Unit three of English 301 started with learning how to write with a “You-Attitude”, progressed with writing professional communication on an issue from two points of view, and finished with writing and peer reviewing the first draft of the formal report.
We began the unit with learning how to write with a “You-Attitude”, a writing style and a philosophy, places the reader’s interests foremost in your writing. I was surprised to find this particularly challenging, as I have experience writing in a professional setting throughout my years at office jobs. I quickly realized how many aspects of my writing conflicted with “You-Attitude”: I often used imperative verbs and my tone could be construed as harsh, when that was not at all how I was trying to come across. Instead, I needed to emphasize what the reader wants to know and respect the reader’s intelligence. Learning how to write with a “You-Attitude” has helped my writing improve and will lend me credibility in the workforce.
The process of researching, organizing and writing my formal report draft was an extensive task. A lot of preparation and planning was required to carry out the surveys and interview. In preparing the survey questions, I learned that some of my questions were “leading” — that is, the manner in which the questions are worded are eliciting a certain response and could create a bias. My report required gathering survey responses from Lions Gate Hospital employees. Through the experience of gathering primary data, I realized the importance of having a strong social network. My sister is a nurse at Lions Gate Hospital, so I was able to ask her to reach out to some colleagues. Further, my childhood friend graduated from UBC with a degree in nutrition and has a masters in Occupational Therapy, and is now employed at Lions Gate Hospital. Through these connections, I was able to gather 10 responses.
I peer reviewed Sydney’s draft report on increasing the amount of spots open for veterinary schools in Canada. I reviewed the content, organization, style, and design flaws within each section. I found that reviewing the draft this time around was much easier than before, as I thought more about “You-Attitude” than before. The peer review process has given me an appreciation for others’ work and allowed me to be a better self editor along with being a better peer editor. I have been lucky to have dedicated and intelligent teammates with professional and inspiring writing styles, and interesting topics on top of that!
Overall, drafting the formal report was a long and intensive process, but fruitful in the end. I anticipate finalizing the outstanding elements of my report. I have included a link to the draft of my formal report below. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts, and I look forward to presenting the final draft of the report.