Email, Letter of Complaint, and Negative Adjustment Letter Assignment

I found that the first two assignments of unit 3 to be particularly notable. The Evan Crisp email was a tad jarring to read, but fixing it served to be good practice. I learned to be less formal in writing emails of a similar nature, but not to the same degree as the one in the exercise. The letter and complaint were very helpful in the way that they taught me how to write for a situation that has affected me.

The Formal Draft

The formal report draft is, by far the longest assignment that I have written during my time at UBC. Upon reflection, I could have done better with my formal draft in multiples ways. The survey for the assignment could have been further fleshed out so that I could gather more information for my report. I could have also gone into more detail while writing the draft. However, I think that I did the best that I could considering that I did not have much time to write the assignment due to a change in my work schedule. The report may also be thin on the ground on information because it is assumed that the reader will know what I am referring to. In addition to this, I decided to exclude information in an attempt not to give away Costco trade secrets away. I decided to take photos for my report instead of creating a diagram (like of the one for the relevant parts of the interior of the store) because they would display what I was trying to say in the report better.

Formal Draft Peer Review

Upon writing the peer review for Dale, I realized that the information that I collected during the survey would be better displayed in a bar graph. That and I should summarize more of the results I received from the survey. I also agree with much of the findings that were made by Dale during his peer review of my draft report. It is clear that I still have a lot to work on in my report.

301 Formal Report David Cheung

Overview

Through completing the writing assignments of Unit 2, I have been reminded of and have discovered various things about LinkedIn, the planning of a formal report, and my writing.

LinkedIn

The writing of the “Best Practices Memo” was fairly straight forward. Most of the research I did was done via the textbook and websites, such as the UBC Careers Online website. I had, to some extent, known and put into effect some best practices that were stated in the websites I researched. On LinkedIn, I had previously reached out to an acquaintance on a personal level when inquiring about a job opportunity at the company my acquaintance works at. In the future, it would be prudent to implement some of the practices I have written about such as having a professional looking profile picture (my current picture is somewhat blurry), updating my work history regularly, (the information on my LinkedIn profile is out of date), and writing about my professional achievements.

After receiving the evaluation for my memo on LinkedIn best practices, I have realized that I have been using the imperative in my writing without noticing it. I presume this is because the previous types of documents I have the most experience writing are essays on historical topics (where the imperative is inappropriate and not used), or emails (which are unaffected with the inclusion of the imperative when it is used). Because of this, I lack experience identifying the imperative and must be careful of using the imperative when writing bullet points due to my tendency to use the imperative to set up further bullet points. The most likely place that I am likely to use bullet points is when I list something in my report like recommendations so I ought to take care when writing that section of my report. I also neglected to include a bibliography.

Project Proposal, Outline, and Progress Report

Being a member of the Member Services staff at Costco Vancouver enabled me to easily brainstorm a topic and preliminary solutions to the problem at hand. However, outlining my report was the most difficult part of this unit with creating a timeline being a close second. I have discovered that one of the greatest weaknesses I possess as a writer is my inability to outline, with any degree of certainty, a document that I have yet to begin writing. I had trouble creating a timeline for the completion of my formal report because whenever I have created a loose timeline for an assignment, I have failed to meet the goals of said timeline due to editing, and have abandoned the timeline. For this reason, I have little experience creating timelines for assignments resulting in the lackluster one I have posted. Both these problems must be addressed if I am to make use of what I am learning in this course.

Peer Review

Seeing my peer review partner’s review of my proposal, I can see that my peer review of her proposal needed work. In the future, I need to read peer review documents more closely and think of ways to improve on what is stated rather than just concluding that the document meets most requirements.

Again, I need to closely read my own document for small grammatical errors like misuse of words and larger errors such as addressing my proposal to the wrong person and forgetting to include a statement of audience.

Revised proposal: Proposal

Nicole’s peer review of my proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30198a2022s12/2022/06/29/nicoles-proposal-peer-review-for-david/

Writing My Definitions:

When I started the definition assignment, I decided to define the term debasement because I find the topic in classical numismatics to be fascinating. Although writing my parenthetical and sentence definitions was straightforward, writing my expanded definition of my term proved to be more difficult and time consuming due to the methods of expansion I used. Considering that a technical writer may need to create a new graphic if one for the topic being written about does not exist, I thought it would be prudent to make my own graphic. This turned out to be time consuming and labour intensive. I also discovered that I had to do more research than I originally thought I needed to because the document needed a works cited section.

Peer Review:

As fascinating the term I decided to define was, I found my definition to be very short compared to the expanded definition I reviewed. I think this is mostly due to the term that I decided to define being fairly simple to define. There may be a disconnect between me and the audience reading my definition, resulting in relevant information not being included due to my background. Producing an insightful peer review was straightforward. There were things I did not catch during my first read through Nicole’s document. I have discovered that, because my peer review partner and I are from different backgrounds, the mistakes we made and the style of writing we use in our writing are completely different.

Revisions:

I have learned that small oversights have affected the readability of the document. When I wrote my original definitions, I chose to use relatively simple language while writing in a formal tone as to not have the document appear too stuffy. I was also cautious to not use numismatic terminology that would confuse the reader without giving a parenthetical definition (as I did with the term denarius). Though I tried to use simple but descriptive language, there were still some financial terms in the document that I did not realize could be considered jargon. I have fixed this problem and the minor grammatical errors that were in the original document. I neglected to cite my graphic because I thought I did not need to cite my own creation (though I neglected to tell this to the person doing my peer review). Although the graphic was regular sized when I wrote the document on word, the image shrank when I inserted it into the word press page, making it hard to see on the original post. I have since made a revision to the graphic in the hyperlinked document.

Revised Definition: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30198a2022s12/2022/06/13/davids-revised-definition/

Nicole’s Peer Review of My Definition: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30198a2022s12/2022/06/10/nicoles-peer-review-of-davids-definition/

Subject: Formation of a Technical Writing Group

dbhcheung@gmail.com  Wed. June 1, 2022 1:00 pm.

To: matildamurray1@gmail.com

Dear Matilda,

Having read through your bio and technical writing group application, I would like to invite you to join my technical writing team. I have attached a copy of my application detailing my previous experience to this email.

We share similar majors giving us similar writing and research skills, and, perhaps similar academic interests. I loved studying ancient Roman culture and history when I was working on my B.A.

Please let me know if our similar educational backgrounds would complement each other on a technical writing team.

Sincerely,

David Bond-He Cheung

Technical Writing Student

ENGL 301

Phone: (778 989-5538)

Email: dbhcheung@gmail.com

301 David Cheung Application letter

 

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Subject: Formation of Technical Writing Team

dbhcheung@gmail.com Wed. June 1, 2022 1:00 pm.

To: nichwhi@gmail.com

Dear Nicole,

Having read through your bio and technical writing group application, I would like to invite you to join my technical writing team. I have attached a copy of my application detailing my previous experience to this email.

Although we have very different academic and professional backgrounds, we share a hobby in video games. My favorite games were Crusader Kings II and Stardew Vallley. Your different background may also offer solutions to technical writing issues that my background would not.

Please let me know if our mutual hobby and your unique experiences would prove complementary to our prospective technical writing team.

Sincerely,

David Bond-He Cheung

Technical Writing Student

ENGL 301

Phone: (778 989-5538)

Email: dbhcheung@gmail.com

301 David Cheung Application letter

 

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Subject: formation of a Technical Writing Group

dbhcheung@gmail.com Wed. June 1, 2022 1:00 pm.

To: jbarlescu@gmail.com

Dear Jessica,

Having read through your bio and Technical Writing group application, I would like to invite you to join my technical writing team. I have attached a copy of my application detailing my previous experience to this email.

Although we have very different academic and professional backgrounds, we share an interest in gardening. I still live with my parents who have a vegetable garden. The plants tend not to grow as well in the years I do anything more than turning and hoeing the earth. Your different background may also offer solutions to technical writing issues that my background would not.

Please let me know if our mutual interest and your unique experiences would prove complementary to our prospective technical writing team.

Sincerely,

David Bond-He Cheung

Technical Writing Student

ENGL 301

Phone: (778 989-5538)

Email: dbhcheung@gmail.com

301 David Cheung Application letter

ENGL 301

MEMORANDUM

To: Dr. Erika Paterson

From: David Cheung

Date: May 30, 2022

Subject: Letter of Application Posted to WordPress

As requested, I have posted my letter of application for a position on a writing team to WordPress. It contains my relevant writing experience for the position to you and prospective writing team members.

The Letter of Application enclosed contains:

• Presenting reports and findings to relevant parties both verbally and in writing
• Taking minutes during meetings
• Sending emails to relevant parties

Please consider how elements listed in my Letter of Application can add to your writing team.

Thank you for considering my application. I am open to answering any inquiries.

David Cheung

301 David Cheung Application letter

4847 Slocan Street

Vancouver, British Columbia

V5R 2A2

May 30, 2022

ENGL 301

University Of British Columbia

University Endowment Lands, BC

V6T 1Z1

Dear Prospective Group Members:

Please consider my application for a position in your writing team, as advertised on Dr. Paterson’s English 301 Blog. I graduated from UBC with a B.A. in Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies in May of 2020, and I am aiming at retooling my existing writing and research skills so that they are more appropriate for the workplace.

Having been a Classical Studies major, I am accustomed to forming a coherent argument from information that I have researched. I also have experience producing documents communicating complex ideas in necessary detail. These skills combined with my experience as a University of British Columbia Note Taker enable me to communicate relevant information to relevant parties through writing or verbal communications. My job also involved technical writing tasks like note taking and gathering feedback from my clients via communicating with them via email.

I also served as the Classical, Near-Eastern and Religious Studies Student Association’s elected representative to the Arts Undergraduate Society council for a school year and as the same student association’s treasurer the following year. During this my tenure in both positions, I found myself performing some of the duties of a technical writer. During two bouts of funding issues, I stayed in contact with relevant parties through email. I also presented reports in student association exec meetings and took minutes of Arts Undergraduate Society council meetings when I was representative.

Because of my previous experiences, I am confident that I would make a good addition to a writing team. If you are interested in the style of and execution of my writing, you can contact me at dbhcheung@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

David Cheung

301 David Cheung Application letter