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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.

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 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. 1. 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

Unit Two was definitely an action-packed unit. Through the assignments, I drafted a formal report proposal, a formal report outline, a progress report and set up my LinkedIn profile.

Unit Two Assignments:

• • Formal report proposal: My colleague and I were assigned to inventory our department’s workstation equipment, so brainstorming for a general research subject for the formal report didn’t take long. However, I had trouble narrowing the topic. If I were to focus on technical specification of replacement equipment, the report length will likely exceed 15 pages. Therefore, after juggling a few topics, I decided to focus on something specific that everyone can relate to and has more impact: the cost of replacement. Once I have decided on the topic “Determining the Feasibility of Switching Existing Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Thin Clients to Local Desktop Computers”, I was able to put together a research proposal. Dr. Paterson pointed out that the introduction section of my initial draft research proposal required more details. I didn’t realize I was missing some detail information until I read Dr. Paterson’s feedback. Based on the feedback, I amended the introduction section to include more background information for the reader to understand the situation and the proposal.

• • Peer review of formal report proposal: I paired up with Adrienne for the formal report proposal peer review exercise. I have learned from her proposal that AMS has a Vice program and the Vice program is in need of social media exposure. Adrienne’s proposal is concise and well composed, and her topic of “Creating a Social Media Following for the AMS Vice Program” is a meaningful research with an aim to increase public awareness of the Vice program and services the program offers.

• • Research on best practice for professional networking on LinkedIn: I do not have a LinkedIn account, so I find this assignment interesting. The Internet is full of resources for LinkedIn users to set up and perfect their LinkedIn profile. The tips are applicable for both personal profile and company profile. The three prominent best practices are:
    • • A summary with great substance and style
      • A descriptive or catchy headline
      • A professional and friendly profile picture

• • Set up a LinkedIn profile: LinkedIn is user-friendly, so I have no trouble navigating through the site to set up my profile. However, my LinkedIn is still missing a profile picture as I still don’t have an up-to-date professional profile picture.

• • Peer review of LinkedIn profile: I had the opportunity to peer review Usman’s LinkedIn profile. I learned a lot from reading Usman’s LinkedIn profile as his profile conveys a focused intention of showcasing experience, qualifications and skills to recruiters in his desired career field. Usman has already incorporated most of the best practices mentioned by other LinkedIn users.

• • Formal report outline: I have composed my formal report outline based on my report proposal and the report outline format mentioned in the textbook. Depending on the final report length, I may have to adjust my report outline.

• • Progress report with survey/interview questions: The survey questions are intended for staff in my department, so I didn’t include a self-introduction and did not elaborate on the purpose of the survey. As I was drafting the progress report, I realized there are many tasks listed in the Research Plan section that still need to be completed and I only have a month to conduct the research and complete the formal report.

Thoughts on Peer Review
I appreciate that we are going through the processes of composing a formal report step by step with guidance and peer review feedback along the way. The peer review process makes me realize my writing tends to be a bit wordy as compared to my teammates’ writing. I will have to try harder to be more concise when I am describing an object or expressing an idea.

Links:

My draft formal report proposal: Formal Report Proposal: Feasibility of Switching Existing Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Thin Clients to Local Desktop Computers

Adrienne’s review of my proposal: Peer Review of Joyce Wu’s Research Proposal

My revised formal report proposal: 301 Joyce Wu Revised Formal Report Proposal

In Unit One, I was introduced to the course material, our ENGL 301 instructor, Dr. Erika Paterson, and classmates online via Canvas and the English 301 99A Technical Writing blog. Through the assignments, I practiced writing application letter, email memorandum, email correspondence, definition of a term, peer review and revision of the definition based on peer’s feedback.

Unit One Assignments:

• • For the first assignment, I set up my blog, summarized the course in the Home page and wrote a short introduction in the About Me page. I do not have a blog prior to this, so this is new to me. It took me a while to think about what I should include in my introduction so that it is concise and easy to understand.
  • For the second assignment, I wrote an application letter hoping to be accepted into a professional writing team. Having to write an application letter with a confident tone while outlining strengths in terms of my writing skills was not easy, especially when writing is not my forte. I asked a friend of mine to proofread my draft and she suggested a few word changes to put a positive spin on the part that mentioned about weaknesses in terms of my writing skills. I also composed an email memorandum to the instructor and three emails to perspective writing team partners. I am grateful to be in Team Typephoon with Brenda, Usman and Andrienne.
  • For the third assignment, I chose to define the term “scope creep”. I will go more in depth on my thoughts on the definition assignment, peer review and self-editing exercises in the following paragraphs.

Definition assignment – process and choices I made while writing: 
Most business analysis terms are relatively simple and, in most cases, self-explanatory, so it took me some time before I decided on the term “scope creep”. Those who are not involved in an IT project may have guessed the meaning of scope creep simply by breaking the term into individual words: scope and creep. To convey the significance of scope creep and to grab the audience’s attention, I stressed that this phenomenon is project manager’s worst nightmare and it commonly occurs in projects.

When defining the term using parenthetical definition, the audience I had in mind was someone who is involved in a project but may need a refresher of the term. When defining the term using sentence definition, I was targeting audiences who are involved indirectly in a project and needed more details than just the parenthetical definition. I used four methods for expanding definitions: etymology, comparison, example, and visualization. When defining the term using expanded definition, I was targeting those who are studying or are interested in business analysis and project management.

Peer review:
I paired up with Brenda for the peer review exercise. Brenda’s definition of tonsilloliths was clear and presented in a logical order, so I really had to examine her writing under the microscope to nitpick areas for improvement. When I was reviewing Brenda’s definition of tonsilloliths, I realized my definition of scope creep was missing a personal touch to it. I learned from her writing that it is possible to have a professional and caring tone by including ourselves in the writing while keeping the focus on the audience.

Self-editing:
The suggestions and feedback I received from Brenda were very helpful. I have edited my definition of scope creep based on her recommendations. It was not as easy as I thought to edit my own writing. Incorporating descriptive style to my writing was not intuitive because I am so used to writing in an expository style at work. The self-editing exercise makes me more aware of reading from audience’s point of view.

Links:
The following are links to my draft, Brenda’s review, and my revised definition of scope creep.

My draft definition: Assignment 1.3: Definition of Scope Creep

Brenda’s review: ENG 301-Assignment 1:3 Peer Review 1

My revised definition: Definition of Scope Creep – Revised

From:                   joyce.wu@ubc.ca
Sent:                     Friday, September 20, 2019
To:                         adrienneyap@alumni.ubc.ca
Subject:                RE: Writing Team Email 3
Attachments:    301 Joyce Wu Application Letter

 
Hi Adrienne,

Thank you for reaching out to me. Brenda and Usman had emailed me earlier about forming a team. I, too, think the four of us will make a great team. In case you need to review my application letter, I have attached a copy of my application letter for your reference.

After reading your blog and your application letter, I am impressed by your passion for creative writing. I also admire your ability to transfer thought to paper. The type of writing I do revolves around facts, procedures, and business rules. Thus, creative writing is certainly an area where I have plenty of room for growth.

Your learning philosophy of “discover and appreciate the value that each program, lesson, or course offers” complements mine. In my opinion, those who want to learn will discover and appreciate the value that each program, lesson, or course offers.

I look forward to collaborating with you, Brenda and Usman, and I hope we can support each other and improve our technical writing together.

Regards,
-Joyce

From:                   joyce.wu@ubc.ca
Sent:                     Thursday, September 19, 2019
To:                         uzmanzahoor@alumni.ubc.ca
Subject:               RE: ENGL 301 Writing Team
Attachments:   301 Joyce Wu Application Letter

 
Hi Usman,

Thank you for the warm welcome. It is my pleasure to have this opportunity to work with you, Brenda and Adrienne. In case you need to review my application letter again, I have attached a copy of my application letter for your reference.

After reading your blog and your application letter, I believe we will work well together. Your scientific approach to written communication parallels to mine as I, too, have to consider how data can be presented to audiences in a meaningful way. Your experience in conflict resolution and your diverse interests are great assets to the team. In my opinion, when communicating with appropriate word choice and tone, we can connect with our audiences and thus facilitate better conversation.

I look forward to working with you, Brenda and Adrienne, and I hope we can support each other and improve our technical writing together.

Regards,
-Joyce

From:                   joyce.wu@ubc.ca
Sent:                     Thursday, September 19, 2019
To:                         brenda.martinez@alumni.ubc.ca
Subject:               RE: ENG 301-Writing Team
Attachments:   301 Joyce Wu Application Letter

 
Hi Brenda,

Thank you for considering my application and reaching out to me to form a writing team. I have attached a copy of my application letter for your reference.

After reviewing your application, I also believe we will work well together. Your attentiveness toward resolving issues will complement well with my ability to analyze problems. Also, your experience working with an interdisciplinary healthcare team is a valuable asset to the team.

Your learning philosophy of having a “broad overview of the content” before drilling down to the details is a great way to approach new topics. I, too, use this method to gather requirements when I need to do data reports for our end users.

I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with you this semester and look forward to support each other throughout this journey.

Regards,
-Joyce

MEMORANDUM

 

To:                          Dr. Erika Paterson, ENGL 301 Instructor
From:                    Joyce Wu, ENGL 301 Student
Date:                      September 17, 2019
Subject:                Letter of Application Posted
 

Thank you for the invitation to apply to be a professional writing team member. As requested, I have posted my application letter on my student blog with a Word document attached to the bottom of the post. I have also included my application letter with this memo for your reference.

My application letter highlights the following:

• • My role as an Intermediate Human Resources Business Analyst
  • My strengths in writing and the tactic I used to overcome my writing challenges
  • My learning philosophy

Please feel free to contact me at joyce.wu@ubc.ca if you have any questions or require any additional information. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Enclosure: 301 Joyce Wu Application Letter

6190 Agronomy Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3
 
 
September 17, 2019
 
 
ENG 301 Technical Writing Class
Department of English Language and Literatures
The University of British Columbia
397 – 1873 East Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3
 
 
Dear ENGL 301 Classmates,
 
I am writing to you with great interest to be a part of your professional writing team for this semester. I am currently working as an Intermediate Human Resources Business Analyst. My role is to bring the end users with their Human Resources needs together with business processes and functionalities available through our Human Resources Management System. I work closely with end users to identify underlying issues and provide assistance to resolve those problems. I am a team player, and I believe my abilities to solicit requirements, analyze problems and communicate clearly in plain terms will be a great asset to the team.
 
Having effective communication skills is essential in any workplace. I prefer to communicate through email. However, when further clarification is required or when a discussion is needed, I would pick up the phone or arrange a face-to-face meeting. In terms of writing skills, my strengths are in communicating with readers using simple vocabulary and presenting ideas in a coherent style. My primary challenge lies in proofreading my own writing, especially for formal documentation. To overcome my writing challenges, I would leave the document aside for a few hours and come back to edit and revise the document with a clear mind.
 
I not only interact but also learn through various modes of communication. My learning philosophy is based on beliefs of learner-driven learning, applicable knowledge, and adaptive learning environments. I find myself more engaged in learning when I am curious or interested in the topic being taught. I find myself retain knowledge better when I can apply what I learned in class in the real world. Depending on the subject, sometimes I find it is easier to learn by looking at the image or process flow, and sometimes I find it easier to understand the material by looking at a relevant clip on YouTube.
 
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to contact me at joyce.wu@ubc.ca if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.
 
 
Sincerely,

Joyce Wu
 
Enclosure: 301 Joyce Wu Application Letter