grow even further.

The Future:

I am considering a job in writing when I graduate next year, so the skills I have developed in this course helped widen my range. I am excited to have gained a new writing style. This has helped boost my confidence in my writing. With these new skills, I can perhaps look to widen my perspective on jobs to apply for. While this class was about technical writing, I gained other important skills in passing. Working with a writing team, communication was important, but also learning to respect other writing styles. Constructive feedback was important, but also learning to write criticism in a helpful manner. I also learned the importance of punctuality and managing my time. With many assignments, organizing my time was important in being successful here. This is something I look to improve on even more.

The process of creating the web folio was interesting because it required looking at previous assignments. From re-reading, I can see that my writing has grown over the past months. I also reflected on how I feel much more comfortable now writing in formal writing than I was before. When writing for this web folio, there was not the same hesitation I used to have because I feel comfortable writing in this style now.

I decided to create my web folio with an intended audience of employers. I am graduating next year so this was a good opportunity to showcase my work. Compared to the first blog we created, I put more effort into completing this because it contained all my assignments. I wanted to make a blog reflective of the effort I put into this course. While I am not familiar with web design, I did my best. I added photos and links that I felt were appropriate for each post/section. I played around with colours and designs so I could create a look I felt satisfied with. Because I now understand how blogs.ubc.ca work, I did not struggle with posting or navigation.

The most interesting part of this assignment was re-editing past work. I felt proud when I realized I could easily spot mistakes or areas that I would change now that I have learned more. It was also surprising to see how much work had been completed for this class. The growth is visible, which is one aspect I really enjoyed.

The process of creating the formal report draft was difficult. While the idea of a draft seems straight forward, I struggled with researching the topic because the information I need was not accessible on the internet. My formal report looks at how implementing a self-serve Keno machine in Lotto! stores would benefit Keno players and employees, but data on lottery stores is very limited. For instance, I could not find the cost of the machine. I asked previous co-workers, including assistant managers, but they did not have the information or could not disclose it. Thus, gathering the information I need to create a convincing argument is a challenge. In terms of organizing and writing the report, I am familiar with formal writing so I did not have many issues in this area. This assignment is very good practice because it helps us learn the basics in writing a formal report. Organization and professionalism is important so I focused on these two aspects when writing.

Peer reviewing Money’s draft demonstrated once again how helpful proofreading is when completing assignments. Money has an interesting problem to solve and his report explores a solution in a neat manner. His report is organized and thoughtfully done. While Money’s report had a few spelling and grammatical errors, there were not many flaws overall. Because it was well done, it helped me look back on my own report to see if it would also appear as well thought out and convincing. One thing I immediately realized from Money’s report was that he had included headings and page numbers, something I had forgotten. Realizing things like this is helpful in catching my own mistakes. The most important realization I had from peer editing this assignment is that the structure of the draft is important. I went back to my own draft after peer editing to make sure I had all the components that allowed the report to flow smoothly. Money’s assignment gave me a good reference for how it should look and feel.

301-Cathy-Liu-Formal-Report-Draft

For this course I was required to create a LinkedIn profile which I did not previously have. It was an interesting process, reflecting on future goals, current skills, and exploring how to write about myself in a professional manner. I can see now how useful a platform like LinkedIn can be, and how it can open up a lot of opportunities. I will be continuing to update and use this site in the future.

I had a couple problems initially with the planning and creation of my formal report. My original plan was viewed to be unethical because it would deal with personal, private issues like addiction, so I had to make changes that targeted sales instead of the customers. Dr. Paterson was very helpful in guiding me to find the right approach to my report. It was difficult at first, trying to think of what I could change in past working or volunteer environments. However, I enjoyed the critical thinking required for this task. With the proper adjustments, I have fixed my report to create an appropriate plan.

Like the first peer review, this assignment was helpful in improving my analyzing and critiquing of others’ work. The most interesting aspect of doing this peer review work is getting to read how others write and form their work. I have learned the value in respecting others’ writing styles, and to take that into account when editing and reviewing. It has also made me aware of how catching little mistakes, such as grammatical or spelling errors, show how they can slip past the writer which is why peer reviewing is so valuable. From reading my team member Money’s report, not only was it fun to read and interesting to learn more about a place where Money used to work, I also admired Money’s thoughtful report, which showed how much effort was put into it. It is exciting to see the variety in the proposals being made.

301CathyLiuUpdatedResearchProposal

Money’s peer review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2020sa/2020/06/24/peer-review-for-cathys-research-proposal/

Hello everyone,

I have just completed my revised definitions assignment and have some thoughts on the process that I would like to express.

The term that I chose was deindividuation, a concept I learned from my experience in Social Psychology courses. It is a complex concept, yet easy to understand with a solid set of definitions. My goal was to write in a concise and efficient manner that provided the audience with a clear understanding of the concept. To do this, I tried to write without any Psychology jargon that would confuse the reader, I chose methods in the expanded definitions that would provide beneficial information, and wrote each sentence with purpose. From this process I learned the importance of remembering who your reader is. At times I caught myself writing in a way that only someone with a Psychology background could understand. This exercise helped me stay focused on what mattered: teaching a term to an uninformed audience.

The next step of peer editing was beneficial for this exercise. Reading my partner’s work allowed me to observe what I expected from my own writing. My partner, Aran, did a great job on his definitions which allowed me to be critical of his writing. The sharing of information was valuable for the both of us as it opened the door for improvement. My experience as an English student helped me to note mistakes in grammar or cohesiveness, while my experience from this course thus far taught me to be critical about who the audience is and about writing efficiently. I discovered that my style of peer editing is to respect the writer’s own style while providing positive feedback and critique when necessary.

The final step of self editing was incredibly helpful. It was important for my partner to catch the faults in my writing. His suggestions about the clarity of my introduction and situation allowed me to understand how I needed to focus more on how an uninformed audience may interpret my writing. It was also a moment to to reflect on the way I am writing in this course. I thought about whether my writing style as an English student was impacting the writing style needed for this course. Recognizing where I was struggling and how to improve allowed me to revise my definitions without any further issues.

This assignment provided a good indicator of where I am in this course. It showed where my strengths are and where I need to improve. It was also a good opportunity to work with one of my writing team members. Completing this exercise, I think that I am able to have a better grasp of what is expected in this course, and will continue to work hard to meet the expectations.

Here is Aran’s review of my assignment: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2020sa/2020/06/10/arans-review-of-cathys-definitions-assignment/

Here is a word doc of my revised definitions: 301-Cathy-Liu-Revised-Definition

Hello! This is a web folio for a technical writing course at UBC taught by Dr. Erika Paterson.

This course has covered many types of professional writing including writing for formal reports, professional emails, and job applications. While the focus of this course has been on improving individual writing style, other skills have been taught in the process. The importance of communication among writing team members, the need to hand in assignments on time, and the balancing of workload were all skills developed in this class. I have had the pleasure of improving on these skills throughout the term and feel that I have grown in my writing.

As a 5th year student graduating next year with a major in English Literature, this course has helped me develop a new form of writing. I now have a wider range of work that I am capable of writing and producing. While English Literature emphasized my creativity and critical thinking, technical writing focused on structure and form. I can confidently say that I am now comfortable writing in either style.

On this site, you will find a collection of the work I have produced for this course. You can find each page organized across the directory bar. Each page will contain the specified work along with a brief introduction and summary. The files are downloaded as pdfs for your convenience.

I hope you enjoy the content on this site. If you have any questions or comments, you can find my contact information here.