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