As part of my studies in the ENGL 301 technical writing course, I recently completed Unit Two, which required me to write a memorandum on LinkedIn’s best practices, produced a formal research proposal, and followed by developing documents that were required to progress the report. Despite the demanding nature of these assignments, they ultimately taught me a great deal about technical writing and research skills.
Ten Best Practices in LinkedIn
As I wrote the practices for professional networking on the LinkedIn platform, my objective was to present a guide for my peers to establish a strong network. But I also found the process of researching and compiling the best practices to be enlightening and informative for myself.
Upon reflection, I found that the most critical aspect of networking is maintaining consistency. Consistent engagement with one’s connections facilitates opportunities for professional growth. Furthermore, keeping one’s LinkedIn profile up-to-date helps maintain an accurate representation of one’s skills and accomplishments, increasing the chances of receiving job offers and elevating one’s professional reputation.
Overall, I am pleased by having the opportunity to produce a helpful guide for my peers in expanding their professional reach on LinkedIn.
Formal Report Proposal and Outline
Developing a formal report proposal is a time-consuming and effort-intensive process that involves selecting a problem to investigate, analyzing it, and proposing a solution or recommendation through a formal report. Upon choosing my topic, I brainstormed and considered the issues I have experienced in a space or location, given my background in studying different types of spaces. To narrow down my options, I focused on my time at UBC starting from my first term in September 2022.
Most of the time I spent at UBC was in various libraries around the campus, even on weekends after my classes. While each library had its unique environment, one thing that consistently bothered me was the closing procedures. I often found myself leaving an hour or 30 minutes before closing whenever I remembered it was getting late in terms of the time of day. As a result, I decided to create a report assessing the feasibility of revising the closing procedures in UBC libraries.
Although I was unsure about the specific contents of my formal report after writing the proposal, I found the first draft to be interesting and new. As a result, I decided to give it a try for my peers and instructor to provide feedback.
Peer Review Process
During the peer review process for our formal report proposals, we chose to use a cycle type of partnership. As a result, I ended up reviewing Aman’s work while Justin reviewed mine. My task was to evaluate the feasibility of Aman’s proposal.
The proposal was mainly to provide an alternative transportation option on the UBC campus. I found Aman’s writing to be concise and cohesive, making for an enjoyable read. It was clear that he had put a lot of effort into researching and writing a well-researched formal report proposal. The main highlight of his proposal was his proposed solution section as it was supported with examples of other places that have implemented the proposed ride-sharing option he was proposing. This review process was another excellent learning experience for me, as it showed the importance of cohesiveness and providing comprehensive information for the readers. I will keep these factors in mind as I revise my work and strive to create a more thorough and effective formal report proposal.
Revision Process
The feedback from the peer review and suggestions from Justin Tang and our instructor pointed out that my scope for closing procedures in UBC libraries might be too small for a formal report. After receiving this feedback and suggestions, I revised mine based on the following ideas they told me to consider such as expanding on other practices in UBC libraries that might also be relevant to my topic. Since I was focusing on the students’ stressors and disturbances they experience in libraries, I researched more about different library procedures that could benefit by revising or enhancing them. The result of this created a more impactful proposal.
Overall, I am grateful for having the opportunity to engage in another peer review process and gathering constructive feedback from our instructor as it helped enhance my technical writing skills for creating a formal report.
Revised Proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30199c2022w2/2023/03/17/formal-report-proposal-revised-2/
Peer Review of the Formal Report: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30199c2022w2/2023/02/28/96123/