Contrary to unit two which concentrated on the simple, main-focused writings, unit three was devoted to writing the formal report which was more than 10 pages long. In unit two, I had to cut out some elements to concentrate on the important points, but writing sentences itself was easier since I could easily organize the simple sentences using numbering or bullet points. However, in unit three, I had to write one organized writing with full sentences and paragraphs. Therefore, in unit three, I could focus more on writing sentences in simpler ways and connecting sentences and paragraphs without using redundant words.

 

Process of researching and organizing the formal report

Processing and organizing the formal report was all about considering the organization of the formal report. While processing the research, I frequently checked the results so far and thought of the organization of the writing. Checking the process of the survey and the interview was very helpful in writing a formal report draft as the stage made me prepare more to keep focusing on the purpose of the report while writing the first draft.

Formal report draft

The formal report was not the first academic report I have written. However, it was the first formal report for the ‘English course.’ Therefore, I tried to care not only about the results but the writing itself; expressing the process and the results in clear, well-organized sentences and paragraphs. While trying to write in less wordy sentences, my writing became more clear and easy to understand and it consequently showed the results in a better way. Also, writing with expected audiences in mind was hard but helpful work. The reports I wrote before ended with summaries of the results. However, in this case, the formal report had to propose the solutions or ways of improvement, not just summarizing the body. Writing the conclusion was the hardest part for me in the formal report draft, but it was very helpful since it made me think of the best way of delivering the essential parts without being too confusing or just repeating the body. Furthermore, writing more than 2500 words on one topic was all matter of rephrasing. The process became a chance of reviewing my sentences. For example, I found out that I prefer writing ‘the data shows a result, which means the phenomenon, such as an example.’ The sentence came out too often and was not simple. For that reason, writing the first draft was a good opportunity to practice writing sentences in simple ways.

Peer review

Writing a peer review for Eric’s formal report draft gave me a chance of looking back at my writing.  Reading the writing gave some hints in revising my formal report. For example, his conclusion made me think of the direction of the conclusion I should write in the revising stage. As writing the conclusion was quite hard for me, it was a valuable help. Eric’s review of my formal report was also a significant help. He pointed out some problems that could not be found by myself, like confusing organization in some parts.

Overall, Unit 3 was a good opportunity to write long writing about one topic with expected readers in mind. While working on the assignments in unit 3, I could think of writing in simple and various ways without getting out of the topic. Furthermore, it made me think of my writing habits in sentences that should be improved, and the way of writing while considering the readers. I believe I could improve my writing skill while working on unit 3.

 

First Draft of the formal report: Hansol Yang – ENGL301 Formal Report Draft

Email Memorandum – Formal Report Draft: Improving UBC Students’ Experience in Hybrid Courses

While working on the assignments in unit one, I could learn basic forms and strategies of writing and found my problems in writing: using redundant words and some grammar errors. For the rest of the course, I tried to solve the problem and make my writing neater and simpler. In particular, as unit two consisted of simple writings focusing on delivering key factors, it was a good practice of picking out the key contents I should deliver.

 

Research on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the most popular platforms related to careers. I knew that professional social media can be very helpful for pursuing my career, and have used LinkedIn even before coming to UBC. However, I did not use LinkedIn actively for many years, just searching for job posts and making a profile. Therefore, researching how to use LinkedIn made me find out that there are more helpful ways of using LinkedIn by connecting with others, getting information on the fields, and showing myself to prospective employers. Also, writing the research results became a good opportunity to think of writing in simple ways. The first draft of the writing was very long, so I had to cut out about half of the sentences. Using unnecessary words is one of my weaknesses in writing, and the research made me feel the necessity of using simpler sentences. The assignment was useful not only for the LinkedIn strategy; but also for writing in a simple, clear manner.

Report Proposal and Outline

The formal report is one big part of this course. As I need to carry out the research until the end of this term, the report allowed me to look around the real-life problems near me. It was interesting to consider the problems I am interested in and work on finding the solution. The structure of the proposal was also very helpful. The research proposal contained various parts with no more than 5 lines. To put all the points in limited lines, sentences should be simple and concise. Therefore, it was easier to shorten the sentences even if I didn’t care about my weakness.

Peer Review on Research Proposal

The peer review process is one of the most helpful assignments in this course. I reviewed the proposal of one of my teammates, Eric, and his writing had many points to learn, such as stating the problem in detail. While reading his proposal, I thought my proposal can be improved by stating more detailed problems and defining the term, ‘hybrid courses’ more clearly.

Furthermore, reading Eric’s feedback on my proposal was also very useful. The problems he pointed out, lack of details and some grammatical errors, made me look back at my writing. To be honest, as the former feedback concentrated on the redundant words and word choice, I only cared for the two weaknesses. Due to Eric’s feedback, I could care more about other parts to write a good report. In conclusion, the peer review phase helped me find out my weaknesses beyond the ones I already recognized.

Formal Report Process

The formal report process was very helpful in setting the research plan and working on the survey and interview, which can be the hardest part of this research. Making the survey questions was harder than expected; I thought writing the questions will be easier than the other writings because they are relatively short. However, it was a lot harder to deliver the intention in one simple sentence, especially writing in perfect grammar. The process made me consider simple and concise sentences for the intended purpose. Overall, the formal report process helped plan the whole research process and make simple sentences containing certain purposes.

 

Overall, Unit 2 was good for concentrating on my weaknesses, especially writing redundant words. The entire process helped improve my writing, and I believe it made me care more about writing clear sentences. Also, I could recognize other weaknesses, such as grammatical errors, and failed to clearly show the intention. Furthermore, it was a good opportunity outside the writing, like learning LinkedIn strategy or considering the problems near me. I believe Unit 2 was a great opportunity to improve my writing and other related knowledge.

 

https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99c-2021wc/2022/02/18/peer-review-of-research-proposal-by-hansol-yang/

https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99c-2021wc/2022/02/14/research-proposal-for-a-formal-report/