One Final Reflection – The last few steps towards the finish line
April 12th, 2016
This post is my last reflection entry detailing my journey through ENGL 301, technical writing. I have worked hard, learnt a lot, and still have a long way to go. I believe we learn from our experiences and mistakes. However, unless we think about what those mistakes and experiences mean, we won’t make the necessary changes to improve ourselves for the future. Self-reflection is extremely important because it enables you to move from just experiencing to understanding. So let’s start at the beginning!
What is my definition of technical writing? My personal working definition of it is: writing in a way that simplifies the complex to communicate clearly or target a specific audience. I haven’t reached this level of writing, but I have significantly improved since the start of the term.
Some of my weakness continue to persist. When writing, I find that I still tend to switch between present and past tenses. The peer reviews and Dr. Paterson’s feedback made this issue very clear. I know I have this problem. Still, I sometimes fail to catch this mistake when editing. I will continue to work on this issue, but I think that the best solution for the time being is to have another person also editing my work. I also have a problem with conciseness when writing, more specifically on longer more detailed reports and assignments. For example, when writing my formal report, at times I felt I provided too much information. I was so worried that I was not getting my thoughts through clearly that I tend to favor clarity than succinctness. I will continue to strive to find a balance both the two.
Beyond my weaknesses, I marvel at some of my improvements throughout the course. At the beginning of the course, I was a very slow writer and regularly struggled to express my thoughts and opinions clearly. Even writing a paragraph could take me hours, as I obsessed over perfecting each sentence. I find as I am writing this reflection now, I am writing with much more clarity and ease. This, personally, is a huge accomplishment for me. I am still a relatively slow writer, but I think I’ve gone from a turtle-like pace to a more manageable speed. I am also very proud of the piece of works I’ve completed throughout this course. I am most pleased with my updated resume and my new social media LinkedIn profile.
I believe that my strength throughout this course is peer-reviewing. I find that I can easily edit the sentence structure and the flow of other people’s works. I pay strong attention to details and also try to provide additional suggestions beyond spelling and grammar mistakes. For example, for Jasleen’s formal report on Improving Pain Relief Requirements for Cattle Castration in Canada, I suggested that she provide more information about the degree of pain mitigation for each procedure and if there were any other alternatives, such as hormonal treatments. An important lesson I learnt from ENGL 301 was writing with “You-Attitude” when providing constructive criticism. This allowed me to remain professional and respectful to my peers. Peer-reviewing others’ works also indirectly benefitted my writing. The advice I gave helped me reflect upon my writing and I also learnt to incorporate elements from others writing to improve my own.
The skills I have gained in English 301, technical writing, will remain with me as I continue to work towards my future goals. I initially took this course because I wanted directions of how to create a LinkedIn profile. However, English 301 has equipped me with so much more that just a social media platform. It has given me the necessary tools to effectively present and communicate to potential employers. One of the most important lessons was to tailor your writing for a particular reader. To ensure that my work is the best it can be, I plan on applying this mindset and writing with “You-Attitude” to all future cover letters, emails, reports, etc.. Thank you so much, Dr. Paterson and Jasmine Spencer for all the advice and help throughout this course. Thanks to my writing posse, The Biohazards, as well for all the help, suggestions, and positivity. I am excited to see how all these skills and everyone’s guidance will help me succeed in the near and far future! Thanks again!
