Monthly Archives: July 2022

Formal Report Draft Reflection

Writing my first draft of the formal report had been a challenging and engaging experience. Initially, I focused on the outline I had prepared to start gathering all the data. Once the research process started, I realized that I am missing some important subtopics that were not included in my outline. I returned to the textbook for guidance and drew from the formal report examples. I built on my existing outline to create new sub-topics to give the reader adequate information. The most difficult part of the draft was gathering the primary data. I sent 30 emails for the survey and by the time I was ready to analyze the results only 13 dental professionals had replied. The shortage of time was the biggest hurdle in the process. Further, I also found interviewing staff members for the report a tedious project. It was difficult to coordinate a time for interviews and being a high-volume practice often the staff was shuffled to other locations last minute. On the other hand, conducting secondary research was easier and more interesting for me. In the entire process of drafting a report, I found creating an outline initially was helpful and kept the research on track. I have advocated for my formal report topic personally over the years. Hence, trying to be neutral to prevent the researcher’s bias during the interpretation of findings and interviews was an eye-opening experience. I appreciated the significance of double-blind controlled studies throughout this process. The learning in this unit was focused on gathering research data, interpreting and organizing effectively so all pertinent information is available for the reader. The biggest lesson I learned is to be concise and comprehensive at the same time.

Peer review of Formal Report Draft

I enjoyed the peer review process thoroughly in unit three. With time, certain main concepts of peer review posted on the instructor’s blog have become easier to incorporate into the writing. I was unfamiliar with Brianna’s topic but she presented it well and I could grasp it and give suggestions. Another helpful resource for me was the technical communication book while completing peer review. It is easy to reference the specific chapter on subtopics to draw more information and connect to the review.

Enclosure: Formal Report Draft, Lovin kahlon, English 301 student

Creating LinkedIn Profile:

I found the entire process of researching to create a LinkedIn profile exciting and engaging. I did not have a LinkedIn profile before and the assignment motivated me to create my profile. It made me realize the power of professional social networking and its importance in career development. In a few years, I envision myself in an alternate career, so being active on LinkedIn will be helpful for me to achieve this goal.

Creating Report Proposal and Outline

Preparing the research proposal was another valuable experience. In the past, I have personally advocated to the management about the integration of ultrasonic Scaling into dental hygiene practice which is my research proposal topic. As a result, choosing the topic itself was relatively easy. In order to format the proposal, a textbook example and the instructor’s blog was used. Preparing the outline for the proposal was the hardest part for me. I had to be mindful to stay within the page limit while preparing the outline and had to choose more relevant subtopics under the research plan. I was cautious in this process as I want the report to reflect objectivity rather than subjectivity.  I am not experienced in preparing formal reports so I wonder if my outline may change as I dig more deeply into my primary and secondary data. Once I have all the data collected I will consult the textbook example and the instructor’s blog to bring it all together.

Peer Review of Report Proposal

I peer reviewed Samantha’s formal proposal report. Because both of my and Samantha’s proposals come from the dental field, we have some overlapping content. I found the overlapping content to be reassuring that I am headed in the right direction in my proposal report. I learned to always check the instructor’s blog for the correct format to peer review as I missed it this time. This peer review was a good reminder to remember to follow the precise guidelines for all projects. Peer review process clarifies your ideas and brushes up your reading and writing skills. Review of my proposal showed me my mistakes and I learned from them. Review of the team writing forum made me learn from my peer’s mistakes and that enriched the learning experience. I am very impressed by my teammates writing and the way they express themselves. Peer reviewing has made me more aware of my writing and that I need to be mindful of all the feedback I have gotten when drafting any content.

Peer review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30198a2022s12/2022/06/29/peer-review-assignment-2-1-formal-report-lovin/

Revised proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30198a2022s12/2022/06/22/research-proposal-lovin/