Monthly Archives: June 2017

The process of creating a LinkedIn profile was nothing new to me; being a second-degree student I have been using LinkedIn for years. However what I did find useful was researching strategies for making the most out of LinkedIn and applying it to my profile. Social networking platforms are constantly changing due to trends and new features, and it’s important to stay on top of communication channels in your industry (for example, specific keywords, industry news).

The process of brainstorming and preparing my proposal and outline was intuitive once I had a clear grasp of what I was trying to achieve with my research. My report’s focus on mental health in organizations is something that is also personal to me, having struggled with anxiety and panic attacks in the past. I believe that the personal aspect of my report is an advantage as it will give me a sense of purpose and drive to complete it. I will be glad if it can give some insight into improving mental health initiatives and support networks in organizations.

I am a bit nervous about how my report is going to come together —  if I can schedule interviews in time, or if I will have enough access to information in an organization I formally worked at. How much are people willing to disclose? I am depending on my reputation from doing reputable work as a co-op, and amicable relationships I have maintained since completing my work term as keys to getting the information I need to conduct a thorough analysis.

I have learned from reviewing my team’s writing that it is important to be explicit instead of making broad, vague statements. It is too easy to fall into the trap of writing abstract sentences when trying to express concepts and ideas instead of fully developing the idea and supporting it with examples. This is an issue I have come across in my partner’s writing as well as my own. In addition, I realized that even though proposals are sort of a broad outline of an idea, it is important to make sure that all components of it are connected in a logical manner — for example, my partner wanted to explore the difference between business software used for a dispensary and a regular mom-and-pop store, but did not explain why he wanted to. It would have been helpful to explain why and connect it to the overall goal of his research.

ENGL301ResearchProposal-JudyChern

Review of Albert’s Proposal

As someone who is no stranger to writing for both academic and professional purposes, I am always surprised at how each piece of writing still has its own challenges. I found that giving a written definition by using a structured format helped make my writing much more effective and useful.

I enjoyed the peer review process as it gave me the chance to use what I learned so far from this course, as well as draw from my other experiences as a writer. In addition, I was able to recognize the impact of using the active instead of passive voice for many situations. I have been guilty of overusing the passive voice as I falsely believed it would make me sound more academic, formal or technical, not realizing that it actually distanced the reader and made my sentences harder to decipher.

In my assignment as well as my peers, I recognized that there is a common tendency to be too wordy, especially in an academic context. As I have learned, one of the most difficult parts of writing is being able to condense one’s sentences without sacrificing meaning.

For the revision of my definition assignment, I received feedback from Albert that a more detailed explanation of what my target audience (a program manager) does on day-to-day basis would be helpful. I ended up rewriting this section almost completely and provided an explanation of a program manager’s job by using my example of the testing framework. I realized that using the same example I use throughout the document would provide a clearer picture of why the manager would need to know the definition of framework for his / her job.

Along the same lines, I found the feedback from Albert to add examples of different types of frameworks a good suggestion, but given my audience this might not be necessary, and it may be more effective to focus on defining the word within the context of testing automation.

Rewritten definition assignment

Peer review of my assignment