2228 Marstrand Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K4T1
January 10th, 2019
English 301 Students
The University of British Columbia
2329 West Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T1Z4
Dear English 301 Students:
I am writing to you to express my interest in becoming a professional writing member of your English 301 team, as advertised on the English 301 website. As a fourth-year student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Sciences and later a Professional Geoscientist designation, I want to contribute to the society by finding valuable resources or ensuring people’ safety through well-executed infrastructure projects. Given my solid organization and attention-to-detail skills as demonstrated through conducting geophysical experiments, together with my strong motivation to improve and clear principles in learning, I am confident I can make a positive contribution to your team.
Working for 8 months as a Technical Services Co-op Student at MineSense Technologies, I had the opportunity to work with real time ore-body reading technologies to increase profit and sustainability. Through extensive understanding of the laboratory equipment and detailed pre-experimental planning, I applied four different geophysical technologies on sample testing at a swift rate, which speeded up the data-correlating process by 30%. I also contributed to the final technical reports of three lab projects by writing the testing procedures, showcasing experimental results and providing in-depth analyses. The ability to develop logical plans ahead of time, speedy but attentive work execution under minimal supervision and high level of patience in revising my writing work would make me a valuable asset to your team.
As English is my second language, I do not have extensive English vocabulary. Hence, I recently made it a goal to read books in my free time and note down interesting words or phrases that I come across. I would later look them up and try to practice using them with some close friends. By doing so, I am starting to expand my vocabulary. I also am a bit of a perfectionist by setting high standards for myself and my work. I can have a hard time finding the best words to write, especially with the opening of paragraphs because I always want to write something that stands out. I am learning to be more courageous and to just write what comes to mind, then spend more time later to work on unsatisfactory writing pieces.
My learning philosophy narrows down to 3Rs: Realize, Reflect and Respond. Through reading books, articles or observing a situation, I can always realize something different or new that I did not know about. In the reflection step, I consider the importance of the new information and its relevance to me. As I decide that I want to understand this new concept and perhaps be able to use it in the future, I respond to it by doing my own research, reaching out to experts of the subject matter or collaborating with those who share the same interest with me.
English 301 is the most practical course I have come across, where students of all backgrounds meet and grow together in this technical writing journey. I believe my reliability and diligence will make me a productive member of your team. If you find our skills and interests to complement each other, please do not hesitate to contact me at voanhthu96@yahoo.co.uk. Thank you and I look forward to working with you.
Yours truly,
Thu Vo.