introduction

Students conducted the last peer review on the most important assignment, the Formal Report. I found this peer review to be the most helpful because there was so much to include for the formal report. It was important to get some help to ensure that all components were properly composed and the report was on the right track.

 

peer review of formal report

To: Jordan Zhao, ENGL 301 Student Writer
From: Johnathan Tam, ENGL 301 Student Reviewer
Date: November 19, 2021
Subject: Peer Review of Formal Report Draft

Peer Review/ Formal Report Draft: Assessment of Student Ridership Efficiency on the Bus Route 49 to UBC, as part of TransLink Metro Vancouver

Thank you for submitting the draft of your formal report “Assessment of Student Ridership Efficiency on the Bus Route 49 to UBC, as part of TransLink Metro Vancouver.” The formal report draft is well-organized and demonstrates an extensive amount of research done on this topic. The issue is also presented very thoroughly with a clear list of proposed solutions. Please see below for some suggestions for improvement when writing the final report.

First Impressions:

From a first glance, the formal report draft is very well-written and effectively illustrates the issue of ridership inefficiency and bus delays.

• A major strength of this repot draft is the data presented. There are a wide variety of data figures and survey findings to validate the issue of ridership inefficiency.
• One overall area of improvement is to include in-text references in MLA style to secondary sources, either via paraphrasing or a direct quote. This helps connect the claims in the report to past research and further supports the points presented.

Introduction:

The introduction provides a strong overview for the rest of the report by starting off with background information on the TransLink company and presenting the topic shortly after.

• This section does a fantastic job in connecting the relevance of UBC students to TransLink.
  • It was very eye-opening to read the statistics on how many students live off-campus and rely on public transportation to reach UBC.
• The purpose of this report is clearly outlined, and it connects the issue of ridership inefficiency on the bus route 49 to the intended reader of the report, President and General Manager of TransLink, who manages that route.
• Including some background information about COVID-19, or a definition technique from the definitions assignment, would be helpful for further clarification.
  • Currently, COVID-19 is stated in the introduction without any further explanations.
• Providing some further explanations of how COVID-19 affects riders.
  • “With current COVID-19 complications”
    • What are the current COVID-19 complications and how does it affect bus riders?
• Research methods such as surveys and interviews are properly introduced in this section.

Data Section:

There is a substantial amount of data provided here that helps to further emphasize the problem and support the proposed solutions. The data is also very well-presented and logically laid out.

• All figures are properly designed with a caption underneath and a figure heading at the top.
• Include the sample size for the people surveyed and interviewed. This will help readers draw further conclusions and aid in comprehension of the report.
• Provide the list of questions that were used in the surveys and interviews. This will give more background information for the readers to help them understand what respondents were being asked.

Conclusion:

The conclusion is located properly after the problem and data are presented. There are also sections properly included here for a summary of the findings and interpretations.

• It is evident that there is a need to improve the efficiency of the bus route 49 to UBC.
• A list of conclusions and recommendations is appropriately included in this section.
• Further analyze the list of recommendations to demonstrate that consideration has been placed on both sides of the argument.
  • i.e. What are some possible limitations to the recommendations suggested?

Bibliography:

There is a works cited list arranged at the end of the formal report.

• Consider using a few more secondary sources in a formal report to back up your claims.
  • Only two secondary sources listed here.
• Ensure all sources are placed in the MLA citation style.
  • The third citation is listed as a link only.

Organization:

The order for the formal report draft follows a logical format and it is clear and effective at all points. It starts off with an introduction with background information, establishes the issue surrounding bus route 49 to the intended reader, and then proposes a solution to resolve this.

• The content is well-organized into different sections with bolded headings.
  • There are also underlined subheadings which help to reduce the size of paragraphs and allow for ease of reading.
• The report draft is well paginated with page numbers on the top right-hand corner and it starts from the introduction.

Style:

While this topic is important to UBC students like yourself, the report does a great job maintaining an objective tone. It properly reflects the you-attitude learned throughout this course and employs a positive tone through-out.

• The introduction also considers the target audience as it highlights the vast amount of UBC students that take buses managed by TransLink.

Design:

As stated in the data section, the graphics are well-designed, effectively labelled, and informative. The graphics are also colorful and very engaging.

• Consider changing the font size to a standard size 12 font. The current report draft is written in size 11 which can be a bit difficult to view for some readers.

Final Thoughts:

This formal report draft is well-organized, detailed, and enjoyable to read. By keeping the following points in mind, the final formal report will be an excellent document:

• Increase font size to 12 for ease of reading
• Include background information on the COVID-19 pandemic
• Explain how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting bus ridership
• Provide the sample size of people surveyed and interviewed
• Add the list of questions used in the survey and interviews in the data section
• Include a few more secondary sources and ensure it is all properly citated in MLA style

It was a pleasure to review this assignment. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions.

Best,

Johnathan Tam