For unit three, most of my time was spent on drafting my formal report and practicing writing with an attitude suitable for my readers. Specifically, I learned about how to write with the “you-attitude”, which takes into consideration the reader’s perspective in every sentence composed. We applied this writing technique in two business letters – a complaint letter and a bad news adjustment letter (click here to view them). Even though I previously knew that keeping my reader’s interest in mind is important, I never put in too much effort in centralizing my readers in my writing until this unit. Another assignment in unit three requires us to write a memorandum reviewing en e-mail written to a professor by a student. By providing feedback on how the student can incorporate the “you-attitude” in his writing, I was able to understand how effective the technique is in persuading readers.

The second major part of this unit required us to create a draft of our formal report containing all the core elements of a report. This assignment was the most time-consuming part of the course thus far, as it required us to conduct research, organize primary data, analyze evidence, and write with the “you-attitude” which we started practicing only two weeks ago. Not only was research using secondary resources required, but the report also required us to gather primary data. I chose to conduct interviews and administer surveys. While the interview portion was quite casual and informative, the survey posed to be a challenge due to the small number of participants. However, I was still able to draw some conclusions based on the survey results. I also struggled with how to display objective data in a “you-attitude” fashion without introducing reader bias. Even though a lot of time was dedicated to drafting the report, the process was actually already simplified by some of assignments from the previous units, such as the formal report outline from unit 2.3.

Peer reviews were also required for our formal report drafts. After having previously reviewed several other assignments, I found the process to be a little easier with my improved professional editing techniques. When going over Stephen Lee’s report draft, I was able to quickly identify areas where I felt like more details would benefit the readers. I also identified many unnecessary details he could exclude in order to shorten his 24-page report. His review of my report draft was also informative; it provided both general recommendations and specific modifications I could make to improve my report. I especially liked that he took the time to provide me with an additional attachment of my original report draft complete with tracked changes to give me specific feedback on my grammatical errors.

The last goal of this unit was for us to initiate our search for a job/volunteer position or a graduate school to prepare a full application package for. Because I have been occupied with the other assignments along with working a full-time job and volunteering on the weekends, I have not yet begun my research. I do, however, have a masters program in mind to write an application package for.

With assignments due every couple of days, this course has been quite a challenge for me. However, many of the assignments are related to one another and are actually helping us build our final products, including the formal report. As we improve our writing techniques throughout the term, we will self-edit our past assignments and create a Web-folio displaying our best work near the end of the course. The gradual progression of the course and the chance for us to improve our work before final submission is my favourite aspect of English 301. I look forward to the final unit, and hope that I will be able to apply all my acquired knowledge in the last projects.