I continuously mentioned my strength and weakness in my former reflections, especially my bad habit of writing redundant words. Nevertheless, looking back on the writings I worked on this term and observing my strength and weakness made me find some points that should be improved but could not focus on before.

Strengths

My biggest strength in writing is organization. I always try to focus on the problems and instructions, find out the points I have to care about while writing and analyze the situation or the topics I will write about. Such detailed understanding leads to solid organizations having flows of narratives. My writings keep focusing on the topics and do not get out of it.

Finding out my own weakness is one of my strengths. I can easily find out my weakness and try to imrove it. In this course, there were many assists from the professor or the team members, but I also tried hard to realize my problems and improve my writings.

Weaknesses

During the course, I concentrated on one important weakness: using redundant words and grammar errors. My writings always add more words than necessary, making the sentences harder to understand. My efforts were concentrated on cutting out the words while revising the assignments before submitting them.

However, beyond this weakness that I have mentioned since my second reflection, I could find more weaknesses while looking back at my writings and revising them. First, I found my writings are patterned in structures. In other words, the organizations or sentences I use are quite similar in most writings. All writers indeed have their own styles, but writing in only limited patterns can make readers get easily bored. Considering that all the writings I wrote in this course were very short, I should diversify the structures. Actually, it was the point that makes my sentences long; I tried to avoid using the same patterns and it made the sentences longer. Second, my writings have relatively weak conclusions. The conclusion is not an easy job for everyone. A good conclusion requires a good summary and should be wrapped up in interesting way without giving too many new information or just repeating the words in former parts of the writing. I always feel hard to find a good way of wrapping up the writings.

Further Works to Do

Even though I still have some weaknesses in writing, the writing skills I learned in this term will be helpful in my future career. Even though I am planning to work as a software engineer, I still have to communicate with others using email. I may have some opportunities to write project proposals to suggest new platforms or services. In such situations, the practices for writing email memos and the proposal will help me.

However, for better work in my future career, I still need a lot of practice in English writing. I believe understanding my strengths and weaknesses will help improve my writings skills.

For the last three units, I worked on various writings and found out my weakness and bad habits in writing. However, even though I submitted both the draft and the final version for the formal report, still many of my writings have not been revised after I submitted them. I revised the writings before the submission, but the feedback was not reflected in most of my writings.

On the other hand, while working on the web folio, I definitely had to write some new postings, but most of the works were revising the former writings, or working based on them. The process was very helpful in improving my weaknesses.

About Me

In this part, I revised in rewrote the biography, resume and application package I submitted before in this course. Since this course was not my first opportunity to write to introduce myself, it was quite familiar topic to me that I have worked a lot before. Even so, I still could found some mistakes and points to improve in my resume and letters. My experience in current field is very few. I only learned a year in this field, and have no working experience. For these reasons, a few points were repeated all over the writings in the resume, cover letter, and the request letters. But even though my resume is not that outstanding, the writing experience itself is really helpful since it makes me use rephrasing and cutting out the redundant words while explaining details. Writing a great resume with a few experience is definitely not an easy job, but I learned that it can be displayed better by my writing skills.

My Works

This part was consisted of revisions. I had to revise my former reflections and many works I have done in this course. The most important lesson I learned in this course was the importance of reviewing, but before this assignment, I did not take time to review the works already submitted. In other words, I received feedback in every stage of writings, but I just used it for next assignment, not reflecting the feedback in the reviewed writing. I still felt my writing is getting better. However, this process made me feel that I still have a lot of weaknesses to improve. Reading the works while considering the feedback was a great help in revising them and made me find out the points I could have done better if I understood the former feedback entirely.

Even before this assignment, I tried to remember the feedback I got from the professor or the team members. Still, I felt it was hard to reflect on the feedback entirely when working on new assignments. Writing on new topic made me concentrated more on creating the main contents than improving writing skills. Therefore, this assignment was helpful in understanding the feedback and accepting it. I hope you can also feel my improvement in writings.

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/

In this course, I have done multiple writing assignments in 4 units. These helped me improve my writing skills in phases, and I tried to show my progress in each unit through these reflection posts.

As unit one was the first step of the course, I could learn the basic steps I should consider in writing and my problems in writings from the works below.

Figure. My Writing Progress

First Draft of Definition

For the last two weeks, ENGL 301 course concentrated on writing three kinds of definitions, reviewing, and revising the writings. Writing the first draft was the first process of it. While writing the first draft, I could learn the basic methods of explanations. Three ways of writing definitions and subtypes of the definitions were introduced in the textbook, and by adapting them to my own reading, it was possible to understand and remember how to use the explanation methods. Also, by considering which definition will be best for the non-technical readers, I tried to write in clearer ways. The consideration made me think and care about the structure of the writing more. By doing so, I could improve my writing skills to write in a neater way. Furthermore, as the assignment required some visuals and references, I learned how to use visuals and outer sources for better writing. In conclusion, the three definitions assignment was excessively helpful for good professional writing skills, using more professional methods, visuals, and outer sources, and writing in a more organized way.

Peer Review

The peer review was a good opportunity to read the teammate’s writing and learn from it. I reviewed one of my teammate’s writing(Eric Zhang). Reading his definition made me learn from the points he did well and some small mistakes that I could also have done. For example, his sentence was very concise and clear, which is a very good strength that my writing does not have. However, it was not the only advantage of peer review. While reviewing the definition, it was possible to look back on my own writing. Whenever finding some points during the review, I thought about whether my definition was the right way about the points, and went back to my writing. It was also very helpful for improving the first draft. Moreover, as it will not be my last review of others’ writing, writing the peer review note was a great help. I considered more polite words, the way of feedback, and the way to be more useful for his revision. Overall, the peer review assignment was so helpful for my writing in both ways, improving my writing on definitions, and writing the review note.

Editing Definition

To be honest, I usually had not revised my writings. It was really hard for me to reread my writings and find out the problems. However, thanks to the peer review assignment, both my peer review on my teammate’s writing and vice versa, I could find the points to check while revising the draft and realized revising is a very useful process not only for better writing but also for improving writing skills. While revising the first draft of the definition, it was possible to figure out some of my writing problems. For example, I found out that some of my sentences are not well organized enough for clear and detailed explanations for non-technical readers. Reading my own writing and rewriting it more clearly made me think of what is a good professional writing and what should be done for it. Also, I could check out some weak grammar points and got to know which points should be cared for. The assignment was extremely helpful for enhancing my writing skills, especially in the perspective of finding my weaknesses.

Overall, the process was greatly helpful in improving my writing skills. In the process, I could learn the basic criteria of good writing and effective explanation, how to review, and how to apply the reviewed points to the writing. Following the process made me learn more about writing useful professional documents. Also, in the process, I could figure out the weak points to be improved and how to do it. I believe the overall unit one assignments were highly helpful for my writing skills.

Revised Definition: Definition of “Recursion”

Peer Review on Definition of “Bug”

Subject: Accepting the ENGL 301 Team Invitation

From: Hansol Yang                                    Monday 24/Jan/22

To: Eric Zhang

Dear Eric,

Thank you for your invitation to your technical writing team in ENGL 301 course. I looked over the invitation email, as well as the application letter you attached, and I am really happy to let you know that I accept your invitation to your writing team.

I agree with you that our common interest in computer science will make our work as a team easier. I am also happy to work with you, and I expect to learn a lot from you. It will be a valuable experience to work with people heading to similar career courses, not only in professional writing but in many other career-related situations.

I also found out that your former career, especially the data-driven work experience, will be very helpful for our team. I was in a similar position in my former career, dealing with data. As we share related career paths, I believe we can make agreements easier, more data-driven way during our work. 

I would like to appreciate you again for the invitation. I look forward to working with you and I hope to make good writing works together.

Best,

Hansol Yang

ENGL 301 Student

University of British Columbia

Phone: (555) 682-4493

Subject: Invitation to ENGL 301 Writing Team

From: Hansol Yang                                         Monday 24/Jan/22

To: Dhara Bhatt

Dear Dhara,

Hope you had a good weekend.

I reviewed your application letter, and I am writing this email to invite you to my ENGL 301 Writing Team.

While reviewing your application letter, I was very interested in your experience in critical writing. I believe your past writing experience and cooperative teamwork will be of help to our team. I expect you had a lot of experience in the academic report while studying philosophy at McMaster University, as well as thinking in critical viewpoint and analyzing. Furthermore, your interest in computer science also got my attention. Your logical thinking skills based on learning computer science, as well as our common interests in the field, will make it easier to work together. 

I have attached my application letter below. If you are interested in my invitation, please review the application letter attached below. I hope reviewing my application letter can be helpful for you to decide on my suggestion, and get to know me better for our work.

I am very much looking forward to working with you. If you are willing to accept my suggestion or have any questions about me and my team, please let me know. You can get in touch with me via this email, hansol94@student.ubc.ca. I look forward to your reply.

Best,

Hansol Yang

ENGL 301 Student

University of British Columbia

Phone: (555) 682-4493

301 Hansol Yang Application Letter

To: Dr. Erika Petterson

From: Hansol Yang, Student in ENGL 301 99C

Date: Jan 20, 2022

Subject: Submission of Application Letter

I inform you that I posted my application letter for ENGL 301 writing team.

This application letter has contents as below:

  – My situation finding for a position in ENGL 301 writing team

  – My related experiences as marketing researcher and a graduate in Adversiting/PR/Branding major

  – My strengths: logical analyzing skill and professional writing experience

  – My weakness: imperfect grammar

  – My contact points

I attach the application letter at the bottom of this page, so please check the file below for the detailed contents.

Please let me know if there is any mistakes or feedbacks that I should know.

Thank you for your instruction.

301 Hansol Yang Application Letter

5959 Student Union Blvd.

Vancouver, BC V6T 1K2

January 20, 2022

ENGL 301 99C

University of British Columbia

2329 West Mall

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

Subject: Writing Team Member Position with Your Team

Dear ENGL 301 99C Students:

Do you need an experienced, hard-working member who is responsible and used to working collaboratively with others in your ENGL 301 writing team? If so, please read through this application letter and consider me as a member. As a former marketing researcher, and a university student learned Advertising/PR/Branding, I experienced various professional writing experiences and I believe such experiences will be helpful for your professional writing team projects.

While learning Advertising/PR/Branding as a major, which was my first degree, most of the courses I took required critical writing skills. I covered various kinds of writings as a team project, such as writing a PR message for advertising a bank service, several academic reports including analyzing the customers’ perception on a company, and news articles. Furthermore, after graduation, I worked as a marketing researcher and wrote numerous professional reports mostly purposed on persuading my clients and supporting my insights. Throughout such experiences, I learned how to make my writing interesting and easy to understand and tried to develop my writings skills. Also, since most of the works were done in teams, I learned the way of understanding other team members’ opinions, finding the common ground that can make the best result, and maximize the efficiency. I always felt it pleasure to listen to others’ thoughts and find the best ways, as well as trying hard to get the best results.

As I studied and experienced various fields, including the computer science field which is my second degree that I am currently learning, I also have wide interests in various fields. My major strengths are analyzing the phenomenon in logical way and professional writing experiences. On the other hand, I have some weaknesses especially on grammarly perfect writing as English is my second language. Still, I believe learning is based on the passion to make a better result, I believe I can make a good result with you despite of my weakness. It will be very pleasure experience if we can cover each other’ weaknesses.

If you are still finding a team member and you feel that I might be a good team member, please contact me via my blog or my email, hansol94@student.ubc.ca.

Sincerely,

Hansol Yang

301 Hansol Yang Application Letter