When I first made this blog, I outlined that my goal in taking this class was to expand upon my domain of knowledge in technical writing and address any weaknesses I find. I can say that as of completing this first unit, I have taken one step of what will be many in that direction.
I noticed that I approached my writing in entirely novel ways. Making use of expansion strategies to weave an easy-to-follow description of a complex term, and also keeping the familiarity of the audience with the subject matter in mind were two entirely new techniques I have slowly begun to become familiar with. In particular, I made use of expansion by parts and visual expansion, both of which complement my learning style. As I proceed through the course, I hope to continually add more technical writing techniques to my toolset.
Fortunately, the expansion techniques I used complemented Syed’s learning style as well, and he was very easily able to grasp the term. Concerning his suggestions, the errors he noticed point to a single underlying weakness in my writing. That is, trying to balance attention to detail and communicating essential information to an unfamiliar audience. My tendency to use jargon, and not frame my writing in a way that is easily understood by those unfamiliar with the topic is something I will need to continually work on. Interestingly, in reviewing Syed’s definitions, I noticed similar strengths and weaknesses. He marvellously made use of expansion techniques, in a way that would capture and compel the reader’s interest. However, for someone unfamiliar in the field, the meaning of some technical terms would be lost and break the flow of the writing. From this, I can conclude that such errors may be common in many peoples’ writing. In future, I must not only break down the information I want to convey but keep in mind the audience, and make a decision about what amount of detail is necessary.
In the process of editing my writing, I ended up removing several field-specific terms, as well as having to restructure how I expanded my definition to best get the message across to a non-biologist audience. Firstly, leaving out an explanation of RNA, which would have raised more questions than it would answer. Secondly, I explained the impact of gene-editing on human health before delving into the details. Although I set out to avoid making the aforementioned mistakes, I still made them as my peer editor pointed out. Regardless, it is a learning process, and I look forward to continuing to refine my writing as the course proceeds.
Regards,
Aleem
Revised Definition: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99a-2020wa/2020/10/07/assignment-13-revised-definition-of-crispr-cas9/
Peer Review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99a-2020wa/2020/10/05/assignment-13-peer-review-of-crispr-cas9-aleem-tariq/