In unit two for English 301, the class had primary objectives of writing a formal report proposal, creating a LinkedIn profile, creating a formal report outline, and finally creating survey and interview questions. From a personal standpoint, I had a lot of learning to do for this unit.
The most eye-opening part for me was my LinkedIn profile. As much as I hate to admit that I engaged in a significant amount of social comparison throughout this process, the realization dawned upon me that I have far fewer credentials (work experience, volunteering, etc.) than those possessed by my peers in the class. With that said, it isn’t without reason that I do not possess the same amount of work and volunteer experience. My entire life has revolved around baseball; collegiate athletics is one quality that I possess that sets me apart from many others. The devotion I have given to baseball over the last five years of my college life, and fifteen years prior to my undergraduate life, resulted in a shortage of time to spend on other experiences. With this realization, came the drive for me to obtain as much work experience with Lawyers, athletes, and a continued relationship with Lululemon as possible. In addition to a commitment to volunteering with humane societies when possible.
The next area in which I realized I needed to put more work in, was with my survey and interview questions. I changed the questions around multiple times, and have in fact updated my survey and interview questions for VOKRA since submitting the assignment a few short days ago. Trying to capture enough information for my research through surveys and interviews, while also being mindful of time has proven to be significantly tougher than expected. If it were up to me, I would be asking a hundred questions for each, though that simply isn’t efficient or realistic.
Finally, the peer reviews were both fascinating to read, and beneficial all in one. Reading the various proposal outlines with regards to which organizations/issues each individual wanted to help got me thinking about issues I had never even thought about. What really helped with the peer review of the outline was being able to objectively look at another person’s piece, find their areas that need to be addressed, and then taking that same objectivity and applying it to my writing. Furthermore, the peer review of LinkedIn profiles, as mentioned above certainly opened my eyes to how much work experience some people have. This was specifically noted with those who I may be competing with for spots at law school, and what I may need to do in order to boost my application not only for school but for future job opportunities.
Ultimately, this unit was eye-opening not only from a classroom/learning standpoint but from a personal standpoint as well.
Attached below are two documents. The first being my revised proposal, with necessary changes made to the reader and methods sections. I also received feedback for listing further detail on a couple of statistics. However, that may compromise the concise nature of the proposal. The second is a link to the peer review I received.
Research Proposal ENG 301 – Revised
Link to peer review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99a-2019wa/2019/10/17/peer-review-connor/
