Unit Four Reflections Blog – Self-Assessment Reflection

ENGL 301 is definitely an action-packed course. Through the assignments and peer reviews, I became more aware of the audience. Most of my business written communications are with my colleagues who already know the background and context of the topic discussed and understand the jargon and abbreviations used in the email or document; therefore, I had trouble gauging to what degree that I need to define a term and how much background information I need to provide when I was writing my assignments. Needless to say, I learned a lot from ENGL 301 and saw how my writing transformed from beginning of the course to near the end of the course.

In a brief summary, I learned:

    • How to set up a UBC Blog
    • How to define a technical term to non-technical audience
    • The process and format for conducting constructive peer reviews.
    • The difference between a memo and an email
    • How to write with YOU attitude
    • How to compose a persuasive complaint letter
    • How to respond to a complaint tactfully
    • How to compose a formal report proposal
    • The standard format for formal report outline
    • What needs to be included in a progress report
    • How one can use the existing proposal, outline and progress report to draft the formal report
    • The best practices for setting up a Linked profile
    • How one can rearrange the details on the job application to make relevant education, skills and experience stand out.
    • How to create a web folio

I find myself more engaged in learning when I am interested in the topic. This is a strength but is also a weakness in my learning process. I find myself using my time more effectively when learning new topics such as setting up the UBC Blog, creating a LinkedIn profile, writing with YOU attitude and creating a web folio. Because I would spend more time researching on new topics, what I learned is directly reflected in my assignments.

As mentioned above, my strength is also my weakness. For topics that I have encountered before such as composing the complaint and adjustment letters, drafting research proposal and crafting the formal report, I often find myself wasting time trying to recall and compare how it was done before. My assignments are, therefore, affected by my old writing style and can sometimes make my writing feels less concise.

Having effective communication skills is essential in any workplace. I can definitely apply what I learned from ENGL 301 to my work. The main takeaway for me is to always keep the audience in mind and write with YOU attitude. Having the audience willing to read and understand what I want to communicate is the first step in establishing an effective communication.

Unit Four Reflections Blog – Creating the Web Folio

Creating a web folio is a lot more work than I thought. Details such as where to put up the web folio, the theme, style, layout, visuals, and content all needs to be considered. For simplicity, I decided to use my existing ENGL 301 site to build my web folio.

Following the instructions indicated for the web folio assignment, I have added few more pages to this site. I had fun flipping through my album searching for photos that would fit with the purpose of each page.

    • Home page: The signage for “No exit, golf course to your right” is put on the Home page, hoping whoever stumble across my web folio would stop by and enjoy the content presented in this web folio.
    • About ENGL 301 page: The image displayed in the About ENGL 301 page is a place located inside of the UBC Farm. This image is specifically selected because ENGL 301 is not only about technical writing, it is also about learning with our peers.
    • Resume page: When creating my online resume, I realized the features offered by UBC Blog is standardized with little room for modification. I tried to copy and paste my resume from Word document directly to the web page, but the format was not exactly what I have expected. I ended up reformatting my online resume, with the intention of keeping it simple.
    • Best Work page: While setting up the Best Work page, I had a chance to review my writing. Comparing to my first peer review, the peer reviews near the end of the course are more structured, contain less “I” and “you”, and are drafted with YOU attitude.
    • LinkedIn page: I looked online for a way to put my LinkedIn profile on this site, and stumbled upon instructions for creating a LinkedIn Profile Badge. As a novice LinkedIn user, this is a new discovery for me.
    • Application Package page:  Since I am not able to predict audiences’ reading preference, PDF of individual sections of the application package as well as the full application package are supplied for audiences’ convenience.

I enjoyed crafting and decorating each page and had fun throughout the process of creating this web folio. As compare to other courses where I sometimes have difficulties articulating what I learned from those courses, the web folio is a great way for me to showcase what I have accomplished through ENGL 301.

Unit Three Reflections Blog – YOU Attitude and Formal Report Draft

Unit Three has two major focuses: writing with YOU attitude and drafting the formal report. Through the assignments,  I practiced writing with YOU attitude, composed a complaint letter and a bad news letter, and drafted the formal report.

Unit Three Assignments:

    • Writing with YOU attitude memo to Evan Crisp: I cringed while reading Evan Crisp’s email to the professor. Coming up with a list of suggestions was not hard. The hardest part was putting the suggestions together professionally and concisely without hurting the reader’s feeling. I had composed my memo by following the four essential rules below, posted by Dr. Paterson in the Instructor’s Blog.
      1. Avoid starting your memos or letters or peer reviews with “I” or “We.”
      2. Avoid “you” when it criticizes the reader.
      3. Avoid imperative verbs (commands). Replace imperative verbs with “-ing” verbs.
      4. Use the pronoun “you” in the introduction and the conclusion only.
    • Peer review of writing with YOU attitude memo: I paired up with Usman for the writing with YOU attitude peer review exercise. Usman’s memo was very well done. YOU attitude was demonstrated throughout his memo and the suggested tips for Evan clearly addressed areas for improvement.
    • Complaint & bad news business letters: I cannot recall ever writing a complaint letter. When I have concerns about the product or service I received, I would pick up the phone or go to the store in person and talk to a service representative. Composing the complaint letter with a professional style and tone was not easy, because the dissatisfaction and frustration do affect my word choice and the overall tone of the letter. I find it helpful when I put my emotions aside and simply state the facts and events.  The bad news/adjustment letter was composed with YOU attitude in mind. When composing the bad news/adjustment letter, I put my emotions aside again and simply concentrating on explaining the facts.
    • Formal report draft: It is hard to get busy professionals to complete an email interview when participation is optional. I have drafted my formal report based on my formal report outline and the report proposal.  Microsoft Word offers some useful functions, themes and templates for composing and organizing the formal report. With graphs, images, and sample email interview questionnaires, the report is currently sitting at 17 pages. The executive summary section is still pending for completion. I look forward to reading peer review feedback with recommendations and suggestions for edits.
    • Peer review of formal report draft: I paired up with Adrienne for the formal report draft peer review exercise. I enjoyed reading Adrienne’s formal report draft. With the positive outcome from Vice program’s Instagram followings and engagement rate, Adrienne’s proposed solution will likely bring a positive outcome for the Vice program’s marketing strategy. I hope Adrienne’s proposed solution will be accepted and implemented in the future.

Links:
My formal report draft: Formal Report Draft

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