Unit Three Reflections – Drafting Formal Report

Unit three was critical for learning the practice of writing with “you” attitude, preparing the formal report and peer editing a draft formal report. Here are my reflections for the unit:

Formal Report Research

The research process of the formal report was critical in establishing the foundation of the formal report. For my report on “Enhancing Participation of Educators in the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair Committee”, secondary resources can be difficult to find. Beyond the information regarding the purpose of science fairs and brief background on history of the regional fair, statistics of educator science fair participation was not available. As a result, this made primary sources for the research extremely critical. Notably, I found the gathering of survey responses a challenge in the research process. Specifically, response rates were low for the number of educators the surveys were sent to. Despite this limitation to the research process, I proceeded to navigate through this obstacle by exploring other feasible methods of gathering meaningful data. This included finding educators from outside Vancouver to conduct an in-depth interview regarding educator participation on science fair committees outside Greater Vancouver. Surprisingly, I learned that other regions from across the province and outside BC are also exploring ways to increase educator participation on the committee or have successfully implemented strategies to attract more educators. Interviews with educators proved to be an effective way in gathering comprehensive information for my report. The research I completed regarding educator participation on science fair committees are novel findings that will potentially have a huge impact on how the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair will proceed in the next round of volunteer recruitment.

Organizing the Formal Report

Following the research, organizing the information gathered for the report was a lengthy process. As many of the questions on the surveys utilized the Likert Scale, determining the frequency distribution for each value on the scale required creating an organized spreadsheet of all the data gathered. Organizing the information from interviews also needed good organization. After all results were analyzed, the next step was planning the most effective way to present the main findings. To begin, I compared the responses from the two interviews and highlighted points that were mentioned in both interviews. There was an unexpected amount of overlap between the interviews but also key differences that were helpful in formulating recommendations for the report. These overlaps formed the subheadings under the results section for surveys. Next, for the numerical data gathered from surveys, I formulated a brief sentence summarizing the conclusion that can be drawn from the results for each survey question. Through this method, I created informative subheadings for the report. In organizing interview and survey responses, I learned that summarizing results for a report is a great exercise in practicing conciseness in writing.

Writing the Formal Report

From thoroughly organizing the survey and interview data, the writing process of the formal report was straight forward. Using the formal report outline I had written earlier, I was able to write in an organized and concise manner. The outline served as a compass for preparing the draft of my formal report. I learned that the outline did not necessarily form the final layout for the report. After the primary research was completed, I recognized there were some gaps in the outline that needed to be filled in. As such, this required changes to the organization of the formal report to ensure that the ideas were presented logically and clearly. Subsequent editing of the draft of the formal report will be critical in polishing the writing ahead of the final submission. I look forward to editing my draft formal report and submitting my best work by the end of the term.

Peer Reviewing

By reviewing my peer’s draft formal report, I was able to practice writing with a “you” attitude. I focused on avoiding the use of imperative verbs and minimizing the use of pronouns and “you’s” in my peer review. Through being more conscious about my word choices in the peer review, I believe that my writing has become more precise and concise. Additionally, through reading my peer’s work, I learned about the various ways in which the sections of the formal report can be organized and presented. I noticed that reviewing for writing style and grammar, including sentence structures and verb tenses, were especially important for learning how to write in ways that can be easily understood by readers. Furthermore, the peer review process helped me learn about the necessity of providing details and writing in an engaging active voice. The writing becomes clearer when details and active voice are utilized. Overall, peer reviewing my peer’s draft formal report was a great way to improve my formal report writing skills.

Draft formal report can be found here: 301_Janice Pang_Formal Report_Draft.

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