English 301

Unit Three Reflection Blog

            In Unit Three, the main portion of work was dedicated to creating the Formal Report. Editing of a peer’s report and developing a progress report regarding a job search were other tasks completed. The writing with “You-Attitude” assignments were beneficial in strengthening my professional writing tone. I believe this unit provided the student with a vast array of writing opportunities to engage in.

This unit began with improving the student’s business writing skills. I learned to apply the principles of the “You-Attitude” format to two letters- complaint and bad news. The “You-Attitude” technique encourages the writer to view the piece from the reader’s point of view. It seeks to express appreciation, respect the reader’s ego, and stay positive. This lesson taught me to write respectfully and with an understanding tone in any situation. I found that the letter development was extremely helpful in preparing me for the Formal Report.

The Formal Report draft was the most time-consuming, and challenging section of this unit. I found this portion difficult because my implementation plan cannot be fully implemented right away. The dental office I am employed at is working towards altering the length of dental hygiene appointments from 40 minutes to 50 minutes. As this schedule change would negatively affect patients already booked, we have started arranging future appointments for 50 minutes. With this being a long-term implementation, it is not feasible for me to draw accurate conclusions before a formal evaluation. This makes my draft feel unfinished, however, I tried to hypothesize on the areas of inquiry through academic research reports.

I feel as though I improved on the peer review portion this unit. When editing my partner’s Formal Report draft, I gave both broad and specific feedback. I discussed what content was informative and what was redundant or confusing. I identified terms that would benefit from a definition, how to improve transition elements, and suggestions for design improvement. I also evaluated the piece for the “You-Attitude” tone. Moreover, I provided specific grammatical edits.

The last portion of this unit was to identify an appropriate advertisement for a job, volunteer, or graduate position. This will allow the student to create an application package including a cover letter and resume to their Web-folio. I researched advertisements for dental hygiene positions with the public health unit. This type of employment would interest me, as I am passionate about working with the community, especially children. I would like to explore the other roles of the dental hygienist aside from clinician. Educator and advocator are exciting new hats I could try in this field. I may also get to engage in epidemiological research studies.

Overall, this unit was progressed into nicely as units one and two provided a strong writing framework to draw upon. I feel as though I was really able to progress with my writing performance, editing skills and research abilities. I look forward to the advancement Unit Four will yield.

ENGL 301- Unit 3 Reflection Blog- Jessica Arnold

Unit One Reflection Blog

Unit One was an informative introduction to English 301- Technical Writing. I learned to professionally interact with other writers through the development of my application letter, emails, and memos. It is very beneficial to have group members to collaborate with, both to receive and give helpful feedback. Writing is a learning process that always supports room to grow.

The main assignment for this unit allowed us to explore how important definitions are to a reader. I realized that defining a term I am so familiar with in my field of study is a challenging ordeal. Describing a term to a non-technical audience forced me to step back and evaluate which terms may be unknown to an average person without a dental background. It was very helpful to have a classmate edit my assignment as they were able to bring forth additional terms that a broad audience may struggle with. My editing partner was also able to identify which areas of my piece were unnecessary and which sections I should elaborate on.

When editing my partner’s assignment, I became familiar with a new term, selected words in her definitions that may require further defining, and gave suggestions on how to improve the expanded definition. I believe it is always valuable to read another’s work in order to witness different writing styles and techniques.

Overall, the first section of this course has provided the students with ways to professionally communicate, peer review, and self-edit. It has also proven to be a sufficient way to learn about our classmates and their selected fields of study.

Edited version of definition assignment:

ENGL 301- Definition assignment

Hyperlink to peer review by Adrianna Paiero:

http://engl301.arts.ubc.ca/2016/01/29/peer-review-jessica-arnold-calculus-definition/

2329 West Mall

Vancouver, British Columbia

V6T 1Z4

English 301 99C

Department of English

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, B.C.

January 15, 2016

Dear English 301 Students:

Please consider my application for writing team member for the English 301 Technical Writing course, as advertised on UBC Blogs. I am a University of British Columbia student studying Dental Sciences planning to graduate in April 2019. I have completed my dental hygiene diploma prior. My English professor, Ms. Erika Paterson, influenced me to apply for this position.

As a research assistant with George Brown College, in collaboration with the University of Toronto, I worked with another research partner to write a formal research report on bacterial growth in dental unit water lines. This was then submitted to the main researchers for review prior to publication. My experience demonstrates my ability to successfully work as a team, analyze and record data, and write in a professional manner.

Additionally, as an oral health program coordinator, I developed a hands-on dental health presentation. This was directed at preschool-aged students at a Montessori school, downtown Toronto. In the process of development, I created a suitable survey for the students, and analyzed the data collected in order to make a beneficial learning program. The program coordination required a great deal of professional communication- with my instructor, the Montessori school director, the children, and the children’s parents. The writing communication styles I gained experience in were emails, letters, surveys, and reports.

Being a student and dental hygienist, I have become a well-organized individual who can manage their time effectively. I enjoy working collaboratively with others to gain new insight. I am interested in improving my technology skills in hopes of finding potential employers through social networking techniques.

My learning philosophy is to gain knowledge through research and sharing ideas with others.

With my experiences, education, and work habits, I look forward to becoming a member of your team. Please contact me at jessfrancisarnold@icloud.com if you are interested in working with me.

Sincerely,

Jessica Arnold

301 Jessica Arnold Application Letter

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