Unit 1 Reflection – Testing the Waters
Not knowing exactly what to expect from this writing course, I had thought I put in enough though in my writing. After the peer review process, I realized that there are many aspects of writing I had not thought of. Unit 1 reflection describes in detail of that process.
Unit 2 focused on presenting oneself professionally. I appreciated this unit for it is highly applicable for our future. This reflection blog describes the process of addressing the assignments of this unit.
Unit 3 focused on research specific topics, understanding motivations and emphasizing with the audience, and appealing to the readers. Through this process, I have learned to think from the audiences’ point of views. This blog describes the process of research for a specific topic.
Web Folio Creation Reflection
When creating this web folio, it was necessary to look back at previous work. Doing so, I can see the progression of improved writing style. A main issue I had was wordiness. With many professional communication methods, it is important to consider the readers’ time. Thus, messages need to be clear and concise.
Another aspect that was focused on when creating this web folio was the presentation of information to the readers. My target audience is potential employers as I am graduating soon. Keeping that in mind, I want to highlight my key skills, experience, and knowledge that would entice them. It was interesting to mull over what I want my readers to know about me and to find the balance between professionalism and friendliness.
Organizing the menu bar required some thoughts, too! This process made me realize that a lot of psychology goes into making a smooth, logical user experience. Many times when I navigate through a website, I take the experience for granted. It makes sense to present the ‘Home’ tab at the beginning of the menu and ‘Contact’ at the end after the user has learned a bit about me and want to find out more.
Thanks for reading over my web folio and if there is anything you’d like to see more please let me know in the comment section!
Self-Assessment Reflection
This blog will include all peer-reviews, assignments, and projects I have written for the course of English 301 – Technical Writing. It will describe my journey in the course and highlight my strengths and areas for improvement shown in the work done.
For the assignments I have completed, a few areas that needed work were wordiness and a focus on “you-attitude”. Even though I have experience in writing professionally through various work environments, this provided great insight in how I can be more clear and concise when communicating over different mediums and methods (memorandum, email, and/or reports). It was helpful to be reminded many times to remember who the target audience is. With the audience in mind, it was easier to focus on the reasoning of the assignment and which point to elaborate upon.
As for strengths, I am able to incorporate friendly tone into my writing with ease. This reflects on my outgoing personality, which I believe is important to demonstrate. The trick is to balance it and realize when to dial it back, such as in the case of cover letters.
I had a great learning experience in this course. It had provided many extremely applicable skills to aid in my future career. In this day and age, electronic communication is crucial. Especially in computer science with many colleagues possibly working remote. Furthermore, there is an ever increasing amount of distractions that it is necessary to keep communication clear and concise to avoid being skipped over. This course has enhanced my writing abilities to better present my thoughts.
Another strength that will support me in my future career, rather, in obtaining a future career, is having a tailored resume and cover letter. This course has taught me to tailor my application to the specific job description to increase visibility and response from the recruiters.
Lastly, I want to give a huge thank-you shoutout to my “Perpetual Motion Squad” team members! They have been so supportive through this entire journey from providing fantastic, constructive feedback to sending reminders of the upcoming deadlines. Thanks Sandy, Fiona, and Kyo!
