Progress Report on Unit One

Hello 301;

In Unit One we have been working on perfecting the art of the professional email message and memorandums.

Here are some general tips concerning the most common errors:

• Subject lines missing or incorrect details, here are some examples with corrections:
  • Peer Review of your LinkedIn Profile  – 301 Peer Review; Linked in for Susan White
  • Proposal:  – 301 Formal Report Proposal Susan White
  • Memorandum – 301 Application Letter Susan White
  • Unit 1, Lesson 2: Memorandum to Instructor – 301 Application letter Susan White

• Naming attachments: missing details,  here are some examples with corrections:
  • UBCvolunteerrecruitment.docx‎ – 301 Formal Report Proposal Susan White.doc
    • the above example needs explanation to be clear. The student chose to name her attachment with the name of her proposal. In every situation you need to ask yourself – “How does the person receiving the memo organize her files? What is the most useful information to assist with her filing? Imagine my desk top with my 301 files – how do you think I organize the several dozens of files I receive each week from students? These are the kinds of questions you ask yourself when you name an attachment that is likely to be downloaded and filed.  In my system, for our class, I have a 301 file, inside that file is a 301 Assignments File, inside that file is a file for each student. 
  • Peer Review of Endodontic~1.docx‎  – 301 Peer review, Definitions for Susan White
  • Proposal for Formal Report~1.pdf‎ – 301 Proposal for Formal Report Mike Brown
  • Susan’s review.pdf – 301 Peer Review, Definitions for Mike Brown
  • Peer Review for Mike Brown – 301 Peer Review, Report proposal for Mike Brown

• Missing Initials after your name in the ‘FROM” line: Erika Paterson E.P.

Common errors in the context of emails and memos:

• Composing sentences when bullets would be a better choice, example:

“In sum, my application letter states: through my experiences as a fourth year History major, a note taker for the University of British Columbia’s Access and Diversity, and my varied experience working with the public for Staples Canada I feel I have the qualifications to meet the needs of the position, with the right candidates. My goals for the future, which immediately entails my attending graduate school, are also in-line with the requirements of the position. While I tend to procrastinate, my academic record speaks for itself. My learning philosophy is to always improve upon previous experiences.”

CORRECTION: When ‘summing up’ in a memo- use bullets. 

My application letter outlines my experiences highlighting these points:

• 4th year History Major
• note-taker for the University of British Columbia’s Access and Diversity (number of months or years in brackets)
• experience working with the public: clerk at Staples
• fully qualified for the position
• excellent academic record
• admitted tendency to procrastinate
• Learning philosophy: always improve upon previous experiences.

One last note on emails: while it is not all that common, quite a few people forgot to attach the attachment, or attached the wrong document. One of the reasons I ask you to write so many email is to ensure all the proper procedures will become routine for you. With this unit my grade for your memos and emails takes into consideration the learning process. With the following units I will expect a higher level of expertise, and you will be dinged for forgetting to attach attachments.

Definitions:

Missing information on visuals and diagrams: ALL visuals need labels, source and explanations. And, I suggest you refer to the visual in the text re: “see figure 2”.

Peer Reviews:

 I was surprised with how few people addressed the section on the peer review form concerned with Organization :

Comments about Organization

1.  List the methods of expansion you see being used in the definition.
2. Do they work appropriately? Suggest specific changes if needed.
3.  Does each section of the definition – introduction, body, and conclusion – perform its intended task? If not, indicate what needs further attention.
4. Does the definition contain clear forecasting statements in its thesis and topic sentences?

Please be sure to read instructions carefully – following instructions and guidelines is an important part of being a professional writer.

Reflections:

I hope you will find time to read through each other’s reflections, they are most revealing and helpful. Some people wrote very brief reflections and others more detailed. Here is an example of a reflection that I found most exceptional:

When I started this week’s lesson I wasn’t sure what to expect from the assignments or how they would help my writing. The most important thing I realized was the need to consider my audience. Just because I have the capacity and background knowledge to comprehend something doesn’t mean my audience does. Now I understand why identifying the correct audience is so important. My writing should be compatible with a reader’s level of understanding about the subject matter. The Peer review presented a good example of what it was like to be the audience. This was an important part of the lesson for me because it provided the opportunity to consider things from a reader’s perspective.

Generally, This unit taught me how often I tend to use repetitive ideas when writing. I need to find a way to incorporate an idea into a document once and not repeat it in various ways throughout. Also, considering tenses in my writing is new for me and will take some getting use to. Now that I am aware of it in my writing, I will be able to identify it during self-editing.

More specifically, this unit taught me about the value and usefulness of definitions in technical writing. I learned the importance of using visuals and I was surprised by how the other extension methods really made a difference in the understanding of the term.

Overall, I enjoyed the assignments in this unit; I learned a lot about my writing and began developing awareness regarding my habits that will carry thought the rest of the course. I have enclosed a PDF attachment containing my edited definitions assignment, followed by the original.