ENGL 301 Assignment 1:3 Reflection post
Link of revised definition: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99a-2019wa/2019/09/30/revised-definition-3/
Link of peer review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99a-2019wa/2019/09/28/peer-review-of-eric-changs-definitions/
After completing this assignment, the main skill that I obtained from this assignment is the ability to define a complex term. Prior to this assignment, I did not actually know that there are different ways to define a singular term. I had personally always used the sentence method when defining a term. This assignment then also gave me a lot of insight on how academic articles define technical terms and why their methods are extremely effective. One major takeaway from this assignment in regards of my own writing is how easily I assume that everyone will understand the technical terms I use in my writing. For example terms such as real numbers, natural numbers, and integers are all terms that are easy for me to understand due to my knowledge of mathematics, but are most likely difficult for people with no prior knowledge in the field of mathematics to understand. This assignment also will greatly improve my ability to explain mathematical terms to students when I am tutoring mathematics.
For this assignment I enjoyed reading through academic articles and websites to gain more information on imaginary numbers and how to best put information together to explain the term imaginary numbers. The most intriguing aspect of the research process for this assignment to me personally is understanding why imaginary numbers are useful and how they are applicable in real life settings. One of the downsides of higher level mathematics is that it is difficult to understand how it applies in a real life setting. While there are some mathematics topics such as encryption or probability where it is obvious on how it can be applied to real life settings, topics such as differentiation, integrals, and complex numbers don’t have obvious real life applications. This is why it was extremely eye opening when I learned that imaginary numbers are often used in multiple fields such as electrical engineering and aerospace engineering.
The peer review process was both an eye opener and extremely helpful as Jason was able to give me clear and concise feedback which I was able to incorporate in my revision right away. For example, one of the things that Jason noticed that was missing in my original writing in regards to my writing of the definition of imaginary numbers was the lack of explanation on the real life applications of imaginary numbers. He then stated that readers will have an easier time visualizing and conceptualizing the usefulness of the term imaginary numbers if they see its real life application. I was then able to add this into the expanded definition section which explained the real life applications of imaginary numbers.
Leave a Reply