Hello and welcome to my blog.

The posts on this page are reflections on various stages of the English Technical Writing course I took this summer. The Covid-19 pandemic has made this an unforgettable year and has also made us reflect on our priorities. Perhaps we will attain a higher level of awareness as a result. In any case, both the extra time I had during confinement to think and the contemplation I exercised after assignments this term have assisted me in developing an appreciation for self-evaluation. The journal entries posted on this page are informal in tone. I learned a great deal in this course, pushed the limits of my writing capabilities, and was gratified by small successes along the way. It is a pleasure to share this journey with you. So please continue down the list of posts to read about my adventures in blogging, reviewing peers, defining periodontitis, interviewing colleagues, designing floor plans, and much more…

Now that all projects and assignments of the course have been completed, it is time to reflect on lessons learned and our growth, both as students and individuals.

Being honest with one’s self is the fastest way to growth, so I will begin by admitting the weaknesses I observed in myself throughout the term. I sometimes hesitate to ask questions early on in assignments. Unfortunately, this leads to wasted time and effort. I sometimes completed sections of an assignment twice because I didn’t clarify terms. At the beginning of the course, I was not familiar with several of the online forums on which assignments needed to be posted. I work in the dental field which has only recently become digitized. Paper files were still extremely common up until about 5 or 6 years ago. I am happy to report that I have improved my IT knowledge significantly. In general, I am much more relaxed when confronted with an unfamiliar program or system.

I feel that determination was a strength that helped me progress through the units. Even when overwhelmed, I persevered with hard work and a positive attitude. I enjoy writing and value the power of words, so improving the conciseness of my compositions was gratifying. I am certain that the skills I acquired in this class will assist me in other courses, at my current job, and in new career prospects.

Returning to school after twenty years, has made me aware of how studying supports my future career goals. To achieve advancement, whether it be in a class or at a job, one must strive for growth. Remaining in your comfort zone or limiting yourself to the basic requirements rarely leads to success. Learning does not finish at the end of a course or when your receive a job offer, it is continuous. Being a student conditions an individual to push their limits and realize goals.

The web folio assignment is the culmination of all the skills we have developed thus far in English 301 Technical Writing. Attaching word and pdf documents, links, images, and applying correct citation was just one step in this assignment. As students and job applicants, we want to present ourselves in a competent manner. Concise writing and careful editing are essential to making a good impression. Regardless of the purpose of a document, submitting work that contains grammar or typographical errors is a definite  No-No in educational and professional settings.

In completing this task, I first chose where to build the site. Using UBC blogs has been an enjoyable experience throughout the semester, so I decided to locate my electronic portfolio on the same forum as the class and student blogs. With this assignment, a bit more freedom was granted in designing structure and creating pages that reflect the accomplishments and ambitions of students. The audience for my personal website is fellow dental colleagues and potential employers. With this in mind, I wanted to show both my professional abilities and interests as well as a sense of my personality.

Creating the web folio was a long, but enjoyable process. I indulged myself by playing with colours and adjusting formatting to make an attractive website. Writing introductions to each page, link, post, and work exhibited was necessary in guiding the readers through the content. Without these directions and blurbs, the material would lack flow and meaning. I spent a lot of time trying to make the set-up logical and intelliglible. I also reflected on what readers might find interesting when selecting material. A professional, but friendly tone was the goal of my writing style. Choosing the middle road between overly casual and very mechanical seemed to be the best way produce easy and worthwhile reading. Complimenting technical oral health facts with composing texts and designing visuals turned out to be a stimulating and gratifying activity.

Unit 3 was a lot of work, but a lot of fun.

Designing the survey and interview questions to uncover valuable data while remaining objective was challenging. I studied good research methodology before formulation and distribution. I paid careful attention not to ask leading questions and to selecting appropriate ranges for multiple choice questions. If the ranges were too wide, differences would not be detected. If they were too narrow, data would need to be manipulated after the fact, which is a poor technique. The interview subjects, who happen to be my co-workers, were eager to help and provided a lot of insight into the investigated problem. I was happily surprised at the number of survey responses I received. I think the reason for the high participation rate was twofold: 1- they were motivated to solve social distancing problems, 2- they wanted to help me with my assignment.

Once all the raw data was compiled, the large task of organizing it and analyzing it seemed daunting. I dove in on my day off, only coming up for air to walk the dog and make coffee. It was actually very enjoyable. I didn’t even see the hours go by. To be honest, I became a little addicted to working on the report. Colour co-coordinating the charts, formatting the size of the diagrams to make sections fit within the same page, and discovering a program that can draw a floor plan (to help the reader visualize my idea) was great. Scripting the text to maintain a neutral tone, employ the YOU attitude, omit pronouns, and stay in the present tense allowed me to use all the special skills I’ve learned so far in the course. I recognize how fond I am of playing with text and visuals to produce an appealing document. I also understand that when done well, the pairing of concise phrases and clear images can convey a message much more precisely and quickly that text alone.

Finally, the peer review stage was upon me. My partner’s research topic was engaging and extensively studied. It was interesting to see how nuances in interpreting directions result in slightly different versions of the same basic format. Yet again, reviewing my peer’s work made me want to review my report again, making adjustments here and there. I realize that, through this process, our work is really edited 3 times. First, when we go over it before sending it to our peer. Second, when we go over it after completing a peer review on a classmate. And finally, the third time, when our partner submits the peer review of our document. The peer review stage is quite lengthy, but very valuable. A document can never be over-edited.

Draft-Formal Report-C.Hruby-July 31,2020

Unit 2 was a busy few weeks, but we accomplished a lot.

It all began by choosing a problem, inefficiency, or deficiency in a familiar setting with the intention of recommending a solution. The issue had to be complex enough to require substantial investigation and analysis. This proved to be challenging. A formal report of 12 to 15 pages needs to be developed by the end of the term and I wanted to make sure to chose a topic that would be sufficient and interesting. I reflected on several issues, not limited, to reducing waste at the dental office where I work, improving online learning practices during Covid confinement at my son’s school since the introduction to remote education, improving the efficiency of the use of the Teamsnap app by my son’s hockey team. I brainstormed ways to collect data and how to solve the different problems. I finally decided to investigate ways to reduce gathering in public areas at my place of work. Social distancing is an important topic and I believe that the improvements I suggest could be helpful to my colleagues and employers.

Since I submitted the research proposal, it occurred to me that I could start gathering information by placing a suggestion box in the staff lunchroom. I thought that it could help me in formulating the interview and survey questions. I have begun distributing the surveys already. The data I have collected so far has confirmed some of my suspicions and called attention to new aspects of the problem. The interviews will begin shortly. I am eager to compile the results from all of the different sources and begin detailing my solution.

The peer review process of the research proposal was very beneficial. My partner pointed out some flaws that I had overlooked in the document and made very constructive suggestions for improvement. It is very helpful to have a second set of eyes look over your work, not just for grammatical errors, but to improve the structure, clarity, and focus your document. After completing the peer review for my partner’s document, I returned to my own work with a new outlook. I saw efficient, direct, and concise ways of phrasing ideas and tried to apply the same principles in my document.

The LinkedIn portion of the assignment was enjoyable. What a useful project and a great opportunity to complete the professional step with guidance from the professor and our peers. Sharing research on best practices with our writing team was a great way to gain access to ample information on the forum. In sending the memo and receiving feedback from the professor, it has finally sunk in… there should be no use of pronouns in professional writing. Not even in memos.  I don’t know why it took me so long to break the habit, but I have finally seen the light.

The final step in the unit was to design a peer review template and use it to review our partner’s LinkedIn profile. This assignment allowed us to walk a mile in our professor’s shoes. It made me think about what our professor is looking for in our writing and what makes a document effective and complete. Creating the template required us to evaluate all aspects of a written document. It made me realize the importance of following directions, verifying checklists, and consulting different sources to crosscheck instructions. I also think that making adjustments to a document can sometimes cause us to loose focus on the flow. Once finished altering the text, it is a good idea to come back to it a few minutes later to make sure that changes in tense or sequence haven’t created grammatical errors or choppiness.

Peer Review for Esteban: Writing with You Attitude

Research Proposal Christina Hruby

Hello Classmates,

After a short break, I’m happy to have the chance to write on my blog again. The work for the last assignment, in which we explored definition writing, was located mainly on the team forum. This class has been in session for less than one month and I have already learned how to navigate two discussion websites that were completely new to me. I am feeling more and more computer-savvy with each passing unit.

The assignment began with textbook examples and instructions on how to develop definitions. Specific guidelines were introduced concerning how we should carefully select terminology that matches the reader’s level of understanding. After going back and forth a bit, I finally settled on periodontitis as the term I would introduce to my audience. While writing, I tried to follow textbook lessons on conciseness, active voice, clarity, wordiness, and redundancy. I ran into a little confusion along the way regarding how my document should be presented. I had developed all of the different types of definitions, but then wondered if I should use them to create a document that the audience would actually read. The problem with this formula was that I could not name the types of expansions in the expanded section or identify the particular sentence that I wanted to considered as the sentence definition. I did my best to make it clear without sacrificing the authenticity of my periodontal information pamphlet.

The second step was peer review. My partner had written about an urban planning term, which was slightly familiar to me because my sister is an urban planner. My partner had put together a great document. I used the peer review form to guide me in providing feedback. It was an interesting process because as I was evaluating my teammate’s work, I realized ways in which my own document could be improved. It also gave me some perspective on how professors evaluate students’ work.

My partner provided me with some helpful feedback. She addressed specific details and how the document worked as a whole. For example: did it meet it’s goal of educating the reader in an undemanding manner. As it turns out, my concerns about my document’s form were not unfounded; my partner was also somewhat confused about which definition was which. She also noted that my work lacked flow. I think this happened because I was trying to do too much at the same time: make my definitions obvious and still create a plausible reading situation. I was also very focused on choosing the right words and didn’t pay enough attention to whether one thought transitioned smoothly to the next.

I decided to take a couple of days to digest the feedback and to decide whether I should abandon the patient document idea. I find that taking a step back helps me to gain perspective and inspiration. I figured out a way to be specific without having to dispose of my original idea completely. In my revised version, I listed the definitions and then included the periodontal information/welcome sheet separately. By doing this, I was able to be clear in identifying the different forms of definitions as well as achieve better flow in the patient’s document. I eliminated some repetition and corrected some errors I had made in APA in-text citation. I feel much more confident about my final product.

I learned that I need to keep things simple if I want to be clear. I also realize that I should pause periodically while working on a piece of writing to allow for fresh ideas. My partner’s suggestions were constructive and honest, but maintained a professional tone. I am grateful for her insight and I hope that I was helpful in her writing process as well.

Revised definitions document: Periodontitis definitions

Peer review report:

Peer Review for Christina Hruby