Writing the first draft of my definitions allowed me to learn and make use of the several ways that one can define a term. Definitions are vital for knowledge translation and ensuring that information is accessible to most people. When making decisions for word choice, I reflected back on my experience as a first year student in kinesiology, when I was taking introduction classes. I recall the professors having large portions of their PowerPoint or lectures devoted to giving us the proper definition, usage, and application of the terms.
When using related terms for the negation method, I used sentence definitions to define the term “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”. Although the audience has been exposed to the basic psychological terminology, a clear definition will ensure appropriate connection of OCD to body dysmorphic disorder. The visual I chose is a diagram encompassing the major aspects of the disorder, but each term that may possibly be unfamiliar to my audience has either a parenthetical definition within the flow chart, or has been defined in my explanation of the visual. The examples of how each component of the disorder may be elicited is shown in the diagram, allowing a more applicable image of the disorder.
Completing a peer review for my group-mate was very beneficial. The definitions I peer reviewed was for the term “Donor Development Cycle”, and through my group-mate’s appropriate usage of word choice, tone, and examples, I was able to grasp a clear idea as to what the stages of the donor lifecycle was. While reading through my group-mate’s definitions, I also reflected on my own choice of methods and the delivery of my explanations. There were many instances where I went back to my own definitions to see whether if I had demonstrated the same skills, or have made similar errors as my group-mate had. After the first read of my group-mate’s definitions, I had already had a basic understanding of her term as she has concisely delivered each definition without any grammatical errors. I chose to focus slightly more on the organizational aspect of her definitions because I came across expansion methods that did not seem to be clearly titled. This illustrated the importance of clear labelling of a document and motivated me to be more careful in my future assignments and documents.
The feedback I received from my group-mate was very valuable in allowing to see my current skills in defining terms as well as the clarity of my writing, which is a skill I have been aiming to improve ever since high school. Following her advice made the editing process more efficient. For instance, I could have employed fewer words to communicate my idea, or I could have structured my sentence in a more effective manner.
Throughout this assignment, I became more aware of how small changes in my sentences can result in a large difference in the tone and clarity of my idea. The peer review and editing process improved the first draft of my definitions as well as altered my expectations towards the effectiveness of my writing for the future. I look forward to more opportunities to practice these skills, and to receive more feedback in ways I can improve my writing.
Edited Definitions: Definitions (edited)
Hyperlink to peer review: Peer Review of Christine’s Definitions