The first choice for this definition assignment was to decide on a term. I wanted to choose a term within my field of studies (computer science) that was applicable to our daily lives while having enough content to explain. When writing the three different levels of definitions, I needed to ensure that the way I explained the term, database, was easily understood for my intended audience. Thus, avoid jargons and when there were jargons, explain them as needed. Another choice that had to be made was what four types of expansion strategies to take. A visual representation is normally always a good way to explain a concept/term because of the way our brain process information. Utilizing examples is another method that I had chosen to explain the term. Personally, I understand much better when a concept is delivered through a concrete example. The last two methods I chose were history, for that there was a clear drive for the uprising of databases, and operating principle of how it works, for I thought it may be helpful for some to understand the mechanics of databases.
The process of peer-review has provided some perspective for me as a writer. Especially since I had written for the same assignment, I had my previously held views of how I would write for this assignment. Through reading others’ work for this assignment I was able to learn the way others think and their writing styles, which then I took to reflect on my own writing style of content. When I was reviewing my teammate’s work, I found it difficult to be critical of her work. I needed to read very carefully and actively in order to provide some constructive feedback. Another thing I learned is to read not from my own point of view but from that of another. My teammate and I share a common academic background, thus I was not reading from a non-technical person’s perspective. In order to critical this assignment, I needed to think how someone not familiar with this term would react.
When reading through my teammate’s critic on my work, I realized that I did not think from my audiences’ point of view throughout the entire assignment. Like she mentioned, I have included jargons (such as ‘relational database’) in my expanded definition without clearly defining it. Also, it was pointed out that with the same term, my writing was a bit off course, which may have confused the readers. After reading through her review, I was able to read my assignment from a third-person’s point of view. This allowed me to self-edit with less bias and more critical of my own work. I have learned that it is important to have someone else to look over your work as they may provide insights that were missed initially as well as returning to your work after a few days to review it with fresh eyes.
Here is a link to my teammate’s review of my assignment.
Attached here is my rewritten definitions assignment: LansiChu_DefinitionAssignment