Networking via LinkedIn
One of the assignments for Unit 2 of ENGL301 course was to conduct research on best practices for networking on LinkedIn. Many sources that were found agreed on several important points about networking, namely, that one needs to complete the profile, keep it up to date, perform timely engagement with the network and create relevant content. All of these require good habits as well as good knowledge of various functionalities that LinkedIn has. I found that the necessary skills and habits are similar to those that we already study in ENGL301. For example, the ability to write concisely and persuasively while maintaining the appropriate tone would be essential in completing one’s personal profile as well as in communicating with potential connections. Even though I already have a profile on LinkedIn, I never actually used it effectively to build my professional network. The research exercise shifted my attitudes towards LinkedIn from that of apathy to a genuine interest. Learning about various features and the importance of building one’s professional network early on motivated me to plan to input more effort to maintain my presence in the social network.
Formal report proposal
A major part of Unit 2 of ENGL301 was brainstorming and developing a proposal for what is going to be a formal report. After the proposal was done, an outline and a progress report needed to be completed shortly after to keep the formal report project on track. The process of brainstorming was not very challenging, as the instructions aided the process very much. The key to finding an appropriate topic was the tip to find an area that relates to personal experience and immediate environment and does not require a lot of literature research. Given these recommendations, I quickly came up with a few topics in mind to which I have a direct relation now. So, after a short period consideration I decided to work on something that I am actually working on currently myself, namely visualization of networked data. Once the problem was chosen, preparing a proposal was not challenging, since examples were given in the textbook and the instructor’s blog. The main considerations while writing the proposal was making it persuasive and focused. In order to make sure that the proposal had these qualities I used a technique, where I would stop working on it for some time and return and re-read it with a fresh mind, and that helped a lot. As for how the report progress is going, I feel slightly behind the schedule that was set out in the progress report, but it is still possible to keep things on trac. I have a general idea of how it is going to come all together, which makes the actual writing and planning simpler. However, as with any other work, the vision of the report develops and matures as the progress continues.
Peer review and proposal revision
As the final assignment for Unit 2, we were tasked with peer reviewing a team member’s formal report proposal. Having the perspective of the reader of the proposal proved to be very revealing. Since a proposal has a very clear structure, it is much easier to see if something is wrong with it, or if some part is not clear or persuasive enough. For example, despite it was very evident to me that the proposed solution of my peer’s proposal did not address the entirety of the stated problem. This is important for two reasons. First, this underlies the importance of knowing the formats of different document types to adjust the style and structure appropriately. Second, it reveals that the document format itself helps the writer to organize points effectively with potentially little effort. Reading my team member’s peer review of my proposal also provided some useful insights. As was the case with Unit 1 assignments, bridging the cognitive gap between the reader and the writer remains the most crucial aspect of writing that I need to improve. Only by learning to take the perspective of the reader can one excel in making their writing clearer and simpler. I found that I still need to make more progress in that regard, as the reviewing team member found a few places where he was not able to follow easily what the proposal was trying to convey. Overall, the peer review process once again provided a crucial outside view on my writing and gave important insights that will impact my future work.