The learning process was a fairly smooth venture, with a few maneuverable bumps in the road. Some assignments, like the formal proposal relied on being able to centralize the data and present it in a clear way. I struggled with this and had to do pretty heavy revisions. In retrospect, allocating more time to digest the data before starting to write would have made for a more effective first draft.

Meanwhile, other assignments such as the materials included in the web folio were easier to coordinate. I think my strengths as someone who has worked in a managerial capacity really aided me for the duration of the semester and the compilation of submitted documents. It also helped me pleasantly interact with the various members of my team to align our common goals and uplift the caliber of our collective works.

I think my clear and convivial communication will also help in the future. I have often done well in interviews because of these skills, most recently having been hired this week! The English 301 course really helped me hone the professional tones and attention to detail that will complement the skills I already bring to the table. I look forward to taking these lessons and integrating them into a long and successful career.

The most wonderful aspect of creating the folio was consolidating the information and highlighting the things that distinguished my accomplishments. It was challenging to parse exactly what to bring to the front and choose what to present on what platform. Once I was diving and writing, it felt positive to give context to the work I’ve been doing over the past few years. And after scrutinizing my work, it was important to put the right information on the right platform. Luckily with the Technical Communication textbook, the instructor’s blog and the peer review feedback, honing what really mattered started falling into place.

The importance of the web folio itself is undisputable. In the current work landscape and the remote shift of many industries in the wake of Covid-19, providing online accessible resources such as this project are more important than ever before.

One exciting thing that happened while I was creating the web folio was that the job I applied for offered me the position. This was a tangible result of compiling my resume and cover letter. Putting in measured efforts really does pay off!

Unit Three Reflection

Preparing the formal report draft was an extensive process. I was glad to have reached out to my designated survey subjects early in the process because they needed reminding before I could get an adequate participant count for data collection. Writing the report helped me hone how the issue at hand was an issue. And when I constructed the survey I believed certain questions would be more relevant than others, and I was mistaken. The core issue was still an issue but I expected to see different focuses within that. I learned to be flexible and listen to the results of the study for an effective interpretation. Selecting which graphics to use was a challenging task and I erred on the side of safety by integrating more rather than less.

The YOU-Attitude was an excellent aide in all the assignments as it helped refine the choice of language and the framing of sentences to showcase ideas while paying close attention to the readership. One nice thing about this resource is that it will be great to access in future technical communications to ensure proper flow and professionalism.

Finally, peer reviewing my partner was a little more challenging this time, simply because the body of work is much longer than any of the previous assignments. Because of this, it was nice to consolidate conceptual feedback rather than nitty gritty details that could be fixed with spell-check or a second read. My teammate did a great job of preparing his information so it could be logically followed. I learned that the caliber of a first draft can be the difference between recommending significant repairs and offering polishing strategies. In my case, I offered him mostly the latter.

Overall, unit three was the most intensive unit insofar because the report draft required the assembly of various puzzle pieces. I look forward to going into unit four with a better understating of the YOU-attitude and the knowledge I gained from writing and peer reviewing the proposal.

Looking into best practices for LinkedIn profiles, in the context of ENGL 301, helped refine my personal LinkedIn page. I had created a LinkedIn account many years ago but until these exercises, I had not applied much thought into polishing it. Thanks to these exercises, I was able to find a more suitable profile and cover picture. I had also, until that point, omitted the summary which is a key feature in prospective employers getting to familiarize themselves with an individual. I look forward to making new professional connections with this shiny new profile.

Preparing my proposal was motivating because I genuinely believe it can uplift the interviewing caliber of my club peers and myself. It also really helped me focus what I was hoping to achieve. My outline was a different experience because it was fairly rushed. I was checking my deadlines by lesson rather than by unit on the ENGL 301 course website. Because of this, I didn’t realize until too late that some of the assignments of 2:3 predated and shared a date with some of 2:2 assignments. This is a lesson learned for the coming weeks so I can map accordingly and give the upcoming assignments the attention they deserve. I look forward to revising my outline.

When it comes to how my investigation will become my formal report, the one concern I have is how I am going to thread the bibliographic research with the surveys. I think that will need to come from the analysis and perhaps leaning on the readings to support the data collected from the surveys or to address the concerns expressed in the survey. I think that will come to light in the next two weeks, hopefully.

Getting feedback regarding my proposal from the peer review conducted by a team member, was primarily useful for grammar, syntax, and language formatting. I have attached my revised copy here. I did not receive much conceptual feedback with the exception of clarifying one concept for the audience, so I have to believe I am on a the right track!

When I composed the peer review for my partner probably, I could have done more minute observations. I focused on higher level issues I noticed in the proposal but in doing so, did not address every component of relevant feedback. My partner did as much in my review and I am taking away those lessons of completeness and detail in my writing.

Overall, working through the second unit of the course was a little bumpier than the first but I look forward to taking my new tidbits of knowledge into the third unit.

The definition exercise was an enlightening experience and a helpful guide to understand my shortcoming and my strengths in first drafts. The edits of my colleague also helped me refine my editing eye and what I should look out for in future assignments.

The original piece surrounded a definition of a concept in artificial intelligence, a topic I am pursuing in depth in one of my current classes. It is always hard to convey technical algorithm information especially to casual readers. I think one of my larger successes, as it was pointed out by my reviewer, was simplifying the information and organizing it in a coherent fashion. My challenges were including in-text citations rather than just lumping sources together in the bibliography, not properly defining an audience and some sparse syntax and grammar errors. With this knowledge thoughtfully brought up by my reviewer, I can apply extra caution in my future technical communications. This is a key concept I have learned from this experience.

The process of peer reviewing was valuable as well. You can find my partner’s review of my work here. Both my partner and I brought different strengths to the table and they felt quite complimentary. My suggestions were anchored with language that prompts questions, such as “I wonder”, “this may”, and questions themselves while my colleague offered tangible corrections such as offering a sentence to replace one of mine. They are two different styles and I believe they both raise the quality of our work. I chose this style for two reasons. First, when I think of my experience in theatre, I have always found the best directors to be ones who ask questions of their actors rather than direct them specifically about how their lines should be read. This way, they can stay authentic to their version of characters. I believe the same is applicable in writing. Identifying the issue and asking someone how they would address it encourages them to do so in their voice. Second, beyond maintaining agency over the words, it also keeps things positive. I am a big fan of saying “how can we do this better” rather than a strict “don’t do this.”

The editing process was a fairly expedite process. Given such tangible directions, I was able to modify things quickly. I fixed my outlined challenges. For the feedback that had exact sentence replacement, I used some but left out others to remain authentic to my voice and the things I was trying to say. I think it is incredibly to be able to listen to other’s feedback and parse it properly. The second edit gave me the opportunity to learn how to do so. You can see my revisions in my second version here.

Overall, the three steps of this process taught me various strategies to raise the quality of my own work as well as my partner’s work. I believe I will be able to apply these for future assignments.

Subject: Prospective Writing Partner
To: Cody Gagnon

Dear Cody,

I reviewed your blog and carefully read your application letter. In doing so, it was evident we share similar academic and professional interests. This is why I would like to extend a formal invitation to my professional writing team.

We are both at a similar junction in our lives, having a previous degree and being in the graduating year of our computer science program. Having undergone the same classes and group projects, I am confident that we will work well collectively because we are both familiar with the standards of cooperation in our field. Moreover, you offered curiosity as a leading guideline in your learning philosophy. I believe this perspective will allow us to elevate the quality of our work by ensuring that we are asking the right questions about our assignments. My philosophy was based in empathy, which I can see multiple expressions of in your application letter. For instance, you mention creating work for non-profit organizations with the Code for Change foundation. Your communication skills will come in handy where mine may be constricted, and our time management skills will pair well together. I hope we will combine these skills to produce quality projects together.

Please respond to this offer at your earliest opportunity. I look forward to this prospective collaboration. You can find a word copy of my application letter here.

Thank you,

Geneviève Bolduc

Subject: Prospective Writing Partner
To: Siddhartha Gupta

Dear Siddhartha,

I reviewed your blog and carefully read your application letter. In doing so, it was evident we share similar academic interests and learning philosophies. This is why I would like to extend a formal invitation to my professional writing team.

Being familiar with the capstone project and the computer science department, I understand the cooperation requirements that are the cornerstone of your studies. Having undergone similar projects and training, I am confident that you will be able to apply the collective skills you have learned from our shared program. Moreover, I believe some of my strengths will be complementary to your weaknesses and vice versa. You highlighted your challenges with succinctness and prioritization. Having worked as a T.A., I am skilled at boiling down ideas and conveying the most crucial information. In this same vein, your experience with technical writing as part of your experience will uplift the team and serve as careful curation for our work. Your philosophy of continuous engagement complements mine of empathy as we are stronger when we talk and listen to one another. I hope we will put those philosophies to work in the near future.

Please respond to this offer at your earliest opportunity. I look forward to this prospective collaboration. You can find a word copy of my application letter here .

Thank you,

Geneviève Bolduc

To: Matthew Shen
Subject: Prospective Writing Partner

Dear Matthew,

I reviewed your blog and carefully read your application letter. In doing so, it was evident we share a common outlook on team projects and how to successfully collaborate. This is why I would like to extend a formal invitation to my professional writing team.

Although our fields of study are different, it is clear by your existing professional responsibilities that you can manage time effectively and demonstrate the self-discipline necessary for the completion of this class. Similarly, I work and have additional responsibilities that must be skillfully integrated into my schedule. This is why I was so pleased to read that your respect for deadlines is absolute. Moreover, I believe some of my strengths will be complementary to your weaknesses and vice versa. You highlighted your challenges with graphic representations of ideas. As a computer science student, we consistently represent problems visually. In fact, most technical interviews require us to graphically represent problems and solutions on whiteboards. If we are called to do visual representations, I will be able to step up. In this same vein, your attention to constraints as part of your learning philosophy will uplift the team and ensure that we are meeting the exact requirements. I hope you will be able to join us and contribute in this way.

Please respond to this offer at your earliest opportunity. I look forward to this prospective collaboration. You can find a copy of my application letter attached here .

Thank you,

Geneviève Bolduc

MEMORANDUM

To: Professor Erika Paterson
From: Geneviève Bolduc, English 301 Student
Date: May 21, 2020
Subject: Application Letter

As you requested, I have written a letter of application. You can find it the word document attached to this memo.

I wrote this letter in the context of ENGL 301 and its purpose is to present myself as an eligible candidate to prospective teammates. The letter covers the following points:

• My academic interests and professional experience
• My strengths and weakness
• My learning philosophy

Please review this document at your earliest convenience and do not hesitate to reach out should you need any additional details.

Thank you very much for taking the necessary time to evaluate this document.

Enclosure: 301 Genevieve Bolduc Application Letter

Geneviève Bolduc
123 Real Street,
BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4

May 21, 2020

Classmates of English 301
123 Fake Street,
BC, Canada, V6T 1Z9

Esteemed Classmates,

I am reaching out today to offer my technical skills and to seek out a dedicated and professional writing team for the duration of the semester. In this posting, I will outline my relevant interests, present an accurate reflection of my strengths and weaknesses, and share with you my learning philosophy. To download a word document copy of this letter, please click this hyperlink: 301 Genevieve Bolduc Application Letter .

I am a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Computer Science program at the University of British Columbia. I have taken the core requirements of the program, exempting the present English class which I hope to navigate with you. In my studies, I am particularly fond of algorithms and how they can be applied to solve wide-ranging sets of real-world issues. I have had some professional experience in this field, completing an eight-month co-op at Avigilon, a Motorola subsidiary. My role was to adapt software products to the linguistic, cultural, and technical requirements of various markets. Volunteering has also consistently figured in my life as I have helped produce local comedy shows (Geeks versus Nerds) and coached roller derby youth (Vancouver Junior Roller Derby).  I hope you will consider my experience as an important asset in the search for teammates. I consider myself an eloquent writer and communicator. I do not shy away from considering the weight of words, their meaning and their impact. This is useful in a class based around communication. In terms of work habits, I follow-through on the tasks I assume. This reliability is vital to group projects and you may hope to benefit from it. However, I am not a quick responder. I am currently employed and have many responsibilities to attend. Due to this, I must set boundaries on expectations of response times along the lines of a 24-hour or 12-hour turnaround depending on the proximity to deadlines. If these are like your expectations, please consider me a keen and eligible prospect. My learning philosophy is relatively simple, it can be summarized into two concepts, listening and practicing. Listening is key in understanding the ideas that are being taught as well as the needs of others around you. Practicing is the only way to apply learning and rehearse and enhance skills.

Overall, I hope the different aspects of my professional and academic l interests, as well as my strengths, weakness and learning ideology have resonated with you. If interested in collaborating, you can reach out to me at the following address: genevieve.bridge.bolduc@gmail.com.

Best Regards,

Geneviève Bolduc