The Writing Process
I have never written an expanded definition before, let alone for something so technical as Socapex cable. This assignment seemed like the right opportunity to go outside my comfort zone of working definitions in cultural studies and attempt to define a term I use regularly in my career, to an audience that has no background in stage power and electrical. To begin, it was easy to create a parenthetical definition and a sentence definition for an audience requiring a basic conception of what this type of power cable is; but as I went onto the expanded definition, I found myself struggling to define the term further without research. In reading more about the foundations of the cable and electrical itself, the reason we use breakout splays and how we balance what fixtures go on certain circuits became more concrete for me. So, in writing this definition I managed to teach myself more about something I already knew, and that was just the beginning.
The Peer Review Process
The peer-review process managed to pinpoint areas of weakness I had forgotten that I struggle with, particularly jargon and concision. However, working with Ranjit as a partner reminded me that I am not the only one who struggles with these things. In reviewing each other’s work, I had realized that we both share similar struggles with our use of jargon and examples from our industries; so, it hurts less to receive critiques from someone with similar weaknesses because we are working towards a common goal, improvement. Also, reading someone else’s work using the same process as I did, helped me learn other ways of explaining something to my audience outside of sentences and visuals. Accordingly, Ranjit’s use of examples helped me ground his conception of capitalization rate in my own understanding of real estate, which I wanted to replicate in my revision. Overall, it is nice to know that expanded definitions do not come easily and that I have learned a specific set of skills that is not common knowledge feels reaffirming to me.
The Revision Process
As I went onto the revision process, I did have a few moments of frustration in attempting to change how I originally expressed myself. Yet, while something may make perfect sense to me, my assignment was to create a clear and focused definition to our inexperienced audience. Some of Ranjit’s suggestions that I tried to integrate into my new expanded definition include, adding clearer examples of the 80/20 rule in balancing current; rephrasing how to assemble stage power from power distribution equipment by providing working definitions and visuals for these terms. Many of the changes I made were catering to a broader audience of learners, providing clearer real-life visuals of equipment, and integrating short working definitions in a way that better serve the reader in understanding the material.
In Conclusion
This first assignment was an eye-opener on what I have learned and what I have yet to master. It has provided me an opportunity to explore what I have learned outside of the university and challenged myself to write for an audience outside of my field. In general, I feel that this assignment has given me a chance to pat myself on the back for what I am doing outside of my degree while also giving me a firm push into learning what I need to improve on over the course of this peer-review process. I look forward to challenging myself to write with greater concision and to learn how to write for an audience outside of my realm of expertise.
Morgan Brandt
docx file of the revised definition
301 Morgan Brandt 3 Definitions Revised
Peer review of Socapex