Peer Review: Definition of “User Interface”

To: Danisa Rambling, Student in ENGL 301 Technical Writing UBC
From: Morgan Lorenz, Student in ENGL 301 Technical Writing UBC
Date: October 5th, 2021
Subject: Peer Review of Assignment 1:3 – “User Interface” Definition

 

Peer Review / Term: “User Interface” Definition

Firstly, thank you for your thorough work in this assignment and sharing more about User Interface with the students of ENGL 301 Technical Writing UBC. Your submission is an excellent presentation of the definition “user interface” to an unaware audience of its rich history and place in everyday society. Please see the review of the document below with some suggestions for improvement.

My First Impression:

Your definition is clear and straightforward. All definitions provided meets minimum assignment requirements. Your submission is well organized, contains visuals and also includes a works cited list which were needed criteria for the assignment.

Organization:

• Your organization of the definition is well planned out.
• The selection methods chosen of expansion through history, operating principle, required conditions, and negation supported with properly defining “user interface”.
• The explanations may need further descriptions in order to present examples clearly in respect to your desired context.
• Great work on your definition of self-management.
• Visuals and figures used must be properly cited with correct placement, please review the textbook for further notes.

Language/Expression:

• Your tone throughout the composition is professional, referenced with backed evidence, and is interactive with the reader.
• The language used throughout the definitions provided are concise, supporting the aim for constructing a simple-focused approach to defining “user interface”.
• Your introduction outlines the flow of the submission and includes target audience and a clear purpose.
• Your vernacular chosen is professional and composed. The content would be better referenced with verification of dates used throughout the submission.
• Please eliminate pronoun usage in your submission, some are overused and not necessary for this writing.

Content:

The submission meets the assignment requirements, containing the following:

• relatively complex term within discipline
• definition is targeted towards “non-technical readers” with purpose
• composes the required forms of definition(s)
• contains four types of expansion methods
• contains visuals
• is supplemented by at least three references

Visuals:

• References of visuals within description should be properly cited.
• The structure and introduction of visuals throughout the definitions aid readers with following the term and diving deeper into its history.
• It would be helpful to include references to the visuals.

Clarity:

• There were a couple of occasions where more details could be implemented to provide further insight to a non-technical audience about user interface. This includes when discussing UX and its relation to UI, as well as mentions of animation, code or programming.

Highlights/Weaknesses:

• The structure and outline of operating principles listed in in your expanded definition was strongly organized and detailed.
• Your use of images complimented the structure of the expanded definition. It allowed for further reference by readers to confirm the insights proposed throughout the definition descriptions.
• You expanded upon terms where needed, allowing for a non-technical audience to follow along seamlessly with your writing. Acronyms were presented and followed up upon.
• By using modern examples throughout the expanded definition, this allows readers to clearly distinguish what user interface entails exactly.
• Some of the terminology used throughout the expanded definition included more relatively complex terms that would benefit from further description for a non-technical audience. This includes references to animation and programming. As a non-technical reader, I would be benefitted further by more expansion on these terms.
• There were times throughout the submission under expanded definition where references should be included to confirm the source of the dates provided. For example, “As of the early 2020’s, the term user interface has become synonymous with the front-facing layout of websites and the space where users can interact with website applications, such as Facebook or Google”; should be referenced as the tone used indicates that this is fact and should be referenced as such. If this is not clear, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Works Cited List:

• Only articles were references, images used to supplement the submission did not seem to contain a reference.

Purpose/Audience:

• The definition has been described for the intended audience of non-technical readers.
• These definitions fulfill the criteria needed to provide a well-informed definition of user interface.

Concluding Comments:

Your definition of user interface was an informative read. Collectively, each definition was well organized and properly executed. The following edits should would further the success of the author:

• Reviewing references for figures throughout the expanded definition section.
• Grammar check.
• Correcting citation for visuals.
• Reviewing citations for added dates included within definitions.
• Reviewing Works Cited list and including references for visuals.

Thank you for the clear and constructive definition of user interface, you made a complex term digestible and accessible for an audience that may be unfamiliar with the term. Your submission clearly illustrates the ability to define technical terms in the ENGL 301 Technical Writing Course. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions.

 

Warmly,

Morgan