Researching for the Draft

Initially, having looked over the course schedule and project description of the formal report for the first time, the task seemed very daunting, with its recommended length saying “12 to 15 pages”.  “Uh oh”, I thought, “how am I going to get enough material for that?”.  But I eventually learned that it was easily doable if the task is broken up step by step.  After brainstorming and deciding on a major problem, it was easy to then brainstorm the solutions to fix that problem.  And once a list of solutions is available, it was straightforward to brainstorm what information is needed to support those recommendations and the methods along with it.  The proposal that we wrote really helped to piece everything together.  Before I knew it, I had 12 pages of content already outlined.

Organizing the Draft

Organizing the formal report was seemingly straightforward.  The textbook had a very convenient formal report example which was used as reference for my draft.  The proposal and report outline we wrote earlier also helped in the preliminary planning of the report structure.  When organizing the data section of the report, splitting it up into small sections, each devoted to their respective survey question, was intuitive and helped the flow of the report.

Writing the Draft

After having the information and data at hand, and the organization of the report all laid out, writing the report itself was seamless.  The writing schedule helped me greatly in managing my time for writing.  I otherwise would have waited until the last minute to start, if not for that.  During writing, I took care to heed the previous lessons and inject the techniques into my report, such as writing with a “you” attitude.

Peer Reviewing a teammate’s Draft

It was very interesting to read about the main problem from Ayaka’s draft about overwork in Japan, since I have always been intrigued about the Japanese work ethic and how work life is like for individuals there.  Her choice in using case studies to deep dive into individuals’ work life balance in addition to survey questions was also an interesting choice.  I couldn’t help but think how useful this strategy would be if used in my own report.  Her recommendations for my report also helped, as I made a few mistakes that I have missed or left out, such as the pagination.  She also pointed out some explanations that were confusing to her, and upon re-reading them myself, I probably wouldn’t have understood them either.

First Draft: 301 Ryan Tso Formal Report Draft

Unit 2 Reflection

LinkedIn Research

I have had a LinkedIn account for near a decade, having updated it recently for my upcoming work term.  Despite that, there were a lot of features of LinkedIn I never knew about, only having discovered them after researching for the LinkedIn assignment.  I never realized I could have recommendations posted directly in my profile, or that there were groups I could join to better improve my networking.  The articles also stressed deeply about the power and usefulness of LinkedIn as a networking tool. Perhaps I should update my profile even further and actually start becoming more active on it to improve my chances of getting a job!

Formal Report Proposal and Outline

It was difficult to brainstorm ideas for the formal report, even when having worked in an organization for six years.  Sure, there were a lot of procedures that I didn’t enjoy, but nothing that I can expand to 12 to 15 pages of writing.  Many moments and scratched ideas later, it came as a relief when I finally found the perfect topic; one that I can actually compress into 12 to 15 pages.  Once the hard part was over, the rest of the pieces fell into place.  Figuring out the solution to the problem was straight forward.  Deciding what information I needed to support my solution laid the foundation of my outline, methodology, report goals, and consequently the meat of the formal report.  Now it is just a matter of taking action.

Formal Report Progress

The work ahead in the coming month seems very packed, but arguably still doable.  Thankfully, the progress report we did, as well as the writing schedule we drafted, helps significantly in planning out my time; turning a daunting task into smaller achievable goals.

Proposal Peer Review

For this unit’s peer review, I found it difficult to provide suggestions to the writer since their proposal was well done, and I also could not find any grammatical or technical errors.  But, having 6 years experience in a working environment helped me approach the proposal in a more business mindset; scrutiny and all.  Since I knew first hand how hard it is to convince organizations to spend money, I gave them suggestions on how to make their solution and argument more convincing in order to get the funding they need for the research.  In regards to their peer review of my proposal, it was really helpful having a second pair of eyes to catch all of the tiny mistakes I easily missed, especially grammatical and technical errors.  Also, since they are unfamiliar with my topic, it was refreshing to see how much detail I left out because I knew the material I was writing and glanced over any details that I thought were obvious.  Like any creative piece, I feel my writing can never be perfect, but it can always be indefinitely improved; and having help in that regard is always a blessing.

My revised proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/26/301-ryan-tso-formal-report-proposal-revised/
Peer review of my proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/17/assignment-21-peer-review-for-ryans-formal-report-proposal/ 
Report Outline: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/25/301-ryan-tso-formal-report-outline/

I am an undergraduate student at UBC engaged in a technical writing project.  The purpose of this survey is to obtain primary data for an analysis and investigation that aims to provide recommendations for improving the sustainable sourcing of raw ingredients in health supplement manufacturers, namely Organika Health Products Inc. The final formal report will be addressed to the CEO and COO of Organika Health Products Inc.  The data I gather from this survey will serve the ultimate purpose of providing recommendations to health supplement manufacturers for using more sustainable and ethical choices of ingredients. The survey contains 8 multiple-choice questions, and it should take about 5 minutes of your time. Your responses are voluntary and anonymous. Thank you, I appreciate your generous participation in my survey.

How often do you purchase health supplements or vitamins? (Count each product as one)

1. 8+ per month
2. 5-7 per month
3. 3-4 per month
4. 1-2 per month
5. I do not purchase any health supplements or vitamins.

Where do you usually purchase your health supplements or vitamins?

1. Supermarkets
2. Speciality vitamin and supplement stores
3. Online
4. Other
5. N/A

When purchasing health supplements or vitamins, what factors are important in your decision making? Order from most important to least important.  Leave out if not important at all.

1. Price
2. Brand
3. Word of mouth / recommendations
4. Ingredient composition (for allergenic reasons or other)
5. Source country
6. Certification logos on the label
7. N/A

How important to you is the country of origin where the health supplements and vitamins or their ingredients are made from?

1. Very Important
2. Important
3. Somewhat Important
4. Not very important
5. Not important at all

How important to you is the treatment of animals from where the health supplements and vitamins or their ingredients are made from?

1. Very Important
2. Important
3. Somewhat Important
4. Not very important
5. Not important at all

How often do you inquire or look up the information on ingredient sources for your health supplements and vitamins?

1. Every time
2. For most of the supplements I buy
3. For some of the supplements I buy
4. Never

If you inquire or look up the information on ingredient sources, how often did you get the information you sought?

1. Every time
2. Most of the time
3. Some of the time
4. Barely any time
5. Never
6. N/A

Given the choice between a supplement product ‘Supplement A’, and the same supplement product ‘Supplement B’ but that is known to be 100% sourced and made from sustainable or local sources, and assuming that Supplement A is $20 and that your default choice is Supplement B, at what price will deter you to opt for Supplement A over Supplement B?

1. $21 – $22
2. $23 – $24
3. $25 – $26
4. $27 – $29
5. $30+

Writing the Definition

I found the process of writing the definitions pretty straight forward.  It was a matter of reading the assignment requirements and structuring my writing to meet those specifications.  Since I already have adequate knowledge on the term, I brainstormed the information I needed to put in the definition and used research to fill out any missing information I had.  Using my prior experience as a quality control supervisor who had to train new employees, I tried as best I could to make sure the information I put down was intuitive and easy to follow for readers who are not familiar with the topic. I placed myself in a new employee’s shoes and began to write my definition based on that.  Then, filling in the definition was straight forward since I had the information as well as the frame of reference.

The Peer Review Process

After having read my partner’s definition, I found it interesting to witness the differences in writing style and thinking process compared to mine.  For example, she organized her definition in equally important sub parts, while I structured mine more like a paragraphed web article.  Reading through it, I found aspects that made me raise my brow, but there was technically nothing wrong with it, which made me realize that my own writing style and thinking processes was injecting a bit of bias.  I also assumed she, too, wrote her definition as someone knowledgeable on the term trying to place themselves in the shoes of people who are unfamiliar.  And as someone reading it in the perspective of someone unfamiliar, I found a few passages that confused me, which was both a good opportunity to provide recommendation as well as a reflection that my own definition might confuse others the same way.  While reviewing, I also found aspects of her paper that could benefit my own definition, such as better organizational headings and more details on the specific components of the term.

The Revision Process

After having read my partner’s peer review, I realized this was written from the perspective of someone who actually isn’t familiar with the subject, and not just from the perspective of an imaginary person I made up.  Some descriptions that I wrote that I felt was intuitive to myself turned out not to be intuitive for my partner, and needed to be explained in further detail to clear the confusion.  She pointed out that there was no explanation for each letter in the term HACCP.  At first, that statement confused me; because to me, it was pretty straight forward.  But I looked into it, and realized that her confusion was completely justified.  I did not mention anywhere about the meaning of the terms within the term.  And so, I improved my definition by taking her recommendation into account and adding more clarification on the inner terms.  The set of fresh eyes from someone with a completely different writing style was very beneficial, as they can see the faults that my adjusted eyes self-corrected for.  Similar to painting art, the faults of the painting are not apparent when they appear gradually, but when someone is seeing the painting for the first time all at once, all the faults are very obvious.

Links

Definition: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/01/ryan-tso-assignment-1-3/

Peer Review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/04/assignment-13-peer-review-for-ryans-definition-for-haccp/

Revised Definition: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/06/ryan-tso-assignment-1-3-three-definitions-revised/

Dear Avani,

I have read your application letter and would like to invite you to join me in forming a professional writing team for ENGL 301.  Your blog and application letter has demonstrated that you are a strong writer, which is an obvious asset to any writing team.  Your previous experience as a Communications Assistant and Writer/Editor is impressive and no doubt will come in useful for future ENGL 301 assignments.

I would like to mention that as a BCS student with a previous 6 years of work experience as a Quality Control Supervisor, I too have a great deal of experience in writing formal and technical documents suitable for the professional work place.  I feel that our experiences can compliment each other’s and become a good foundation for a potential writing team if you decide to team up.

I have attached my application letter for your perusal in helping you in your decision.  I look forward to hearing back from you and thank you for your time.

Regards,

Ryan Tso
ENGL 301 Student
University of British Columbia
Phone: 778-558-3889

Hi Ayaka,

Thank you for your email and for considering me to be part of your professional writing team!  I am glad that my skills and qualifications can be an asset to you and your team.  I have also taken a look at your application letter and what stood out to me was your initiative in taking charge of stressful situations to come to peaceful conclusions.  I agree that our skills and experiences can complement each other’s in order to make a great team.

That being said, I would gladly accept your offer to be a member of your team.  Going forward, we can discuss and organize further over other communication platforms such as Facebook Messenger, Discord, or Telegram.

Regards,

Ryan Tso
ENGL 301 Student
University of British Columbia
Phone: 778-558-3889

Hi Jieun,

Thank you for your email and for considering me to be part of your professional writing team.  I am currently in a team of 3, but if there are no other members in your team at the moment, you are welcome to join ours!

We have taken a look at your application letter.  We think your previous work experience as an electrical engineer writing professional documents to clients can be a big asset to our own writing team.  Your email and application letter already demonstrates a strong command of professional writing.    Since we both have similar career and scholarly goals, I expect the transition into our team to be a smooth one.

Again, we are open to accept you as a member of our team if you are available.  Please let us know as soon as you can so we can accommodate you.

Regards,

Ryan Tso
ENGL 301 Student
University of British Columbia
Phone: 778-558-3889

Memorandum

To: Erika Paterson, ENGL 301 Instructor
From: Ryan Tso, ENGL 301 Student
Date: May 23, 2021
Subject: Application Letter for Ryan Tso

As per your request for my application letter to be done before May 26, it has been completed and posted to my personal blog as well as attached to this email for your viewing to be used for further assignments.

The attached application letter includes
• Details on my academic and professional background
• My previous achievements and accomplishments
• My strengths and weaknesses
• My personal learning philosophy

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Enclosure: 301 Ryan Tso Application Letter

301 Ryan Tso Application Letter

(Edit May 28, 2020: Currently in a full group now)

Dear ENGL 301 Student,

I am writing to express my deep interest in becoming a productive member of your 301 Technical Writing team. I am currently in my 4th year of the BCS degree at UBC, having worked six years previously on a Food & Nutritional Sciences degree as a quality control supervisor at health foods and supplements manufacturer Organika Health Products Inc. I would love to bring my skills and experience to your team.

With my years of working closely with colleagues in a professional setting and collaborating with industry leaders, I have developed my writing skills to be both professional and efficient in conveying my messages; something that may be highly valued for any writing assignment required by the team. From semi-formal e-mail exchanges between clients, to vital technical documents required by CFIA and other certifying bodies such as Product Specification Sheets and Standard Operation Procedures that meets every safety requirement, I am comfortable with any writing task that you may require. A few of my accomplishments include creating efficiency and cost analysis reports coupled with on-going negotiations with contract laboratories which resulted in a reduction of 25% in expenditure on contract laboratory costs; and, creating HACCP protocols and documents to get the company HACCP certified which ultimately landed their largest client to date: Costco. For your convenience, here is a list of my strengths and weaknesses to aid you in your decision:

Strengths
• Very detail oriented
• Works well in a team setting
• Years of experience writing professional documents and reports
• Takes pride in their work

Weaknesses
• Prone to concentrating on one task and working it to completion before working on others
• Prefers not to lead but will take charge if required

In regards to my personal learning philosophy, I believe students should not learn with the end goal of achieving the highest grade, as important as it is, but by acquiring as much knowledge as they can in order to develop into individuals of enriched thinking and thus achieving a more critical and better understanding of the world around them.

I thank you for your time and the chance to be considered a candidate for your team. I eagerly await your reply and can answer any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Ryan Tso (ryan_tso@hotmail.com)

301 Ryan Tso Application Letter