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Throughout the course, I was not confident in myself as a writer and believed that it was a skill I would never be able to get better at. However, looking back at all my previous works and comparing it to my more current works proves that I was able to polish my writing skills and become a professional writer with technical writing skills.

Strengths 

Some strengths I had going into this course would be my desire to learn. Due to the rise of social media platforms and working online, being able to write as in a professional tone is an asset when acquiring a job. I believe that my desire to learn to become a professional writer allowed me to absorb all the information of technical writing that I’ve learned throughout this course. Another strength I’ve gained is looking at my work from a different perspective. I got to do this from peer reviewing and applying these different skills I learned from my peers to my own work. I got to reflect this through my writing in the required assignments. Overall, I’ve gained many strengths as a professional writer.

Weaknesses

A weakness that I’ve always had as a writer was adding unnecessary words to my writing, which in turn makes my writings longer than they should be. This is not a good habit because it can cause readers to find the writing too long and boring and possibly repetitive. In this course, I’ve been able to receive constructive criticism in my work that allowed me to learn from my mistakes. Through constant reminders that I repeatedly add unnecessary wording to my writing, I’ve been able to catch myself when continuing to reinforce this habit and stop myself from doing it again.

Future Goals

The skills and techniques that I’ve gained in this course will become a staple in my future works. The information that I’ve gathered will allow me to excel in further education and my future career goals. The skills I’ve acquired will be put to good use. I also am grateful for all the assignments that required writing an email memo to a classmate or the professor. Before this course, I was not able to write a proper email memo due to the fact that I didn’t know what a proper email should look like! After consistent email writing in this course, I am now able to write email memos with ease, which will be the best asset I can have in my future career and educational goals. Thank you to my ENGL 301 writing team for an amazing time in this course and Professor Erika Paterson!

While creating my web folio, I got to look back on my previous works from the beginning of the course to the end. I was able to reflect back on how I’ve improved as a professional writer and how far my writing has gone toward the end of this course. When creating my web folio I also got to learn how to design a website and make it look aesthetically pleasing to visitors of my blog. On my web folio, I was able to highlight my best works from throughout the course that gave me the opportunity to grow as a writer and I got to input my application package, which will be viewed by potential employers.

After creating my web folio, I realized that there are a lot of components that go into creating a website. When I first created the website, I was struggling with how to use each function. The behind the scenes of a blog is scary and nerve-wracking because I’ve never worked with technology like this before, but as the course went on, I became familiar with using and running a website. The web folio is an exceptional method to display one’s skills and accomplishments in one spot. It is organized and easily accessible while also pleasing to the human eye. This was an overall great experience that I will take into my future endeavours.

In Unit 2, we were instructed to begin the process of our formal reports and our application packages. This unit was aimed to help us students learn to do professional reports and start the process of networking with the use of LinkedIn. This allowed us to learn more about the professional techniques of writing.

LinkedIn Best Practices

One of the application package processes was to create a LinkedIn account, research some of the best practices using LinkedIn and post onto the team forum for our team members to read. After exploring the best ways to use LinkedIn and what could amplify your profile, I was surprised to see that there were many different ways to build connections from LinkedIn. One central point I learned was that more than having a profile was needed; you must keep your profile updated and stay active on LinkedIn to help build more connections and for people to find you. After completing this assignment, I have used what my peers in my team have researched, as well as my own research, to help maximize my own LinkedIn profile for better usage of networking on the website.

Formal Report Proposal and Outline

The primary assignment for Unit 2 was to begin the research process of our formal report. The first part of the assignment was brainstorming ideas about which we would be interested in writing our formal reports. This was a difficult task for me as I could not come up with a problem in my community. I initially came up with the idea of changing the times between classes for easier accessibility for students to walk between classes. However, Professor Paterson informed me that adding times between classes was not a feasible solution, so I had to come up with another idea and write a new proposal. I chose a problem I encountered recently: experiencing prolonged wait times at Cactus Club Cafe. While writing this proposal, I came up with a feasible solution. The best research mode was distributing surveys to customers and employees about the current situation at Cactus Club Cafes and some suggestions for solutions they might like to see. Once Professor Paterson approved my proposal, I went on to the outline, detailing my final formal report. This entire process was very informative because it gave me a glimpse of what writing a formal report will be like and has helped prepare me for future formal reports.

Peer Review and Revision Process

In Unit 2, we were asked to peer review one of our team members’ formal report proposals. I had the honour of reviewing Byung-Sun’s proposal, where I analyzed his work and gave some suggestions of what could be revised. Reviewing another person’s work was hard because I had never felt I had the authority to critique someone else’s work. Having gone through this process has given me insight into another person’s work that I was able to use in my own proposal; for example, in Byung-Sun’s proposal, he did a good job explaining what a teaching assistant does in the classroom and why his proposal of enhancing continuous support for teaching assistants was necessary. I brought that into my proposal by better explaining customers’ hardships when the restaurant is busy, which is why an online waitlist system should be implemented. I also added in the intended audience in my own proposal which was a suggestion I added for Byung-Sun’s review because I noticed that he and I both were missing that section of our proposal. Overall, the peer review allowed me to reflect on my own work more and correct my proposal to allow for better flow.

Links to Assignments:

Link to Revised Formal Report Proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30199c2022w2/2023/03/19/assignment-2-3-revised-formal-report-proposal-4/

Link to Peer Review of my Proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30199c2022w2/2023/02/27/96021/

To: aletheakramer@outlook.com
From: carmancchu@gmail.com
Subject: Re Engl 301 Team Request
Date: Feb 1, 2023 2:40PM

Dear Alethea,

Thank you for your consideration for wanting to invite me to join your professional writing team. I would like to express my gratitude toward you and accept this invitation. After reading your application letter, I believe that we will work well together due to our similar interests in Media Studies. Your philosophy of finding interest in content will result in motivation to pursuing study works closely with my philosophy of learning at one’s own pace. I truly believe that by forming a writing team together, we will find success in future collaborations.

Thank you for your time and consideration, I look forward to our future as professional writing team members.

Sincerely,

Carman

To: byungsun@student.ubc.ca
From: carmancchu@gmail.com
Subject: Re ENGL 301 Writing Team
Date: Feb 1, 2023 2:30PM

Dear Sun,

Thank you for considering me to become a member of your professional writing team. I accept your invitation with warm gratitude. I read your application letter and believe that your background in Computer Science and my desire of learning more about social media and the technological field will fit together perfectly. I believe our skills will allow each other to grow as professional writers and will work effectively when peer reviewing.

Thank you for your consideration, I look forward to our future collaborations.

Sincerely,

Carman